Countdown to Eurovision 2017: Ukraine's entry for 2006

In 2006 Tina Karol represented Ukraine at the Eurovision Song Contest with her song Show Me Your Love.

Tina Karol was born Tetyana Hryhorivna Liberman on 25 January 1985 to a Ukrainian mother and Jewish father in Orotukan, in the Russian Far East.

At the age of 6, her family moved to Ivano-Frankivsk, in western Ukraine. Her father, Grigoriy Liberman was from Vashkivtsi, Ukraine.

Tina Karol graduated from a music school, and later from the Gliere Music College in Kiev, where she studied pop vocal in the Faculty of Singing.

She has participated in numerous youth, regional, international and Jewish singing contests as well as musicals and theatrical shows. As well Tina Karol became the soloist of the Ensemble of Song and Dance of the Ukrainian Armed Forces as well as a television personality.

As a teenager Tina performed with a Jewish dancing ensemble under her real name Tetyana Liberman. Her repertoire included songs in Hebrew and Yiddish. In 2000 she traveled with this ensemble on a fundraising tour to the United States on behalf of Jewish Agency for Israel programs in Ukraine.

In 2005 she was advised to take a stage name that was less Jewish. Shortly afterwards she said publicly that it was a decision she did not regret, as her name no longer hindered her career advancement.

In 2006 Tina Karol was selected to represent Ukraine at Eurovision with the song "Show Me Your Love". The song placed 7th.

2006 was a busy year for Tina Karol. In addition to entering Eurovision, that year she released two albums: her debut album of the same name as the Eurovision song title … Show Me Your Love, and another album entitled Nochenka, with some of songs of the first album in Russian and Ukrainian.

She also participated in the United Nations's Unite for Children, Unite Against AIDS campaign to raise awareness and fight HIV/AIDS in Ukraine. In addition, she began studying with the National Aviation University in Kiev … by correspondence.

In 2007, she released another album and wrote a fairy tale, Pautinka, portraying show business as Tina experienced it. Among others, her fellow Eurovision contestant Verka Serduchka are featured in the story.

2009 was another momentous year for Tina Karol. President Viktor Yushchenko awarded her the title of Honored Artist of Ukraine. She was named to a list of the top 100 of "most influential women in Ukraine." As well she was recognized for her beauty with two awards: "The Most Beautiful Singer of Ukraine” by organizers of the beauty contest Miss Ukraine Universe-2009, and was named for the second time "The Most Beautiful Woman of Ukraine" by readers of the glossy magazine "VIVA!"

Tina Karol is a familiar face to Ukrainians at home and in the diaspora. For several years now she has played a prominent role in Голос країни (Holos Krainy, meaning Voice of the Country), a Ukrainian reality talent show that premiered on Ukrainian TV in  May 2011.

Holos Krainy is part of the international syndication The Voice based on the reality singing competition launched in the Netherlands as The Voice of Holland. Ukraine’s was the second international adaptation of the program, after the American version.

Tina Karol has continued to win awards for her singing, most recently "People's Artist of Ukraine awarded in January this year by President Petro Poroshenko. She is also carrying on her charitable works, including, notably personally funding her own private foundation to help children with cancer.

Here is Tina Karol performing Ukraine’s 2006 Eurovision entry, 2006, Show Me Your Love.

To hear about all of Ukraine's top ten place finishes in Eurovision, check out the podcast of the April 29th, 2017 Vancouver edition of Nash Holos Ukrainian Roots Radio here.