Standing in front of Hotel Ukraine at Independence Square, Kyiv, it looks like a square like any other square in big European cities. It was the place where, last year, Ukrainians gathered to protest against the election results. Although the revolution itself is over, the real changes take much more time. We spoke with GreenJolly, the Ukrainian Eurovision Song Contest representatives, about the Orange Revolution, their song, their future plans and the upcoming contest!
Roman Kalyn, Roman Kostyuk and Andriy Pisetskyi are the three members of GreenJolly. We met in front of the Monument of Independence at Maidan Nezalezhnosti, better known as Independence Square. Within minutes, people approached them for autographes, which made clear that the group is very popular among the locals.
Razom nas bahato is a song about revolution. What's the meaning of the song for you guys?
Initially, the song was about revolution. We tried to move away from the political issues to a more freedom supporting song. See it like a European song of freedom! We just returned from our European promotion tour and we found out that no matter their age, people sing along the song. At the end, we feel proud that Ukraine chose this song and we are confident that they made the right decision. Not only for Ukraine, but also for the rest of Europe.
Tell us something about GreenJolly's recent developments!
The band was founded eight years ago and since we got selected to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest. Everything went really fast. There is a marketing strategy behind the band, we are working on an album which contains songs we wrote over the past eight years.
The organisation of this year's Eurovision Song Contest has not been easy for your country. What is your conclusion on the organisation of this event?
We are confident that everything is okay. The governement and the broadcaster were very short in time, but due to co-operation from the highest level, everything seems to be just fine now. We heard many positive reactions on the stage and the events organised around the contest.
That brings us to the difficult period your country faced over the past months. What do you expect the future to bring to Ukraine?
We do expect big changes, both in terms of economy as well as the mentality, that has to change to make everyone feel free. We hope these changes come quickly!
