Eurovision is not just a stage for the competition contestants to showcase their talents to European audiences – interval acts can get a boost from the contest too.
After their Eurovision grand final performance, the Ukrainian electronic folk band Onuka has entered the charts around Europe, and their videos have racked up hundreds of thousands of views on YouTube.
Onuka’s EP “Vidlik” that consists of the tracks “Svitanok,” “Vidlik,” “Other (Intro),” “Other” and “1986,” two of which they performed during their mash-up “Megamix” at Eurovision grand final on May 13, is currently number 26 in the U.K.’s iTunes album chart and number 24 in Germany’s iTunes chart. Onuka’s music video for the song “Vidlik” is also ninth in the U.K.’s iTunes video chart. Onuka’s songs were not even in the top 100 as of May 12.
Their Eurovision grand final interval performance, which was a mix of folk music, live instruments and electronic beats, was also widely viewed on YouTube.
For the performance, the band’s lead singer Nata Zhyzhchenko, keyboardist Daryna Sert, percussionist Mariya Sorokina and bandurist Yevhen Yovenko were joined by the National Academic Orchestra of Folk Instruments (or NAONI), which made their sound even more diverse. NAONI is known for teaming up with Ukrainian pop and rock acts for duets and concerts, adding a folk twist to their songs.
Apart from the songs “Vidlik” and “Other,” the “Megamix” mash-up consisted of the tracks “Misto,” (with Zhyzhchenko playing a Ukrainian sopilka folk flute), “Around Me” and “Untitled.”
The Eurovision performance was interesting not only sound-wise, but visually too. The band members wore custom-made space-themed costumes, designed by Ukrainian designer Lesia Patoka, which made them resemble Stormtroopers from Star Wars, but without helmets, of course.
Onuka not only racked up album sales and YouTube views, but received acclaim from the music critics. Thomas Smith, a blogger on the popular British music website NME, said that Onuka’s performance “almost stole the show” at Eurovision.
“Onuka nearly stole the show with their dizzying blend of traditional folk, horns and some serious techno vibes,” he said in his article, entitled “Seven head-scratching moments from Eurovision 2017.”
“Twelve points from us,” he wrote, referring to the highest mark a country’s jury or TV audience can give a Eurovision contestant.
Some YouTube users claimed the band was “the real winner of Eurovision” and others commented “I can’t stop listening to this” and “this blew my mind.”
According to online music magazine Karabas Live, EP “Vidlik” has also risen to top position in the iTunes electronic music charts in the U.K., Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Poland and the Netherlands.
Ukrainian viewers, however, did not get to enjoy Onuka’s show – Ukraine’s First Channel decided to air a 6-minute long commercial during the act.
