Life after Helsinki 2007 Eurovision

  Ukraine has revealed their choice for Eurovision 2021 in Rotterdam. Go_A who won the national final last year were internally selected this time for another shot at it. Among the songs they proposed three were in the running until today a jury has chosen Shum (ШУМ) . The song was released already last week with a note it was not meant for Eurovision but due to positive feedback here it is. The song will be shortened to meet the three minutes rule and gets a revamp before Rotterdam. 

Ukraine - Go-A - Solovey I kinda liked this when it was selected but didn't pay much attention to it other than the sharp faced lady and the fact the song sits nicely into Finno-Ugric heritage in style. Fast forward now and I love it more and more. Now it gets a nine but I have a feeling this could have blossomed on stage in Rotterdam into a full 10. But for now 9/10 Lithuania - The Roop - On fire I liked The Roop the first time they tried to get into Eurovision and this time even more. There's nothing I don't like in this one. It may look like a joke entry but it's not; there's melody, there's hook, there are excellent vocals and I love his voice. The choreography adds to the whole package and this might have been heading to Lithuania's best placing ever, if not the first win. And it comes with an important message that I for once can relate.   10/10 Russia - Little Big - Uno Talking about joke entry... well, this is not one eithe...

  Go_A has been around since 2012 and released their debut album in 2016. They are known for their electro-folk style that mixes with traditional elements and way of singing, African drums and explosive dance routines. A live band as there a few! Go_A comes from a combination of the English world "go" and the Greek alphabet alpha, thus meaning "go to the origin, or beginning". They have already toured abroad a lot and spread their joyful message that reminds this blogger of traditional Carelian chants, the same genre that Kuunkuiskaajat did in 2010 but less traditional and more electronic,  in various festivals. Current line up is  Kateryna Pavlenko, Ihor Didenchuk, Taras Shevchenko and Ivan Hryhoriak.

Last night also Ukraine had the final of Vidbir and both the jury and televoters determined the winner in 50-50 manner and for a change they both totally agreed. Solovey (aka Nightingale) by Go_A was the winner with their original song that mixes modern pop with more traditional way of singing. To me it sounds like Carelian weeping women chants.  Go_A was founded by multi-instrumentalist Taras Shevshenko in 2012 and the members have changed many times ever since. Today the lead singer is Kateryna Pavlenko, Ivan Grigoryak the guitarist. The band has participated in many festivals home and abroadand has won awards here and there and released a few records.  Check out all last night's performances here: Go_A - Solovey (jury 6 + televote 6) 12 Krutь - 99 (5 + 4) 9 Khayat - Call for love (4 + 5) 9 Tvorchi - Bonfire (2 + 3) 5 David Axelrod - Horizon (3 + 2) 5 Jerry Heil - Vegan (1 + 1) 2