Ukraine | Tayanna withdraws from Vidbir as Semi Final Draw Posted
It's been a busy day in Ukraine already as this morning fan favourite Tayanna announced that she would be withdrawing from the Ukrainian selection show Vidbir 2019 and only hours later broadcaster UA:PBC have posted the semi final allocation draw on social media.

Source: UA:PBC
Firstly, Tayanna made the decision to withdraw from the competition meaning that for the first time since 2017, the Ukrainian singer will not feature in the national selection lineup. Her song had yet to be revealed and there are no explicit reasons given. In addition to the announcement, she made the following statement:
"Sometimes the universe does not give you something, not because you do not deserve it, but because you deserve something else. To confirm this, I feel that right now I have to make this choice."
It did not take long for Ukrainian broadcaster UA:PBC to announce her replacement either suggesting that she had notified the broadcaster prior to publicly announcing her exit. Tayanna's space in the contest goes to singer MARUV who had one of Ukraine's most successful songs of 2018 with party anthem 'Drunk Groove'.
In additional news, UA:PBC have also published the draw for the two Vidbir semi-finals which you can find here:
Semi Final One:
The Hypnotunez
Letay
Vera Kekelia
TseSho
YUKO
MARUV
Brunettes Shoot Blondes
BAHROMA
Semi Final Two:
Ivan NAVI
ANNA MARIA
KAZKA
Kira Mazur
LAUD
Khayat
Braii
Freedom Jazz
The semi finals are due to start in two weeks time with semi final one Saturday 9th February and semi final two on Saturday 16th February. The top three acts from each semi final after the results of the jury and public votes are combined will advance to the final which will be held on Saturday 23rd February where the winner will be determined and will go on to represent Ukraine at the 64th Eurovision Song Contest in May.
Are you sad by the news of Tayanna's departure? But what about the replacement MARUV ... let us know your thoughts in the comments below or via our social media!