Junior Eurovision 2021 Review - Ukraine: Olena Usenko Vazhil

The Artist 
Ukraine’s representative this year is 14 year old Olena Usenko from Bila Tserkva. She won the Ukrainian National Final to earn the right to be Ukraine’s representative this year after coming second in 2020. 
Olena loves writing poetry, painting, as well as singing.

The Song

Vazhil is about living your life to the fullest and in the way that makes you feel good. The song is entirely in Ukrainian and is a soft rock ballad. Vazhil translates to Leverage in English. 

Olena wrote the song herself with some help with the arrangement from Kateryna Komar.

You can find the song on our YouTube playlist and should be on our Spotify in the next few days when the official 2021 album drops.

Ukraine at JESC 

2021 is Ukraine’s 16th participation in Junior Eurovision after their debut in 2006. They won the contest in 2012 with Anastasiya Petryk singing Nebo. Ukraine has also come second twice in 2008 and 2013. 

OGAE Australia JESC Team scores and thoughts: 

Ally: 8/10
Wow, the power in Olena’s voice is amazing! The fact that she’s only 14 is nuts.

If Ukraine stage this right, this will make a huge impact and I can’t wait to see what they do with the staging. 

Blake: 5/10 ✭✭✭✭✭✩✩✩✩✩

Wow, Olena's vocals are so powerful and it's amazing she wrote this herself! I'm not too sure what the message is however hence a lower score but it's still really good! 

Danie: 9/10 ✭✭✭✭✭✭✭✭✭✩

WOAH what a voice, Olena! I love a good power ballad and this ticks all the boxes for me. 

Kurtis: 8/10 ✭✭✭✭✭✭✭✭✩✩

Now this is what you call an epic song! Exceptional vocal abilities! Christina Aguilera is that you? Such a dynamic song, with an incredible and charismatic performer! The song feels like a mix of ballad and rock, and I love it! Only critique, what is the message of the song?

Raquel: 9/10 ✭✭✭✭✭✭✭✭✭✩

Wow! This song is ✨ A M A Z I N G ✨  THIS IS 100% THE BEST SONG OF THEM ALL! OH MY GOD! I’m adding this to my playlist NOW. She has such an AMAZING voice! The reason it is not 10 is because I don’t know the message… But still! I LOVE IT!!!

Average Score: 7.8

The JESC Team score does not reflect the views of all OGAE Australia members.