We now know the first 3 acts set to compete in the final of the Ukrainian national selection on the 24 February. But who managed to earn the votes of the combined public and jury vote?

This evening, the first 9 artists took to the Ukrainian national selection stage in order to perform their entries publicly for the very first time.

All 9 acts were competing for the votes of 2 separate groups: not only were the participants performing for the hearts of the public, but they were all singing for the votes from the 3-member jury panel.

The judging panel of the 2018 Ukrainian national selection included Jamala (2016 Eurovision winner), Andriy Danylko (known under his drag persona Verka Serduchka) and Eugene Filatov (founder of the group Onuka).

First 3 qualifiers decided

Tonight’s show, which took place at the Palace of Culture KPI, saw the first 3 qualifiers of the evening determined by the combined vote of the competition.

Each voting group were given votes from 1 to 9, with 1 being the lowest score and 9 being the highest. Combined, the top 3 would earn their spots in the final of Vidbir 2018.

During the voting process, the Czech Republic’s 2018 Eurovision representative, Mikolas Josef, took to the stage as an interval act to perform his official entry, Lie to me. Last year’s Ukrainian representatives, O.Torvald, also performed this evening.

Mikolas Josef performing at the 2018 Ukrainian national selection

Following a combined vote, it was revealed that the following acts would become the first official Ukrainian finalists:

• Laud – Waiting
• Vilna – Forest song
• The Erised – Heroes

Vilna was voted as the televoting favourite of the evening, whilst the jury panel awarded Laud with the highest amount of votes.

Next week, the remaining 9 semi-finalists will compete once again for a spot in the final of the competition, set to take place on the 24 February.

The winner of Vidbir 2018 will be decided via a combined public and jury vote, with the winning act set to compete at the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest this coming May.

Vidbir 2018 schedule

• 10/02: Semi-final 1
• 17/02: Semi-final 2 (Nine participants, 3 qualifiers)
• 24/02: Grand final (Six finalists, winner determined)