Ukraine UKRAINE 2023 - Tvorchi - Heart of Steel

[ESC United Mod Team]

 

[njdevils94]

ART... but probably a bit too disjointed to win the selection.

 

[Mainshow]

2TONE – Квітка 5/10
Interesting choice. It feels quite "contemporary" and I like the flow of the rap in the second verse but I don´t like the radio-friendly rock/pop production of the song. The song is clearly not competitive at all.

Angelina – Stronger 2/10
I like the pre-chorus and the song seems to have a great message but the chorus is too repetitive and annoying. The production of the verses sounds a bit unfinished to me(?). The song´s production is really basic and generic.

DEMCHUK – «Alive» 6/10
Incredible tone of his voice. The chorus reminds me of a basic song performed by an average boyband, though.

FIINKA – «Довбуш» 7/10
Finally, a song which would be more distinctive on a Eurovision scale. It´s another mixture of innovative, modern sounds and quite a lot of ethnic elements. The final part of the song could work so well at Eurovision (pacing). However, I think that the song could have lift to another level by a better production - even though it has a lot of elements, it feels a bit unpolished and a few elements needs to be highlighted to make people actually remember the song´s melody. It´s too disjointed.

Jerry Heil – «WHEN GOD SHUT THE DOOR» 9/10
This is not the case here!!! Heil´s song is incredible (even though the producition still needs to be polished a bit) - I didn´t expect her to come here to slay but dunno, it´s such a serve! It´s emotional and compelling. I love the "opera parts" which were a huge surprise - you´ve got a rap part which feels more natural and authentic than the one we got in Alina Pash´s entry last year.

KRUTЬ – «Колискова» 10/10
Goosebumps. Absolutely gorgeous and hauntingly beautiful. The atmopshere is a bit eerie but also makes you long for more. Incredible... This could end up being the next "Rändajad", imo. A pure masterpiece which would create a unique moment on stage in Liverpool, for sure!

Moisei – «I'm Not Alone» 5/10
This could have been an entry by Norway finishing #20 in the end. I like the viola parts but the instrumental accompanying his solo parts distract me.. the chorus is quite messy and generic at the same time. I have mixed feelings about this.

OY Sound System – «Ой, тужу» 6/10
Impressive intro which drags a bit, though. It´s basically one third of the song. They need a very theatrical, dramatic and impressive staging to make it more memorable. It has no replay value, though.

Tember Blanche – «Я вдома» 5/10
Alright - again, not really competitive.
It´s cute but totally forgettable.

TVORCHI – «Heart Of Steel» 4/10
Meh. Some parts are quite fresh but dunno, I think it´s utterly bland and not really memorable at all.


All in all - and I´m sorry to say this - it´s one of the worst Vidbir finals in recent years. Most of the songs aren´t competitive at all - there are a few highlights, though (Jerry Heil & KRUTЬ) but most of the songs sound basic, even a bit too vanilla.

Kudos to Ukraine for putting up a national final whilst facing acts of genocide and an imperial war - that´s a great effort - but I just feel that the overall quality has massivel dropped; most songs sound either unpolished...

My Top 3:
#1 KRUTЬ
#2 Jerry Heil
.............
#3 FINKA (is desperately in need of a revamp)

I honestly don´t care about the other songs but I could see OY Sound System turn out to be a surprise if they come up with a very impressive and "outta this world experience like" performance.

 

[Realest]

FIINKA – «Довбуш» 7.4/10
KRUTЬ – «Колискова» 7.2/10
2TONE – Квітка 7.0/10
OY Sound System – «Ой, тужу» 6.5/10
Tember Blanche – «Я вдома» 5.7/10
TVORCHI – «Heart Of Steel» 5.3/10
Jerry Heil – «WHEN GOD SHUT THE DOOR» 5.1/10
Angelina – Stronger 5.0/10
DEMCHUK – «Alive» 4.5/10
Moisei – «I'm Not Alone» 4.3/10

 

[njdevils94]

I was hoping for Chmarki 2.0 from Oy Sound System but I wasn't really impressed. It drags on a bit for an electro song.

 

[mauve]

Okay this is rather a disappointing choice ... yes I have two faves, but the rest is quite forgettable.

To make it short, KRUTb and Jerry Heil are the only songs I like, but even these didn't make a sudden impact on me. Need to listen to these again.

 

[AlekS]

Producers said unofficially that regardless of which song wins, there will be a revamp.

Knowing Jerry she will make a revamp 4sure. It's 2:28 long.
I her song.

My faves:

1. Jerry Heil
2. FIINKA
3. Moisei

 

[njdevils94]

Producers said unofficially that regardless of which song wins, there will be a revamp.

Knowing Jerry she will make a revamp 4sure. It's 2:28 long.
I her song.

Hard to see Jamala and Taras not puttig it first if she performs it and stages it well. Also I agree it will add 30 seconds if she wins.

 

[Looren]

Let's gooo

1. Angelina - Stronger : Gorgeous song, definitely my fave of this NF
_____________________
2. Jerry Heil - When God Shut The Door : Quite special, quality stuff, I like it a lot
3. FIINKA - Довбуш : Wow like this a lot, very original and great chorus
_____________________
4. KRUTЬ – Колискова : Powerful ending, some parts I like a bit less, quality song
5. 2TONE - Квітка : I like this overall, good song even if am not feeling the rap
_____________________
6. Tember Blanche – Я вдома : Cute song
7. DEMCHUK - Alive : Quite nice
_____________________
8. Moisei - I'm Not Alone : Usually I quite like some basic song but gosh, this is bland
9. OY Sound System – Ой, тужу : I like the vocal parts but the beat is just awful imo
10. TVORCHI – Heart Of Steel : Oh gosh sooooo bland

 

[Mainshow]

Okay this is rather a disappointing choice ... yes I have two faves, but the rest is quite forgettable.

To make it short, KRUTb and Jerry Heil are the only songs I like, but even these didn't make a sudden impact on me. Need to listen to these again.

These two entries are the only ones which are of the same "quality" of recent Ukrainian entries in terms of originality, memorability and uniqueness. They would clearly stand out in May.

Personally, I think that KRUTb could create a moment on stage. She will be playing the Bandura and could re-create the song´s eerie and hauntingly beautiful atmosphere. Sandwhiched in between up-tempo songs, it could be a stellar performance and an "effortless" contender for a Top 5 result, imo (like Estonia 2009 which just missed the Top 5 because it was a way too competitive year).

But yeah, I agree with you... The rest of the entries sound either basic/vanilla, too unpolished and demo-ish or are not competitive at all (even if they try to be artsy-fartsy without really making a (musical) statement like OY Sound System)

 

[Mainshow]

Let's gooo

1. Angelina - Stronger : Gorgeous song, definitely my fave of this NF
_____________________

National Final season has officially begun. @Looren declares my dead last place as his clear favourite to win Vidbir

 

[Looren]

National Final season has officially begun. @Looren declares my dead last place as his clear favourite to win Vidbir

Don't we usually tend to agree tho ?

 

[AlekS]

Our eurofan community voted like this:

1. Jerry Heil - 44%
2. TVORCHI - 19%
3. KRUTЬ - 10%
4. FIINKA - 6%
5. Oy Sound System - 6%
6. 2Tone - 5%
7. Moisei - 3%
8. Tember Blanche - 2%
9. DEMCHUK - 2%
10. Angelina - 2%

 

[Looren]

10. Angelina - 2%

Oooopsie, so Ukraine won't send my fave of their NF this year

 

[WhoKnows]

Our eurofan community voted like this:

1. Jerry Heil - 44%
2. TVORCHI - 19%
3. KRUTЬ - 10%
4. FIINKA - 6%
5. Oy Sound System - 6%
6. 2Tone - 5%
7. Moisei - 3%
8. Tember Blanche - 2%
9. DEMCHUK - 2%
10. Angelina - 2%

Tvorchi in second place is a choice.

 

[HayashiM]

It's so clearly a KRUTЬ vs Jerry Heil duel, isn't it? Yes, these two are my faves as well, though in current form I like KRUTЬ better and I think it is the better choice because of the moment it creates. Колискова also feels very solid regarding potential ESC result. Of course, I would be thrilled with Jerry Heil as well.

My third is FIINKA, the song is not my usual style but very groovy. Honorary mention to Moisei who is indeed very vanilla, but I really like what he does there (except for singing about Christmas which feels nice now but would be probably weird in May). However, I don't think either of the two would be a good choice for ESC.

I am not really feeling the rest on the first replay.

 

[AlekS]

If Jerry wins I'm so gonna cry and rock out at the same time during her song on Eurovision

Tvorchi in second place is a choice.

That particular community loves them in general, so the real results might be Fiinka, KrutЬ and Tvorchi fighting for that televoting #2. Moisei could be a dark horse.

 

[mauve]

Personally, I think that KRUTb could create a moment on stage. She will be playing the Bandura and could re-create the song´s eerie and hauntingly beautiful atmosphere.

That's exactly what I was imagining when I listened to the song. Definitely a song that could give you goosebumps.

Maybe we are too spolied though since the past Vidbirs gave us so many fantastic songs.

 

[Kam2]

All in all - and I´m sorry to say this - it´s one of the worst Vidbir finals in recent years. Most of the songs aren´t competitive at all - there are a few highlights, though (Jerry Heil & KRUTЬ) but most of the songs sound basic, even a bit too vanilla.

Vidbir 2017 with dull rock song, generic teen idol and Tayanna’s unlistenable screamfest all finishing in top 3 would like to argue.
IMHO as long as juries do their job and kill Demchuk and Angelina we will have a good original entry.

 

[mauve]

National Final season has officially begun. @Looren declares my dead last place as his clear favourite to win Vidbir

The song is my last place too! But I instantly knew that it is @Looren song!

 

[Looren]

The song is my last place too! But I instantly knew that it is @Looren song!

Am I really that predictable ?