Ukraine | MARUV Will Not Represent Her Country At Tel Aviv
News just in! The national broadcaster for Ukraine has, in the last hour, revealed that MARUV will not be their singer for Tel Aviv, and negotiations will be opening up to find her replacement at the contest, in the next day or so.
Saturday saw the singer crowned the winner of Vibdir 2019; however, since her appearance, it has let to a lot of speculation about will she? wont she?, as the show got very political. After her performance, Jamala who won the contest back in 2016 had asked her who Crimea belonged to? A very stunned and somewhat shaken MARUV said "Ukraine, of course".
The singer won the show categorically on Saturday, and has ranked very well with fans, with many ranking this entry as one of their favourites. Just like previous artists, MARUV had been under heavy scrutiny with the television channel, as she had previously performed in Russia, and has various concerts planned there in the near future.
Earlier, the singer released a detailed contract which outlined what the broadcaster UA: PBC wanted of her in relation to her Eurovision particiaption. It seems that this has not gone down so well, with talks breaking down and the channel now in formal discussions with other artists to have the honour of representing Ukraine at the contest. She has since spoken out about the situation on her official Facebook page, in which she said:
"A few hours before the draw I was asked to participate in the national preselection for "Eurovision 2019". I agreed and won, and with great pride I was ready to represent my home country, Ukraine, at the international song arena.
As I previously said, rejection of concerts in Russia was not a principle thing for us. The main differences have been caused by other paragraphs of the treaty, which, if I sign, become a indentured for me. I am a citizen of Ukraine, I pay taxes and sincerely love Ukraine. But I am not ready to perform with slogans, turning your stay at the competition in the promo of our politicians. I am a musician, not a bat in the political arena. I sincerely thank and appreciate everyone who believed in me and voted. And I ask you to accept this fact and not to go to confrontation. This is the given of today. I want to give my creativity without censorship. Tomorrow I will wake up with new forces - to win and popularize my music in the world."
Before this news, Andy from Eurovoxx reviewed her song, and just like many fans, really liked and enjoyed her performance. You can check the video below:
Ukrainian broadcaster UA: PBC has released an offcial statement, saying:
"The public broadcaster and the singer MARUV, who won the national election for Eurovision , did not agree on participation in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 for a number of reasons.
Singer Anna Korsun (stage name – MARUV) won the National Selection as a result of an honest competition and received the maximum score from the audience. Her performance was highly appreciated by music experts, showbiz and spectators. However, the performer, who will represent Ukraine on the international arena, also has a commitment: after signing the contract with UA:PBC for the time of the contest the performer becomes a cultural ambassador of Ukraine and reports not only her own music, but also becomes the spokesman for the opinion of Ukrainian society in the world. After the negotiations, UA:PBC and the singer MARUV did not find a joint decision on the mission of the representative of Ukraine at the international song contest.
Also according to the rules of Eurovision (clause 2.6), the broadcasting participant must ensure non-political character of the competition. The current situation surrounding the nation-wide election this year has signs of politicisation. Public resonance, attempts to exert pressure from the political forces, interfering in the discussion of cultural figures and the information structures of the aggressor country in fact led to the politicisation of the results of the national selection.
The public broadcaster also sees in this situation the danger of an escalation of the split of Ukrainian society, which is contrary to the objectives of the Public Broadcasting Company (according to the Law of Ukraine on Public Broadcasting, one of the main tasks of UA:PBC is to promote the consolidation of Ukrainian society (Article 4., paragraph 2))."
Although the situation in regards to MARUV and UA:PBC has made a lot of headline attention recently, this sudden announcement is sure to have come as a sudden shock to many fans, who were hoping that all details would be ironed out, and that we would be hearing Siren Song at Eurovision. So now, all we can do is wait until the Ukrainian broadcaster reveals an official announcement about their Eurovision 2019 participation.
What do you think of today's news? Please tell us your thoughts in the comments below.
