UPDATE: Ukraine's Oleksandr Balabanov releases music video of Vidkryvai

Earlier in October, the revamped version of Vidkryvai (Open Up) was played for the first time on UA: Radio Promin, a radio station of UA:PBC.

“UA: Radio Promin has supported winners of the national selection for the Junior Eurovision before, and we are ready to continue being a platform for growing talents. Oleksandr is a talented singer with great potential on an international stage. Meanwhile, UA: Radio Promin will do its utmost for him to be popular within our country,” said Maksym Yakovenko, General Producer of UA: Radio Promin.

Oleksandr explained more about his song: "The song “Vidkryvai” (Open Up) encourages to open up this world and be open to new possibilities, to never stop or be afraid to do your thing, despite difficulties, to be open to changes and grateful to this world!"

Since he won the national selection in Ukraine, Oleksandr has been busy preparing for the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2020. Next to the release of the final version of his song, he did a photo shoot.

On 13 October, Oleksandr released the music video of Vidkryvai. He said: "This is my first professional music video. We filmed all my previous videos on our own. I have so many impressions! The team was amazing, everything was professional and positive! It is unusual to look at myself from the side. I am grateful to Augustyna who became the heroine of the music video for my song. I am thankful to everyone who joined creating the video. It turned out very sincere!”

Serhii Kryvosheia, Head of Marketing and Advertising at UA:PBC, worked on the video production. The filming crew visited a total of 15 locations:

“We wanted the video to present the song and the performer properly. There were several stages, five or six different ideas. About one week before the shooting, we opted for the script that laid the foundation of the music video. It still turned out to not be easy in terms of implementation: we had two long shooting days with more than a dozen locations, changes of costumes, lighting etc. And now, after the final cut, I can confidently say that the idea has been fully implemented."

Serhii added: "Speaking about senses, the song has many of them, even though it may seem simple text-wise. Working on the video idea, I wanted the music video to have some multiple layers as well, to open up to the possibilities for different interpretations. At the surface, there is a story of the main hero moving into a new city, discovering this city thanks to a girl with who he develops a friendly (and, maybe, more) relationship. The second layer is provocative. It shows how the song breaks into the subconsciousness of the heroine and wakes her up. And, finally, the third layer that was put into the song by its writers is a story of discovering the world, opening up to the world, discovering the city, with beautiful, sincere and smart people. It is a story of sincerity, true human relationships. It is a story that sooner or later will come to an end, the world will open up and will be rediscovered. The world will feel like a talented smart teenager who sees the world with the eyes wide open.”

Oleksandr is the 15th Ukrainian participant at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest and the first male singer to represent the country in over 10 years. His country has won the Junior Eurovision Song Contest once, in 2012 with Anastasiya Petryk and her song Nebo. Ukraine reached second place twice, in 2008 and 2013.