Ukraine UKRAINE 2023 - Tvorchi - Heart of Steel

[ESC United Mod Team]

 

[mauve]

Poll is rolling!

 

[lasse braun]

 

[ESC94]

I call the ESC season 2023 officially opened!!

So, here we have the first entry, "Heart of Steel" by TVORCHI. The beginning sounded kinda promising for me even though I´m usually not a big fan of R&B and I was exicted to the hear the chorus, but sadly instead of a firework it turned out to be a small firecraker. It sounds extremely flat and uneventful, the second verse feels like a repetition of the first and then the song is already over.

All in all I have to say that this song really bores me. If they wanna end up high in May in Liverpool they have A LOT of work to do when it comes to the presentation, a revamp wouldn´t be bad either. I can see this ending in the lower range of the TOP 10 in the final but wouldn´t be suprised at all if they fail to do so.

In the end I give , it´s not unlistenable for me but unless 2023 turns out to be a very weak year songwise this will be on the lower end of my ranking and I don´t think I´ll listen to it again before the final.

 

[Mainshow]

Finally the poll is up! - The first one of this season!

pts for now - Like I wrote yesterday, I honestly think it got some potential (due to its atmosphere and the vocals.. the first minute is quite impressive) but it just sounds so lacklustre/flat in the chorus and is in need of a revamp.
I think they need to follow the Depeche Mode/HURTS route to turn the mess of a chorus into something more interesting.
Right now, the song just feels "edgy" and "fresh" without being memorable or genuinely remarkable.

Kudos to TVORCHI for coming up with a great performance, though!

For now, I only disliked Melovin + Ukraine´s debut at ESC and their first host entry more but again, there´s room for improvement and even though I´m quite sad that neither KRUTb nor Jerry Heil made it, this entry doesn´t completely suck

 

[HayashiM]

Gave it a couple replays yesterday, slept on it, gave a one more replay now. Sticking with the originally intended , sorry to be so negative. I appreciate going in a different direction this time, yet going in a different direction as such does not equal to adding value in my books, it's merely a bonus when I can appreciate where you are going anyway.

The public might eventually dig it, but... Nah, I would be really surprised to see the song anywhere near the top 5 in Liverpool.

 

[harey]

It's a from me, I'm impressed by the very good live version.

 

[akoz]

A little bit higher than midtable - until revamp

 

[Looren]

Gotta give them a 'cause I think the whole thing is a bit underwhelming even if the performance is good

But I wish they do well, Slava Ukraini

 

[Ajeje Brazorf]

I don't dislike it, but I don't like it either. The performance is good, the musical choice is interesting but the chorus is underwhelming. It's a for me.

 

[ArmpitOfEurope]

Very underwhelming and boring, if this was sent by Austria we would be taking about a NQ.
2 for now, maybe it will grow on me, but Ukraine wont be winning again this year.

 

[Mainshow]

Very underwhelming and boring, if this was sent by Austria we would be taking about a NQ.
2 for now, maybe it will grow on me, but Ukraine wont be winning again this year.

I don´t think that would be the case. Like this year, no one expected to qualify and yet, they managed to be part of the Top 10 in both votings (televoting and jury). "Miss You" was a half-baked idea, too and only got carried by amazing vocals and a great performance (the chorus still sucked big time and I´d even argue thta "Heart Of Steel" is more original and interesting than "Miss You").

 

[ArmpitOfEurope]

I don´t think that would be the case. Like this year, no one expected to qualify and yet, they managed to be part of the Top 10 in both votings (televoting and jury). "Miss You" was a half-baked idea, either and got carried by amazing vocals and a great performance (the chorus still sucked big time and I´d even argue thta "Heart Of Steel" is more original and interesting than "Miss You").

Im not seeing any reasons for televoters or jurors to get very excited about it, apart from where its coming from ( coz we like it or not its true that Ukraine will have this benefit for a while ). Its viby but too flat for Eurovision, really believe that if this was sent by Austria or Germany people would have it at the bottom of their rankings.

Having said that, I like that they didnt send something that could ignite the sympathy votes more, coz this doesnt even have a traditional sound like last years entry, I give them that.

 

[Mainshow]

I still disagree with that statement.
Ukraine wasn´t Top 10 in the televoting back in 2012 and wouldn´t have qualified if the juries hadn´t been falling for Gaitana.
Basic songs from Austria can also perform quite well, e.g. Cesar (even winning the jury vote) and Nathan Trent.

Ukraine didn´t win JESC last week - they weren´t even Top 5 in the public vote despite "having this benefit", "sympathy votes" and "millions of Ukrainians living in Europe who could be voting for their own country". Shouldn´t be sympathy votes in times of war be higher when kids/children are involved? Ukraine even performed last in the running order and got a "war-themed videoclip with tons of children".

"Heart Of Steel" is edgy, modern (it lacks a memorable hook) and after a revamp, I can totally see juries supporting it (even if it was from Armenia or Austria) and they surely might be getting some "sympathy" votes but "Heart Of Steel" isn´t as competitive, catchy and memorable as "Stefania" and doesn´t even show tiny bits of Ukrainian culture... I honestly don´t believe that they will be winning with this entry. (or even finish Top 5).. but I just don´t like the narrative that song A would have been chanceless if it had been coming from country B.
I agree with you, though - that there are countries which will probably never finish bottom 5 IF they reach the final even with mediocre songs - Ukraine but probably also Greece, Serbia, Romania....
People even say that Poland got higher chances than Austria or Germany due to disapora and "benefits" but here we are... finishing Bottom 5 in 2015 and 2017 and not qualifying in 2018-2021...

 

[Ezio]

Cesar basic, I can't

 

[Bmbriga]

TVORCHI- I kind of love it until chorus kicks in. Then they lose me completely.

Unfortunately, I missed Vidbir, so I can't comment on other song, but I watched the winning performance.
This is what I wrote when songs came out and I'm standing by it. I really love the beginning, but from chorus on the song is really basic and uneventful. The term we would use here in Cro is that it sounds "hollow".
I'm really hoping there will be some sort of revamp.
I'm also surprised by their win, but also kinda glad Ukraine isn't sending a song with ethnic vibe. They've done so for the last 2 (we can say 3) years, so I think it's great they decided to change it.

 

[VikingTiger]

Heart of Steel begins rather promising. I find the staging in the final very efficient, and the guy is a good performer. But as the song moves on and the chorus kicks in I am already getting rather bored with it all. The sound and the rhytm of the chorus and last part of the song really is not my cup of tea.
I dont have a problem with Ukraine going english and non-ethnic, but I certainly will not add Heart of Steel to any playlist.

 

[Etanna]

I understand the disappointment, my favourites were also Jerry Heil, Fiinka and Krut', but Tvorchi is a deserved winner imo. They had a superb performance and the song is not bad either. It's 10 points from me.

I also wanted to say what others have said before - hats off to Ukraine. The quality of the show, songs and performances was simply amazing. I wish one day we could have a real national final that's at least half as good as Vidbir...

 

[nick_idk]

TVORCHI’s NF staging was done by the same stage director who works with Ani Lorak and Loboda , Oleg Bodnarchuk. Wonder if he will do it for esc or not…

 

[AlekS]

#1 in our overall Youtube trends

Meanwhile, Russian Telegram be like:

"Ukraine sent a n****r on Eurovision"

"Muahah. He's definitely gay"

"Afroh***l"

 

[Looren]

Meanwhile, Russian Telegram be like:

"Ukraine sent a n****r on Eurovision"

"Muahah. He's definitely gay"

"Afroh***l"

What a bunch of assholes..