Kalush (stylised in

all caps In typography, all caps (short for "all capitals") refers to text or a font in which all letters are capital letters, for example: "THIS TEXT IS IN ALL CAPS". All caps may be used for emphasis (for a word or phrase). They are commonly seen in ...

) is a Ukrainian rap group formed in 2019. The group consists of founder and rapper

Oleh Psiuk Oleh Romanovych Psiuk ( uk, Олег Романович Псюк; born 16 May 1994), also known by his stage name Psiuchyi Syn ( – a portmanteau of his family name and ''suchyi syn'', ), is a Ukrainian rapper and songwriter, who is the founde ...

, multi-instrumentalist

Ihor Didenchuk Kalush (stylised in all caps) is a Ukrainian rap group formed in 2019. The group consists of founder and rapper Oleh Psiuk, multi-instrumentalist Ihor Didenchuk, and breakdancer MC KylymMen (). Didenchuk is also a member of the electro-folk b ...

, and breakdancer MC KylymMen (). Didenchuk is also a member of the

electro-folk Folktronica is a genre of music comprising various elements of folk music and electronica, often featuring uses of acoustic instruments – especially stringed instruments – and incorporating hip hop, electronic or dance rhythms, althoug ...

band

Go_A Go_A ( uk, Ґоу_Ей) is a Ukrainian electro-folk band first formed in 2012 who were set to represent Ukraine in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 in Rotterdam, Netherlands, with the song " Solovey". Following the cancellation of the 2020 co ...

, which represented Ukraine in the

Eurovision Song Contest 2021 The Eurovision Song Contest 2021 was the 65th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Rotterdam, Netherlands, following the country's win at the with the song "Arcade" by Duncan Laurence. The Netherlands was set to host the , ...

. In early 2021, the group launched the

side project In popular music, a side project is a project undertaken by one or more people already known for their involvement in another band. It can also be an artist or a band temporarily switching to a different style. Usually these projects emphasize a ...

Kalush Orchestra, with , Vitalii Duzhyk, and Dzhonni Dyvnyy as additional members. Unlike the original line-up, Kalush Orchestra focuses on hip hop blended with folk motifs and elements from Ukrainian traditional music. On 14 May 2022, the group won the

Eurovision Song Contest 2022 The Eurovision Song Contest 2022 was the 66th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Turin, Italy, following the country's victory at the with the song "" by Måneskin. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and h ...

with 631 points, securing Ukraine's third Eurovision victory with their song "".

History

Kalush was formed in 2019 by Oleh Psiuk and Ihor Didenchuck, together with Daniil Chernov as MC KylymMen. The group was named after Psiuk's hometown of Kalush,

Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast ( uk, Іва́но-Франкі́вська о́бласть, translit=Ivano-Frankivska oblast), also referred to as Ivano-Frankivshchyna ( uk, Іва́но-Франкі́вщина), is an administrative divisions of Ukrain ...

. Their debut single "" () was released in October 2019. After the release of their second single "" () in November 2019, Kalush signed a recording contract with the American hip hop label

Def Jam Recordings Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop. The ...

. On 19 February 2021, the trio released their debut album (), named after a neighbourhood of the town Kalush. On 23 July 2021, Kalush released their second album, entitled (), together with rapper .

Kalush Orchestra

In 2021, Kalush announced the launch of the

Kalush Orchestra, which focuses on hip hop with folk motifs and elements from Ukrainian traditional music. The core members of Kalush were joined by multi-instrumentalists Tymofii Muzychuk and Vitalii Duzhyk, and backing vocalist Andrii Handziuk (alias Dzhonni Dyvnyy, or Johnny Da Strange).

2022: ''Vidbir'' and Eurovision Song Contest

Eurovision 2022 - Semi-final 1 - Ukraine - Kalush Orchestra (02)

On 12 February 2022, Kalush Orchestra competed to in the

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

with the song "". In the final of the national selection ''

Vidbir ''Yevrobachennia. Natsionalnyi Vidbir'' ( uk, Євробачення. Національний відбір, ; meaning ''Eurovision: National Selection''), informally known as ''Vidbir'', is a Ukrainian musical competition originally organized b ...

'', they placed second with 14 points (six from the jury and eight from the audience). Due to technical difficulties that occurred during the voting process, Psiuk believed that

Alina Pash Alina Ivanivna Pash ( uk, Аліна Іванівна Паш, ; born 6 May 1993) is a Ukrainian singer and rapper. In 2016, she participated in the sixth season of the Ukrainian edition of ''The X Factor'', placing 3rd. She also participated i ...

had been wrongly chosen as the winner. Despite coming in second place, the band were offered the chance to represent Ukraine at Eurovision, after Pash withdrew her candidacy due to controversy regarding her travel history in

Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...

. On 22 February, Kalush Orchestra accepted the offer. On the same day, the Ukrainian public broadcaster UA:PBC published the official voting results of ''Vidbir'' 2022, confirming that Pash had been correctly chosen as the winner, contrary to Psiuk's claims. During the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

, Daniil Chernov has been serving in the Territorial Defense Forces around the capital

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

. When the group left the country for the Eurovision Song Contest in April that year, fellow dancer Vlad Kurochka replaced him as MC KylymMen, while (alias Sasha Tab) replaced Dzhonni Dyvnyy as backing vocalist. Dzhonni Dyvnyy stated that he could not travel to Turin due to commitments with other musical projects. The group won the Eurovision final on 14 May with 631 points, securing Ukraine's third Eurovision victory. "" became the first song with rap lyrics to win the contest, as well as the winning song with the highest number of televote points in the history of the contest. The group later announced that they would put their Eurovision trophy up for auction to raise money for the

Ukrainian armed forces , imports = , exports = , history = , ranks = Military ranks of Ukraine , country=Ukraine The Armed Forces of Ukraine ( uk, Збро́йні си́ли Украї́ни), most commonly known ...

. The trophy was sold for , with proceeds earmarked for purchase of combat drones for Ukraine's military. The group subsequently embarked on a promotional tour across Europe and North America to raise awareness and donations for Ukrainian efforts in combating the Russian invasion.

Members

Current members

* Oleh Psiuk (2019–present)

rap Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

* Ihor Didenchuk (2019–present)instrumentals * Vlad Kurochka (2022–present)

breakdance Breakdancing, also called breaking or b-boying/b-girling, is an athletic style of street dance originating from the African American and Puerto Rican communities in the United States. While diverse in the amount of variation available in ...

(MC KylymMen)

Kalush Orchestra

* Tymofii Muzychuk (2021–present)vocals,

telenka The telenka ( uk, Теленка) (telynka, tylynka) is an overtone flute, a primitive form of dentsivka without fingerholes. The pitch produced from the instrument is changed by placing a finger into the open end of the pipe, and covering this ...

* Vitalii Duzhyk (2021–present)

sopilka Sopilka (, uk, Cопiлка) is a name applied to a variety of woodwind instruments of the flute family used by Ukrainian folk instrumentalists. ''Sopilka'' most commonly refers to a fife made of a variety of materials (but traditionally out ...

* Dzhonni Dyvnyy (2021–2022, 2022–present)

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are use ...

* Sasha Tab (2022–present)backing vocals

Past members

* Daniil Chernov (2019–2022)breakdance (MC KylymMen)

Discography

Albums

Singles

As Kalush

As Kalush Orchestra

As featured artist

Non-single album appearances

Awards and nominations

References

{{Authority control 2019 establishments in Ukraine Def Jam Recordings artists Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 2022 Eurovision Song Contest entrants for Ukraine Eurovision Song Contest winners Musical groups established in 2019 Pop-folk music groups Pop-rap groups Ukrainian anti-war activists Ukrainian hip hop groups