Moisei: “I wrote this song in that small bomb shelter when I was in a very difficult state”
Moisei Bondarenko is a Ukrainian musician and violinist who is one of the 10 finalists of Vidbir 2023, the national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest 2023. When the war began in February, Moisei joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine but brought his favorite violin with him. On the front line, Moisei continued playing the violin and posted some of his work on YouTube, to support the people in Ukraine.
Moisei will compete in the Ukrainian national selection December 17th with the song “I’m Not Alone”. We had the pleasure to meet him ahead of the show and talk to him about his musical career and his song for Vidbir.
Hello Moisei and thank you for taking the time to answer our questions. We are very excited to welcome you on our page and to find out more about you!
First of all, why did you apply for Vidbir 2023?
Greetings, thank you for the invitation, I will try to answer as much as possible.
I have been living with music since my childhood and always expressed my emotions and experiences with it, with notes, melodies.
And living this war with Russia for 9 months I wrote the first full song with words that convey my state and which I would like to sing and play to the world now.
Eurovision is an event that makes it possible to do this!
You got famous on YouTube for playing the violin while serving in the Ukrainian army – How did you get the idea to make these videos?
My favorite violin is always with me! It all started when I started playing for my brothers-in-arms in order to relax and distract myself a little. Then I played our national anthem and posted it online to support people, encourage them and thank them for their support.
Later I found a small bomb shelter where I could play for myself and little by little I filmed something and shared it with people to keep in touch with them and make everyone happy.
Then we went to the trouble spots and there the violin played in a special way and I wanted to show it to people! That’s how it all started 🙂
Will you also play the violin on the Vidbir stage?
Let the whole performance be a surprise 🙂
What else can we expect from your performance?
Anything you want 😉
Can you tell us more about “I’m Not Alone”? What is the song about?
I wrote this song in that small bomb shelter when I was in a very difficult state.
It’s about the inner struggle, the dialogue with myself, the emotions I was experiencing then and how I worked with my psychological state.
Do you consider yourself a Eurovision fan? Do you maybe have a favorite song?
This is a cool contest, it unites and I really like it! Yes, my favorite is Gjon’s Tears -Tout l’Univers.
Why are you the right artist to represent Ukraine at the Eurovision Song Contest?
I want it very much and will do everything for it, and it is up to people to decide! I am ready to represent my country at Eurovision.
If you should win the national final, what do you expect from Liverpool?
It is my childhood dream to perform for the whole world. I also hope for an evening walk with my beloved and a couple of glasses of beer 🙂
What is your personal goal for the upcoming event?
Sharing my work with everyone is all I want.
Finally, do you have a message to our readers from all over the world?
As long as we are together, we will always defeat evil! As long as we are together, we are strong!
Thank you very much for such support of our country and people! We will always be grateful!
Thank you so much for participating in the interview, Moisei. We are so excited to see you on the Vidbir stage on December 17th and wish you the best of luck for the competition!
Tell us what you think about Moisei’s song “I’m Not Alone” in the poll and on our social media profiles! @escbubble
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