KALUCH ORCHESTRA. With the song “Stefania”, the Ukrainian group Kalush Orchestra has won a big victory at Eurovision 2022.
[Mis à jour le 16 mai 2022 à 14h35] Ukraine’s victory. Quite a symbol in these troubled times: the group Kalush Orchestra was crowned winner of Eurovision 2022 with its song Stefania. The Ukrainian formation has (very) largely imposed itself on its 24 competitors, ahead of the United Kingdom (2nd) and Sweden (3rd). Twelfth in the running order of the evening, the Ukrainians ignited the public in Turin, Italy, where this edition was held.
A craze confirmed by the points awarded to Ukraine: the public rewarded Kalush Orchestra with 439 points, a record in the history of Eurovision, no country having ever obtained such a score from the public. In total, Ukraine finished with 631 points. It must be said that for weeks, Ukraine pranced at the top of the forecasts of international bookmakers, who lent Kalush Orchestra a 60% chance of winning.
Relive their performance below:
The group Kalush Orchestra, formed in 2019, consists of six members: rapper Oleh Psiuk (recognizable by his pink bob), Ihor Didenchuk, Vlad Kurochka (the three original members of the formation), Vitalii Duzhyk, Tymofii Muzychuk and Oleksandr Slobodianyk . It is the rapper Oleh Psiuk who initiates the project, initially baptized Kalouch, in reference to his birthplace, in the west of Ukraine.
The first song of the now named Kalush Orchestra, Ne marynouireleased on October 17, 2019, followed by a second clip, ty honych. In 2021, the group publishes two albums, Hotin and io-io. In February 2022, the formation participated in the Ukrainian selection for Eurovision, a program called Vidbir, in which he ranks second. But after the withdrawal of the winner after a controversy linked to a trip to Crimea and Russia, it is Kalush Orchestra which becomes the Ukrainian standard bearer in Turin, with the song Stefania.
At war since the start of the Russian invasion on February 24, 2022, Ukraine still participated in the Eurovision Song Contest. Weeks before the start of the competition, the bookmakers were already giving the Ukrainian candidates at the top of their predictions: Kalush Orchestra and the song Stefania, which seem to appeal to bettors. Facing them, there will be no Russian competition: the country of Vladimir Putin was banned from Eurovision at the start of the war, despite the desire of the organizers to remain apolitical.
“Given the unprecedented crisis in Ukraine, the inclusion of Russian participation in this year’s contest would damage the reputation of the competition,” said the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which oversees the competition in a press release.
We said it, so it’s with the song Stefania that the Ukrainian group Kalush Orchestra won Eurovision 2022. Originally, the song, composed long before the Russian invasion, was written by Oleh Psiuk in tribute to his mother. But today, the lyrics sound completely different: “I will always find my way home, even if all the roads are destroyed,” sings the band, for example.
“Since the beginning of the war, (the song) has taken on an even wider resonance, because many mothers miss their children. This song has come closer to the hearts of many Ukrainians. But we also hope that many people around the world will be able to identify with this title”, explains Oleh Psiuk to Entertainment TV.