A flower from Ukraine: Anastasia Dymyd has big dreams

After competing against 4 other hopefuls, Anastasia won her national selection and will be waving the Ukrainian flag in Nice.

She’s been singing around the house since she was 2 years old, and when she hit 5 Anastasia’s mum realised her daughter had a real talent. She started posting videos of Anastasia’s singing on social media, and the invitations to vocal competitions arrived soon after. She now goes to singing lessons, competes, and performs on national stages. She recently performed in the National Legend of Ukraine concert, and sang a duet with Ukrainian singer-songwriter Svitlana Tarabarova, who also wrote Anastasia’s Junior Eurovision entry.

Kvikta is a bop of a pop song, with a beautiful message about a mother’s love for her child. The song title Kvitka means “flower,” and in Ukraine this also refers to children being their parents’ plants, which they tenderly care for. Anastasia says that unconditional love stays in people’s hearts forever. Despite the heartfelt message, the song is full of rhythm, along with some traditional Ukrainian sounds.

The song was written by Ukrainian legend Svitlana Tarabarova, who has 4 studio albums and plenty of awards on her shelves. The section of the song with the impressively high note was composed by Anastasia herself.

As well as singing, Anastasia loves being outside in nature. If she was invisible for the day, she says she’d sneak up Mount Hoverla, the highest mountain in Ukraine at a whopping 2,061 metres, and look at the scenery from the top. They live close by, but her mum says she’s too small to climb it at the moment.

Anastasia might be small, but that won’t stop her having big dreams. She hopes that in 10 years’ time, she’ll be a famous singer. But despite her mountain-climbing and pop star ambitions, Anastasia is down to Earth. She wants to stay a kind-hearted person who always helps those in need.

As well as her Junior Eurovision songwriter Svitlana Tarabarova (who’s known simply as TARABAROVA), Anastasia is inspired by Ukrainian rock band The Hardkiss. Eurovision fans will recognise The Hardkiss frontwoman Julia Sanina, who presented the 2023 Contest held in Liverpool on behalf of Ukraine. Viewers got an insight into some of Julia’s vocal prowess during the live shows.

Another of Anastasia’s pop heroes is the new wave artist Artem Pivovarov, particularly the song Tam U Topoli, which has got a similar feel to Anastasia’s Junior Eurovision entry. Think edgy pop mixed with traditional sounds.

Also featuring on her playlist of favourite songs is the Ukrainian folk song Verbovaya Doschechka. And of course, in pride of place, Kalush Orchestra’s Stefania, which won the Eurovision Song Contest for Ukraine in 2022. With all these inspirations, it’s clear to see where the ideas for Kvitka have grown from.

When we ask Anastasia what makes her happy, she says: “I love spending time with my family and playing with my friends outside. The other things that always make me smile are singing, trying on different outfits in front of the mirror, and unpacking presents.”

You can learn more about Anastasia Dymyd right here.

Junior Eurovision returns on Saturday 16 November, and you can help decide the winner when voting opens at JESC.tv

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