Junior Eurovision 2021: Ukraine

The Aussievision team have listened and ranked all Junior Eurovision songs and we have our final rankings. Ukraine have finished in 5th place. Details, individual rankings and comments below.

The entry

Olena Usenko - 'Vazhil'

Ukraine is being represented at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2021 by 14-year-old Olena Usenko. Olena is a Ukrainian singer and actress who lives in Bila Tserkva and studies at the Katapulta Art Music School in Kyiv.

Olena was selected to represent her country at the contest through her participation in the national final organised by broadcaster Suspilne. This was not Olena's first time attempting to make it to the Junior Eurovision Song Contest, having previously taken part in the national final back in 2020.

The Aussievision team rankings

• 1st - Cooper

• 3rd - Laura

• 3rd - Steve

• 4th - Tim

• 5th - Hugo

• 5th - Josh

• 5th - Dale

• 8th - Emma

• 8th - Ford

• 8th - Mike

• 8th - Kyriakos

• 9th - Craig

• 13th - Estelle

• 13th - Hayley

The comments

"Ukraine know how to do Eurovision, and this song is yet another example of that. The building production throughout the three minutes combined with Olena's vocal gives us an epic song that stands out. No negative to this song. It's incredible!" ~ Cooper

"The Ukrainian language sounds really beautiful in ballad form, and this really emotive. It’s paired back when it needs to be, but then delivers the power in those moments, and the raspiness of her voice gives the song that power. A very mature entry which I quite like; live vocal will obviously be the key here to success."~ Hugo

"A very mature and dramatic performance from Olena with a song that reminds me of the theme tune of ‘Days of Our Lives’. Props to her for penning the track herself but this may be a bit too dark to have mass appeal." ~ Emma

"I love this from the first minor chords - I’m a sucker for a Bond theme! Another great vocalist with a great song." ~ Steve

"Olena has a powerful voice and great delivery. It's anthemic and could certainly capture the jury's attention. It may be a little mature for Junior but I can certainly appreciate it." ~ Dale

"Another mature sounding entry in the mix. Love the sound and Olena’s vocals! Great build-up to a momentous final chorus. I can picture ‘Vazhil’ sounding really good live." ~ Kyriakos

"This is a really great song. Vocally, this song is really advanced and I enjoy the whole package. Its downfall could be that it’s a tad repetitive." ~ Tim

Ukraine at Junior Eurovision

This year marks Ukraine's sixteenth participation in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest. They first entered the contest in 2006 with Nazar Slyusarchuk's 'Khlopchyk Rock 'n' Roll', which came ninth, and have participated every year since.

Ukraine is a relatively successful country in the competition, having won the competition once, come runner up twice, and made it to the top ten on ten occasions. Their win comes from Anastasiya Petryk's 'Nebo' in 2012.

Ukraine have the honour of hosting the contest twice, once in 2009 at the Palace of Sports, hosted by singer Ani Lorak and Eurovision host and commentator Timur Miroshnychenko, and once again in 2013, following their 2012 win, at Palace Ukraine, hosted by singer Zlata Ognevich and Timur Miroshnychenko again.

Article contribution by Ford

Aussievision team's Junior Eurovision 2021 rankings

6th place - Georgia - Niko Kajaia - 'Let's Count The Smiles' 7th place - Italy - Elisabetta Lizza - 'Specchio (Mirror on the Wall)'

8th place - Spain - Levi Díaz - 'Reír'

9th place - Russia - Tanya Mezhentseva - 'Mon Ami'

10th place - Albania - Anna Gjebrea - 'Stand By You' 11th place - Netherlands - Ayana - ‘Mata Sugu Aō Ne’ 12th place - Azerbaijan - Sona Azizova - ‘One of Those Days’ 13th place - Ireland - Maiú Levi Lawlor - 'Saor (Disappear)' 14th place - Germany - Pauline - 'Imagine Us' 15th place - Kazakhstan - Alinur & Beknur - 'Ертегі әлемі (Fairy World)' 16th place - Serbia - Jovana and Dunja - 'Children's Eyes' 17th place - Malta - Ike & Kaya - ‘My Home’ 18th place - Portugal - Simão Oliveira - 'O Rapaz' 19th place - Bulgaria - Denislava and Martin - 'Voice of Love'

Aussievision Podcast - Junior Eurovision 2021 Preview

Our bonus preview episode of Junior Eurovision 2021 is out. We run through the Contest, the top 3 songs from the Aussievision team and make predictions.

Listen to it on Apple Podcasts here:

And on Spotify here:

Cast your votes for your favourite Junior Eurovision 2021 entries here.