Kalush Orchestra
Ukrainian folk-hip hop group and Eurovision 2022 winners.
Kalush Orchestra is a Ukrainian folk-hip hop group formed in 2021 as a side project of the rap group Kalush. They won the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 with the song "Stefania", marking Ukraine's third victory in the competition. The group blends Ukrainian folk music with modern production, hip-hop dance, and Ukrainian-language rap.
Quick Facts
- Origin
- Kalush, Ukraine
- Genre
- Hip hop, Folk rap
- Years active
- 2021–present
- Label
- Universal Music
- Spinoff of
- Kalush
- Current members
- Oleh Psiuk
- Tymofii Muzychuk
- Sasha Tab
- Sasha Kondratiuk
- Vitalii Duzhyk
- MC KYLYMMEN
Facts from the source article.
History
Kalush Orchestra was created in 2021 as a group of six musicians and a side project of rap group Kalush, which had been founded in 2019. The name derives from the city of Kalush, the hometown of frontman Oleh Psiuk in the Ivano-Frankivsk region. On 12 February 2022, Kalush Orchestra competed in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 national selection Vidbir with the song "Stefania". In the final, they placed second with 14 points (six from the jury and eight from the audience). Alina Pash received the highest jury score of 8 points and 7 audience points, giving her first place. Despite finishing second, the band was offered the chance to represent Ukraine at Eurovision after Pash withdrew her candidacy due to controversy regarding her travel history in Crimea. On 22 February, Kalush Orchestra accepted the offer; that same day, the Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne published the official voting results confirming Pash had been correctly chosen as the winner, contrary to Psiuk's claims. The group won the Eurovision final on 14 May with 631 points, securing Ukraine's third Eurovision victory. "Stefania" became the first song with rap lyrics to win the contest and the winning song with the highest number of televote points in its history. The group later announced they would auction their Eurovision trophy to raise money for the Ukrainian armed forces; the trophy was sold for $900,000, with proceeds earmarked for combat drones. They then embarked on a promotional tour across Europe and North America to raise awareness and donations for Ukraine's efforts against the Russian invasion. In November 2022, they performed "Oy na hori" and "Stefania" at the 2022 MTV Europe Music Awards. On 12 July 2023, the group released "Chase" and "Human" as part of the Spotify Singles project, recorded at Spotify Studios in Los Angeles. On 14 July 2023, a Spotify Singles billboard featuring Kalush Orchestra appeared in Times Square. In June 2023, they presented their third English-language track titled "In the Fire". In September 2023, the band released the first track "Vogon' goryt'" (meaning "the fire is burning") without the participation of Oleh Psiuk, dedicated to an experimental mini-tour that took place in December 2023.
Charity
Kalush Orchestra made history on May 30, 2022, when they sold their Eurovision Song Contest 2022 crystal microphone trophy at a charity auction for $900,000, marking the first time that prize had ever been sold. The buyer was the Ukrainian cryptocurrency exchange WhiteBIT. The auction also included the lead singer’s pink panama hat, which brought in 11 million hryvnias. The Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundation stated the money would go toward a PD-2 unmanned aerial complex for Ukraine’s military. On the eve of Independence Day, August 23, 2022, the band ran a 24-hour fundraiser asking for 24 hryvnias per person to support the rehabilitation of Mariupol’s defenders, ultimately collecting 5 million hryvnias. Starting in August 2022, Kalush Orchestra became ambassadors for the “Save Ukrainian Culture” project, a joint effort by the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy and Vodafone Ukraine. At their concerts, they display a unique QR code to gather donations for rebuilding cultural sites damaged by war. After a show in the United States, they gave 330,000 hryvnias to restore the Hryhorii Skovoroda museum in Kharkiv region, which Russian forces had nearly burned down. In March 2023, MC KYLYMMEN joined the “Ambassador of Childhood” initiative, a nationwide effort to offer psychological and social support to displaced children. Later that month, on March 30, the entire band became ambassadors for the militarized police unit “Lut’,” which translates to “Fury.” December 2023 saw them partner with the “Peremoga” Charitable Foundation on “Magical Mail of Saint Nicholas,” a project that fulfilled wishes for war-affected children; MC KYLYMMEN personally chose and sent gifts to 50 kids, worth around 150,000 hryvnias. During their third North American tour in 2023, the group raised 990,225 hryvnias for charitable causes. In January 2024, they teamed up with the EKO-market store chain and the “Tvoya opora” charity fund to raise money for water purification systems at Kherson Regional Hospital. The 1.9 million UAH target was met within a month, and the equipment was installed in June 2024.
Interesting facts
In October 2022, Kalush Orchestra met Arnold Schwarzenegger and took a photo of him wearing a pink bucket hat. He later appeared in their music video for the song "Shchedryi Vechir." The following May, Schwarzenegger invited the band to perform at his Austrian World Summit. In April 2023, Ukrposhta released a stamp featuring the group in Kalush, the hometown of frontman Oleh Psiuk. At the Eurovision grand final in Liverpool on May 13, 2023, Kalush Orchestra opened the show with "Voices of Generation," which sent "Stefania" on a journey from Ukraine to Liverpool via subways and chamber orchestras. Joss Stone, Andrew Lloyd Webber, and Princess Kate Middleton joined the performance; Middleton played piano alongside the band and Sam Ryder. They also debuted their English single "Changes." In December 2023, the band toured Europe without Psiuk. In May 2022, the Kyiv-Ivano-Frankivsk train was renamed "Stefania Express," the first train named after a mother. At stations in Kyiv, Kalush, and Ivano-Frankivsk, it is greeted by the song "Stefania," which the band performed at Eurovision 2022 in Turin.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which record labels has Kalush Orchestra released music on?
Kalush Orchestra has released music on Universal Music.
Who are the current members of Kalush Orchestra?
The current members of Kalush Orchestra are listed as Oleh Psiuk, Tymofii Muzychuk, Sasha Tab, Sasha Kondratiuk, Vitalii Duzhyk and MC KYLYMMEN.
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