Who are the Kalush Orchestra? Ukrainian band is a frontrunner to win Eurovision 2022
As Ukraine continues to oppose Russia's unjustified invasion, a Ukrainian band is considered a frontrunner to win a major televised European music contest. The finale of Eurovision 2022 is less than a week away. And now that the initial rehearsals are over, the odds of winning are moving day by day. The Kalush Orchestra of Ukraine is the current favorite to win Eurovision, with Sam Ryder of the United Kingdom moving up to second. Ukraine has the highest chance to win Eurovision 2022, according to betting comparison website Oddschecker.
After Russia invaded Ukraine in February, the nation soared to the top of the betting markets. However, according to The Times, Oleh Psiuk, the band's rapping leader, claims that his song will win the competition on its own merits, not because of an outpouring of love for his war-torn nation. He said, “Now we have the first place with the bookmakers, but before the beginning of the war we were fifth. It turns out people really like our song, so huge gratitude to everybody who has paid attention to Ukrainian music.”
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Who are Kalush Orchestra?
The Kalush Orchestra is more than a musical band. According to Psiuk, it is a cultural initiative that incorporates folklore researchers and purposely blends hip hop with traditional Ukrainian music, dance, and costumes, some of which are long-forgotten. The six-month-old initiative is named after Psiuk's hometown of Kalush, which is located in the Carpathian Mountains to the south of Lviv in western Ukraine. Kalush Orchestra's Eurovision performance combines traditional Ukrainian folk music with hip hop to send a political statement, contrasting the uniqueness of Ukrainian culture with Russian President Vladimir Putin's claim that the former Soviet country has always been part of Russia.
The band is competing in the event with the song 'Stefania', which has become an anthem at home. Written by frontman Oleh Psiuk as a tribute to his mother, Stefania is also the most-watched on YouTube among the 35 contenders. Ukraine's success, according to Psiuk, is due to ‘the peculiar character that our music has.’ He stated, "I really hope that after we perform it at the Eurovision Song Contest, Ukrainian music will be even more popular and heard.”
'Stefania' mixes traditional Ukrainian melodies and peculiar musical pitches from vocalist Tymofii Muzychuk's telenka, a difficult-to-play woodwind instrument. In an explosive performance highlighted by Psiuk's rap interludes, the band members combine breakdancing with hopak, a Ukrainian folk dance while embroidered Cossack shirts and vests are blended with current streetwear in the costumes.
How they reached Italy for Eurovision 2022
Earlier, Psiuk and his five bandmates, all between the ages of 21 and 35, were granted special permission by Ukrainian authorities to go to Turin for Eurovision 2022, traveling by land to Poland and then flying to Italy. One of the founding members of the band stayed behind to fight. All will return to Ukraine when the song contest finishes. Psiuk added, "We feel a big responsibility. It's very important for us to be as useful to the country as possible. We want to represent our country decently."
The hugely popular Eurovision contest, which drew 183 million viewers last year, is held every year and comprises mostly European nations. Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24, Russia's Eurovision entry was removed, supposedly to keep politics out of the competition, according to organizers. Meanwhile, Ukraine has won the Eurovision competition twice, both times with songs performed primarily in Ukrainian by Ruslana in 2004 and Jamala in 2016.