Ukraine in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017
Ukraine participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017. In addition to participating in the contest, the Ukrainian broadcaster National Television Company of Ukraine also hosted the Eurovision Song Contest at the International Exhibition Centre in Kiev after winning the competition in with the song "1944" performed by Jamala. The Ukrainian entry for the 2017 contest was selected through a national final, which NTU organised in collaboration with the commercial broadcaster STB.
Background
Prior to the 2017 Contest, Ukraine had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest thirteen times since its first entry in. The nation had won the contest on two occasions: in with the song "Wild Dances" performed by Ruslana and in with the song "1944" performed by Jamala. Following the introduction of semi-finals for the, Ukraine had managed to qualify to the final in every contest they participated in thus far. Ukraine had been the runner-up in the contest on two occasions: in with the song "Dancing Lasha Tumbai" performed by Verka Serduchka and in with the song "Shady Lady" performed by Ani Lorak. Ukraine's least successful result had been 19th place, which they achieved during the, with the song "Razom nas bahato" performed by GreenJolly.The Ukrainian national broadcaster, National Television Company of Ukraine, broadcasts the event within Ukraine and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. In the past, NTU had alternated between both internal selections and national finals in order to select the Ukrainian entry. Between 2011 and 2014, NTU had set up national finals with several artists to choose both the song and performer to compete at Eurovision for Ukraine, with both the public and a panel of jury members involved in the selection. NTU withdrew from the contest for one year in due to the unstable financial and political situation caused by the conflict in east Ukraine. In 2016, NTU collaborated with the commercial broadcaster STB in order to organise a national final to select Ukraine's entry, resulting in the selection of an entry that went on to win the Eurovision Song Contest. NTU's collaboration with STB continued in 2017.
Before Eurovision
National final
The Ukrainian national final took place in February 2017 in Kiev. The selection was a joint production between the Ukrainian national broadcaster NTU and commercial broadcaster STB. All shows in the competition were hosted by Serhiy Prytula and broadcast on both UA:Pershyi and STB.Online wildcard selection
Applicants had the option of entering their entry into an online wildcard selection which accepted entries between 1 September 2016 and 10 January 2017. The entries were published online at STB's official website and users were able to cast one vote per day. While at first the entry with the highest number of votes qualified to compete directly in the final of the competition, the entry picked, Deep Shivers by KUZNETSOV, was instead placed into the second semifinal.Format
The selection of the competing entries for the national final and ultimately the Ukrainian Eurovision entry took place over three stages. In the first stage, artists and songwriters have the opportunity to apply for the competition either through an online application form or by attending a scheduled audition during designated dates. Applicants also had the option of entering an online wildcard selection, the winner of which gained direct entry into the competition's final show. The second stage consisted of three televised semi-finals that were held in February 2017, which featured eight to twelve acts competing in each show. Two to three acts were selected to advance from each semi-final based on the 50/50 combination of votes from a public televote and an expert jury. The third stage was the final on 25 February 2017 and featured the eight to 12 qualifying acts from the semi-finals and the winner of the online wildcard selection. The overall winning entry was determined via the 50/50 combination of votes from a public televote and an expert jury.The expert jury that voted during the shows consisted of:
- Konstantin Meladze – Composer and producer
- Jamala – singer-songwriter, winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 for Ukraine
- Andriy Danylko – comedian and singer, represented Ukraine in 2007 as the drag artist Verka Serduchka
Competing entries
| Artist | Song | Composer |
| Aghiazma | "Synthetic Sun" | Kora Rex, Aghiazma |
| Anastasia Prudius | "Flow" | Anastasia Prudius, Anton Karskiy |
| :uk:Мірзоян Арсен Романович|Arsen Mirzoyan | "Geraldine" | Arsen Mirzoyan, Paul Manandise |
| :ru:DETACH|Detach | "Distance" | Aleksey Verenchik, Evhen Astafiev |
| :uk:Green Grey|Green Grey | "Future Is On" | Green Grey |
| :uk:Ілларія|Illaria | "Thank You for My Way" | Ivan Rozin, Anna Rozina, Illaria |
| Kadnay | "Freedom In My Mind" | Dmitriy Kadnay, Fil Kolyadenko, Anton Karskiy |
| Kuznetsov | "Deep Shivers" | Ruslan Kuznetsov |
| Laliko | "Sugar Whisper" | Lali Ergemlidze |
| :uk:Letay|Letay | "Svit chekaye" | Ilya Reznikov |
| :uk:MamaRika|MamaRika | "We Are One" | Anastasiya Kochetova, Ivan Klimenko, Very the Jerry |
| Mélovin | "Wonder" | Konstantin Bocharov, Mickey Mic |
| :uk:Нитичук Людмила Сергіївна|Mila Nytych | "Mystery" | Yulia Hashevskaya |
| Monochromea | "Blue Bird" | Kristina Hromyak |
| O.Torvald | "Time" | Yevhen Halych, Yevhen Kamenchuk |
| :uk:Panivalkova|Panivalkova | "Dokuchayu" | Panivalkova |
| Payushchie Trusy | "Singing Pants" | Volodymyr Bebeshko, Olga Stepura |
| Roma Veremeychik & Lumiere | "Make It Real" | Roma Veremeychik |
| Rozhden | "Saturn" | Panos Liassi, Rafael Ishman, Rozhden |
| :uk:Сальто назад|Salto Nazad | "O, mamo!" | Ivan Klimenko |
| SKAI | "All My Love For You" | Oleh Sobchuk, John Hill |
| Tayanna | "I Love You" | Max Barskih, Tetiana Reshetniak |
| :uk:Козловський Віталій Віталійович|Vitaly Kozlovsky | "I'm Your Light" | Dima Bananov, Maryna Skomorokhova |
| :uk:Vivienne Mort|Vivienne Mort | "Iniy" | Daniela Zayushkina |
Shows
Semi-final 1
The first semi-final took place on 4 February 2017. The top two entries following the combination of votes from a public televote and an expert jury advanced to the final of the competition, while the remaining six entries were eliminated. "I Love You" performed by Tayanna and "O, mamo!" performed by Salto Nazad were the qualifiers. In addition to the performances of the competing entries, 2017 Belarusian Eurovision entrant Naviband and 2017 Georgian Eurovision entrant Tako Gachechiladze performed the 2017 Belarusian entry "Historyja majho žyccia" and Georgian entry "Keep the Faith" as a guest. Naviband also performed a Belarusian version of the winning song "1944" by Jamala.Semi-final 2
The second semi-final took place on 11 February 2017. The top two entries following the combination of votes from a public televote and an expert jury advanced to the final of the competition, while the remaining six entries were eliminated. "Saturn" performed by Rozhden and "Thank You for My Way" performed by Illaria were the qualifiers.Semi-final 3
The third semi-final took place on 18 February 2017. The top two entries following the combination of votes from a public televote and an expert jury advanced to the final of the competition, while the remaining six entries were eliminated. "Time" performed by O.Torvald and "Wonder" performed by Mélovin were the qualifiers. In addition to the performances of the competing entries, 2017 Spanish Eurovision entrant Manel Navarro performed the 2017 Spanish entry "Do It for Your Lover" as a guest.Final
Final takes place on 25 February 2017. Special guests of the Final Show are Alma and Kasia Moś.At Eurovision
The Eurovision Song Contest 2017 took place at the International Exhibition Centre in Kiev, Ukraine and consisted of two semi-finals on 9 and 11 May and the final on 13 May 2017. All countries except the "Big 5" and the host country, are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. As the host country, Ukraine automatically qualifies to compete in the final. In addition to their participation in the final, Ukraine is also required to broadcast and vote in the second semi-final. The European Broadcasting Union split up the competing countries into six different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot. On 25 January 2016, a special allocation draw was held which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show they would perform in.Points awarded by Ukraine
Jury members
The following five members comprised the Ukrainian jury:- Yurii Rybchynsky – Chairperson – poet, dramatist, scriptwriter
- Illaria – singer, songwriter, finalist of the Ukrainian National Selections in 2014 and 2017
- Sergii Grachov – composer, arranger
- Yana Pryadko – producer
- Sergii Gagarin – radio presenter, producer