Bright performance, unusual costumes and the possibility of disqualification: all about the victory of Kalush Orchestra at Eurovision

Eurovision 2022 It brought a crushing victory to the Ukrainian rap group Kalush Orchestra. And Ukrainians, and music experts, and bookmakers were confident that the musicians will win. But, of course, there were haters. It is said that the result of the song contest was influenced by the war in Ukraine unleashed by Russia. But is that really true?



Instagram / @kalush.orchestra Today I invite you to find out why Kalush Orchestra received the coveted prize. I will also talk about the stage images of the band members, and also share the premiere of the video for the song Stefania, with which the musicians performed at the Eurovision Song Contest.

The 2022 Eurovision Song Contest’s first semi-final 2022 took place on May 10. According to the results, 10 countries, including Ukraine, took part in the final of the competition. These are Switzerland, Armenia, Iceland, Lithuania, Portugal, Norway, Greece, Moldova and the Netherlands. Following the results of the second semifinal, Finland, Serbia, Azerbaijan, Australia, Estonia, Romania, Poland, Belgium, Sweden and the Czech Republic continued to fight for the victory.



Instagram / @plindomusic On the eve of the final, a lot of predictions began to appear online. Bookmakers identified five countries that had every chance to win. These are Great Britain, Sweden, Italy, Spain and Ukraine. And the latter confidently held a leading position. Well, the experts didn't fail!

Judges from 40 countries rated the performance of the Kalush Orchestra at 192 points. At the same time, they gave Britain 283 points, so the gap between the candidates for the victory was impressive. However, everyone knows that judging is only part of the success. Much more depends on the live voting of people. It was thanks to him that Ukraine was able to win.



Instagram / @lionheart_queen Viewers gave the rap group a whopping 439 points! In total with the points of the judges, the musicians received 631 points and won a deserved victory. For Ukrainians, this is a really important event. Eurovision 2022 showed that Ukraine is supported by the whole world.

The Kalush Orchestra Group has completed an important mission. The musicians not only supported the spirit of all Ukrainians. They also became the mouthpiece of Ukrainian contemporary art. The song Stefania successfully intertwines traditional folklore motifs and music of modern times. In addition, due to the war, this track acquired a completely different meaning. It was his team members who invested in the clip.

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Initially, the frontman of the group Oleg Psyuk dedicated the song to his mother. However, now this track is a reflection of all Ukrainian women who are fighting for the freedom of their country on an equal basis with men. The video was shot in the Kiev region. Namely in the places formerly under occupation: Buche, Irpen and Gostomel. Destroyed houses, burned to the ground cars and crippled fates of people – not a production and scenery. This is the reality that the war with Russia brought to Ukraine.

After the performance during the Eurovision final, Oleg Psyuk made a loud statement right from the stage. He said: "Help Ukraine, Mariupol, help Azovstal right now!" The call to help Ukraine, Mariupol and Azovstal can be regarded as political. The group could be disqualified for this. However, this did not happen because the competition management considered that this message of a humanitarian nature.



Instagram / @3atkajsya The guys from Kalush Orchestra were not afraid to drop out of the contest. It was more important for them to draw public attention to the main tragedy of modern Ukraine. Interestingly, after the statement of Oleg Psyuk, people around the world began to actively Google what Azovstal is. Google searches have increased several times!

Stage image of musicians I want to pay special attention to the stage images of musicians. Their performance was quite restrained, given the scale of the numbers at Eurovision. However, unnecessary pathos in this case was not necessary. The costumes of the band members played an important role.



On their creation worked several people who understand not only in style, but also in ethnography. The images of the musicians are different, but each of them has Ukrainian national elements. For example, the costume of the soloist Timothy displays the Hutsul identity. He was dressed in things that exactly duplicated traditional Hutsul clothing: a wide leather belt (a line) and an embroidered shirt. The highlight of the image is a real old heart of the early XX century.



Instagram / @kalush.official In the image of frontman Oleg, designers have combined traditional motifs and modernity. Without the classic pink panama, the rapper did not do. By the way, the demand for such a headdress now will be frantic. From Ukrainian clothes on the musician was embroidered Bukovyna vest (Keptar) and stylized scarf. The outfit of the backing vocalist Sasha was supplemented with a traditional Ukrainian scarf and a Hutsul bag (Taistroy).

In conclusion, I would like to congratulate the Kalush Orchestra with a well-deserved first place at Eurovision. Let it be another step towards an even more important achievement: victory in the war.