Ukraine UKRAINE 2025 - Ziferblat - Bird of Pray

[ESC United Mod Team]

 

[DirtyFalcon]

I was so hyped by Masha snippet but i'm disappointed by the full version .... My winner vibes are completely gone. Let's listen to the other ones now.

 

[rasmuslights]

my faves are DK and Masha.

Ziferblat is decent.

 

[AlekS]

My faves are Khayat & Masha.

Judging from our ESC communities polls it's between Masha Kondratenko, Tziferbat and Khayat.

Edit: I think I really like Tziferblat

 

[mauve]

I have to admit that I am disappointed ... this section is not so strong as the past years. I have no instant fave, no song really convinces me, even Ziferblat's entry is rather weak this time. I will be swimming against the stream cause my two faves are:
DK Enerhetyk and Krylata, I think, but I will have to relisten again.

 

[Yoozek]

Khayat song is weird.... But out of all of those, I think I'd pick either him or Masha?

 

[Jupiter]

It's a good selection, but not really great overall IMO. Masha and Khayat are my faves, but I also like Abiie.

Ziferblat do nothing for me. The song is somehow both messy and boring to me, I have zero interest in listening to that again. They were good live the last time, but I don't see that convincing me with this song either.

 

[Ziko]

After first and second listen my rank looks like this:

Abiie – Dim / (i'm a sucka for jaw harp and instrumental in this)
DK Enerhetyk – Sil' / (80's east europe rock vibe, cheap Kino twin but i still enjoy)
Masha Kondratenko – No Time To Cry / (probably the best choice for UA to secure Top10, maybe Top5 in May)
Fiїnka – Kultura / (last one i like in this selection, still way worse than her last attempt)
---
Ziferblat – Bird Of Pray /
Vlad Sheryf – Wind Of Change /
Molodi – My Sea /
Krylata – Stay True /
Khayat – Honor / (his songs are never my jam)
Future Culture – Waste My Time / (every song from wildcard contest was better than this)

 

[Sabrewulf238]

It feels like a solid selection though I don't personally feel like there's a heavy hitter like Teresa & Maria in this lineup. (granted I've only listened to the recap so far)

 

[Flomik]

Khayat's song is such an awful noisy mess
It's between Masha and Ziferblat for me - Bird of Pray gave me goosebumps
DK Energetyk is another personal favorite of mine but they're absolutely chanceless. At least they won a spot in my playlist

 

[EscGeek]

I prefer your wildcard selection over the final

Send Fiinka

 

[rasmuslights]

It feels like a solid selection though I don't personally feel like there's a heavy hitter like Teresa & Maria in this lineup. (granted I've only listened to the recap so far)

I mean,Teresa and Maria was honestly the best Ukranian entry since 1944, so it would be hard to beat it anyway.

 

[AlekS]

Ziferblat lead singer or invited male vocalist sings "female" vocalise at the beginning and the end
They will differ from everyone on this Eurovision. It's very light feel, stylish. The vocals will be on point (whereas Masha's song doesn't show big vocal range).

Khayat's song is such an awful noisy mess

Less noisier than Grisana

 

[Flomik]

Speaking of Grisana, she really deserved to be in this shortlist instead of Vlad Sheryf
His song is such a nothingburger I don't even remember its title

And why was Fiinka out of the shortlist too? She is stronger than a number of songs too
Many questions for Tina/Suspilne

 

[Yusha103]

Future Culture will be in the last place

 

[gingerale]

Is Ukraine going for Pitchfork Song Contest? I'm very confused with this selection so far.

But DK Enerhetyk did grab my attention. The vibe is great.

 

[Mainshow]

Masha Kondratenko — No Time to Cry 9/10
Honestly, it's the only song which makes me feel euphoric about Vidbir. I like the eerie and dark atmosphere, the lullaby-like chorus which gets a refreshing contrasts by the synths/bass added.

Abiie – Dim 8/10
12 points for the arrangement; it's a really good song which could have lift to another level by a tempo change (another melody in the chorus? an additional singer?) imo.

FIЇNKA - Kultura 6/10
I still haven't warmed up to the chorus of the song.

Khayat - Honor 6/10
I love Khayat's music. I really do but that song got parts in it which make me wanna scratch my head. I actually think it's probably meant to be "performed" rather than "wholeheartedly enjoyed whilst listening to the studio version". It got some great and rich moments, e.g. the intro and the first verse which made me remember why I absolutely adore his voice. When the strings kick in and he sings in a more dramatic way, I'm blown away and then we got the cheap beat drop which ruins the song for me, honestly.
- Not gonna lie, I'm quite disappointed but I could see myself warming up to it. I just think that the song doesn't have enough moments to make Khayat's vocals truly shine and the beat drops/instrumentals aren't hitting hard enough to compensate for the lack of a sung chorus.

Влад Шериф — Wind of change 5/10
Cheesy to the core but beautifully arranged. It gives me some Israeli ballad vibes. He didn't have to go fully Sam Smith-high-pitched/head voice route at parts, though.


KRYLATA — STAY TRUE 5/10
It's like two different songs at parts and it feels quite chaotic, messy and disjointed.

Ziferblat — Bird of Pray 4/10
Incredible chorus but the verses ain't my cup of tea at all. Parts of the song are super exhausting.

MOLODI — my sea 2/10
OMG - what kind of German-NF-reject is this mess? Get rid off the Ukrainian lyrics and the vocalisting part at the end, and you get a perfect "0 pts in televoting - German song". What a huge disappointment. Most Wildcard songs were fundamentally better! Oo

Future Culture — Waste My Time 1/10
I wasted my time listening to the song - I like the chill atmosphere but it's getting very reptitive and annoying when the first chorus kicks in. Who the hell was responsible for letting this slip into Vidbir?!

DK Enerhetyk - Сіль 0/10
I hate the vocals, the vocal effects. Re-record it without being stoned and underwater and I'll give it another try.

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All in all, it's a letdown compared to last year. If Masha fails to perform well, I could see myself not rooting for Ukraine in Eurovision this year
Hopefully, the song by Khayat will grow on me but I think that "Call For Love", "Error", "Osoka", "Темно" and especially "Говорила" are way more interesting. So basically, I prefer more than half of his single discography to "Honor" at this point

 

[Mainshow]

I'm Teresa and Maria was honestly the best Ukranian entry since 1944, so it would be hard to beat it anyway.

I wanted to like this comment but then I remembered that "Solovey" and "Shum" happened which are superior to 90% of all Eurovision winners, imo.

 

[nudiecrudi]

The first listening was a total delusion
Obviously live performances and more listenings could change that feeling.

 

[njdevils94]

DK Enerhetyk - typical Kino band cosplay. I like everything but the vocals. NAHABA 2.0 result. The song that doesn't fit the "format" the most closes the show again.

Its not going to win obviously but I think it would make a cool entry still. In my top 3.

 

[AlekS]

Masha didn't show her vocal range at all, understandably because of choreo. The song is forgettable. All of this will cost her jury votes.
Khayat has 2 dance breaks and he meant from the start that his song is performance-based. But trying to impress Eurovision with a hot gay and dance breaks is like trying to sell snow to Eskimo. The vocals in lower octave make this song special tho.
Ziferblat are already unusual. Twins who are really opposite to each other, one of them sings in higher octave almost like a woman. But what the heck is those verses, especially the 1st one.
All 3 can have outstanding staging on Eurovision, but imo Khayat and Tziferblat will benefit the most. The broadcaster will 100% convince them to make a revamp. There's no room for improvement in Masha's song, imo.

Its not going to win obviously but I think it would make a cool entry still. In my top 3.

Could have been in my top-3 with another lead singer.