The Finalists of the Ukrainian National Selection for Eurovision 2025. Who Has the Best Chance of Going to Basel?

Українською читайте тут.

Here's a look at the musical component, the image, the level of English, and the lyrics of the songs that made it to the final ten.

It seems like an eternity has passed since Eurovision 2024 in May, as the Euroseason (as the contest fans call it) was so intense and rich in discussions. The first national selections in Europe ended last year in November, and Ukrainian media professionals had a hand in them in other countries, which we will discuss later. Instead, the top ten finalists of the Ukrainian National Selection are already known — FIЇNKA won the voting in Diia for the last free place in the final with her track "Kultura," a review of which can be found in our previous article. Therefore, we will not write about this song in this article.

We have listened to the songs of all the finalists and will tell you about the musical component, image, English level, lyrics, and discussion of Ukraine's National Selection (Vidbir) for Eurovision 2025 to help you decide on your preferences before 8 February, the day the final of the National Selection will take place.

This is a subjective assessment of the author, and it is not intended to offend or humiliate anyone. All the participants are already great, and their participation is a huge success for them.

A song that is best suited for a charity concert, or at least as the last performance in a concert. However, fate decreed otherwise, and Vlad will be the first to perform on 8 February. A song with a big emphasis on vocals on the theme of self-healing and recovery. The concept of a major and uplifting sound is quite interesting, along with the lines in the lyrics that if the main lyrical character of this song does not find an answer right now, he will die. It's hard to catch on to anything in this song except the vocals, but it's also written in such a way that, for example, in the chorus, it's very easy to make a mistake and ruin it. It's not my taste at all, so it doesn't evoke any emotions.

If last year's discovery was Ziferblat, who are participating this year, I suspect that at the 2025 selection, under a good set of circumstances, Abiye will be the discovery. And, given the comments under the song on the official YouTube channel of our National Selection, there are reasons to think so. During the draw, the singer sincerely commented on the content of the song, saying that it is about different types of violence, especially sexual violence in the temporarily occupied territories, which is committed by Russian criminals.

The sound of this track is literally imbued with these meanings - it is quite restrained, minimalistic, and cold in a positive way. Listening to it, you feel that this is the story of a person who wants to shout but can't because he has lost the voice, and when she shouts, no one hears her. It's an incredibly stylish mix of Ukrainian ethno, DakhaBrakha's sound, and very distantly Baltic alternative pop, like MNTHA, whose song had a similar mood at the Latvian national selection ten years ago. The Ukrainian language hasn't sounded so musical for a long time - Abiie skilfully plays with the syllables and melody of the language. The only downside is the overly loud ethnic instruments in the second verse, which drown out the vocals.

Despite its unconventional format, this track stuck in my head, so it has every chance at this Vidbir. However, even if the stars don't align this time, Abiye definitely has a huge potential in the context of Eurovision, so it would be worth her returning to the selection in the future.

A duo of guys from Mariupol take part in the National Selection with a rather European, even arena song, produced by the ubiquitous Enko label. The arrangement of the first verse is successful. There are no ethnomotifs here, but we hear a rather high-quality and deep lyric about ‘my sea’, which is swayed by ‘’alien winds‘’ (i.e., the actual context of Ukraine is present). Personally, I find the structure of this song a bit off-putting, which becomes more meaningful towards the end. I can't say that I like this track because it feels a bit unfinished and raw, but it's definitely not bad. It even sounds quite good. But I think we'll definitely see the guys at the selection, and I hope they'll come up with something more powerful and conceptual.

It's nice to see such alternative bands at the Vidbir. No matter what the results are, it's good that foreigners see how developed the contemporary Ukrainian music scene is through projects like this. I feel that this song was most likely born at a spontaneous jam session, which is a chamber gathering of musicians (mostly jazz musicians) where they improvise together.

I like the idea of this song and its outline (especially the synths), but the realisation of it raises a few questions. In particular, the fact that we hear different variations of improvised vocal exercises at the end of the track indicates the place of birth of the track. In addition, the vocals are somewhat raw—there are not enough effects, such as reverb, etc. Moreover, I have a few questions for the person who decided that the drums we hear in the chorus are the most suitable for this song. This is the case when one detail can completely spoil the impression of the material, and for me, it's this stupid beat. However, thanks for your participation, style, and brand identity, even despite the flaws.

When the list of finalists was announced, Masha was perhaps the most intrigued. It was interesting to see what the singer of the hits ‘Vanka-Vstanka’ and ‘Balalaika Bears’ would perform. The artist has repeatedly said that she would like to make deeper and more serious music, but the audience does not want to listen to such songs. The national selection is an opportunity to rethink your work and change your attitude towards it. And Masha Kondratenko took full advantage of it.

The song "No Time to Cry" is about ‘abnormal normalcy,’ as the singer herself says. It tells about the search for oneself in a plastic world and how the war keeps us in a gloomy routine. The person who worked on the arrangement and vocal design of this song deserves special praise—these elements bring this song to a whole new level of quality.

The effects during the chorus, the electronic bass, the beat in general, the bells, the backing vocals from the children's choir, combined with a really creative and rather deep lyric, as well as a successful and not overloaded vocal design for Masha's singing, help to successfully implement the concept of a gloomy lullaby. It's a very ambitious song, where you can hear parts of Billie Eilish's sound together with reinterpreted ethnic motifs. I don't even mind that the ending of the song is a bit more restrained in terms of vocals compared to the rest of the track, as it is compensated by the peak tension of the arrangement at this point (which was probably the intention) and the realisation that it can symbolise quiet pain and a certain despair. During the first listen, I found the song's structure a bit strange, but I suspect that it was due to the idea of a live performance to keep the listener engaged until the end (and it really works). I also hope that Masha will be helped to work on her English pronunciation. But these are nuances; they do not interfere with the positive perception of the song as a whole.

Personally, I think this is Vidbir's main sensation. This song resonated with me so much that I can't get it out of my head. It also reminds me of what is happening in our country, and this is the main goal of our participation in Eurovision. The last time I was so impressed by a song from the Ukrainian national selection was in 2022—and it was ‘Stefania’ by Kalush Orchestra. I sincerely hope that the live performance will not disappoint, and this depends not only on the vocal technique but also on the idea of the performance. This song has the greatest potential among the finalists of this National Selection and in the My Eurovision Scoreboard app, it is the first among all the songs in the final based on the results of the voting of mostly foreign fans.

There are (unconfirmed) rumours that Andrii Khayat was persuaded to apply for the Vidbir by his music producer Tina Karol this year, as he had sworn off returning after participating twice—in 2019 and 2020. But Jamala also denied it at the time until she returned and won the Eurovision Song Contest in 2016.

While there were no questions about Jamala's return back then, after listening to this song, I still didn't understand why and how Khayat came to the National Selection this time. On the one hand, the song plays with the sound of dark pop with ethnic elements, which looks interesting and can go viral on social media. The lyrics and concept of the song are also encouraging. However, it is the realisation that raises a few questions. The track builds up tension before the chorus, but it all comes to an end with a rather weak, wordless playback that sounds like music for an unknown YouTuber's video about Minecraft—this part ruins the whole song. I understand that this may have been done for the sake of the live performance, but the choice of the instrument for the musical section cheapens it greatly. We can't rule out Khayat's victory, but the competition this year is too strong to be confident. Perhaps Khayat should try to work with different arrangers and songwriters to reach his full potential in this niche.

Last year, the singer did not make it to the final, but she caught the fancy of Eurofans because her song about being a ‘queen’ and a ‘dirty fantasy’ was quite typical of their preferences. This year, Krylata is already in the final, and she reveals a slightly different side of her work—more lyrical, tender, and authentic.

This song occupies the same niche as ‘Live’ on the long list, but in my opinion, it loses out to it in terms of refinement. I really like the first half of the song, especially the piano chords. It has a nice and necessary message in the lyrics. However, when the second half begins, everything gets mixed up—the instruments are not mixed homogeneously enough in the arrangement. So we have a drum and bass beat that is not loud enough, but instruments that are too loud at other moments. Also, such a large number of repetitions of the same phrase seems insufficiently justified. However, despite this, the song is pleasant and not annoying, especially because of the good vocals. Perhaps this is not a victory, but it is definitely a step forward for the performer.

Last year, I liked the song by this group almost the most. They were the discovery of last year's selection. So this year, Ziferblat is a band with a completely different status and level of popularity, which has a much better chance of representing our country at Eurovision. But is the song of 2025 up to this level?

I don't have a definite answer to that. If Kondratenko's song is a gloomy electronic noir, Ziferblat will perform at this year's Vidbir with a somewhat optimistic and lively song that combines indie rock and even ethnic elements. For people in Ukraine who need hope right now, it can resonate strongly. On the other hand, Place I Call Home impressed me more. It seems to me more organic and able to touch. It also feels a little bit like it was designed for the audience of the competition: the structure of the song is like a whirlwind that spins more and more every minute, but it doesn't feel as organic as last year. It's still stylish and original for the Ukrainian music scene, but for me, it's not as convincing as before, and sometimes it's even too complicated. However, I like the overall somewhat anime sound of the song, its musical techniques, detailed and unconventional musical approaches, the melodic progression on the line about the bird of pray, and this wordplay in general (a "bird of pray" instead of a "bird of prey").

In the world of Eurovision, it is not uncommon for performers to become more popular in the interval between their participation in the national selections, but their songs become less competitive. Is this the case with Ziferblat? We'll find out on 8 February. They shouldn't be underestimated (in particular, the song is the best performer among all the finalists, except Fiїnka, in terms of YouTube and Spotify), and the irresistible desire to get to the competition is felt in every interview with the band.

The appearance of this band in the list of finalists was intriguing, as they create post-punk music that even managed to be included in the soundtrack of the new Stalker game. For Eurovision, this genre is terra incognita. However, when the song was released, the expectations died down a bit.

It's a very good arrangement in a specific style, and the main points of the song are laid down in it. But the vocal design, that is, the intonation and vocal delivery, which are on the verge of being called hysterical, does not fit here at all. Besides, there are too many instrumental parts. It is also unclear whether such effects will work live — it is quite difficult to guess with reverb in such performances to make it sound organic. But it definitely deserves attention and can become a springboard for gaining more popularity. The band may well repeat the fate of Ziferblat and return next year with better chances.

I was a little upset by the comments under the video that it was too similar to the Kino band, but I am glad that there were people who explained that Russia did not create all the musical genres of the world and that post-punk came to the USSR from the UK.

This year's final is strong and multifaceted, but there is no clear favourite. Let's hope that on 8 February we will see a good show and that the participants of the final will use the opportunity to reach a new audience to the fullest.

Best songs: Masha Kondratenko — "No Time to Cry," Abiye — "Dim."

The 69th Eurovision Song Contest will be held in Basel, Switzerland. After Nemo won this year's contest with "The Code," Switzerland will host Eurovision 2025, and the music event will take place at the St. Jakobshalle arena in Basel. The Eurovision Grand Final is scheduled for 17 May, and the semi-finals are to take place on 13 and 15 May 2025. Three songs have already been published — by Montenegro, Albania, and Luxembourg.

Main illustration: Suspilne Ukraine