Fiіnka: what is known about the most colorful finalist of the National Selection for Eurovision 2025 and what her song is about

Ukrainian singer Iryna Vykhovanets, better known by her stage name Fiіnka, became the tenth finalist of the National Selection for Eurovision 2025, having collected the largest number of votes from her fellow citizens. The colorful artist was born and raised in a Hutsul family, so she wants to popularize the culture of her native land through her art.

In her tracks, the 31-year-old singer often uses authentic dialect, accent, and songs that are inherent in the ethnic group of Ukrainians living in the Carpathians. The singer did not deviate from her usual style of music when creating the track "Culture," which she submitted to the National Selection.

"If I manage to represent Ukraine in Europe, I want to convey this to them. That we are so cool, that we are such a strong nation because we know how to unite, and that is why our culture lives on today. I want our culture to be heard. Ukrainian culture is here. We are not somewhere else, we are not someone else, we are not without a clan, and without a tribe, we cannot be occupied and taken away, it is unrealistic. Because we still value what we have and we have it. This is what I want to convey," the artist said.

However, despite the fact that Fionka's song is filled with Hutsul motifs and dialect, the singer was accused of plagiarism. The fact is that some listeners noticed that the track "Culture" is allegedly very similar to the composition of the Spanish celebrity Rosalia – Con Altura in 2019.

Tina Karol, the music producer of this year's selection, responded to such statements: "I am glad that the participants and their songs do not leave anyone indifferent. There is no similarity in the songs in terms of tempo, harmony, rhythm, or content! In FIЇNKA, the word "hook" sounds like "culture," and in Rosalia it means "con altura" (which means to behave with dignity). This accusation of similarity in the comments (there are not many of them, thanks to the conscious ones) is not competent."

It is worth noting that it was not the first time that Fiinka decided to try her hand at the National Selection. In 2023, she made it to the final of the song contest with her song "Dovbush." In the production, the artist combined Carpathian authenticity and Ukrainian modernity, but her performance did not impress the audience much. The singer took 4th place in the general vote of the jury and the audience.

After that, Fiinka decided to take a break from participating in the National Selection and develop her career. She gave concerts all over Ukraine and sometimes appeared on stages abroad. The singer also released several tracks, including both humorous compositions and more serious and lyrical works.

Interestingly, at the end of 2023, Fiinka became the "face of Ukrainian Nazism," which she was very happy about. On her social media, the singer shared that she had received a photo of a propaganda poster with her image from a military man from Mariupol. The Russians called on Ukrainians to change Halushko's surname to Hlushkova in order to "cleanse themselves of the imposed Ukrainian Nazism."

"Lord, get down and look at this repentance. How can you use a photo of the most pro-Ukrainian young woman, a Hutsul woman, to call for a change of names? I wonder why my photo is on the cover of this newest interpretation of "Myna Mazailo"? Oh, that's right. I said in one of my interviews that I am a nationalist," the artist said.

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