Ukraine may be lacking good news in a number of areas, but not in its music scene. Not only is the country to host the Eurovision Song Contest in Kyiv in May, but it is about to witness the sixth YUNA Music Awards on Feb. 21.
YUNA, standing for Yearly Ukrainian National Awards, has been marking the achievements of Ukrainian music business since 2012.
Famous Ukrainian singer-actress and wife of YUNA co-founder and Kyiv Post publisher Mohammad Zahoor, Kamaliya (C), delivers a performance on the stage of Palats Ukraina in Kyiv on Feb. 25, 2016.
The award, often dubbed the Ukrainian Grammys, was established by Kyiv Post publisher Mohammad Zahoor and famous producer and radio host Pavlo Shylko, known as DJ Pasha.
As in previous years, YUNA will take place in Kyiv’s Palats Ukraina concert hall.
Ukraine’s greatest music artists will compete for nine awards: Best Soloist, Best Pop Band, Best Rock Band, Best Song, Best Album, Best Video, Best Duo, Discovery of the Year, Best Concert Tour and a brand new nomination this year – Fresh Sound.
The founders see it not as just an awards ceremony that gives a boost to the performers who win, but also as a way to help the grim mood of the nation during hard times.
“YUNA stimulates positive energy in this depressed nation,” Zahoor said. “You may remember the third YUNA just after the Maidan, when all other events were cancelled, but we carried on with YUNA, because you had to supply some oxygen to a hardly breathing society.”
Quality selection
Since the beginning, YUNA’s founders emphasized the quality of the selection process. To perform it fairly and transparently, the organizers hire Deloitte auditing firm, which operates the voting process for the Grammys as well.
In an interview in 2015, Shylko, who is also the general producer of the ceremony, told the Kyiv Post that he himself never knows who the winners are before they are announced – which is hard to believe for some of his celebrity friends who sometimes ask him about the results before the ceremony.
“Apart from the spectacular show that we provide, the most important thing at YUNA is the intrigue. Nobody knows the names of the winners until the actual ceremony,” Shylko said.
Last year proved that this devotion and meticulous selection are worth it. Ukrainian singer Jamala had a smashing success at YUNA 2016, taking home four awards. The jury’s choice proved right when just three months later Jamala won Eurovision, an annual pop song contest with an audience of 600 million.
“That shows the high standards that jury has put in front of them,” Zahoor said. “We will keep striving for an independent opinion of the jury, as is the custom at the Grammys.”
This year, Eurovision and YUNA are connected too, but in a different way. First, Jamala’s winning song “1944”, a touching ballad about Crimean Tatar deportation from Crimea that resonates with modern-day Crimean occupation by Russia, has been nominated as Best Song at this year’s YUNA.
Also, the Ukrainian entry to the 2017 Eurovision contest will be selected just days after the YUNA ceremony, on Feb. 25. Some of this year’s YUNA nominees, like O.Torvald or MamaRika bands, are competing to represent Ukraine at Eurovision.
Star-studded line up
Jamala is set for a second triumphant year at YUNA. After winning four prizes last year, this time she has the most nominations, along with Ukrainian hip hop artist Monatik.
“I was so happy to receive the awards last year. If this year I manage to repeat this success, I will be just as happy,” Jamala told the Kyiv Post.
“For every artist it is not just the audience’s love is important but the recognition of professional critics too.”
However, this year Jamala won’t attend YUNA herself. She was invited to London’s Brit Awards taking place on Feb. 22.
Jamala has been nominated for Best Soloist, and her “1944” hit is competing for Best Song and Best Video. She is also nominated for Best Duo for her song “Zamanyly” (“Enticed”) recorded with the Dakhabrakha folk band.
Monatik is also nominated in four categories: Best Soloist, Best Song for “Kruzhit” (“It Sways”), Best Video for the same track and Best Duo for “Son” (“Dream”), a song featuring L’One.
Ukrainian hip hop artist Potap will host the YUNA music awards for the third time, having previously hosted in 2013 and 2014.
“I am happy to see Potap returning as a host,” Shylko said to the Kyiv Post. “Apart from a lot of music, we will also get humour.”
Apart from Jamala and Monatik, Loboda, Max Barskih and Tina Karol are nominated for the Best Soloist award.
Bands Dzidzio, Mozgi, Onuka, Vremya i Steklo and Potap i Nastya will compete for Best Pop Band award. And bands O. Torvald, Painoboy, The Hardkiss, Boombox and Okean Elzy will face each other in the Best Rock Band category.
Detach, Ivan Navi, MamaRika, Agon’, Griby will compete for the Discovery of the Year award.
New award
A new award Fresh Sound was introduced this year. Now soloists and bands whose professionally recorded tracks (but no less than two) have been published online from Nov. 1 2015 to Oct. 31 2016 but haven’t been played on national radio or TV channels get a chance to compete in the new nomination.
“In other words, this is for non-format music. There is a number of artists who are talented and popular online, but radio stations won’t play their tracks. So we’re giving them a chance,” Shylko explained on Ukraine’s Pershyi Dilovyi channel.
Also for the first time the ceremony will be broadcast live, on the M1 music channel.
“We’ve been thinking about live broadcasts for a long time. Such a format (of broadcasting) will precisely convey the intrigue and show all the drama that surrounds the winners’ names,” Shylko said.
And with the tremendous popularity of the show in Ukraine and M1 being one of Ukraine’s leading music TV channels, YUNA is sure to get more TV and media exposure than ever this year.
Nominees for the YUNA 2017 National Music Awards
Best Soloist:
Jamala
LOBODA
MONATIK
Max Barskih
Tina Karol
Best Pop Band:
DZIDZIO
MOZGI
Onuka
Vremya i Steklo
Potap i Nastya
Best Rock Band:
O.Torvald
Pianoboy
The HARDKISS
Boombox
Okean Elzy
Best Song:
“1944” by Jamala
“Love Manifest” by SunSay
“Kruzhit” (“It sways”) by MONATIK
“K chertu liubov” (“Damn love”) by LOBODA
“Navernopotomuchto” (“Probably because”) by Vremya i Steklo
Best Album:
“Cold Attair” by The Hardkiss
“Monatik Zvuchit” (“Monatik Sounds”) by MONATIK
“TakeOff” by Pianoboy
“Bez mezh” (“Without limits”) by Okean Elzy
“Tumany” (“Hazes”) by Max Barskih
Best Music Video:
“1944” by Jamala
“Kruzhit” (“It sways”) by MONATIK
“K chertu liubov” (“Damn love”) by LOBODA
“Navernopotomuchto” (“Probably because”) by Vremya i Steklo
“Umamy” (“At my mom’s”) by Potap i Nastya
Best Duo:
“Go” by The Maneken and Brunettes Shoot Blondes
“Zamanyly” (“Enticed”) by Jamala and DakhaBrakha
“Kruche Vseh” (“The coolest”) by Quest Pistols Show and Open Kids
“Moy brat” (“My brother”) by Konstantin Meladze and Valeriy Meladze
“Son” (“Dream”) by MONATIK and L’One
Discovery Of The Year:
Detach
Ivan NAVI
MamaRika
Agon’
Griby
Best Concert Show:
Boombox’s Ukraine tour “Liudy” (“People”)
LOBODA’S Ukraine tour “K chertu liubov” (“Damn love”)
Vremya i Steklo’s Ukraine tour “Tur 505” (“Tour 505”)
The HARDKISS’s 5-year anniversary concerts “The HARDKISS. Five”
Okean Elzy’s world tour in support of “Bez mezh” (“No limits”) album
Fresh Sound:
Dima Libra Ivashchenko
ACCA
Cepasa
Naosleep
Best New Media Artist (nominees will be announced on the day of the event)
Contribution to the development of Ukrainian music industry (special award):
TNMK
Best Artist’s Management:
Enjoy! Records – Jamala
Mason Entertainment – DZIDZIO
VIDLIK Records – Onuka
Budynok kultury – Tina Karol
Egor Kiryanov – The HARDKISS
Muzyka dlia mas – Boombox
Natella Krapivina – LOBODA
Oleksandr Kazhyian (Secret Service) – Max Barskih
Olexiy Potapenko, Iryna Gorova (MOZGI Enterntainment) – Mozgi, Vremya i Steklo, Potap i Nastya
Supersymmetriya – Okean Elzy
Yula Yula (YULA) – MONATIK
Yulia Kamenchuk, Olga Chertkova – O. Torvald
