Ukraine’s representatives for Eurovision 2024, Jerry Heil and Alyona Alyona, reveal in an interview who they believe is the most deserving candidate to represent the country at Eurovision 2025 from the “Vidbir 2025” Ukrainian pre-selection list.

Jerry Heil and Alyona Alyona, who represented Ukraine at Eurovision 2024 in Malmö, Sweden, assert that the most deserving successor is the singer Fiinka, who competed in the Ukrainian pre-Eurovision event in 2023 and secured fourth place with her song “Dovbush“. The artists share their appreciation for many contenders eager to represent Ukraine in Basel next May, but particularly encourage Fiinka for this year’s Eurovision, valuing her musical style and her contributions to raising awareness of Hutsul culture (a Ukrainian ethno-cultural group).

Encouraging New Talent

Alyona mentions her support for Fiinka’s victory in the pre-Eurovision contest, adding, “I haven’t seen any big names on the list of competitors and am keen to listen to the works of the participating artists to form an opinion.” Jerry adds: “I think we’ll encourage Fiinka. Honestly, I really want her to win. But we’ll see what song she sends to the competition.”

Highlighting Other Notable Artists

In addition, the artists commend the band Ziferblat, which competed in last year’s Ukrainian pre-Eurovision event and came in second with their song “Place I Call Home“. Alyona says, “There are high expectations for the band Ziferblat. They had a really great song last year. It’s interesting because their demands and desires are very high.” Jerry notes that she might have doubts about choosing between Fiinka and Ziferblat.

Ukrainian National Broadcaster’s Role

The Ukranian national broadcaster, Suspilne, revealed the initial list of candidates for the Ukrainian pre-Eurovision event “Vidbir 2025,” from which nine competitors will automatically compete in the final. One additional contestant from the remaining eleven will join them by public choice, with the full final list to be published on January 17th. Among those announced, the band Ziferblat is included, but singer Fiinka will need to compete for her spot in the finals against the eleven remaining contestants.

List of participants in Vidbir 2025 Final

Among the contestants are several familiar names:

• Ziferblat – Competed in last year’s Ukrainian national selection and reached second place with their song “Place I Call Home“.
• Khayat – Competed in the 2020 Ukrainian national selection with his song “Call for Love” and reached second place.

As mentioned, one additional contestant from the 11 not initially chosen will be selected through online public voting. The complete list of contestants, which will include 10 participants, will be revealed on January 17.

The contestants, from which one additional will be chosen by the public, are:

• Brykulets 
• Enleo
• Fiïnka
• Grisana
• Mon fia
• Ranwari
• Starykova Hrystina
• Teslenko
• Yagody
• Muyad
• Sluhai Sashu

Among these you can find:

• Yagody – Competed in last year’s Ukrainian national selection and reached fifth place with his song “Tsunamia“.
• Krylata – Competed in last year’s Ukrainian national selection with her song “Queen” but was eliminated in the first stage.
• Fiinka – Competed in the 2023 Ukrainian national selection and reached fourth place with her song “Dovbush“.

Producer’s Statement and Selection Format

Tina Karol, the producer of the national selection, stated:

“The nine final contestants of the Eurovision 2025 national selection have been announced. Talented artists singing in various styles are already starting to prepare for their performance in the final. You will also have the opportunity to choose a contestant in the final by voting on the ‘Diya’ app. One out of eleven.”

The national final, likely to be held on February 8, will feature 10 contestants. The winner of the national selection will be chosen by a combination of public voting (50%) and jury voting (50%) and will represent Ukraine at Eurovision 2025 to be held in Basel, Switzerland.

Ukraine in Eurovision 2024

Jerry Heil and Alyona Alyona represented Ukraine at Eurovision 2024 with the song “Teresa & Maria.” The duo won the Ukrainian national selection “Vidbir 2024” and finished third in the Eurovision final with 453 points.

Their entry is notable for being the first since 2002 to place in the top 5 while performing second in the running order, a position traditionally considered challenging in Eurovision statistics.

Source:CK life

Eurovision 2025: This will be Ukraine’s 20th participation in the Eurovision Song Contest. Ukraine joined the competition in 2003 and has won it three times. Ukraine’s last victory was in Eurovision 2022 with the song “Stefania” performed by Kalush Orchestra.