You've seen them on The X Factor and The Voice. Seven finalists of the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 who became famous thanks to popular shows

To become a star, you need to "shine" on television or any popular platform (such as YouTube or Instagram). Of course, the first performances may be awkward: no charisma, no convincing performance, no spectacle... All this can be improved later! The main thing is to start. Do not be afraid to declare your talent in public.

We decided to find out what popular shows the participants of the National Selection for Eurovision 2024 started with.

1. YAKTAK

Ukrainian pop and hip-hop singer YAKTAK (real name - Yaroslav Karpuk) performed his incendiary song Lalala at the Eurovision Song Contest 2024. The 18-year-old artist took an honorable 4th place in the rating table.

When did Ukraine find out about him? In 2019. Then Yaroslav took part in the 5th season of the TV show "The Voice. The Voice. His performance "turned" all the judges' chairs around and got into the team of the singer and actor Dzidzio. Even then, the young man was "predicted" a great artistic future... As a result, he took 2nd place. What prevented you from winning? "I was not sure of myself at the time. If in the previous rounds I knew clearly that "come on, you can do it," in the final I started to hesitate... I lost to myself even before the final started," Yaroslav said in an interview with ZhVL.

Fortunately, the artist did not lose faith in himself and soon after the show began releasing both solo tracks and duets with celebrities (for example, with Jerry Heil, MamaRika, SOBOL, DOVI, and KOLA).

2. INGRET

The alternative singer and songwriter INGRET (real name: Ingret Kostenko) at the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 was remembered by the audience for her soulful performance of the song Keeper, performed against the backdrop of lightning flashes in the sky (6th place). By the way, earlier, in 2018, the girl already participated in the National Selection. She sang the song " Save My Planet", which intertwined trap and plaint. According to the results of the jury and audience voting, she took 7th place and did not make it to the final of the competition.

The Vinnytsia resident began her journey to showbiz by participating in the League of Laughter humor festival as a member of the team "Nichto so". Then, in 2015, she tried her hand at the X Factor show. The girl sang the song "Stop Talking About Someone Who Isn't There" and got four yeses. She made it to the third training camp, and then her competitors beat her to the punch. Two years passed. Ingret decided to break through to the big stage again with a music project, so she took part in The Voice. She made it to the superfinal and took 2nd place.

3. Jerry Heil

Ukrainian singer and songwriter Yana Shemaieva, aka Jerry Heil, and rapper alyona alyona won the Eurovision Song Contest 2024. So, the artists will travel to Malmö (Sweden) to delight the European fans with the sensual composition Teresa & Maria. We would like to remind you that Yana has already participated in the national selection twice - in 2020 and 2022. And only now she has won the coveted victory!

Today, almost every song by Jerry Heil takes off in music charts and YouTube trends. At the same time, the girl manages to write songs for other Ukrainian artists. What was the impetus for this? She lives for music! She is not deterred by setbacks and fierce competition in the showbiz. So, in 2018, the future star took part in the casting of the singing show "X-Factor", where she performed an a cappella medley of Oleg Vynnyk's songs. She received four "yeses," got into the training camp, and then left the show after the first test. Just a few weeks later, her new song, "Coffee," appeared on the Internet. Step by step... Now the whole world knows about the young artist!

4. MÉLOVIN

Konstantin Bocharov, better known as the Ukrainian singer, composer and producer MÉLOVIN, has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest three times. The first time was in 2017, with the song Wonder, and he took 3rd place in the audience and jury voting. The second time was in 2018. Back then, the talented artist represented Ukraine at the international Eurovision Song Contest: he performed Under The Ladder and took 17th place. You probably remember his performance with the piano on fire. In 2024, MÉLOVIN performed at the National Selection with the song Dreamer. This time he took 3rd place.

From the very beginning of his career, MÉLOVIN seems to have known which strategy would be the right one. It's about determination (sometimes stubbornness), experimentation with different styles of music, and shocking images. He participated three times in the qualifiers of the Ukrainian singing show "X-Factor" but never made it to the TV auditions. Despite his failures, he did not give up! In 2015, he managed not only to get into the training camp, but also to reach the superfinal and become the winner.

5. SKYLERR

This participant of the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 "went down in history" not so much for her performance as for her decision to withdraw her candidacy from the voting immediately after a large-scale failure in the Diia app. Spoiler alert: the organizers did not allow her to do so. The singer and songwriter SKYLERR, whose real name is Valeria Kudryavets, performed the dance song Time is running, written in Ukrainian and English, and took 7th place in the voting.

In 2023, the artist was unlucky to be shortlisted for the National Selection, but she did not give up and this year she managed to become a finalist! It is also known that Valeria has participated in more than 50 competitions and festivals. At the age of 14, she won the show "Sing Like a Star" and won 100 thousand hryvnias. At 15, she took part in the 6th season of The X Factor. She passed the qualifying round, got into the training camp, and then couldn't cope with the workload and quit the project. Later, she returned to the same show in season 10, but failed to reach the final.

6. Ziferblat

The Ukrainian music band ZIFERBLAT, which Ukrainians called the discovery of the year and even compared to the iconic Beatles, performed the lyrical song Place I Call Home at Eurovision 2024 and took 2nd place. The band consists of three members: lead singer Daniil Leshchynsky, guitarist Valentyn Leshchynsky, and drummer Fedir Khodakov.

Do you think that they have recently appeared on the big stage? No, they haven't. In 2019, the guys took part in the X Factor show, where they presented their driving song "At Night". With their energy and unique style of music, they won the hearts of the jury members, but failed to win. In October 2022, the band was included in the longlist of the Eurovision National Selection, but did not reach the top ten finalists.

7. NAHABA

NAHABA consists of vocalist Olga Nahaba and vocalist Andriy Naumenko. Their work combines a soft female voice with male drive and extreme vocals. At the Eurovision Song Contest 2024, the duo sang the song Glasss, which had previously been caught up in a scandal over alleged plagiarism. The jury and the audience gave their performance 6 points (10th place).

Now let's talk more about each of the NAHABA participants. So, we know that Olga performs solo under the pseudonym Vakyolia. She started playing music at the age of... 2 years old. Later, she graduated as a choral conductor and pop singer and has been traveling around Europe since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Why? The girl reminds foreigners of the brutal realities in her native land with her performances on the streets.

What about Andriy? He previously participated in The Voice 11: he was part of the team of Ukrainian singer Nadia Dorofeeva and managed to reach the quarterfinals! While participating in the project, the artist managed to demonstrate to the audience a wide range of voice and the ability to scream. In 2023, his fate changed: Andriy joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine and now serves in the 40th Tactical Aviation Brigade "Ghosts of Kyiv".