Kelsie Kimberlin released “Champ” on the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The music video is about Mariia Hnes, a 16-year-old karate competitor who won a medal in Venice, then walked off the podium rather than stand next to a Russian athlete for the group photo. Her father is now serving in the Ukrainian Army, she did not make a speech or a scene, she just left. That moment went viral, and Kelsie wrote a song around it. Kelsie flew to Kyiv in September 2025 to film with Mariia and while they were there, missile and drone attacks happened, they sheltered in a hallway, and that footage ended up in the video. This is why you can feel this music.
The song also connects to a real fundraising campaign for children of Ukrainian soldiers who compete in sports and there is a website, there are people behind it, and the money goes somewhere specific. That matters, because a lot of tribute songs stop at the tribute.
If you are not already following her, fix that now, because Kelsie Kimberlin consistently puts out work worth paying attention to and you will regret missing whatever she does next.
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