In the spotlight: Kalush Orchestra

Eurovision week has arrived. Tomorrow night is  the first semifinal of the Eurovision Song Contest 2022. One of the contenders for the win this Saturday is Ukraine, which is represented by the group Kalush Orchestra. But who are they?

Kalush Orchestra is a Ukrainian rap group that was founded in 2019 as Kalush. The group consists of founder and rapper Oleh Psiuk, multi-instrumentalist Igor Didenchuk, and DJ MC Kilimmen. Didenchuk is also a member of electro-folk band Go_A, which took part in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021.

Kalush was founded in 2019 and named after Psiuk’s place of birth, Kalush (Калуш) in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast. (An oblast is an administrative unit, comparable to a province)


Kalush Orchestra on during the Turquois Carpet Ceremony

The band’s first music video, for the song ‘Ne marynui’ (Не маринуй), was released on October 17, 2019.

The clip’s director, Delta Arthur, directed previously many music videos of Ukrainian rapper Alyona Alyona. The video was shot on the streets of Kalush.

After the release of their second music video ‘Ty honysh’ (Ти гониш) in November 2019, Kalush signed a recording contract with American hip-hop label Def Jam Recordings. The debut album Hotin was released on February 19, 2021, followed by the successor Yo-yo (Йо-йо) on July 21, 2021. The latter record was made by the band with rapper Skofka.

The band announced the launch of a parallel project called Kalush Orchestra in 2021. This project doesn’t solely focus on rap, but rather on a mix of rap with folk motifs and Ukrainian traditional music. The core members of Kalush are joined for this project by multi-instrumentalists Tymofii Muzychuk and Vitalii Duzhyk.

Kalush Orchestra took part in the preliminaries for the Eurovision Song Contest on February 12, 2022.

They did this with the song ‘Stefania’. They finished in second place, after rapper Alina Pasj. After controversy arose over Pash’s visit to Crimea, she was forced to withdraw. As a result we will see Kalush Orchestra on stage at the Eurovision Song Contest in Turin, Italy.

We are confident that Kalush will qualify for the final tomorrow. But will they also win? Who knows. In any case, we wish Kalush Orchestra every success!

 

Photo credits: EBU

 

 

 

Picture of Anja Kroeze

Anja Kroeze

See all contributions

Related news
Eurovision 2026

Noam Bessan represents Israel

Israel participates in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest. Noam Bessan has won the contest. The song will be announced later. Assaf Amdursky, Keren Peles, Shiri Maimon, Eden Hasson and Itay Levy were the judges. The song titles are no Eurovision Songs, as HaKokhav Haba is a talent show. The final starts at 20.30 CET and will be aired through Mako. Final date: 20 januariPlace: Communication Centre, Neve IlanHosts: Assi Ezer & Rotem Sela As this is a talent show, the songs were not their Eurovision songs. The jury had to choose between the two participants with the least points. They could save one.  * Alona Erez Chandelier   elimintade a     * Gal De Paz Fame   advanced       * Noam Bettan Nitzacht Iti Hakol   advanced       * Shira Zloof Ahava   advanced       The three finalists are:           * Shira Zloof Hoplessly Devoted To You 74 3       * Noam Bettan Dernière Danse 192 1       * Gal De Paz All I Ask 94 2       The song, the winner will sing, will be announced later.       32nd round, semifinal date: 16 januariPlace: Communication Centre, Neve IlanHosts: Assi Ezer & Rotem Sela As this is a talent show, the songs were not their Eurovision songs. The jury had to choose between the two participants with the least points. They could save one.  1 Alona Erez You Are The Reason   64 3       2 Shaked Solomon Standing At The Gate   53 5       3 Gal De Paz Oscar-winning tears   68 2       4 Shira Zloof Behom Shel Tel Aviv   56 4       5 Noam Bettan Formidable   70 1       The jury saved Shira Zloof. Shaked Solomon had to leave the show.   31st round, quarter final date: 13 januariPlace: Communication Centre, Neve IlanHosts: Assi Ezer & Rotem Sela As this is a talent show, the songs were not their Eurovision songs. The jury had to choose between the two participants with the least points. They could save one. In this round, all the artists had to sing a song from the repertoire of Hanan Ben Ari. 1 Gal De Paz Mimech Ad Elay   60 1       2 Shaked Solomon Ma Ata Rotze Mimeni?   46 4       3 Alona Erez Shvurei Lev   41 5       4 Michael HarPaz Amen Al Hayeladim   38 6       5 Shira Zloof Im Tirtzi   52 3       6 Noam Bettan Atalef Iver   58 2       The jury saved Alona Erez. Michael HarPaz had to leave the show.   30th round date: 13 januariPlace: Communication Centre, Neve IlanHosts: Assi Ezer & Rotem Sela As this is a talent show, the songs were not their Eurovision songs. The jury had to choose between the two participants with the least points. They could save one. 1 Michael Harpaz Lose Control   46 4       2 Shaked Solomon Brit olam   44 5       3 Gal De Paz Proud Mary   50 3       4 Alona Erez Idontwannabeyouanymore   42 6       5 Nave Levi Sipur makhur   37 7       6 Noam Bettan Someone You Loved   52 2       7 Shira Zloof Million Years Ago   58 1       The jury saved Alona Erez. Nave Levi had to leave the show.   29th round date: 11 januariPlace: Communication Centre, Neve IlanHosts: Assi Ezer & Rotem Sela As this is a talent show, the songs were not their Eurovision songs. The jury had to choose between the two participants with the least points. They could save one. In this round, all the artists had to sing a song from the repertoire of Shlomo Artzi. 1 Michael HarPaz Tagidi   90% 1       2 Alona Erez Gever Holekh Lelbud   43% 5       3 Agam Hazan Alash   66% 4       4 Nave Levi Yareach   90% 1       5 Noam Bettan Latet ve Lakachat   84% 3       The jury saved Alona Erez. Agam Hazan had to leave the show.   28th round date: 10 januariPlace: Communication Centre, Neve IlanHosts: Assi Ezer & Rotem Sela As this is a talent show, the songs were not their Eurovision songs. The jury had to choose between the two participants with the least points. They could save one. In this round, all the artists had to sing a song from the repertoire of Shlomo Artzi. 1 Tamir Levy Navreti lach   79% 3       2 Shira Zloof Iceland   92% 1       3 Shaked Solomon Sadot shel Iruzim   55% 4       4 Gal De Paz Akhrei Hakol At Shir   81% 2       The jury saved Shaked Solomon. Tamir Levy had to leave the show.   27th round date: 7 januariPlace: Communication Centre, Neve IlanHosts: Assi Ezer & Rotem Sela As this is a talent show, the songs were not their Eurovision songs. The jury had to choose between the two participants with the least points. They could save one. 1 Nave Levi Mademoiselle   88% 1       2 Agam Hazan How Far I’ll Go   66% 4       3 Shaked Solomon Ananim   79% 3       4 Dorin Or Leilot ve kelalot   52% 5       5 Shira Zloof Kol Hazman Haze   86% 2       The jury saved Agam Hazan. Dorin Or had to leave the show.   26th round date: 6 januariPlace: Communication Centre, Neve IlanHosts: Assi Ezer & Rotem Sela As this is a talent show, the songs were not their Eurovision songs. The jury had to choose between the two

Read More »
January 20, 2026 No Comments
Eurovision 2026
Martijn

Noam Bessan represents Israel

Israel participates in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest. Noam Bessan has won the contest. The song will be announced later. Assaf Amdursky, Keren Peles, Shiri Maimon, Eden Hasson and Itay Levy were the judges. The song titles are no Eurovision Songs, as HaKokhav Haba is a talent show. The final starts at 20.30 CET and will be aired through Mako. Final date: 20 januariPlace: Communication Centre, Neve IlanHosts: Assi Ezer & Rotem Sela As this is a talent show, the songs were not their Eurovision songs. The jury had to choose between the two participants with the least points. They could save one.  * Alona Erez Chandelier   elimintade a     * Gal De Paz Fame   advanced       * Noam Bettan Nitzacht Iti Hakol   advanced       * Shira Zloof Ahava   advanced       The three finalists are:           * Shira Zloof Hoplessly Devoted To You 74 3       * Noam Bettan Dernière Danse 192 1       * Gal De Paz All I Ask 94 2       The song, the winner will sing, will be announced later.       32nd round, semifinal date: 16 januariPlace: Communication Centre, Neve IlanHosts: Assi Ezer & Rotem Sela As this is a talent show, the songs were not their Eurovision songs. The jury had to choose between the two participants with the least points. They could save one.  1 Alona Erez You Are The Reason   64 3       2 Shaked Solomon Standing At The Gate   53 5       3 Gal De Paz Oscar-winning tears   68 2       4 Shira Zloof Behom Shel Tel Aviv   56 4       5 Noam Bettan Formidable   70 1       The jury saved Shira Zloof. Shaked Solomon had to leave the show.   31st round, quarter final date: 13 januariPlace: Communication Centre, Neve IlanHosts: Assi Ezer & Rotem Sela As this is a talent show, the songs were not their Eurovision songs. The jury had to choose between the two participants with the least points. They could save one. In this round, all the artists had to sing a song from the repertoire of Hanan Ben Ari. 1 Gal De Paz Mimech Ad Elay   60 1       2 Shaked Solomon Ma Ata Rotze Mimeni?   46 4       3 Alona Erez Shvurei Lev   41 5       4 Michael HarPaz Amen Al Hayeladim   38 6       5 Shira Zloof Im Tirtzi   52 3       6 Noam Bettan Atalef Iver   58 2       The jury saved Alona Erez. Michael HarPaz had to leave the show.   30th round date: 13 januariPlace: Communication Centre, Neve IlanHosts: Assi Ezer & Rotem Sela As this is a talent show, the songs were not their Eurovision songs. The jury had to choose between the two participants with the least points. They could save one. 1 Michael Harpaz Lose Control   46 4       2 Shaked Solomon Brit olam   44 5       3 Gal De Paz Proud Mary   50 3       4 Alona Erez Idontwannabeyouanymore   42 6       5 Nave Levi Sipur makhur   37 7       6 Noam Bettan Someone You Loved   52 2       7 Shira Zloof Million Years Ago   58 1       The jury saved Alona Erez. Nave Levi had to leave the show.   29th round date: 11 januariPlace: Communication Centre, Neve IlanHosts: Assi Ezer & Rotem Sela As this is a talent show, the songs were not their Eurovision songs. The jury had to choose between the two participants with the least points. They could save one. In this round, all the artists had to sing a song from the repertoire of Shlomo Artzi. 1 Michael HarPaz Tagidi   90% 1       2 Alona Erez Gever Holekh Lelbud   43% 5       3 Agam Hazan Alash   66% 4       4 Nave Levi Yareach   90% 1       5 Noam Bettan Latet ve Lakachat   84% 3       The jury saved Alona Erez. Agam Hazan had to leave the show.   28th round date: 10 januariPlace: Communication Centre, Neve IlanHosts: Assi Ezer & Rotem Sela As this is a talent show, the songs were not their Eurovision songs. The jury had to choose between the two participants with the least points. They could save one. In this round, all the artists had to sing a song from the repertoire of Shlomo Artzi. 1 Tamir Levy Navreti lach   79% 3       2 Shira Zloof Iceland   92% 1       3 Shaked Solomon Sadot shel Iruzim   55% 4       4 Gal De Paz Akhrei Hakol At Shir   81% 2       The jury saved Shaked Solomon. Tamir Levy had to leave the show.   27th round date: 7 januariPlace: Communication Centre, Neve IlanHosts: Assi Ezer & Rotem Sela As this is a talent show, the songs were not their Eurovision songs. The jury had to choose between the two participants with the least points. They could save one. 1 Nave Levi Mademoiselle   88% 1       2 Agam Hazan How Far I’ll Go   66% 4       3 Shaked Solomon Ananim   79% 3       4 Dorin Or Leilot ve kelalot   52% 5       5 Shira Zloof Kol Hazman Haze   86% 2       The jury saved Agam Hazan. Dorin Or had to leave the show.   26th round date: 6 januariPlace: Communication Centre, Neve IlanHosts: Assi Ezer & Rotem Sela As this is a talent show, the songs were not their Eurovision songs. The jury had to choose between the two

Read More »
January 20, 2026 No Comments
© 2019 – 2026 Eurovision Universe / eurovisionuniverse.com

Maintained in cooperation with IT-M.art

Follow Us: