Blog Post 3: Critiquing the National Brand

           Ukraine’s Eurovision Song Contest entries from the years 2011-2016 inherently “perform Ukrainianism” or exude many characteristics that align with the dominant national identity. Components from each performance either directly or indirectly allude to Ukrainian folk culture and Cossack history, which Stephan Shulman (1999) states is the essence and principal “content” of Ukrainian national identity. The narrative of national identity embedded on stage is comprehended and present through the contextualization of female gender roles in accordance to the Ukrainian, folkloric goddess motif, Ukrainian “national character” vis-à-vis Europe and Russia, and the “othering” of the oppressive neighbor, Russia. Furthermore, Ukraine’s recent independence as a nation and dependent economy leave it at a vulnerable position, which encourages the agenda of nation branding and the importance of the ESC as a platform to project the brand.

            In brief summary, Blog Post One details Von Hagen’s (1995) idea that Ukrainian national identity is an artificial product constructed by political elite during the time of Ukraine’s 1991 independence. Ukraine’s history as a territorial component of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Austro- Hungarian Empire, and the Russian Empire/Soviet Russia has forced Ukraine to construct a national identity from limited and arguably questionable myth history. Stephan Shulman (1999) states that Ukrainian national identity is nearly synonymous with Ukrainian ethnicity and comprises of five fundamental “national characters” (natsional'nyi kharakter) based on the militaristic Cossack peoples and folk culture. Ukraine’s national narrative has the natural inclination to resonate with the clear majority of Ukrainian speaking/ ethnic Ukrainians who reside in the west, and naturally “others,” Russian speaking/ethnic Russian populations residing in the east. Furthermore, Ukraine attempts to legitimize their national identity by relentlessly “othering” Russians, their internal/external significant other. Blog Post Two discusses Ukraine’s display of archetypal and traditional Christian views, such as the purity of Eve and seduction of Lilith, as quintessential of the female persona/gender role in each performance. In addition, the paradigmatic use of exoticised ethnicism, contradictory views of diversity, and continual affirmation of belonging amongst “cosmopolitan” Europe are present in Ukraine’s ESC entries.

            Ukraine’s 2011-2016 Eurovision Song Contest entries each feature a central female character, presenting a diverse array of archetypal female personas ranging from the pure, virgin Eve to the bewitching, enchantress Lilith. The emphasis on a central female persona closely aligns with the contextualization of women in Ukrainian folk culture, which as Shulman (1999) states, is the elemental basis for Ukrainian national identity itself. Berehynia is a Slavic goddess/ hearth mother of fertility and nature centered in Ukrainian matriarchal myth and evidenced to have gone through a “fakeloric metamorphosis”, since Ukrainian independence (Oksana, 2007). Berehynia is the folkloric personification of Ukrainian female identity itself and has been altered by nationalists in the late 20^th century to fuse Christian beliefs and represent a Ukrainian “mother country” (Oksana, 2007). Furthermore, Oksana (2007) argues that the motif of Berehynia is complementary to “Barbie”, which is a representation of Ukraine’s nationalistic embrace of Western European female beauty standards and the disappearance of the former “Soviet Superwoman” from Ukrainian femininity. It is important to note that this shift in the Ukrainian national narrative is an intentional decision. Shulman (1999) states that the construction of Ukrainian identity embraces a highly fabricated, folkloric culture of its own, but simultaneously rejects its history of Russian/Soviet collectivist identification by embracing more European characteristics and identities. Gaitana’s “Be My Guest” (2012) features the vocalist adorned with a Vinok, which is a traditional, floral headdress that symbolizes the nationalistic goddess Berehynia, who is depicted in Ukrainian folk literature and historic Cossack embroideries as both wearing and defining the cultural importance of the Vinok (Kelly, 1983). In addition, Ognevich’s “Gravity” (2013) demonstrates alignment to the dominant national narrative by presenting visual manifestations of Berehynia as a goddess of nature. Zlata’s erect, central position amongst a background of mythical forestation and choice of supporting a statement, butterfly ring on the stage parallels the historic depiction of Berehynia as a central figure amongst animals and natural sceneries in folk art (Kelly, 1983). “Tick Tock” (2014) by Mariya Yaremchuk depicts the culmination of Oksana’s (2007) idea of “Berehynia and Barbie” and the “ideal Ukrainian women”, where Yaremchuk is presented as a perfectly tan, hourglass shaped, and an enticingly clad “Barbie,” but also a sexualized, central female character alluding to the folkloric motif of Berehynia as the goddess of fertility. Lastly, Mika Newton’s “Angel” (2011) demonstrates alignment to Ukrainian national identity on stage through exhibiting the maternal role of Berehynia and her mythical daughter, Razhinitza. The myth of Berehynia and Razhinitza, was utilized by Ukrainian nationalists in the wake of the nation’s independence to signify Berehynia’s status as a guardian and mother figure of the nation (Kelly, 1983). The performance “Angel,” (2011) features a juxtaposition between the world-famous sand artist Kseniya Simonova, dressed in deep plum colored, mature clothing, and Mika Newton, clad in pure white signifying her innocence. In addition, Simonova is placed on a riser and at times appears to be looking over Newton, alluding to a maternal relationship like that of Berehynia (Kseniya Simonova) and Razhinitza (Mika Newton). 

            “Be my Guest” (2012) by Gaitana and “1944” (2016) by Jamala demonstrate an alignment with Shulman’s (1999) idea that Ukrainian national identity is based on the myth history of the Cossack peoples and a “tolerance for others.” The Cossacks are a Slavic people, that have historically rebelled against the Polish-Lithuanian and Russian elites who governed them and formed their own hybridized nomadic and militaristic societies within the present-day territory of Ukraine (Shulman, 1999). The Cossack people are essential to the national Ukrainian narrative due to their history of “othering” neighboring empires and establishing a personal folk culture, which allowed Ukrainian elites in the later 20^th century to construct an identity. “Be my Guest” (2012) projects Cossack culture through the Gaitana’s Cossack headdress, the Vinok, utilization of a traditional Surma horn, and the presence of three male dancers clad in a militaristic Cossack uniform.  Shulman (1999) details that a vital component of Ukrainian identity is the idea of “tolerance for others” and “individualism,” which Shulman states is the acceptance of the many historic ethnic minorities (i.e. Tatars, Jews) on Ukrainian territory and a blatant form of “othering” dogmatic collectivism associated with Russianness from Ukrainianism. The direct alignment between this romanticized idea of Ukrainian national identity and Ukraine’s ESC performances occurs when Ukraine chooses to allow an Afro-Ukrainian woman, Gaitana, and a Crimean Tatar, Jamala, (both belonging to ethnic minorities within Ukraine) to represent the nation on a global stage.

            The last alignment between Ukrainian national identity and the ESC occurs through staging the blatant “othering” of the historic ruler, Russia. Shulman (1999) states that without “othering” or creating a distinct line between Russianness and Ukrainianness, the Ukrainian national narrative ceases to exist. Thus, the “othering” of internal and external significant others, ethnic Russians/Russian speakers, is fundamental to the Ukrainian national identity. Jamala’s “1944” (2016) powerfully narrates Stalin’s killing and deportation of Crimean Tatars from their native lands. The performance sends a blatant message of animosity towards Russian aggression and the annexation of the Crimean Peninsula.

            Paul Jordan (2014) defines nation branding as a “phenomenon,” in which the political elite attempt to construct a certain image of their respective nations for economic stimulation, political gains, as well as communication of culture and diplomacy on the world stage. Ukraine tactically utilizes the European Song Contest as a tool of nation branding to communicate their cultural identity as divorced from their Russian/Soviet past, convince the world of their worthiness of capital investment and political stance amongst the “developed” western nations in “Cosmopolitan” Europe. Ukraine utilizes the concept of essentialization to condense their identity as purely “ethnic Ukrainian”, while simultaneously “othering” themselves from Russianness. Ukrainian ESC performances have intentionally excluded representation of the nation’s large Russian minority group. Jamala’s “1944” (2016) and Gaitana’s “Be my Guest” (2012) have primarily functioned as essentializing tools to “other” Russians and further establish a Ukrainian identity based upon an ethicized and folkloric basis. In addition, Ukraine’s continual choice to brand themselves with archetypal motifs of the female persona and exoticized ethnicism parallels the common Eastern European tactic of pleasing “dominant” Western European countries, and tantalizing them to invest capital in the dependent Eastern economies (Sieg, 2012). Lastly, the Ukrainian ESC entries by Jamala and Gaitana highlight the nation’s tendency towards emphasizing diversity for branding Ukraine amongst other “developed” and progressive countries in a “unitary” or “cosmopolitan” Europe.

            Ukraine demonstrates extensive reliance on the ESC to inform the world of their national brand and positionality amongst the progressive and developed countries in Europe, while simultaneously performing their subordination to them. Furthermore, there is immense alignment between the presence of the dominant Ukrainian national identity narrative and ESC performances. The matriarchal myth of Berehynia, emphasis upon Cossack myth history, tolerance towards ethnic minorities, and blatant “othering” of Russianness on the ESC stage, is a representation of fundamental Ukrainian identity and natsional'nyi kharakter (national character).  

References: 

Gaitana. “Be My Guest,” music and lyrics by Gaitana and KIWI project. Ukraine, Eurovision Song Contest, 2012. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLsTn_li5d8 Accessed 10 Feb. 2017.

Jamala. “1944,” music and lyrics by Jamala. Ukraine, Eurovision Song Contest, 2016. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCG2rw4ZXTY Accessed 10 Feb. 2017.

Jordan, Paul. “Nation Branding: A Tool for Nationalism?” Journal of Baltic Studies, vol. 45, no. 3, 28 Nov. 2013, pp. 283–303., http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/citedby/10.1080/01629778.2013.860609?scroll=top&needAccess=true. Accessed 15 Mar. 2017.

Kelly, Mary B. “Goddess Embroideries of Russia and the Ukraine.” Women's Art Journal , vol. 4, no. 2, 1983, pp. 10–13., http://www.jstor.org/stable/1357939?Search=yes&resultItemClick=true&searchText=ukrainian&searchText=women&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3Facc=on%26amp%3Bfacet_womensstudies-discipline=AWRpc2M6KCJ3b21lbnNzdHVkaWVzLWRpc2NpcGxpbmUiKQ%26amp%3Bhp=w Accessed 15 Mar. 2017.

Newton, Mika. “Angel,” music and lyrics by Maryna Skomorohova and Ruslan Kvinta. Ukraine, Eurovision Song Contest, 2011. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_xRmEkR6KE Accessed 10 Feb. 2017.

Ognevich, Zlata. “Gravity,” music and lyrics by Karen Kavaleryan and Mikhail Nikrisov. Ukraine, Eurovision Song Contest, 2013. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMxpv8naRd8 Accessed 10 Feb. 2017.

Oksana, Kis. “‘Beauty Will Save The World!’: Feminine Strategies in Ukrainian Politics and the Case of Yulia Tymoshenko.” Spaces of Identity, vol. 7, no. 2, 2007, pp. 32–75., s3.amazonaws.com/academia.edu.documents/38755381/Kis_Beauty_Tymoshenko.pdf?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAIWOWYYGZ2Y53UL3A&Expires=1489629717&Signature=VXa9wToTPkE4Z8WmxZt06QqGpeg%3D&response-content-disposition=inline%3B%20filename%3DBeauty_Will_Save_The_World_Feminine_Str.pdf. Accessed 15 Mar. 2017.

Shulman, Stephan. “The Cultural Foundations of Ukrainian National Identity.” Ethnic & Racial Studies, vol. 22, no. 6, Nov. 1999, pp. 1011–1036., http://web.b.ebscohost.com.proxy.seattleu.edu/ehost/detail/detail?sid=ce938282-ad4f-43f8-916a-e6fe2afab406%40sessionmgr102&vid=1&hid=102&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#AN=2653082&db=sih Accessed 15 Mar. 2017.

Sieg, Katrin. “Cosmopolitan Empire: Central and Eastern Europeans at the Eurovision Song Contest.” European Journal of Cultural Studies, vol. 16, no. 2, 12 Dec. 2012, pp. 244–263., journals.sagepub.com.proxy.seattleu.edu/doi/abs/10.1177/1367549412450639. Accessed 15 Mar. 2017.

Von Hagen, Mark. “Does Ukraine Have a History?” Slavic Review, vol. 54, no. 3, 1995, pp. 658–673., http://www.jstor.org/stable/2501741?Search=yes&resultItemClick=true&searchText=does&searchText=ukraine&searchText=have&searchText=a&searchText=history?&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3Facc=on%26amp%3Bgroup=none%26amp%3Bfc=off%26amp%3BQuery=dw Accessed 15 Mar. 2017.

Yaremchuk, Mariya. “Tick- Tock” music and lyrics by Mariya Yaremchuk and Sandra Bjurman. Ukraine, Eurovision Song Contest, 2014. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slHboKF9PIQ Accessed 11 Feb. 2017.

The Nation on Stage

Over the course of five Eurovision Song Contest entries, Ukraine put forth performances that featured a diverse array of musical genres and stage presences. However, the continuity between each performance was the center stage presence of a female vocalist and constant references to archetypal and traditional Christian views of the female persona/gender role. In addition, Gaitana’s “Be my Guest” (2012) and Jamala’s “1944” (2016) both portrayed Ukraine’s paradigm use of exoticized ethnicism, complex views of diversity, and blatant affirmation of their belonging in “multicultural” or a “cosmopolitan” Europe.

The first performance, “Angel” (2011) by the dynamic vocal stylist, Mika Newton, contains many components that reference to an archetypal and traditional, Christian worldview of women. The performance was optimized to present multiple visual and literary elements indicative of purity and, just as the title suggested, an angelic persona. Newton was clad in a conservative, pure white, chiffon gown adorned with light, angelic feathers on the shoulder. The delicate featured and fair-skinned vocalist supported pale, platinum blond hair, styled in soft curls and pulled into a loose braid. The staging of the soft ballad featured a fog machine, creating a fairy tale like presence, and a white, heavenly spotlight placed directly upon Newton for the entirety of the performance. The famous sand artist, Kseniya Simonova, standing behind Newton was dressed in a “witch-like”, deep purple, cutout dress and wore a black stoned choker to purposefully juxtapose and emphasize Newton’s “eve-like” or pure persona. In addition, Simonova frantically illustrated the sand into a story about a young, innocent girl navigating her way through a conflicted world.  Lyrically, “Angel” narrated the story of an unbreakable love by characters described as “we are angels, we are in danger, we are crystal white”. The song also contained the constant instrumentation of a delicate, youthful xylophone melody that persisted throughout. All three components of this performance allude to an emphasis upon an angelically pure and virgin persona. “Christopher Witcombe (2000) states that literary and visual representations of females as biblically pure and eve-like personas is indicative of a traditional, patriarchal perception of women. In addition, Oksana (2007) suggests Ukrainian women are presented a patriarchal view of femininity and gender roles influenced by pagan constellations, Christian ideas, and popular folk motifs in Ukrainian literature.

The next performance, “Gravity” (2013) by Zlata Ognevich alludes to a similar archetypal persona Ukrainians hold of women. Ognevich’s performance closely follows the patriarchal influenced Christian motif of traditional gender roles and purity. In the beginning of the performance there was a heavy misogynistic undertone, when Ognevich was carried onto stage by a strong Viking figure (his strength being indicated by visual and auditory thunder effects on stage) and placed onto a pedestal for which she remained upon for the entirety of the performance. Zlata, widely recognized as one of Ukraine’s most beautiful women, was clad in a simple, pure white evening gown that complemented her slim, hourglass figure. The staging of the performance consisted of a LED background featuring a mystical forest, a fog machine, and four background vocalists placed in the dark behind Zlata, heavenly illuminated by a bold white spotlight. The camera exclusively panned over to capture either Zlata’s delicate face, the docile, movements of her arm as she presented the camera with the view of her butterfly ring, or her predominantly stationary body on the constricting pedestal. Lyrically, the song was constructed by song writer Karen Kavaleryan exclusively for a Eurovision win, but featured the repetitive lines “I’m like a butterfly”, which added to the countless other elements of the performance alluding to the Christian motif of femininity as delicate and pure. The instrumentation and composition of the song was “Disney like”, featuring heavy use of an orchestra and dramatic crescendo throughout the performance, which added to the fairy tale aesthetic of the Eurovision entry. Ognevich’s performance relentlessly alluded to Oksana’s (2007) suggestion that traditional ideas of biblical purity, docile character, and submission to masculine strength comprise Ukrainian femininity. 

The third performance “Tick-Tock” (2013) by Mariya Yaremchuck referenced the patriarchal and biblically influenced archetype of Lilith. The persona of Lilith and Eve are easily understood as two sides of the same coin, Eve being a pure, virgin figure and Lilith being a bewitching seductress/succubus character (Witcombe, 2000). The transfiguring of these bibilical archetypes upon women in art, degrade and simplify women into two types of sex symbols (Wicombe, 2000). Yaremchuck’s performance went through drastic aesthetic metamorphosis into the dark and sensual as it progressed from the national selection to the finals. The Eurovision entry on the final stage featured a LED background comprised of the dark cosmos, a man suited in dark clothing on a “hamster wheel”, countless, rapid moving stage lights and Mariya Yaremchuck presented center stage. Yaremchuck was clad in a deep blue and black dress that tightly conformed to her upper body, emphasizing her cleavage, and draped out leaving her toned legs bare. Mariya’s choreography contained many instances where she suggestively touched both her chest and hips, which were followed by moments where she sensuously swayed her figure down as the camera panned towards her body. In addition to her erotic stage presence, behind Mariya was a man tirelessly running on a “hamster wheel”, only acknowledged for an instant by Yaremchuck, and promptly ordered back onto the wheel. The presence and role of the man on the wheel further signifies metaphorical allusion to Yaremchuck’s bewitching persona as a succubus/enchantress. Lyrically, Yaremchuck’s “Tick-Tock” is a typical Eurovision pop entry that utilized repetitive lines and the concept of love, but lines like “don’t stop, kiss me, kiss me till I drop” have a more suggestive feel than a typical, plutonic love song. Upon closer analysis, Oksana’s (2007) idea that Ukrainian femininity is influenced by biblical motifs is reflected in Mariya Yaremchuck’s “Tick- Tock” performance, in which she portrayed an archetypal Lilith/seductress figure emphasized through both her sensual attire and stage presence. 

The next performance, “Be my Guest” (2012) by Gaitana demonstrates Ukraine’s paradigm use of exoticized ethnicism and their complex relations to the concept of diversity. Gaitana is a jazz/folk singer-songwriter of Congolese descent, which created intense controversy amongst Ukrainian right-wing political elite to comment that she was “not an organic representative of Ukrainian culture”, yet Ukrainians still want to sell the concept of the same multi-culturalism present in “developed” or Western European countries. (Jordan, 2015). Gaitana’s performance consisted of the classic trope used by eastern European countries of exoticized ethnicism, which entails taking an aspect of Ukrainian culture and presenting it to an excessive extreme (Jordan, 2015). Ukraine’s practice of exoticized ethnicism traces back to Ruslana’s use of the Eastern Ukrainian, Carpathian culture in the Eurovision winner “Wild Dances” (Jordan, 2015). The staging of “Be my Guest” parallels the same ethnic portrayal of “Wild Dances”, in which Gaitana supports a traditional Ukrainian headdress, the vinok, while behind her are three “stiff-jacketed” Cossack men playing the traditional/folk Surma horn (Adam, 2012). In addition, Gaitana’s use of powerful R&B vocals, presence of nearly every color imaginable in the staging of the performance, and the lyrics “People be my guest, welcome, people, be my guest, welcome, stay with me, be my friend” allude to a “welcoming” and rather positive outlook on acceptance of diversity, which adds more complexity to Ukraine’s contradictive relationship with multiculturalism and diversity.

Lastly, Jamala’s powerful “1944” (2016) performance demonstrates Ukraine’s portrayal of multiculturalism and its use in justifying the nations standing with other “developed” or western European nations (Bilaniuk, 2016). Ukraine always had an “inferiority complex” to western Europe, which prompted them to emphasize multiculturalism as an aspect of Ukrainism and prove their standing in “cosmopolitan” Europe (Bilaniuk, 2016). Jamala’s performance artistically portrays the deportation of Crimean Tatars under Joseph Stalin and provides Ukrainian identity a strong narrative of multiculturalism and another Eurovision win to boost self-esteem. The staging of Jamala’s performance consisted of a dark figure walking across the stage as she sang “strangers are coming”, synchronized movements/gestures with the LED sprouting tree, and pulsing blood red backdrop as she sang about the about the killings of her ancestors. Jamala was clad in a deep blue, conservative jumpsuit that draped to her left side and swayed as she used a combination of gracious and frantic gestures to convey the beautiful yet gruesome message of her performance. In addition, Jamala utilized a traditionally Armenian folk instrument, the Duduk, played by Aram Kostanyan and accompanied by her spine tingling, (Azerbaijani originated) Mughum vocal style. Jamala is the first performer the use Crimean Turkish in the Eurovision Song Contest, and its use with her Mugham vocal style and synchronized long note to the sprouting LED tree visual behind her create one of the most masterful performances in ESC history.

Ukraine used the ESC to portray ideas of Ukrainian femininity and female gender roles as byproduct patriarchal Christian motifs of Eve and Lilith. Ideas of Ukraine’s predominantly Orthodox Christian beliefs are present in Mika Newton’s “Angel” and Mariya Yaremchuck’s “Tick-Tock”, which allude to the binary nature of female sex symbols as a virgin “Eve-like” character or “Lilith-like” seductress. In addition, Gaitana’s presence as half Congolese in “Be my Guest” demonstrates the contradictive nature of Ukraine’s acceptance of diversity and multiculturalism. Lastly, Jamala’s powerful “1944” performance provides Ukraine the ability to boast multiculturalism and affirm its position in a “cosmopolitan” Europe.

References:

Adams, William Lee. "Ukraine’s Eurovision Selection Marred by Right-Wing Racism." Time Magazine., 05 Mar. 2012. Web. 10 Feb. 2017. <http://world.time.com/2012/03/05/ukraines-eurovision-selection-marred-by-right-wing-racism/>.

Bilaniuk, Laada. "Race, Media, and Postcoloniality: Ukraine Between Nationalism and Cosmopolitanism." City & Society 28.3 (2016): 341-64. Web. 09 Feb. 2017. <http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ciso.12096/full>.

Gaitana. “Be My Guest,” music and lyrics by Gaitana and KIWI project. Ukraine, Eurovision Song Contest, 2012. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLsTn_li5d8 Accessed 10 Feb. 2017.

Jamala. “1944,” music and lyrics by Jamala. Ukraine, Eurovision Song Contest, 2016. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCG2rw4ZXTY Accessed 10 Feb. 2017.

Jordan, Paul. "From Ruslana to Gaitana: Performing “Ukrainianness” in the Eurovision Song Contest." Contemporary Southeastern Europe 2 (2015): 110-35. Web. 10 Feb. 2017. <http://www.suedosteuropa.uni-graz.at/cse/en/jordan>.

Kis, Oksana. "“Beauty Will Save The World!”: Feminine Strategies in Ukrainian Politics and the Case of Yulia Tymoshenko." Spaces of Identity, 2007. Web. 10 Feb. 2017. <http://s3.amazonaws.com/academia.edu.documents/38755381/Kis_Beauty_Tymoshenko.pdf?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAIWOWYYGZ2Y53UL3A&Expires=1487095013&Signature=JdpcS%2FWVtcZ37LZNSM9Bw%2Fiy7jA=&response-content-disposition=inline%3B filename=Beauty_Will_<htt

Newton, Mika. “Angel,” music and lyrics by Maryna Skomorohova and Ruslan Kvinta. Ukraine, Eurovision Song Contest, 2011. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_xRmEkR6KE Accessed 10 Feb. 2017.

Ognevich, Zlata. “Gravity,” music and lyrics by Karen Kavaleryan and Mikhail Nikrisov. Ukraine, Eurovision Song Contest, 2013. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMxpv8naRd8 Accessed 10 Feb. 2017.

Witcombe, Chritopher. "Eve and the Identity of Women." N.p., 2000. Web. 10 Feb. 2017. <http://witcombe.sbc.edu/eve-women/3eveidentity.html>.

Yaremchuk, Mariya. “Tick- Tock” music and lyrics by Mariya Yaremchuk and Sandra Bjurman. Ukraine, Eurovision Song Contest, 2014. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slHboKF9PIQ  Accessed 11 Feb. 2017.

Performances: 

Gaitana. “Be My Guest,” music and lyrics by Gaitana and KIWI project. Ukraine, Eurovision Song Contest, 2012. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLsTn_li5d8 Accessed 10 Feb. 2017.

Jamala. “1944,” music and lyrics by Jamala. Ukraine, Eurovision Song Contest, 2016. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCG2rw4ZXTY Accessed 10 Feb. 2017. 

Newton, Mika. “Angel,” music and lyrics by Maryna Skomorohova and Ruslan Kvinta. Ukraine, Eurovision Song Contest, 2011. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_xRmEkR6KE Accessed 10 Feb. 2017. 

Ognevich, Zlata. “Gravity,” music and lyrics by Karen Kavaleryan and Mikhail Nikrisov. Ukraine, Eurovision Song Contest, 2013. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMxpv8naRd8 Accessed 10 Feb. 2017.

Yaremchuk, Mariya. “Tick- Tock” music and lyrics by Mariya Yaremchuk and Sandra Bjurman. Ukraine, Eurovision Song Contest, 2014. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slHboKF9PIQ  Accessed 11 Feb. 2017.