“For Ukraine, a singer who lives abroad becomes a symbol of hope,” is the title of a comment on the Ukrainian web portal focus.ua. This refers to Viktoria Korniikowa, known as Viktoria Leléka or simply Leléka, which means “stork” in German.
Last Saturday, the musician and her band of the same name were eliminated in the final round of this year’s national preliminary round Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) from: Top marks from the jury and audience. At the final in May in Vienna she will represent her country with the song “Ridnym” (German: “local”). But can someone who left Ukraine years ago really represent the country?
Leléka, 36 years old, comes from Pershotravansk in the Dnipropetrovsk region. According to Ukrainian media, she moved to Germany in 2014, where she received her bachelor’s degree at the Carl Maria von Weber University of Music in Dresden. She later teamed up with three artists and founded the group Leléka in Berlin.
The quartet describes itself as a folk-jazz group that takes musical liberties and likes to improvise. The band has released several albums and singles and was nominated for the German Jazz Prize in the “Group of the Year” category in 2022. Her texts are predominantly in Ukrainian, but also in English and German.
No political statements
Im Song “Ridnym” German and English alternate. One verse goes: “When we face our fears/ And turn all our sorrows into joy/ I know the roots still hold water/ When all the seeds we’ve sown/ Bloom and lead us home/ We’ll see/ The trees grow even taller.”
Observers point out that the text does not contain any formulations that could be interpreted as political statements – a point of contention that has already led to upheavals at the Eurovision Song Contest in the past. Deutsche Welle quotes Leléka as sayingthat the basis for the lyrics of “Ridnym” were her feelings at the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022 and the associated demonstrations in Berlin. “Even though we have lost a certain reality that we as Ukrainians will never regain, I believe that we will not only defeat the enemy, but also rebuild the country – it will be a better country – one in which everyone will want to live.”
“The storks return home”
Said commenter on focus.ua points out that despite living abroad, Leléka remained closely connected to Ukraine, which clearly speaks for her and her participation in the upcoming singing competition. She constantly supports the Ukrainian soldiers at the front, talks about Ukraine, continues to make Ukrainian music and claims to want to go back to Ukraine.
“The storks are returning home, and this knowledge alone lifts my spirits. But storks are naturally predisposed in such a way that if too many of them die on the way or do not find their nests, they will probably never come back,” it says focus.ua.
Is the singer also looking for her nest? The bookmakers are trading Leléka for fifth place in Vienna. But is it really that important?