Over the years of the talent show 'Ukraine Has Talent' (Україна має талант), its stage has seen literally everything: from classic vocal and dance performances to truly absurd shows. The entertainment project Styler (RBC-Ukraine) recalled the acts that stuck in viewers' memory for their eccentricity, humor, and unexpected choices. The main message of the roundup is that talent is a very broad concept, and the show's stage sometimes turns into a platform for the most unpredictable experiments, where the jury and the audience react not only with applause but also with shock.
Music from vegetables: the Playtronica team
In the seventh season of the show, the Playtronica team demonstrated that even an ordinary set of groceries could become a musical instrument. The performers played a composition using onions, cabbage, bell peppers, and other vegetables, which were connected to a special Makey Makey electronic system: each touch triggered a specific sound, effectively turning the vegetables into musical keys. Instead of a conventional concert, the audience witnessed a real "musical stew," and the jury liked the experimental solution so much that the team received three "yeses" and advanced.
Andriy Ryabchuk's dance with a mop
Andriy Ryabchuk came to the 2021 casting and immediately surprised everyone with an unusual "partner" — an ordinary mop. Instead of a traditional dance duet, he performed a routine showcasing his charisma and artistry, and after the dance he invited Masha Yefrosinina to a duet, fulfilling a long-held dream. However, the jury did not appreciate the performance: Serhiy Prytula pressed the red button, the other judges also said "no," and Ryabchuk did not advance in the show. Thus, one of the most charismatic yet unsuccessful acts remained in viewers' memory precisely because of its boldness.
Pain, fire, and nails: the tricks of a man from Kharkiv
On the show's stage, Serhiy from Kharkiv performed a routine that resembled a dangerous experiment. He demonstrated tricks involving pain and fire: he swallowed a burning torch, allowed himself to be hit in the abdomen with an axe, and then pushed long nails into his nose. According to the description of the performance, the participant himself did all of this completely calmly, while the audience and judges could barely watch. It was precisely thanks to these shocking tricks that his act became one of the most memorable of the season and later sparked discussions beyond the show itself.
Unconventional duets and performances
Among other standout performances, Styler highlights a duet that combined humor, nudity, and precise choreography: the artists performed a synchronized dance, covering themselves only with small white towels, and the entire comedy of the act lay in the precision of the movements — the slightest mistake could have left a towel in the wrong place. The performance drew loud laughter from the hall. A performance by a participant dressed as a large gray mouse also stood out, in which he deliberately fell onto mousetraps arranged on the stage, which snapped with a characteristic click. The judges were more shocked than pleased by this act, but it certainly remained in memory as one of the show's most surprising experiments.
Strength and records: a strongwoman on stage
In 2021, a Ukrainian strongwoman crushed five watermelons in 36.5 seconds right on stage, and then pushed a platform carrying people weighing a combined total of more than 226 kilograms. The watermelon crushing was certified by a representative of the Ukrainian Book of Records, turning the performance into a full-fledged record attempt. The roundup also mentions a Ukrainian veteran who, after a serious injury that left him without limbs and sight, shot accurately at targets with a bow and shocked the judges with his performance.
Contradictory data
Here it is important to distinguish two different perspectives on the same participant. In Styler's entertainment roundup, the man from Kharkiv who pushed nails into his nose is presented exclusively as a memorable stage performer, with no reference to subsequent events. At the same time, later publications (focus.ua, nashemisto.dp.ua, unian.net, 2022) report that this same talent-show participant was appointed by the occupiers as "deputy mayor" of occupied Balakliia under Kharkiv. These pieces of information do not contradict each other on the facts of the performance itself, but they present different versions and contexts of the person's image: the show's perspective of a "crazy trickster" and the political-military context of an appointment in occupied territory. Both viewpoints are presented openly so that the reader can see both the entertainment and the news aspects.
Either way, Styler's roundup confirms: the stage of 'Ukraine Has Talent' remains a place where talent, humor, and shocking experiments intertwine so much that certain acts are remembered for years — regardless of whether their creators advanced further in the show.
