Stefania by Kalush Orchestra

Ever since the start of the war on February 24, 2022, Kalush Orchestra’s fanbase significantly increased in numbers, gathering more listeners from Eastern and Western Europe, but also other regions (see Appendix III). According to Soundcharts data, their followers on social media and music streaming platforms almost tripled from the beginning of April until the end of July (also in Appendix III). Looking further back in time, however, they were not the finalists of the national selections for what songs to represent Ukraine at Eurovision. Alina Pash was the initial winner, but she withdrew her candidacy for Eurovision, due to conflicts on her supposed illegal travels to Crimea. It already seems this contest does not only play on music, but on politics as well. Kalush Orchestra’s song was the next to be selected, without knowing the role that it would have during a new Russian invasion. On February 25, 2022, reacting to the war that started just a day before, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), that is responsible for the Eurovision Song Contest, announced that “no Russian act will participate in this year’s [competition].” Marking the international support for Ukraine, this country’s entry turned to be the winner at Turin, on May 14, 2022. Times of war, however, are still terribly uncertain, as no one can predict exactly when and how they will come to an end. For this reason, the United Kingdom will be hosting Eurovision in 2023, for Ukraine, their entry gaining second place in Eurovision 2022.
 
The frontman of Kalush Orchestra, Oleh Psiuk, reflected on the band’s performing role in post-invasion months. According to an online interview, he states that “[representing] Ukraine in the international arena is always a responsibility, but [representing] it during the war is just the highest responsibility possible.” Stefania merges folk and modern styles, reflecting the mixture of national and European influences that this band combines, mirroring the country’s aspirations of tying relations with the West. After bringing victory to their motherland, Kalush Orchestra auctioned their trophy, and supported military efforts with these funds. Before delving into an analysis of their song’s lyrics, tunes, and relevant performances, it is worth reflecting on the history of Eurovision, and on the previous Ukrainian entries that they added to in 2022. This year is not the first in which political statements were taken on the stage of Eurovision.

Music Plays on Politics

Ever since 2000, the official Eurovision rules “explicitly banned political statements” from the show, yet this has not stopped them from being heard between the lyrics lines and stage lights of performances.(102) Irving Wolther argues that the Eurovision Song Contest is “more than just music.”(103) He analyzes this competition from its beginnings, in 1956, until his paper’s publication, in 2004, by introducing seven dimensions for understanding this yearly event: the media, the musical, the musical-economical, the political, the national-cultural, the national-economic, and the competitive dimensions.(104) Two of these aspects, the media and musical-economical ones, will not be detailed here as well, as they are less relevant for looking at Kalush Orchestra’s performance during times of war. The dimension of most interest is probably the political one. Presidents or politicians often dedicate their support to the musicians representing their nation-states, through live or recorded speeches that are shown during the contest. Another relevant example is how in 2005, when the competition was hosted in Kyiv, president Victor Yushchenko awarded a special prize to the winner of Eurovision, on behalf of the national government of Ukraine.(105) These are just a few of the many cases in which politics were intertwined with music at this international contest. Furthermore, entries to Eurovision show various displays of national-cultural identity, since participants “assume the clear responsibility of representing their respective countries” at this contest.(106) Musically, some songs might seem repetitive, in a style typical to Eurovision, but many countries, particularly from the Mediterranean region and Eastern Europe, try expressing the richness of their national identity through “folkloristic influences.”(107) An example that won Eurovision in 2004 is Ruslana’s Wild Dances, that “used elements of the archaic Hutsul culture to represent her country, which has a young political history.”(108) There is also a national-economic dimension to Eurovision: whether a country wins and then hosts this contest is important for its economy as well. Perhaps it might seem costly to organize an edition of this grand musical competition, but it comes with benefits too, “not only in terms of tourism but also in showcasing the national service sectors and promoting goods intended for export.”(109) It is also interesting to note that the contest’s voting system initially included a list of all the competing song titles, but this eventually turned into a list of the participating countries, accompanied by their national flags as well.(110) The change of the scoreboard indicates how competitive Eurovision became, as viewers vote for countries rather than songs, as nations rather than musical entries appear on the voting list.(111)

Russia and Ukraine both joined the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) in 1993, with the first participating in Eurovision ever since the following year, and the latter only since 2003.(112) Ukraine won Eurovision for the first time in 2004, with the song Wild Dances by Ruslana. As already mentioned before, the singer had important political roles in the Orange Revolution,(113) and then later on in the Euromaidan protests.(114) She was also elected as a member of the Ukrainian Parliament in 2006.(115) Even though the national broadcasting stations which form EBU are supposed to keep their independence from political affairs found in their country’s government and ruling parties, this is not the case in practice.(116) “Songs and performers are linked to their historical context and thus a product of their time.”(117) The audience can interpret performances in light of other elements as well, including collective memories on current or past marking events.(118) Considering this, Eurovision musical entries from Eastern Europe are more than a display of national heritage.(119) “Within a broader Russian-European context, the contributions also double as tools to broadcast post-Soviet regional conflicts on a European level.”(120) Furthermore, the imposing political powers of Russia and the West are fighting on musical and “symbolic discursive” battlefields, as they cannot “outmanoeuvre each other on trade or through military might.”(121) Ukraine is one of the major conflicts of interest between these powers, with its potential future as a member of the European Union or a puppet country tied to Russia.(122)

The events from 2014 were also reflected in the Eurovision edition of that year. After the annexation of Crimea, the Tolmachevy Sisterswere were booed in the semi-final voting, when it became obvious that Russia, the country that they represented, would be selected for the finals.(123) Further through the years, Jamala’s 2016 entry to Eurovision, the song 1944

decried the murder and dispossession of innocents that accompanies war [, alluding] explicitly through its title to Stalin’s expulsion of the singer’s Crimean Tatar compatriots from their homeland and, implicitly, to their present plight in Crimea.(124)

This was the second time Ukraine won Eurovision, and another example of international solidarity supporting its national struggle. Not all songs, however, have to be explicitly political to become a tool of nation-branding.(125)

A Mother’s Words and Lullabies

Stefania tells the story of a mother who grows old, but her lullaby stays hopeful, an anchor for her children as the years go by. With the start of the war, the song gained a new meaning too, taking a special place in the hearts of all Ukrainians. It paralleled the protection of their homeland, an image that also impressed supporters of Ukraine from all around the world. The title holds the name of Oleh Psyuk’s mother. Lyrics and melody play on painting an endearing image of belonging, shaping and evoking intra- and extratextual memories of what is deemed beautiful, and worth returning to by all Ukrainians.  In connection with the idea of music creating imagined spaces, the song can also offer a hopeful and more bearable alternative to the horrific image of war. The chorus repeats a call to the mother Stefania, who is growing older as in spring the “field is blooming,” a contrast that also stays valid for the destruction in Ukraine since winter’s end, in 2022. References to music and singing in the first verse (“She was rocking me as a baby, she gave me a rhythm” and the recurring “Lully-lully-lullaby...”) are contrasted with the sound of storms outside, that children could always face knowing the safety of their mother’s presence. Taking these lines in the context of performance during times of war, the song Stefania itself may also fulfill similar functions to the lullaby mentioned inside it, imagining, gathering, and enforcing the national community and those standing in solidarity with it. Another notable line, from the second verse, refers to the unending love that children can have for their kind mothers, even if they might sometimes feel as if reaching a “dead-end.” Comparing this part as well with the situation in Ukraine, patriots still fight, defending their homeland no matter how dire the times can become.

Turning to the tunes, the song combines various genres in praising a familial image. Oleh Psyuk comments on Kalush Orchestra’s style:

The band combines old forgotten folklore, which could have been forgotten through many generations, and new, modern contemporary hip-hop and rap – all mixed into one cocktail. That’s why it has an interesting sound, but I don’t know anything similar to that.

Stefania features traditional flute instruments, the sopilka, and telenka, which contrast and complement the rap parts of the song. It was originally written in the key D minor, with a low emotional valence.(126) The mixture of folkloric and Western influences found in the song Stefania arguably mirrors the bridge that many Ukrainians would like to see between their country and Europe. Being the winning Eurovision entry in 2022, it also indicates the international support that Ukraine’s representatives gained across its borders. Their final performance at Eurovision was accompanied by explicit political statements related to the war, even if this would probably be against the official rules.

Furthermore, the official Eurovision video includes battlefield imagery, with various female soldiers carrying their children through the ruined cities of Ukraine. The added description by Oleh Psyuk indicates the function of the song as an unofficial anthem of their country:

Although there is not a word about the war in the song, many people began to associate the song with mother Ukraine. Moreover, society began to call it the anthem of our war! But if Stefania is now the anthem of our war, I would like it to become the anthem of our victory.

As the lyrics sing as well, Ukrainians hope of returning home one day, “even if all roads are destroyed.” This anthem of victory could then help them imagine and contribute to a restored image of their motherland, for which Western solidarity also sings along.