1944 (song)

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"1944"
Single by Jamala
Released 12 February 2016
Format Digital download
Recorded 2015
Length 3:00
Label Enjoy
Writer(s) Susana Jamaladinova
Jamala singles chronology
"Подих"
(2015)		 "1944"
(2016)
Ukraine "1944"
Eurovision Song Contest 2016 entry
Country
Artist(s)
Languages
Composer(s)
Jamala
Lyricist(s)
Jamala
Finals performance
Semi-final result
2nd
Semi-final points
287
Final result
1st
Final points
534
Appearance chronology
◄ "Tick-Tock" (2014)   

"1944" is a song written and performed by Ukrainian singer Jamala (Ukrainian: Джамала, Crimean Tatar: Camala). It represented Ukraine in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 and won with a total of 534 points.[1][2]

Background and lyrics

The lyrics for "1944" concern the deportation of the Crimean Tatars, in the 1940s, by the Soviet Union at the hands of Joseph Stalin because of their alleged collaboration with the Nazis.[3] Jamala was particularly inspired by the story of her great-grandmother Nazylkhan, who was in her mid-20s when she and her five children were deported to barren Central Asia. One of the daughters did not survive the journey.[4][5][6][7] Jamala's great-grandfather was fighting in World War II in the Red Army at this time and thus could not protect his family.[6] The song was also released amid renewed repression of Crimean Tatars following the Russian annexation of Crimea, since most Crimean Tatars refuse to accept the annexation.[8]

The song's chorus, in the Crimean Tatar language, is made up of words from a Crimean Tatar folk song called "Ey, güzel Qırım" that Jamala had heard from her great-grandmother, reflecting on the loss of a youth which could not be spent in her homeland.[9] The song features the duduk played by Aram Kostanyan[10] and the use of the mugham vocal style.[11]

National selection and Eurovision Song Contest

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Main article: Ukraine in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016

Ukraine withdrew from the Eurovision Song Contest 2015, citing costs.[12] After deciding to return to the contest in 2016, a selection process to determine the representative of Ukraine was opened, combining resources from the state broadcaster NTU and private STB.[13] Jamala was announced as one of the eighteen competing acts in the Ukrainian national selection for the contest. She performed in the first semi-final on 6 February 2016, where she won both the jury and televote, advancing to the Ukrainian final.[14] In the final, on 21 February, she was placed second by the jury and first by the televote, resulting in a tie with The Hardkiss and their song "Helpless". Jamala was announced as the winner, however, as the televoting acted as a tiebreaker.[1] She received 37.77% of more than 382,000 televotes.[15]

Jamala represented Ukraine in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016, performing in the second half of the second semi-final...[16] "1944" is the first Eurovision song to contain lyrics in the Crimean Tatar language. She won the final receiving the second highest televoting score and second highest jury vote.

Accusations of politicisation

In a February 2016 interview with The Guardian, Jamala said that the song also reminded her of her own family living in Crimea nowadays, claiming that since the 2014 Russian annexation of Crimea "the Crimean Tatars are on occupied territory".[3][nb 1] The song lyrics, however, do not address this annexation.[18] Eurovision rules prohibit songs with lyrics that could be interpreted as having "political content".[18]

Immediately after the selection of this song, some Russian politicians, as well as authorities in Crimea, accused the Ukrainian authorities of using the song "to offend Russia" and "capitalising on the tragedy of the Tatars to impose on European viewers a false picture of alleged harassment of the Tatars in the Russian Crimea".[7][nb 2]

On 9 March 2016, a tweet from the European Broadcasting Union confirmed that neither the title nor the lyrics of the song contained "political speech" and therefore it did not breach any Eurovision rule, thus allowing it to remain in the competition.[20]

On 17 May 2016, NATO congratulated Jamala for winning the Eurovision contest, by means of a video on their YouTube channel.[21]

Eurovision Song Contest

The song won the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest, receiving a grand total of 534 points, officially surpassing the previous record set by Alexander Rybak with his song "Fairytale" in the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest, which won with 387 points.[2]

The national juries voted the entry by Australia first with 320 points, and the televote voted the entry by Russia first with 361 points. The televoting result for Ukraine, of 323 points, however, was sufficient, when added to their jury score of 211 points, to put them in first place, with a grand total of 534 votes, leaving Australia second and Russia third.

Critical reception

Prior to the Ukrainian national selection finals, "1944" received 8.33 out of 10 points from a jury of Eurovision blog Wiwibloggs,[22] the highest score among the six finalists in Ukraine.[23]

Track listing

Digital download[24]
No. Title Length
1. "1944"   3:00
Digital download – EP
No. Title Length
1. "1944"   3:00
2. "Watch Over Me"   5:47
3. "Hate Love"   3:46
4. "I'm Like a Bird"   3:33
5. "Thank You"   3:22
Total length:
 19:28

Charts

Chart (2016) Peak
position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[25] 54
Finland (Suomen virallinen radiosoittolista)[26] 64
France (SNEP)[27] 49
Hungary (Single Top 40)[28] 40
Russia (TopHit)[29] 135
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[30] 32
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[31] 46
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[32] 73
Ukraine (FDR)[33] 2

Release history

Region Date Format Label
Worldwide 12 February 2016[24] Digital download Enjoy Records

See also

Eurovision songs with political controversy

Notes

  1. ↑ Crimea is currently de-facto controlled by Russia, after a controversial Self-Determination referendum.[17]
  2. ↑ Russian MP Vadim Dengin of the far-right LDPR believed the song's victory was fixed because "Most of the citizens of Ukraine who do not receive any salary or pensions have nothing to pay for electricity, and secondly, they do not care about this Eurovision".[19] He also expressed hope that the song would be banned from participation by Eurovision.[19]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Russia MPs slam Ukraine's choice of Crimean Tatar for Eurovision, Yahoo News (23 February 2016)
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ [1]
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Ukraine picks Crimean Tatar for Eurovision, Times Union (21 February 2014)
    Eurovision: Ukraine's entry aimed at Russia, BBC News (22 February 2016)
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 (Ukrainian) In State Duma they want Jamal not to be allowed in Eurovision, Ukrayinska Pravda (22 February 2016)
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Jamala – 1944" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  26. ↑ "Jamala: 1944" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  27. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Jamala – 1944" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
  28. ↑ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Single (track) Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
  29. ↑ TopHit Track Info – Jamala, "1944"
  30. ↑ "Spanishcharts.com – Jamala – 1944" Canciones Top 50. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
  31. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Jamala – 1944". Singles Top 60. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  32. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Jamala – 1944". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  33. ↑ FDR Ukraine Airplay Chart Retrieved 23 May 2016
  34. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

  • "1944" - lyrics at eurovision.tv
Awards and achievements
Preceded by Eurovision Song Contest winner
2016		 Succeeded by
Incumbent
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