A video of YAKTAK's performance on The Voice. Kids: how 13-year-old "Oleh Vynnyk" from a village in Volyn made the whole hall squeak

The young Ukrainian singer YAKTAK took fourth place at the National Selection for the Eurovision Song Contest 2024, receiving 6 and 10 points from the judges and the audience respectively. The 18-year-old singer's fan base is really very powerful. We can assume that Yaroslav Karpuk (real name) is no stranger to such attention. Since childhood, he has been the star of his native village of Stara Vyzhivka in Volyn. And when 13-year-old Yaryk turned all the judges' chairs around on the Voice. Children (1+1), he became a star for the whole of Ukraine.

It was 2019 and the fifth season of the children's singing show. An archived video of Karpuk's blind auditions surfaced on TikTok and went viral, so OBOZ.UA decided to recall how it happened.

Back then, the 13-year-old talented boy told the audience that he had been raised in love with music since he was a cradle.

Even then, the teenager was very popular among girls. "All the villagers call me the nightingale of Stara Vyzhivka. I have as many as eight girls as my backup dancers," Yaroslav said with a shy smile.

Meanwhile, the girls in the backup band said the following: "Yaroslav is so handsome that all the girls are swooning over him." Another added: "I am very pleased to perform with him on the same stage, because he lights up everything with his crazy energy."

For the blind auditions, the boy chose the song Can't help falling in love by the iconic Elvis Presley. Despite his young age, he was incredibly confident in his performance of the extremely difficult song.

"I am inspired by people who believe in my talent. For their sake, I am ready to create the musical history of the country. I promised that I would turn all four chairs around on The Voice, and I will not back down from my promise," Karpuk assured before going on stage.

And so it happened. Jamala, Dzidzio, and Nadia Dorofeeva with Positive quickly pressed the buttons when they heard the voice of the "nightingale of Stara Vyzhivka." In the audience, the boy's performance was greeted with a standing ovation.

The judges even stood up to applaud the 13-year-old participant. Jamala said: "You are such a diamond, who on the one hand can be very simple and close to the people, and on the other hand can be on such large, real venues, with an orchestra, singing real great music. I see this potential in you. When you were singing, Nadiia and I looked at each other and said: "This must be an invited guest. It can't be a child." You are the most musical singer who sang on this stage today."

Dzidzio called the young vocalist a nugget and assured him that he had come to the project to find just such a participant. The boy could not resist such words and chose Mykhailo Khoma (the artist's real name) as his mentor. Afterward, the coach said: "Now I have every chance of winning with a guy like this." Dzizdzo's expectations almost came true-Jaroslav made it to the super final and took second place in the project.

Yaroslav Karpuk, or rather the already popular singer YAKTAK, took second place at the National Selection based on the results of the audience vote. The performer received 10 points from the audience, but 6 from the judges. This result allowed him to take fourth place at the National Selection with his song Lalala, which has already become a hit.

Meanwhile, in the comments under the video on TikTok, viewers share their thoughts on the singer's performance five years ago and his maturation. Someone even compared Yaroslav's voice to that of Oleh Vynnyk. The commenters are shocked at how strong the singer's vocals are. However, they also wonder why, having such a talent, he chose the "mediocre" track Lalala for the National Selection, in which he allegedly did not reveal his full potential.

"And now he's la-la-la," "How could he go to the National Selection with such a powerful voice with Lalala?", "Such a talent, and now he sings pop," users share their opinions.