WATCH: The Tolmachevy Sisters perform “Shine” at the Eurovision Song Contest semi-finals.
TORONTO — Russian singers competing in the Eurovision Song Contest were booed Tuesday after it was announced they made it to the finals.
The Tolmachevy Sisters, representing Russia in the semi-finals of the annual competition, will advance with acts representing nine other countries.
The 17-year-old siblings secured a spot in the finals with their song “Shine,” which included the lyrics: “Sending out a message up above / Telling all the world to show some love / No one’s going to bring me down.”
The crowd of about 10,000 in Copenhagen applauded the performance but many later booed when the sisters were announced as finalists.
The jeers were presumably in protest of the crisis in Ukraine and Russia’s crackdown on gays.
BELOW: Watch the reaction as Russia’s Tolmachevy Sisters are announced as finalists.
Ukraine will be represented in the finals by Mariya Yaremchuk, who sang “Tick-Tock.”
Other countries to advance include Montenegro, Hungary, Armenia, Azerbaijan, San Marino, Sweden, Netherlands and Iceland.
Ten more countries will be chosen Thursday.
The popular Eurovision Song Contest, which began in 1956, has helped launch the careers of acts like Canada’s Celine Dion (who sang for Switzerland) and ABBA.
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