Stefania (song)

"Stefania"
The official cover for "Stefania"
Single by Kalush Orchestra
LanguageUkrainian
Released7 February 2022
GenreAlternative hip hop, folk
Length2:59
LabelSony Music Entertainment
Composer(s)
  • Ihor Didenchuk
  • Tymofii Muzychuk
  • Vitalii Duzhyk
Lyricist(s)
Kalush Orchestra singles chronology
"Shtomber Womber"
(2022) 		"Stefania"
(2022) 		"In the Shadows of Ukraine"
(2023)
Music video
"Stefania" on YouTube
Eurovision Song Contest 2022 entry
Country
Finals performance
Semi-final result
1st
Semi-final points
337
Final result
1st
Final points
631
Entry chronology
◄ "Shum" (2021)
"Heart of Steel" (2023) ►
Official performance video
"Stefania" (First Semi-Final) on YouTube
"Stefania" (Grand Final) on YouTube

"Stefania" (Ukrainian: Стефанія, pronounced [steˈfɑn⁽ʲ⁾ijɐ] ⓘ) is a 2022 song by Ukrainian folk-rap group Kalush Orchestra, co-written by all group members alongside Ivan Klymenko and was released through Sony Music Entertainment. The song represented Ukraine in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in Turin, Italy, which it won.

"Stefania" has been described as an alternative hip hop and folk song. It is the third song sung entirely in Ukrainian to represent Ukraine at Eurovision, but the second to compete at the contest following the cancellation of Eurovision 2020.[1] The song won the contest with 631 points, becoming the first rap song and the first song sung entirely in Ukrainian to win. "Stefania" charted in twenty-two music markets, topping the charts in Ukraine and Lithuania, while also reaching the top ten within Finland, Croatia, Iceland, Hungary and Sweden.

In 2022 The Independent ranked "Stefania" as 15th best Eurovision winner,[2] and in 2023 The Guardian ranked the song as 24th best Eurovision winner.[3]

Background and composition

"Stefania" has been described as an ode to a mother, with the narrator speaking of good memories of his own mother. The song initially talks about how much his mother has aged, invoking a nostalgic past. The song later addresses the hardships of a mother, with the narrator realizing how much the mother has done for him. A "lullaby", within the end of each rap verse, brings the narrator back to when his mother took care of him.[4] The song is dedicated to frontman Oleh Psiuk's mother, who is also named Stefania.[5] Two days after Kalush Orchestra was chosen to represent Ukraine in Eurovision, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and "Stefania" subsequently became a popular wartime soundtrack on social media.[6][7]

Two traditional Ukrainian woodwind instruments are featured in the song: the sopilka and the telenka.[8]

Music video

On 10 March 2022, the video of the performance of "Stefania" from Vidbir 2022 was posted on the Eurovision YouTube channel. The music video for the song, directed by Max Ksjonda, was released on 15 May, shortly after the song won Eurovision.[9] The video was filmed in April in the cities of Bucha, Irpin, Borodianka, and Hostomel, all of which had been attacked during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The video depicts military women in destroyed cities taking numerous children away from burning and bombed-out buildings, and returning them to their mothers.[10]

Eurovision Song Contest

Vidbir 2022

"Stefania" was an entry in Vidbir 2022, a televised music competition used to determine Ukraine's entrant for the Eurovision Song Contest 2022. The selection of the competing entries for Vidbir took place over three stages. In the first stage, artists and songwriters had the opportunity to apply for the competition through an online submission form.[11] Twenty-seven acts were longlisted and announced on 17 January 2022. The second stage was a scheduled audition at designated dates and featured the twenty-seven acts in the longlist. Eight acts were selected to advance, which were announced on 24 January 2022. The third stage was the final, which took place on 12 February 2022 and featured the eight acts vying to represent Ukraine in Turin. The winner was selected via a 50/50 combination of votes from a public televote and a three-member expert jury,[12] consisting of 2006 and 2016 Ukrainian entrants Tina Karol and Jamala, alongside Yaroslav Lodyhin [uk] a board member of Suspilne (the national public broadcaster in Ukraine).[13][14]

Artists and composers had the opportunity to submit their entries between 14 December 2021 and 10 January 2022. Only artists that had not performed in a concert in Russia since 2014 or entered the territory of Crimea since 2014 were able to apply for the competition.[11] A selection panel including the music producer of the show, Mykhailo Koshevy, and the television producer of the show, Oleksiy Honcharenko, reviewed the 284 submissions, and twenty-seven entries that had been longlisted were announced on 17 January 2022.[15][16] Auditions were later held at the My Dream Space venue in Kyiv where eight entries were shortlisted to compete in the national final.[16] On 24 January 2022, the eight selected competing acts were announced.[17] In the Vidbir final, held on 12 February, Alina Pash emerged as the winner with the song "Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors", but she ultimately declined her position after being involved in a controversy for having breached the rule barring Vidbir competitors from having traveled to Russia or Crimea.[18] As a result, Kalush Orchestra were offered to represent Ukraine in replacement of Pash.[19][20] On 22 February, the group accepted the offer.[21]

At Eurovision

According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big Five" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into six different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot. On 25 January 2022, an allocation draw was held which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show they would perform in. Ukraine was placed into the first semi-final held on 10 May 2022, and performed in the first half of the show.[22] Kalush Orchestra advanced to the grand final, which they went on to win.[23]

At the end of the jury vote, Ukraine finished in 4th place. The 439 points received from the televote in the final were the highest number in the contest's history to date, and Ukraine also received points from every country in the televote (with all but Malta, North Macedonia and Serbia giving the country 10 or 12 points).[24][25]

Promotion

After winning the Eurovision Song Contest, Kalush Orchestra collected 54 million hryvnias in support of Ukraine through its concerts, charity meetings and auctions. This amount does not include funds from joint concerts with other artists. The group subsequently embarked on a promotional tour across Europe and North America to collect donations in support of Ukraine.[26][27][28] European viewers were urged to donate to the "Save Ukrainian Culture" initiative, created with the support of the Ukrainian Ministry of Culture.[citation needed] During their time at the Glastonbury Festival in June 2022, Kalush Orchestra performed "Stefania" for female volunteers who help Ukrainian refugees in London. The group additionally performed the song at the Royal Horse Guards Parade in front of the Palace of Whitehall in central London.[citation needed]

In August 2022, Kalush Orchestra performed in the Italian city of Monopoli at the Madonna della Madia festival, with the participation of Ukrainian immigrant children,[29][30] who danced and sang "Stefania" on stage.[31][32] On the eve of Ukrainian Independence Day, 23 August, Kalush Orchestra announced a 24-hour fundraiser of 24 hryvnias for the rehabilitation of Ukrainian soldiers in Mariupol.[33]

Charts

Certifications

Certifications for "Stefania"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Poland (ZPAV)[65] Platinum 50,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ "Ukraine: Kalush Orchestra will go to Turin with 'Stefania' 🇺🇦". Eurovision.tv. 22 February 2022. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  2. ^ Kelly, Ben (10 May 2022). "All 68 winning Eurovision songs ranked from worst to best". The Independent. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
  3. ^ Petridis, Alexis (11 May 2023). "All 69 Eurovision song contest winners – ranked!". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  4. ^ Ten Veen, Renske (10 February 2022). ""She rocked me; gave me rhythm" – Kalush Orchestra bring an ode to mothers in "Stefania" lyrics". wiwibloggs. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  5. ^ "Ukraine: Kalush Orchestra introduces us to 'Stefania'". 15 May 2022.
  6. ^ "Eurovision winners release powerful official film clip shot in war-torn Ukraine". ABC News. 17 May 2022. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
  7. ^ Treisman, Rachel (11 May 2022). "A fan-favorite band from Ukraine advances to the Eurovision grand final". NPR. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
  8. ^ Alexandra Hall, Sophia (12 May 2022). "Ukraine's Kalush Orchestra brings traditional woodwind to Eurovision 2022". Classic FM. Archived from the original on 12 May 2022. Retrieved 15 May 2022. [T]he upbeat track heavily features traditional Ukrainian woodwind instruments; the sopilka, and the telenka.
  9. ^ Richards, Will (15 May 2022). "Ukraine's Kalush Orchestra share powerful video for Eurovision-winning song 'Stefania'". NME. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
  10. ^ "Irpin, Bucha, Hostomel, Borodianka: Kalush Orchestra presents music video to song 'Stefania'". www.ukrinform.net. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
  11. ^ a b "Суспільне оголошує прийом заявок на участь у нацвідборі на Євробачення-2022" [Suspilne announces acceptance of applications for participation in the national selection for Eurovision-2022".]. Suspilne.media (in Ukrainian). UA:PBC. 14 December 2021. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
  12. ^ "Правила національного відбору на участь у Пісенному конкурсі Євробачення – 2022" [Rules of national selection for participation in the Eurovision Song Contest - 2022]. Suspilne.media (in Ukrainian). UA:PBC. 14 December 2021. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
  13. ^ Granger, Anthony (3 February 2022). "🇺🇦 Ukraine: Tina Karol Juror For Vidbir 2022". Eurovoix. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  14. ^ Granger, Anthony (5 February 2022). "🇺🇦 Ukraine: Jamala Announced as Juror For Vidbir 2022". Eurovoix. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  15. ^ "Суспільне оголосило довгий список учасників Нацвідбору на Євробачення-2022" [Suspilne has announced a long list of participants in the National Selection for Eurovision-2022]. Suspilne.media (in Ukrainian). UA:PBC. 17 January 2022. Archived from the original on 17 January 2022. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  16. ^ a b "Євробачення 2022: Україна Розпочала Прослуховування На Нацвідбір" [Eurovision 2022: Ukraine Starts Searching For National Selection]. novy.tv (in Ukrainian). 17 January 2022. Archived from the original on 17 January 2022. Retrieved 18 January 2022.
  17. ^ "Суспільне оголосило фіналістів Нацвідбору на Євробачення-2022" [Suspilne has announced the finalists of the National Selection for Eurovision-2022]. Suspilne.media (in Ukrainian). UA:PBC. 24 January 2022. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  18. ^ Mori, Yevhenii (16 February 2022). "Аліна Паш відмовилась від участі в Євробаченні" [Alina Pash refuses participation in Eurovision]. Suspilne.media (in Ukrainian). UA:PBC. Archived from the original on 16 February 2022. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
  19. ^ Holden, Steve (16 February 2022). "Alina Pash: Singer won't represent Ukraine at Eurovision". BBC. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  20. ^ Adams, William Lee (17 February 2022). "Ukraine offers Kalush Orchestra Eurovision 2022 spot "to maintain the trust of the audience"". wiwibloggs. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  21. ^ "Гурт "Kalush Orchestra" представить Україну на Євробаченні в Турині" [Kalush Orchestra will represent Ukraine at Eurovision in Turin]. Suspilne (in Ukrainian). 22 February 2022. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  22. ^ "Eurovision 2022: Which Semi-Final is your country performing in? 🇮🇹". Eurovision.tv. EBU. 25 January 2022. Archived from the original on 3 February 2022. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  23. ^ Rachel Treisman (11 May 2020). "A fan-favorite band from Ukraine advances to the Eurovision grand final". NPR.
  24. ^ "Ukraine wins Eurovision Song Contest 2022". Eurovisionworld. 15 May 2022.
  25. ^ "Kalush Orchestra wins the Eurovision Song Contest 2022". The Independent. 15 May 2022.
  26. ^ "Ukrainian Eurovision winners Kalush Orchestra to perform first UK concert at Glastonbury". The Guardian. 21 June 2022. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
  27. ^ Davda, Rishi (24 June 2022). "Eurovision's Ukrainian winners say Glastonbury set a 'huge responsibility'". ITV News. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
  28. ^ Gallicchio, Federico (3 July 2022). "Eurovision 2022, Kalush Orchestra: la band prepara il tour in Nord America". Eurofestival News (in Italian). Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  29. ^ "Kalush Orchestra виступив на італійському фестивалі Madonna della Madia: сюрприз від дітей та номер з переселенцями". ТСН.ua (in Ukrainian). 17 August 2022. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
  30. ^ Programmi tv
  31. ^ "Трирічний хлопчик з Ірпеня розчулив виконанням пісні Stefania. ВІДЕО". volyn.tabloyid.com. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
  32. ^ У Львові діти початкової школи під час тривоги співали "Стефанію". Відео (in Ukrainian), retrieved 27 October 2022
  33. ^ "Kalush Orchestra raise 1.5 million dollars for Ukraine - Music News". News today (in Russian). 14 October 2022. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
  34. ^ "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 23 May 2022". The ARIA Report. No. 1681. Australian Recording Industry Association. 23 May 2022. p. 9.
  35. ^ "Kalush Orchestra – Stefania" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  36. ^ "Kalush Orchestra – Stefania" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
  37. ^ "Canadian Digital Song Sales: Week of May 28, 2022". Billboard. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  38. ^ "Croatia Songs (Week of May 28, 2022)". Billboard. 24 May 2022. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  39. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Change the chart to CZ – SINGLES DIGITAL – TOP 100 and insert 202220 into search. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
  40. ^ "Top Radio Hits Global Weekly Chart – Tophit Music Charts". Tophit. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  41. ^ "Singlet 20/2022" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
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  43. ^ "Billboard Global 200: Week of May 28, 2022". Billboard. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  44. ^ "IFPI Charts". ifpi.gr. Archived from the original on 30 May 2022. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  45. ^ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Single (track) Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
  46. ^ "Tónlistinn – Lög" [The Music – Songs] (in Icelandic). Plötutíðindi. Archived from the original on 25 May 2022. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
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  48. ^ "Top Singoli – Classifica settimanale WK 20" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  49. ^ "2022 20-os savaitės klausomiausi (Top 100)" [2022 Week 20 Most Listened (Top 100)] (in Lithuanian). AGATA. 20 May 2022. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
  50. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 21, 2022" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  51. ^ "Kalush Orchestra – Stefania" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
  52. ^ "VG-lista – Topp 20 Single 2022-20". VG-lista. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  53. ^ "Kalush Orchestra – Stefania". AFP Top 100 Singles. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
  54. ^ "ČNS IFPI". IFPI ČR. Note: Select SK SINGLES DIGITAL TOP 100 and insert 202220 into search. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
  55. ^ "Veckolista Singlar, vecka 20". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
  56. ^ "Kalush Orchestra – Stefania". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
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  58. ^ "Ukraine Airplay Chart for 2022-04-08." TopHit. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
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  60. ^ "Лучшие песни на радио в Украине за месяц" [The best songs on the radio in Ukraine for a month] (in Russian). Tophit. April 2022. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
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  62. ^ "2022 metų klausomiausi (Top 100)" (in Lithuanian). AGATA. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
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  65. ^ "OLiS - oficjalna lista wyróżnień" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 7 February 2024. Click "TYTUŁ" and enter Stefania in the search box.
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