13.01.2014
PEOPLE'S TOP: Favorite songs of Ukrainians
- Rating Group continues the “People’s TOP” project, which consists of a series of studies aimed at identifying the best of the best. The special feature of the methodology is that respondents are given no lists or prompts and express their opinions only through open-ended questions, naming their own options. This time the question was: “Name your THREE favorite songs.”
- Determining Ukrainians’ favorite songs turned out to be quite difficult. During the survey, respondents named around 800 songs, while one quarter were unable to name a favorite song. In order to compile a ranking from the 800 named songs, a TOP-30 of the most popular songs was identified and the weight of each song within the TOP-30 structure was calculated.
- Thus, according to the results of the study, the most favorite song of Ukrainians is “Chervona Ruta” (its share in the TOP-30 is 14.3%). Other favorite songs include “Chornobryvtsi” (5%), “Odna Kalyna” (4.3%), “Nese Halia Vodu” (4.1%), “Oi, Smereko” (3.9%), “Million Alykh Roz,” “Khutorianka,” “Ridna Maty Moia,” and “Katyusha” (3.6% each), “Aisberg” and “Den Pobedy” (3.3% each), “O Bozhe, Kakoi Muzhchina” (3.2%), “Cheremshyna” and “Oi, na hori dva dubky” (3% each).
- Based on the named favorite songs, a TOP-30 of the most popular performers was also identified and the weight of each within the TOP-30 structure calculated. Thus, the most popular performers are Sofia Rotaru (share in the TOP-30 14.3%) and Alla Pugacheva (11.2%). In Sofia Rotaru’s repertoire the most popular song is “Chervona Ruta,” while among Alla Pugacheva’s songs the most popular are “Million Alykh Roz” and “Aisberg.”
- Also included in the TOP-30 of popular performers are Stas Mikhailov (8.4%), Okean Elzy (4.7%), Grigory Leps (4.2%), Ani Lorak (4.1%), Taisia Povaliy (3.6%), Mikhail Krug and the group Lyube (3.5% each), Nikolai Baskov (3.2%), and Mykola Hnatiuk (3.1%).
- In the West, songs more popular than in other regions include “Chervona Ruta,” “Khutorianka,” “Oi, Smereko,” “Oi, na hori dva dubky,” and “Vodohrai.” Among performers: Sofia Rotaru, Okean Elzy, Mykola Hnatiuk, Volodymyr Ivasiuk, and Nazar Yaremchuk.
In the Center: “Ridna Maty Moia,” “Nese Halia Vodu,” “Vsyo dlia tebya,” and “Rozpriahaitе, khloptsi, koni.” Among performers: Grigory Leps, Elena Vaenga, Oksana Bilozir, and Oleg Gazmanov.
In the North, more favorite songs are “Oi, u vyshnevomu sadu,” “Nich yaka misyachna,” “Cheremshyna,” “Nadezhda,” and “Belye rozy.” Among performers: Okean Elzy, Nina Matviyenko, TIK, Alisa, and Madonna.
Residents of the East and Donbas more often chose “Katyusha,” “Oi, moroz, moroz,” “Smuglyanka,” “Ah, kakaya zhenshchina,” and “Den Pobedy.” More popular performers in the East are Alla Pugacheva, Stas Mikhailov, Ani Lorak, Nikolai Baskov, and Sergey Trofimov. In Donbas — Mikhail Krug, Mikhail Shufutinsky, and Mikhail Boyarsky.
In the South, favorite songs include “Aisberg,” “Lavanda,” and “A belyi lebed na prudu.” Among performers, Taisia Povaliy, Lyube, and Maya Kristalinskaya are more popular. - Men more often prefer songs such as “Oi, Smereko,” “Den Pobedy,” “Rozpriahaitе, khloptsi, koni,” “Smuglyanka,” “Oi, chyi to kin stoit,” “Sharmanka,” and “Ryumka vodki na stole.” Their favorite performers are Lyube, Okean Elzy, Mikhail Krug, and Vladimir Vysotsky.
Women prefer “Chervona Ruta,” “Odna Kalyna,” “Chornobryvtsi,” “O Bozhe, kakoi muzhchina,” “Aisberg,” “Million Alykh Roz,” and “Lavanda.” Among women, the most popular performers are Sofia Rotaru, Alla Pugacheva, Stas Mikhailov, Ani Lorak, Taisia Povaliy, and Natalie. - With age, the popularity of songs such as “Chervona Ruta,” “Katyusha,” “Odna Kalyna,” and “Oi, moroz, moroz” increases. Modern songs such as “O Bozhe, kakoi muzhchina,” “Belye rozy,” “Sharmanka,” and “Vsyo dlia tebya” are favorites among young people and those of middle age.
- Those who consider Ukrainian their native language prefer “Chervona Ruta,” “Nese Halia Vodu,” “Oi, Smereko,” “Ridna Maty Moia,” “Oi, na hori dva dubky,” and “Oi, chyi to kin stoit.”
Those who consider both languages native prefer “Odna Kalyna,” “Chornobryvtsi,” “Nich yaka misyachna,” “Aisberg,” and “Rozpriahaitе, khloptsi, koni.”
Russian-speaking respondents more often chose “Katyusha,” “Oi, moroz, moroz,” “Smuglyanka,” “Den Pobedy,” “Million Alykh Roz,” and “Ah, kakaya zhenshchina.” - Favorite songs of urban residents include “Million Alykh Roz,” “Katyusha,” “O Bozhe, kakoi muzhchina,” “Smuglyanka,” “Belye rozy,” “A belyi lebed na prudu,” “Nadezhda,” and “Oi, u vyshnevomu sadu.”
Among rural residents, dominant favorites are “Chervona Ruta,” “Nese Halia Vodu,” “Oi, Smereko,” “Cheremshyna,” “Oi, na hori dva dubky,” “Odna Kalyna,” “Ridna Maty Moia,” and “Sharmanka.” - Respondents’ answers were also grouped by period of creation (before and after the 1990s), language of performance, and musical style.
- In the structure of favorite songs, 51% are from the post-1990s period, while 49% were created before the 1990s.
Modern songs are more popular in Donbas (57%) and the East (55%), especially among men, Russian-speaking urban residents, youth, people with higher education and higher incomes. Supporters of “older” songs are more common in the West (57%) and Center (51%), more often women, older people with lower education and income. - In the structure of favorite songs, 53% are Russian-language, 39% Ukrainian-language, and 8% foreign.
Russian-language songs are more popular in Donbas (65%), the South (63%), the East (62%), and the North (53%).
Ukrainian-language songs are most popular in the West (65%) and Center (43%).
Foreign songs appear more often among favorites in Donbas (11%) and the North (10%), and least often in the West (5%).
Russian-language songs are more loved by Russian-speaking urban residents, while Ukrainian songs are more popular among women, Ukrainian speakers, rural residents, older people, and those with lower education and income.
Foreign songs are more often chosen by men, young people with higher education, and those with higher incomes. - In terms of musical style, 48% of favorite songs are pop, 16% folk, 11% rock, 10% chanson. Patriotic songs and romances account for 5% each, bard songs 2%, and club/electronic and classical music 1% each.
- Pop music is much more popular among women.
Folk songs are more popular in the West (27%), North (16%), and Center (17%); their fans are mainly women, Ukrainian-speaking rural residents, and older people with lower education and income.
Rock music is more popular in the North (15%) and South (12%), mainly among men, urban residents, youth, people with higher education and income.
Chanson is most popular in Donbas (16%), the South and East (11% each), and is chosen by men, Russian-speaking urban residents, and middle-aged people with higher incomes.
Patriotic songs are also more widespread in the East and Donbas (around 8%), and in the North and South (5% each); their listeners are mainly Russian-speaking urban residents of older age with lower education and income.
Romances are more popular in the East (7%), mainly among Russian-speakers.
Methodology
- Survey population: population of Ukraine aged 18 and over
- Sample size: 2,000 respondents
- Method: face-to-face interviews
- Margin of error (95% confidence):
– near 50%: ≤ 2.2%
– near 30%: ≤ 2%
– near 10%: ≤ 1.3%
– near 5%: ≤ 1% - Fieldwork period: September 26 – October 6, 2013
