Last weekend Ukrainian National Final kicked off and Jamala slayed the stage with her voice and emotional song. She won both televoting and jury votes.Her song was about Crimean Tatars and how the dictator Josef Stalin treated them in 1944.Song “1944” tells the story of Red Army’s deportation of 250,000 Crimean Tatar in 1944 But there were some speculations cause Crimean Tatar’s couldn’t vote in Ukrainian National Final.
Jamala said:”It makes me very sad. I know that many of my supporters are in Crimea. Many people wrote to me that they would send texts anyway, because they support me. I tell them they are wasting their money and their votes don’t count, but they tell me they are sending them anyway. This song really is about my family, my grandmother. I had to write it. I really go through that time both when I wrote it and when I perform it. It is a memorial song and it is difficult for me to sing it.”
Crimean Tatar leader Refat Chubarov said: “If Crimeans are not able to vote in such Ukrainian competitions, we are silently agreeing with those who say Crimea is not part of Ukraine.” and Crimean Tatar leaders wants work with Ukrainian Eurovision organizers to develop a system to enable people in Crimea to vote in the second semifinal on February 13 and the final on February 21.