Ukraine has chosen its first three acts that will compete in the final to represent Ukraine at the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest in Lisbon, Portugal, in May.
Ukrainian bands Laud, The Erised, and Vilna won the first semi-final on Feb. 10, leaving behind six competitors.
Band The Erised performs at the semi-final on Feb. 10.
Vlad Karashchuk, known as Laud, received the highest nine-point score from the jury, while singer Vilna was granted the nine-point score by the audience.
Vlad Karashchuk, known as Laud, performs at the first semi-final on Feb. 10.
The national selection was held in the KPI Center of Culture and Arts in Kyiv and was broadcasted live on the STB and UA Pershy TV channels.
Official video of Vilna Forest song, performed at Ukraine’s semi-final for Eurovision.
“All the three — Laud, The Erised, Vilna — are very cool! They are incredible each in their genres,” one of the jury Jamala, who won Eurovision in 2016, wrote on Facebook. “But I personally cannot say so far that I’ve heard the song that could represent the entire country at the Eurovision,” she added.
The second semi-final will take place on Feb. 17, selecting another three candidates for the final, which will be held on Feb. 24.
Rock band O. Torvald, which represented Ukraine at Eurovision 2017, held in Kyiv, received a disappointing 24th position out of 26 competitors in the final, which was held in Kyiv.
Portuguese singer Salvador Sobral won instead his country the right to host Eurovision in 2018.
