12/18/2022 1:43 pm (act. 12/18/2022 1:50 pm)
The band “Kalush Orchestra” won the Song Contest 2022 ©AFP
Defending champions Ukraine will be represented at the 67th Festival da Canção by electropop duo Tvorchi. The lineup around producer Andrew Hutsuliak and singer Jeffery Augustus Kenny from Ternopil in western Ukraine beat nine competitors on Saturday night with the English-language song “Heart of Steel”, reports the Ukrinform news agency. The national pre-selection was held in an air raid shelter.
Tvorchi was founded five years ago, after a casual acquaintance. Hutsuliak approached Nigerian Kenny on the street in Ternopil to improve his English. This developed into a musical collaboration between the two pharmacy students at the time. In 2020 they reached fourth place in the pre-selection of the Ukrainian song contest, their discography already includes four studio albums.
Under the impression of Russian aggression, the Kalush Orchestra of Ukraine won the 66th Song Contest in May with the song “Stefania”. As the end of the war is not in sight, Siegerland cannot assume the role of host as usual. The 67th Song Contest will therefore take place in May 2023 in Liverpool, England. A total of 37 countries will participate in the song contest, with the exception of Ukraine and the “Big Five” (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Great Britain), first having to go through one of the two semi-finals of the song week of the contest.