Alina Pash: Last News

British bookies are currently offering odds of 7/18 for Ukraine to triumph at this evening’s Eurovision Song Contest in Turin, Italy, with their entry Kalush Orchestra’s distinctive blend of rap and folk music, combined with the country’s current courage in the face of Russian invasion, expected to unite voters across Europe in support.

Eurovision Song Contest.The act are currently favourites to win the overall contest, which takes place this week in Turin amid Russia’s continued invasion of Ukraine.Last night (May 10) the first semi-finals were held ahead of Saturday’s (May 14) grand final, with Ukraine progressing along with Armenia, Greece, Iceland, Lithuania, Moldova, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal and Switzerland.Kalush Orchestra frontman Oleh Psiuk said following their qualification: “We understand we need to stay focused because we want to promote Ukrainian culture and let everyone know about it, This is our goal.”Here's the 10 qualifiers from the First Semi-Final! #Eurovision #ESC2022 pic.twitter.com/qxqezFuY9g— Eurovision Song Contest (@Eurovision) May 10, 2022Kalush Orchestra, a rap group who formed in 2019, replaced Ukraine’s original entrant Alina Pash, who withdrew from the competition in February, for Eurovision 2022. The group’s track ‘Stefania’ is an ode to powerful mothers.Speaking to NME this week, Psiuk explained how their taking part was a “huge responsibility”, given the ongoing war with Russia.“To represent Ukraine in the international arena is always a responsibility, but to represent it during the war is just the highest responsibility possible,” he said.“The song [‘Stefania’] was composed and dedicated to my mother, but after the war the song has acquired lots of nuances because a lot of people are perceiving it as if Ukraine is my mother,” said Psiuk.

Eurovision Song Contest, Kalush Orchestra, have spoken to NME about their song ‘Stefania’ and what it means to be representing their country during a time of war. Watch our full video interview with frontman Oleh Psiuk above.The rap group, who formed in 2019, replaced Ukraine’s original entrant Alina Pash, who withdrew from the competition in February.

Eurovision Song Contest.Kalush Orchestra, a rap group who formed in 2019, replaced Ukraine’s original entrant Alina Pash, who withdrew from the competition in February. The group’s track ‘Stefania’ is an ode to powerful mothers.The Grand Final of Eurovision 2022 will take place at the PalaOlimpico in Turin, Italy this weekend (May 14), with Kalush Orchestra’s odds currently sitting at 8/11 (via Oddschecker).Written by frontman Oleh Psiuk, ‘Stefania’ is also the most watched on YouTube among the 35 contenders.

Folk-rap band Kalush Orchestra are the firm favourites to win the Eurovision Song Contest next month.

Eurovision Song Contest.The rap group, who formed in 2019, replaced Ukraine’s original entrant Alina Pash, who withdrew from the competition in February.On February 12, Pash was announced as the winner of Vidbir, the nationally televised selection show that Ukraine uses to find its Eurovision entry, with her song ‘Тіні забутих предків’ (‘Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors’).Kalush Orchestra finished in second place with their track ‘Stefania’, which is an ode to powerful mothers. They are now the favourites to win Eurovision overall, with their odds currently sitting at 19/3 (via Oddschecker).According to the BBC, the six members of the band were on tour in Ukraine when Russia invaded. “The day the war began, we were returning from the tour from the city of Dnipro,” rapper Oleh Psiuk said.

TikTok star Sam Ryder is reportedly being lined up to represent the UK at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest.According to the The Mirror, BBC bosses are preparing to reveal the viral star as this year’s entrant with his recent single ‘Space Man’.Ryder found viral acclaim after he started posting covers and at-home karaoke tracks at the beginning of lockdown in March 2020. By the end of the year, he was crowned TikTok’s most popular artist account.With 7.7million followers and a range of famous fans including Justin Bieber and Alicia Keys, Ryder recently performed for an NME Home Sessions performance.It was announced last year that TaP Music – the global music publishing and management company behind the likes of Dua Lipa and Lana Del Rey – will collaborate with the BBC to choose a track and artist to represent the UK at the Song Contest.Meanwhile, Russia was recently banned from competing in this year’s Eurovision following backlash to an earlier statement from organisers saying the country would be allowed to compete despite launching a military assault on Ukraine.Ukraine officially severed diplomatic ties with Russia, and declared martial law, after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an attack on the neighbouring nation last month.Ukraine’s entrant, Alina Pash, will also no longer represent her home country at this year’s event, the competition also recently announced.

The Rasmus are set to represent Finland at the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest after winning a televised competition over the weekend (February 26).The band won in a landslide victory with their song ‘Jezebel’, which was co-written and produced by previous collaborator Desmond Child (KISS, Aerosmith). It was announced last month that the band were hoping to represent their country at the ceremony.Speaking after winning Finland’s selection process event – Musiikin Kilpailu (UMK) – on Saturday night, vocalist Lauri Ylönen said: “We did it! We are so happy.

Russia and Ukraine in May despite Vladimir Putin ordering a full-scale invasion, in what has been described by Boris Johnson as a ‘catastrophe’ for Europe.While Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told a news conference that ‘Peace on our continent has been shattered’ Eurovision Song Contest organisers described the competition as a ‘non-political cultural event’.They also appeared to dismiss suggestions Russia’s attack on its neighbour would result in the country being banned for 2022.The 66th edition of the annual competition is due to take in Turin after Italian rock band Maneskin triumphed during the 2021 contest.It comes as the European Union and others condemned the Russian invasion and promised tough sanctions to hit the Kremlin.A statement from the contest, which is produced by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), said (via PA News Agency): ‘The Eurovision Song Contest is a non-political cultural event which unites nations and celebrates diversity through music.‘The EBU’s public broadcaster members in both Russia and Ukraine have committed to participating in this year’s event in Turin and we are currently planning to welcome artists from both countries to perform in May.‘We of course will continue to monitor the situation closely.’Last week, the act chosen to represent Ukraine in Turin, Alina Pash, withdrew from representing her country after facing scrutiny over a reported 2015 visit to Russia-occupied Crimea.Pash had been chosen in a televised national selection show and was due to perform her song Shadows Of Forgotten Ancestors, but pulled out after details of the trip emerged.People who enter the territory via Russia are considered by Ukraine to have illegally crossed the border.