Karol, who comes from a western Ukrainian family, with a Jewish father, will compete with more than 30 other artists in Athens
Young, pretty, and fiery – that’s the image Ukraine will present at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, a widely popular European television music contest. The 20-year-old vivacious blonde, Tina Karol, whose real name is Tanya Liberman, was selected earlier this month by the unanimous decision of a Ukrainian jury and the votes of local television viewers.
The young singer is now set to perform at the show, which will have an estimated audience of over 100 million and will take place in Athens, Greece, in May 2006.
Karol, who comes from a western Ukrainian family with a Jewish father, will compete with more than 30 artists from other European countries.
“Eurovision for me is a window to Europe and an opportunity to popularize Ukraine and Ukrainian music,” said Karol, who’s life has taken on a crazy rhythm these days as she gets ready to depart to Athens on May 10.
The Eurovision Song Contest grabbed the attention of average Ukrainians in 2004, when the now-legendary Ukrainian singer Ruslana won the contest with a spirited performance. Ukraine started participating in Eurovision in 2003. Ruslana was the first Ukrainian to win the contest.
Karol said she hopes to represent Ukraine with “the best results,” too, adding that she will not concentrate too much on the victory.
“I don’t want to put too much pressure on myself thinking what a high responsibility this is before my country,” Karol said playfully.
Karol’s Ukrainian producers, meanwhile, admit that Eurovision is a chance to promote the singer more than anything else.
“The Eurovision contest is a TV show and it has little to do with music,” said Eduard Klim, a producer at Lavina Music recording company, who had promoted such Ukrainian artists as Ani Lorak and Okean Elzy.
“Victory at Eurovision is all about a masterfully arranged public relations campaign for a singer, and the song itself is of little importance,” Klim said, adding that it was, in fact, the titanic work of Ruslana’s PR team that made her victorious at Eurovision-2004.
While her music does not sell in large quantities in the West, Ruslana’s victory at Eurovision helped establish her as the face of Ukrainian music in the world. For Ukrainian artists, Klim said, participating in Eurovision is the only real opportunity to show themselves to large European audiences.
“Other contests are nearly impossible for us to get in,” he added.
Karol became famous on the music scene of the former Soviet Union last July, when she took second prize in Novaya Volna (the New Wave) contest for young singers. The renowned Russian singer Alla Pugachova awarded Karol a special prize, recognizing her as a singer who stands out from the rest.
What Karol does not advertise in her numerous interviews, however, is that the start of her singing career actually traces back to Jewish and Israeli festivals – both in Ukraine and abroad – where she, then a teenager, regularly took first prizes.
“For four years, I had also performed with the dancing ensemble at the Kyiv branch of the Jewish agency Sohnut, and my repertoire included songs in Hebrew and Yiddish,” said Karol casually when specifically asked about her Jewish connections. In 2000, she added, she traveled with the ensemble to the United States, where young Ukrainian artists were fundraising money for Sohnut’s needs in Ukraine.
But now Karol prefers not to accent her Jewish background, and when producers a year ago suggested that she takes a stage name – she didn’t object. Now, she said, she is Tina Karol, even in her passport.
“It was part of the agreement with the producers, but, to be honest, I am glad I changed my name: I felt like my name hindered me in my life,” said Karol-Liberman, who confessed she often felt discriminated against in school because of her Jewish last name.
These days Karol has been rehearsing for Eurovision, and feeling optimistic.
“My song is a non-sophisticated one about love,” said Karol, who will sing in English. “The song and my whole performance have to be such that the millions of voters from different European countries understand and like them,” she explained.
