"World Funk Festival" - Music portal. Funk

Contest Eurovision- international European song competition. knows many wonderful performances and talented performers, scandals and disappointments. In the 2005 song contest Eurovision celebrated its 50th anniversary, and the popularity of this event is becoming wider and wider not only in Europe, and not only among young people. The competition is accused of being too politicized, bias, but, nevertheless, thousands of performers are trying to become representatives of their countries, millions of viewers follow the performances, vote and root for their favorite artists.

In the same 2005, another anniversary took place, significant for us - the 10th representative in the competition was chosen in Russia. Like any country, Russia knew both tremendous success and tremendous disappointment in this competition. There is something to be proud of, there is something to think about, there is something to work on.

The purpose of covering the confusing events associated with the competition is not only to try to cover everything that happens during the national selection, pre-competition preparation, not to try to analyze the results, and not even to cover facts and rumors. We want to once again remember the actual performances themselves and the performers, see how it was, and listen to the competition songs. It is possible to disagree with the results, but at least enjoy the musical compositions.

So, Eurovision and Russia, applicants and participants, predictions and hopes, victories and failures:

Eurovision 2004

Initially, it was announced that the organizers would choose a representative from Russia for the competition. Eurovision 2004 year of four performers. This list included Verka Serduchka, Smash !! and Anastasia Stotskaya.

A little later, the ORT management changes its mind and again announces an internal selection with the collection of applications. However, like last year, this collection of applications was of a purely nominal character, it took less than a month, and all applications, as in 2003, were virtually useless. ORT decides to advertise its own Star Factory project. Thus, the competition enters Julia Savicheva- a shy and constrained girl, not gifted with special vocal talents. If in 2003 Channel One, selecting contestants for Eurovision, relied on the scandalousness and outrageousness of the group "Tattoo", then a year later, in 2004, the trump card was the "modesty and naturalness" of the contestant.

Natalia became famous in 2002 after participating in the music festival "Slavianski Bazaar" in Vitebsk. In the same year in Prague, at the international festival Universetalent Prague 2002, she won the nominations for Best Song and Best Singer.

In early 2003 Ryan Lobscher and Michael J. wrote the song "Unstoppable" especially for Natalia and invited her to represent the UK in the competition Eurovision in 2003. but Podolskaya I wanted to speak only for my homeland, Belarus. Not having passed the Belarusian selection for the competition, the singer decides to take part in the Russian one.

Natalia Podolskaya sang a somewhat politicized song "Nobody hurt no one" ("Don't hurt me, gentlemen."). The only official studio version of the song is being recorded in Finland. Since March 18, the radio version of the contest song has been launched into radio circulation, the only difference from the main version is the added guitar solo.

In the final Natalia gives out a strong performance, but alas, Russia collects points only from neighboring countries of the former union, as well as Finland, whose commentators did not forget to mention the participation of Finnish musicians in the group Natalia... The Russian singer takes only 15th place. Although before the competition, a poll conducted in this country gave Russia a confident 39th place out of 39 possible.

This performance of Russia was the worst in the entire era of televoting, despite the fact that the performance itself vocal was the best in recent years ... The Russian delegation did not show any particular frustration - the performance was another informal, the promises of victory were empty ringing, the politician was blamed for everything. for some reason it favors Malta, which has no neighbors at all, as the reason for the failure was called the performance in Ukraine, which, alas ... does not favor Russia.

There are several reasons for such a low result. The very structure and state of the Russian show business makes it uncompetitive outside the CIS. I also noted that the culture of our country is at a very low level, and it is not difficult to satisfy demand with market proposals.

The promo tour was held at a very low level, the video was not shown anywhere except Russia, the promo discs were not sent to European radio stations and fan societies. And only the organizers bear responsibility for this, since by the very Natalia, who performed at the level of her capabilities, there are no complaints, except that she did not manage to turn into a hit a very average rock action movie in the style of the 80s ... The singer, by her own admission, was very painful about her defeat.

Eurovision 2006

In 2006, Channel One held a closed selection, and considered only performers capable of full independent funding for the preparation and participation in the competition. Channel One from the very beginning of the year - after it became clear that he would have to alternate Eurovision with the TV channel Russia - in fact, he removed himself from any connection with Eurovision this year, but be that as it may - the selection still had to be carried out. Due to the special concentration of forces on the Star Factory commercial project, it was decided, without much straining, to conduct a closed selection according to the method of previous years - although anyone could officially submit an application, of course, everyone understands that there is no chance of a final success from the people did not have, since Channel One did not provide any additional resources, except exclusively bureaucratic ones. Channel One had to issue and submit an official application (and even this, unfortunately, did not cope with it in full).

The main competitors were initially considered Dima Bilan and Jasmine. As a result, a ticket to Eurovision received Dima Bilan with a competition song "Never Let You Go".

Dima Bilan(real name Victor Belan) was born in 1981. Graduated from the Gnessin Music College (classical vocals). Debut Dima Bilan took place in 2002 at the amateur festival New Wave - 2002, where he took 4th place. On October 31, 2003, the debut album "Night Bully" was released, which included the classic songs "In Memory of Caruso" (Lucio Dalla) and "Fever" ().

Before performing at the competition, the singer said that “ Eurovision 2007 will take place in Russia ". This meant that he was solely focused on winning. It was safe to say that on Eurovision went one of the strongest performers in the country, who has enough fame to concentrate on himself the voices of the neighboring countries, and, no less important, a song contest that really knows how to sing "live". Unfortunately, the preparation for the competition itself was carried out relying on chance and at the last minute, and people who did not understand the format of the competition were responsible for the preparation. Eurovision... As a result Bilan took second place in the competition. Head of the Russian delegation to Eurovision 2006 Yuri Aksyuta considered the performance of the Russian singer to be victorious, and the Finnish metal band Lordi, in his opinion, took first place undeservedly. Himself Dima Bilan promised to return and take first place: “The rules of this competition allow you to take part in it several times, and I will certainly use this to come back and win. I do not promise that next year, rather, in two or three years. I really want to win Eurovision and again I will do everything for this. "

Eurovision 2007

In 2007, it took a long time to choose a candidate for the European competition. We considered such performers as Sergey Lazarev, Polina Griffiths, Diana Gurtskaya, Evgeniy Gor, the duet of Alexander Panayotov and Alexey Chumakov, the Gorod 312, Zveri, and Band'Eros groups. There was only one application of an acceptable level - the duet of Panayotov and Chumakov with the ballad “Every Little Thing”. However, the management of the TV channel wondered whether to put up for the competition a composition approved by the jury and music professionals who predicted the victory of the ballad composition at Eurovision 2007, although neither the authors nor the performers of the composition are "theirs" on the First?

Two days before the decision was made, the management of Channel One set a task for music producer Maxim Fadeev - to urgently present the song on Eurovision performed by any of its performers. Maxim Fadeev, for all his talent, is not a magician, and he brings only fragmentary demos of a composition to the jury meeting, which at that time did not have an English text. And the decision has already been determined, even in spite of the fact that it is impossible to mold a high-quality product in a hurry, and many of the jury members do not agree with the decision. Thus, representatives from Russia on Eurovision 2007 became a group "Silver", even though it was discovered on a live audition that out of the three soloists of the group, two actually work on a dancer.
Serebro("Silver") is a Russian female trio, which was formed in 2006. The group included Elena Temnikova, Olga Seryabkina and Anastasia Karpova.

On April 25, 2009, Serebro's debut album "Opium Roz" was released, which included 11 tracks. Among them are the critically acclaimed songs "Song # 1", "Breathe", "Opium", "Say do not be silent", solo songs of the trio members, as well as English-language tracks. The first public performance took place in the final of the song contest Eurovision 2007... The predictions were different: from "the chances of the victory of the Russian group are zero" to "a wonderful composition can tear the hall."

There was little time to prepare for the competition, if not to say, there was no left at all, so the composition received a simple name "Song # 1", the track was recorded in a rush on the night before sending, and a preview of the video was also filmed, the sending of which was delayed for a week. As a result, the Russian group took Eurovision third place. This result was rather an "unexpected success" for an unknown project. Composer Vladimir Matetsky, member of the expert council for the selection of a Russian participant Eurovision, noted that the girls showed "a very modern, dynamic song."

In 2008, the national selection of candidates for the first time was carried out by the TV channel "Russia". Its leadership immediately announced that candidates would be elected on a massive scale and democratically. The list of applicants includes Evgenia Rasskazova, Sabrina, Pierre Narcissus and Yulia Mikhalchik, Elena Gorbushina, Alexander Panayotov, Evgenia Otradnaya, Dima Bilan... The last one who has already taken part in Eurovision 2006, and who promised to return to the competition again, and was chosen by the viewers. The composition became the competition song "Believe".

Concert number Bilan was bright, romantic, dynamic and very high quality in terms of vocals. Edwin Marton (the famous Hungarian violinist) and Evgeni Plushenko (Olympic champion in figure skating) took part with him. After Bilan made it to the final Eurovision, he became the clear favorite of the competition. Dima Bilan won by a wide margin.

Victory Bilan also meant that the next competition will be held in Russia for the first time. As the winner of last year, the singer opened the final of the competition Eurovision 2009... The number consisted in the fact that the artist ran, breaking the "brick" walls on his way, symbolizing the difficulties of his ascent to the top Eurovision... Then he flew over the audience, went down to the stage and performed his triumphant song "Believe". Open this video full screen and you will see the entire colorful opening ceremony Eurovision 2009:

Eurovision 2009

In 2009 Eurovision took place in Moscow, which caused a stir and many scandals, including near-political ones. Representatives of Georgia intended to speak at Eurovision in the capital of Russia with a composition with the words “We don’t wanna put in”. The organizers of the competition, considering the song politicized, demanded to replace the words of the song. In response, the Georgian group "Stefane and 3G" refused to participate in Eurovision.

The Swedish group Grotesko wanted to perform with a song that embodied caricatured stereotypes about Russia (balalaikas, nesting dolls, earflaps, "cattle-bulls in tracksuits", "drunken generals and the anthem of the USSR"). However, the Swedes did not make it to the final. The media also got information that in the Olympic Palace during During the rehearsal, the Bulgarian singer Krassimir Avramov was beaten.

Discontent of many representatives of the Russian stage was caused by the winner of the national selection - Ukrainian singer Anastasia Prikhodko, intending to perform the song in part in her native language. Valeria took the second place in the voting, the “Quatro” group took the third place.

Anastasia Prikhodko was born in 1987 in Kiev. At the age of fifteen Anastasia Prikhodko tried to get into a pop group, but failed. She graduated from the Kiev Gliere School in the class of "folk vocals" and the Kiev National University of Culture and Arts. She has taken part in a number of local festivals. She gained fame after winning the Star Factory 7 show, after which she signed a contract with producer Konstantin Meladze. In July 2008, together with Mark Tishman, she became the performer of the anthem he wrote, dedicated to the Day of Family, Love and Fidelity.

In 2009 she participated in the selection for the song contest, but was disqualified. Why is a girl, a member of the low-rating "Factory", who is not a fashionable singer, who, moreover, was not among the 15 finalists in the qualifying round for Eurovision in Ukraine, wins the Russian competition? The lack of answers to these questions aroused suspicion of falsification of the results of the national selection, and the singer's desire to perform the song in Russian and Ukrainian added fuel to the fire of indignation.

As a result Anastasia Prikhodko with composition "Mamo"("Mom") took 11th place. During the summing up of the voting results, a new scandal occurred: the professional jury of Ukraine gave the singer zero points, but it was announced that Ukraine had awarded the representative of Russia 8 points. Western media noted that the countries of the former Soviet Union are using the European competition to settle old accounts, and the Moscow Eurovision 2009 turned out to be the most politicized and expensive.

Eurovision 2010

In the 55th competition Eurovision Russia was represented by the Musical group Petra Nalich. Cash was selected according to the results of the audience vote and the opinion of the professional jury with the composition Lost and Forgotten.

Born in 1981. Creation Petra Nalich gained notoriety after he published on Youtube independently made video for his own song "Guitar". The video was released in the spring of 2007. And in the fall, within one month, 70,000 people watched the video. Then interviews with Peter and articles about him. The audience demanded the appearance of the artist. Have Petra at that time, about 40 songs and musical compositions were written, all of them were freely available on his website. Enthusiasts have collected an archive of them, which can still be found on the Internet. This material formed the basis of the repertoire, with which Peter on November 9, 2007 gave his first concert in the "Apshu" club.

He calls the style of his songwriting "merry baburi". Folklore melodies intertwined with jazz motifs, light art-rock sounding, and special tenderness in the soulful voice of the soloist. Still a melodic composition Lost and Forgotten seemed to the organizers of the competition inexpressive from the point of view of the dynamism of the show. Special effects have been added to the competition performance.

Performance Petra Nalich in the competition was called “the unpromising participation of Russia in Eurovision 2010”,“ A planned failure ”, the bookmakers put the Russian on the 29th place, considering the representative of Germany as the favorite. Lena Meyer-Landrut really took 1st place, but performed better than forecasts - he took 11th place.

Eurovision 2011

Selection for Eurovision 2011 conducted by Channel One. Among the applicants, the press named the singer Alissandra (Alexander Asonov), Vladimir Devyatov, Alexey Vorobyov, Mark Tishman. Gluk'oza (Natalya Ionova-Chistyakova) and Avraam Russo declared their readiness to represent Russia. There were even rumors about a possible participation in the duet competition. Dima Bilan and Sergey Lazarev.

At the beginning of March, it became known that Channel One again held a selection on the principle “we thought and decided”. Was selected Alexey Vorobyov with a song "Get You".

Alexey Vorobyov was born in 1988 in Tula. Some time Alexey was a soloist of the Tula folklore ensemble Uslada. In 2005 he became the winner of the IV Delphic Games of Russia in the nomination "Folk Singing" and received a gold medal for his solo performance. In 2006 he signed a contract with Universal Music Russia. In July 2006, during the G8 summit held in St. Petersburg, Alexey was one of the performers of the anthem of the "Youthful Eight" project. In 2011 Alexey signed a contract with the renowned music producer RedOne, known for working with Lady Gaga, Enrique Iglesias, Usher and others. According to the contract, Vorobiev will act under a pseudonym Alex Sparrow(Alex Sparrow), which is the literal translation of the musician's surname.

Alexey Vorobyov tried to get into the competition Eurovision back in 2008. With the song "New Russian Kalinka", the singer took only fifth place. In 2009, he was among the finalists of the national selection, but was forced to withdraw his candidacy due to employment in another project.

Having successfully combined such musical styles as Russian folk song and dynamic pop music in their number, demonstrating good plasticity and physical shape, vocal skills and thoughtful choreography, Alexey Vorobyov reached the final of the competition.

In the final Vorobiev suffered a severe setback, finishing only 16th. The result was worse than that for Russia only in 1995, when Philip Kirkorov took 17th place. Producer Dima Bilan, the winner Eurovision 2008, Yana Rudkovskaya believes that Vorobiev there was not enough professionalism, and his song - "hit". Yuri Aksyuta, director of music broadcasting of Channel One, noted the traditional unpredictability of the results Eurovision("Big Eurovision roulette"): "It's all about luck or bad luck."

Eurovision 2012

Folklore collective "Buranovskie grandmothers" represented Russia at Eurovision 2012 with a song "Party for Everybody", which they performed in Udmurt and English. The team was named after the village where the members of the ensemble came from - Buranovo, Malopurginsky district of Udmurtia. The ensemble's repertoire includes various hits of famous Russian and foreign performers, sung in the Udmurt language. "Grandmothers" have already participated in the qualifying competition for Eurovision 2010 with the song "Long-long birch bark and how to make an ayshon out of it", but then took 3rd place. On Eurovision 2012 with a score of 259 points, the ensemble took 2nd place.

The ensemble was founded over 40 years ago. For the first time, the collective began to perform with retellings in the Udmurt language in 2008. At the Day of the Mother Language at the Udmurt Philharmonic grandmothers performed well-known songs in Udmurt. Since then, they have repeatedly become the object of attention of the press and television. The producer of the group is the director of "House" Ksenia Rubtsova.

One of the members of the ensemble, Natalya Pugacheva, was 76 years old at the time of the performance, which makes her the oldest member Eurovision throughout its history. The performance itself "Buranovskih grandmothers", which combines a modern dance song and purely folk motives, went down in history Eurovision as the most original, and the participants - as the most extravagant. An interesting fact of this year was that Russia received only one highest mark (12 points) from Belarus, but this did not prevent the team from getting the 2nd prize. The professional jury gave "Buranovsky grandmothers" 94 points, which was only 11th place. However, according to the results of the audience vote, the team received 332 points, 11 points less than the Swedish Loreen, who took first place.

Eurovision 2013

Have part of Russia on Eurovision 2013 became the finalist of "Voices" with the song "What If"... The song for the Russian participant was written Swedish producers Gabriel Alares and Joakim Bjornberg in collaboration with the former bass-guitarist of the group "Autograph" Leonid Gutkin.

She was born in 1991. From the age of 6 she studied vocals at the Golden Microphone Song Theater. Studies at the Kazan State University at the Faculty of Journalism (correspondence department). She graduated from the school of the song theater "Golden Microphone" and toured with the People's Artist of Tatarstan Gabdelfat Safin. In 1999 she became a laureate of the I degree of the All-Russian competition "Firebird", in 2001 - a laureate of the I degree of the Republican festival "Constellation-Yoldyzlyk", after which Dinu began to invite to various concerts and events held by the organizing committee of this festival. In 2005 she became a laureate of the International Competition in the city of Tartu (Estonia). In 2008 Dina together with the theater "Golden Microphone" participated in the International Competition in France, where their musical won the Grand Prix.

In the repertoire Dina Garipova songs in Russian, Tatar, English, Italian and French. The main direction of her work is pop, she also tries herself in the style of rock.

On Eurovision 2013 Dina received 174 points, finishing in fifth place. The results of the competition turned out to be quite predictable and the places were distributed as predicted in advance. The 22-year-old singer took the stage in a coral-colored dress, and 16 balloons were placed behind her, which lit up on the first chords of the song. According to the singer herself, she was pleased with getting into the top five and calls the competition "a wonderful adventure that she dreamed of in childhood."

Vlad Topalov's father and the group's producer Mikhail Topalov explained Lazarev's departure simply: Sergei allegedly suffers from "star fever" and demands to pay him more money. But Lazarev has his own point of view regarding what is happening.

"It's just that the soloist Sergei Lazarev no longer works with the collective for the banal reason of skipping the concert and in full accordance with the Labor Code," Topalov the stranger explained at the time. live "music and started rehearsing a new solo program ..."

The fact is that Mikhail Topalov considers all instrumentalists and vocals to be an integral part of the group and generally avoids the term "duet", writes "Moskovsky Komsomolets".

ON THIS TOPIC

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Soloist Smash !! robbed

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"Everywhere in the world it is called" session musicians ", - objected Sergey Lazarev. - These artists did not even participate in the recording of the album. What kind of Smash !!? Smash !! has always been a duet, and not just a duet of boys, but a duet of specific people. There can be no Smash !! with Vlad and Petya or with Serezha and Petya. Smash !! - these are Vlad and Sergey ".

Sergei categorically disagrees with Topalov's words about "star fever", lack of discipline and demands to raise wages. "It's not true," he says. "It wasn't like that."

Lazarev believes that "because of the policy of Topalov Sr." in Smash !! a "suffocating atmosphere, far from creativity and creativity" arose.

“The emotional and family cohesion that had always distinguished our relationship from the very beginning, when Vlad and I recorded Belle for his dad’s birthday, began to lose,” says Sergey. “Probably, this happened after Topalov decided to say goodbye to producer Simon, whom recommended by our publishers, and take everything into their own hands. Simon kept telling Vlad's dad: "Misha, don't kill the creativity in them, they have something to say." Simon once did Wham! go Smash !!. However, in the end, a lot of people appeared on the stage, and the aura of Smash !! began to get lost. Live sound is very cool, but the atmosphere is more important. We argued, clashed, we were called jerks who do not understand anything and really do not made for Smash !!. At some point I began to feel an openly hostile, alienated attitude towards myself ... I did not demand any fees, I did not skip anything. It's just that in Kiev, Vlad's father threw a newspaper in my face where they were printed some rumors about my supposedly solo project and personal life, he rudely scolded in the presence of many people and punched me in the face. We returned to Moscow. I expected from Topalov not so much an apology, but at least a conversation. There was a week of silence, and it became clear that most likely they did not need me. And then I found out that I had already been fired. I think now I will definitely start working on a solo album, and return to the theater for one or two performances. If necessary, I will record and shoot a video for Smash !!. But the group will no longer be a priority for me. "

xxx
mari 2006-02-18 08:07:12

sergej ti prosto klasny paren

well done!
Lychiano 2006-04-06 23:30:09

Well done Seryozha. If everything happened the way you said, then I am completely on your side, since I myself got into such a situation. I am a journalist by profession and I would very much like to describe the breakup of the group from my point of view. I fully support your decision to work solo and wish you great success in this. I am completely on your side. I would only like to know more about Vlad's opinion about your leaving the group, otherwise the question arises: is it possible that so many years of working together with you, having such overwhelming success and friendship, he remained indifferent to this situation or could not assess the loss of such a person like you. Still, the producer of the group is Vlad's father ...

New Wave 2010 starts in Jurmala on Tuesday. The contestants are preparing for their performances with might and main, some dream of victory, others of future glory, and still others just enjoy it. What did the participants prepare for the audience? How will the directors be surprised? Which of the stars will delight with their presence? We will find out all this very soon, but for now let's look back and remember how it all began.

"New Wave" is an annual international competition of popular music performers. It has been held in the Latvian Jurmala since 2002. The idea of ​​the competition belongs to composers Igor Krutoy and Raymond Pauls... Wherein Alla Pugacheva officially is the "muse" of the competition and awards its own prize.

Contest "New Wave - 2002" became the first successful experience. Both professionals and the public were convinced that such a competition is necessary for all countries that seek to discover new talents.

2002 year

Contest "New Wave - 2002" became the first successful experience of the revived music competition in Jurmala. Spectators watched the exciting musical struggle of 15 contestants, as well as performances by many VIP guests. Among them are Toto Cutugno, Lou Bega, and many others. At the opening of the competition in the Dzintari Concert Hall, the guests and participants of the competition were greeted by the President of Latvia Vaira Vike-Freiberga.

According to the results of the jury voting, the first place at the "New Wave - 2002" competition was taken by a duet of young guys SMASH !! (Russia)... Young performer Dima Bilan took fourth place on that "New Wave - 2002".

Group "Smash !!" after the competition, it began to rapidly gain momentum. The disc "Freeway" was released, which became popular not only in Russia and the CIS countries, but also in Southeast Asia. The album went platinum and went through two re-releases.

In December 2004, the group's last album was released "Smash !!" called "2nite". Immediately after the release of the album, information appeared that the duo had disbanded. The reason for this was leaving the team Sergey Lazarev.

Sergey Lazarev signed a contract with the record company "Style Records", and he himself began to search and record material. He also returned to his native Pushkin Theater to take part in performances. Since then, Sergei has released several albums, plays in theaters, acts in programs, conducts various events, voices films.

Vlad Topalov also does not sit idle: although his face flickers a little less often on the screens, the singer is not forgotten. In 2006 Topalov's first solo album "Lonely Star" was released. In 2008 - the second "Let the heart decide". The recording of the compositions for this album took place in Miami at the Hit Factory Criteria studio and in Moscow at the Fantasy Sound and Vi Sound studios.

Young performer Dima Bilan, who finished fourth, has become a popular performer today. This was confirmed by his brilliant performance at Eurovision 2006 in Athens, where he took an honorable second place. By participating in Eurovision 2008, Bilan won the main prize of the competition, which was a real victory not only for his fans, but for the whole of Russia!

2003 year

After the performances of 16 participants, the first place in "New Wave - 2003" occupied (Russia). In 2003, the prize pool for the winners was increased. In addition to the Crystal Wave and commemorative diplomas, the winner received $ 25,000, the silver medalist was awarded $ 20,000, and the bronze medalist - $ 15,000. Patricia Kaasa, In-Grid, Sarah Connor, Group A attended the competition. -Teens, and many of the best Russian artists.

Success in the competition Stotskaya brought the performance of the acclaimed hit "Can" t take my eyes " and a brand new song "Veins-rivers"... Stotskaya, in addition to variety art, is also fond of theater, is an actress of the Moscow Theater of the Moon. She played the role of Suzanne in the musical television movie "Crazy Day, or the Marriage of Figaro". Took part in the qualifying round of Russia for the song contest Eurovision 2005... And in 2010 she was featured in the film "Love in the Big City 2".

2004 year

16 contestants from 13 countries of the world fought for the victory in the competition. The first place was taken by the Latvian group, the second - Irina Dubtsova(Russia), third - Deema(Germany). In addition, a good tradition has emerged since 2004: a performer who has been awarded the Audience Choice Prize, in addition to a commemorative diploma, is awarded a valuable gift. The guests of the "New Wave - 2004" were many famous artists and VIP-guests, including Thomas Anders, Bonnie Tyler and many Russian stars.

Outside Latvia, the group became known precisely thanks to its victories at competitions and festivals. became laureates of the international competition in Gorizia (Slovenia), brilliantly performed at the competition Eurovision 2006, finishing in 16th place

Irina Dubtsova got on "New Wave" after "Star factories", so Russia already knew and loved the singer. In February 2005, Irina's debut album was released, which was named "About Him" ​​in honor of her main hit. Further Dubtsova releases the album "Vetra", and also writes songs for Philip Kirkorov, Timati and other pop stars. Now he is busy with his next album.

2005 year

In 2005, 18 contestants from 13 countries fought to win. The first place was taken (Latvia), the second - Tina Karol(Ukraine), third - Polina Gagarina(Russia). Alla Pugacheva was the charming Muse of the competition, as well as the co-host of the concert programs. The prima donna has established her own Prize: the choice of a contestant worthy of this Prize may not coincide with the opinion of the jury. The prize of $ 50,000 went to Tina Karol (Ukraine). The guests of the 2005 competition are Chris de Burg, Al Di Meola and many Russian stars.

Intars Busulis represented Latvia at Eurovision 2009 in Moscow, with the song "Probka" in Russian, took 19th place in the second semifinal.

Tina Karol recorded three studio audio albums, about 50 songs, 10 video clips, conducted one All-Ukrainian tour and one solo concert at the National Palace of Arts "Ukraine". She is also a TV presenter - she hosted the "I Want to Be a Star" program (2005) and 3 seasons of the "Dancing with the Stars" TV show (2006 and 2007). Tina Karol- UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and UNFPA employee on assistance to orphanages and other social programs. She was awarded the Orders of St. Stanislav (2007) and the Great Martyr Catherine (2008), has the titles "Singer of the Year" and "Discovery of the Year" (2005), "The Most Beautiful Woman of Ukraine" (2007 and 2008), Honored Artist of Ukraine (2009). - Played roles in musical theater productions "Equator", "Spirits of the Day", "Assol", "Horse's Egg" (2003-2005). The singer starred in television musical films: "Carnival Night. 50 Years Later" and "Star Holidays" (both 2006), Stars in the Army and Funny Songs (both 2007), Odnoklassniki. Also, Tina Karol wrote an autobiographical children's fairy tale "The Great Adventures of the Web" (2008), which was published in two languages ​​- Russian and Ukrainian. On May 28, 2010, Tina Karol, after a hot air balloon flight with the Kiev Aeronautical Society, was awarded the title of Grand Duchess-Celestial.

Polina Gagarina in 2007 she released her debut album "Ask the Clouds", which included such hits as "Lullaby", "I am yours", "I will never forgive you."

In 2008, Polina recorded the song "To whom? Why?" together with another winner of the "Star Factory" - Irina Dubtsova... The song is gaining universal popularity and adds to the people's love for both singers. On March 11, 2010 the second solo album "About Me" was released. As Polina herself says, the album is autobiographical. It includes such hits as the duet with Dubtsova "To whom? Why?", "Love under the sun".

2006 year

The jury evaluated the performances of 16 finalists from 14 countries of the world. The prize fund of the competition has increased to $ 100,000. The winner - a black American woman - received $ 50,000, Gianni fiorellino from Italy (2nd place) - $ 30,000, Sofiko from Georgia (3rd place) - $ 20,000. The People's Choice Award went to the Irish group D-Side. A special Prize from Alla Pugacheva was awarded to the Russians - the group Jukebox... In 2006, the "New Wave" was held not for five days, as in all previous years, but for six. One of the evenings within the framework of the competition was dedicated to the 70th birthday of maestro Raimond Pauls. The competition was attended by world stars - Lara Fabian, Craig David, Al Di Meola, as well as the best Russian stars.

After the competition, nothing has been heard about an American or an Italian in Jurmala and the CIS countries. The Russian group Jukebox actively performs at various festivals and later released her debut album.

Georgian Sofiko she also opened the Eurovision Song Contest for Georgia - it was Sofiko who represented Georgia at Eurovision 2007 when the country first entered the competition. Sofiko took the honorable 12th place.

2007 year

The competition was attended by 18 finalists representing 14 countries of the world. The prize fund of the competition was increased to $ 120,000. The winner was from Moldova, the second place was shared by the Latvian Erglis and the Ukrainian duet Barcelona, the third place was taken by a charming finalist from Poland Marina... She was also awarded a Special Prize from Alla Pugacheva, established in 2005, as well as a Special Prize from Universal.

The winner of the Audience Choice Award, the Kazakh band Rin "Go, was presented with a special memorable gift made by the Smolensk Diamonds company. In addition, talented guys from Kazakhstan were awarded the Trust Prize awarded by Alla Pugacheva. The Greek Kostas Martakis received the Prize from the Jurmala City Duma.

Just like in 2006, the competition was held not for five days, but for six. One of the evenings of the competition was given to Igor Krutoy's creative evening, in which the best performers from Russia and Latvia took part. Within the framework of the competition, performances of world-famous artists took place - Michael Bolton, Stevie Wonder, Dmitry Hvorostovsky, as well as many Russian stars.

Professional singer from Moldova of Ukrainian origin, participant of the "New Wave - 2007", "Eurovision-2006" and other contests. She studied at the music school, piano. In 2009 she also reached the final of the Moldovan selection for Eurovision with the song So alive, but on the eve of the competition withdrew the application due to family problems.

Erglis- a former member of the Bonaparti.lv group, with which he represented Latvia at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2007. The song they performed was called Questa Notte. The group reached the final, where they took 16th place, gaining 54 points. In 2008, Erglis tried to take part in Eurovision on his own, performing the song Broken Lullaby, but did not pass the national selection.

2008 year

The competition was attended by 17 finalists from 14 countries. The prize fund of the competition was increased to $ 140,000. By the sum of points for three competition days in 2008, the winner was a duet from Georgia Georgia, who also received a $ 70,000 prize. Second place and a prize of $ 40,000 were awarded to the singer Iris from Russia, third place and $ 30,000 - to "Elvis Presley", as the audience christened him, to the Italian singer Alessandro Ristori... The audience award "Diamond Wave" went to the singer from Armenia Mher, and the Prize of the city of Jurmala was awarded to the representative of Latvia Don, who took 4th place in the overall standings.

Among the guests of the "New Wave - 2008" were the best Russian pop artists. Robin Gibb, Joe Cocker, Al Jerro, Montserrat Caballe, Elena Obraztsova, whose performances were applauded by the audience of the Dzintari Concert Hall, came to visit the competition. The competition was broadcasted live by millions of viewers from different countries on the Rossiya channel and on RTR-Planeta.

Two traditional night discos on the beach brought together many Russian pop and rock stars and thousands of spectators. In 2009, as you know, it was decided to abandon beach concerts in favor of discos in the Riga Godvil nightclub.

year 2009

Of the more than 9000 applications received by the New Wave 2009 Organizing Committee, 16 artists representing 12 countries were selected for the final. Unlike previous years, there were no singers from the USA in Jurmala, but performers from China and Indonesia came.

As a result, after competitive battles, two participants at once scored an equal number of points: Indonesian Sandy Sandoro and the Ukrainian Jamala... It was necessary to decide the fate of the main prize, and the organizers of the "New Wave - 2009" found it possible to support both participants and present two first prizes at once, 50,000 euros each. The second place was taken by the Italian Antonello Carozza with a prize of 30,000 euros, and the third place and 20,000 euros in prize money was taken by Mark Yusim from Russia.

2010 year

This is just the beginning...

To the concerts of the International Competition of Young Performers "New wave", which will take place in Jurmala from July 27 to August 1, expensive tickets have been sold out, including those for 200 lats.

According to Bilesu Serviss, on the opening day of the competition on July 27, all tickets for the price of 60 to 140 lats have already been sold, and there are only tickets left for 30 lats.

First day "New wave" the contestants will appear before the audience for the first time, and then Russian pop stars will perform on the stage of the Dzintari Concert Hall.

To the gala concert "New wave", which will take place on 1 August, all tickets have been sold for 200, 170, 70 and 50 lats.

As already reported, this year 17 participants from 12 countries will compete for the awards of the competition.

Who will you root for at the "New Wave - 2010" competition?

Former
the participants

In December 2004, the last album of the group "Smash" was released under the name "2nite". Immediately after the release of the album, information appeared that the duo had disbanded. The reason for this was the departure from the team of Sergei Lazarev. Leaving Smash, Lazarev promised to fulfill his obligations under the contract with Universal, according to which the band members (in the person of Vlad Topalov and Sergey Lazarev) pledged to release three albums. By the time the duo broke up, two discs had already been released by Sergey and Vlad together. After some time, Sergei refused to fulfill the terms of the contract. Therefore, the third disc had to be recorded by Vlad alone. All the songs included in this album were recorded by Topalov anew, after the departure of Sergei Lazarev. It was doubly difficult for Vlad to work on this disc, since his father left work on "Smash". Mikhail transferred the direct management of the group to the management of Ego Works in the summer of 2005.

Sergey Lazarev and Vlad Topalov fulfilled the long-standing dream of their fans and admirers on November 16 at Crocus City Hall - the singers reunited for one evening to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Smash group. Many years later, Vlad and Sergey performed together as in the good old 2000s. Forgetting old grievances, the former members of the group, or rather the duet, "Smash", decided to celebrate the jubilee of the collective to which they gave their youth and which gave them the cherished "ticket" to big show business as solo performers. The festive reunion took place at the first solo concert of Sergei Lazarev in Moscow. The artist presented the program “Heartbeat” to the public and the appearance of Vlad Topalov on the stage was a great but pleasant shock for all fans of the country's main Lazerboy. “This year the group Smash celebrated its tenth anniversary. I was overwhelmed by these emotions and therefore I would like to remember the work of this group, ”said Sergey Lazarev. Having performed an accompanying "cut" from operas, the hero of the occasion said that "only today and only for the audience, in honor of the band's anniversary, he will perform together with Vlad Topalov." Together with Vlad Sergey performed the "golden" hits of the group "Smash" - the song "Prayer" and the English-language single "Freeway". Of course, the audience was delighted with the surprise and, despite the fact that many years have passed since the band's rotation, the audience knew the lyrics by heart. It is worth noting that the creator of the popular duet, Vlad Topalov's father, producer and businessman Mikhail Topalov came to the stage to congratulate Sergey on a bouquet of flowers. After two duet songs, Vlad left the stage, wishing Sergei new creative achievements. “I am insanely and sincerely proud of you. You have been walking towards this evening and this concert for many years. You are now standing on this stage, performing in front of this hall, and you really deserve the love of your audience. I am sure you will achieve a lot more, ”said Vlad Topalov. Recall that the Smash group existed from 2001 to 2005. During this time, the band released hits such as "Belle", "Freeway", "Talk To Me", "Prayer" and "Obsession". The group has won dozens of music awards, as well as two full-length albums - "Freeway" and "2nite".

Duet (2001-2005)

• 2001-2005: Sergey Lazarev, Vladislav Topalov

Albums

• 2003 - Freeway
• 2003 - Reprinted. Photo and design: Studio .. others ..
• 2004 - 2nite. Photo and design: Studio .. others ..

Clips

• Should Have Loved You More (Freeway)
• Belle (Freeway)
• Talk To Me (Freeway)
• The One To Cry (Freeway)

Singles

• Should Have Loved You More (Freeway)
• Belle (Freeway). Photo and design: Studio .. others ..
• Talk To Me (Freeway)
• Freeway (Freeway)
• Faith (2nite)

• In the teenage series The Elephant and the Princess, the main character's group is also called Smash.
• There is a similarity between the song "Talk to me" performed by Smash and the song "Talk to me" by the Taiwanese group Fahrenheit. However, the song Smash was released in 2003, and Fahrenheit only appeared in public in 2005.

Achievements

• - first place in the international music competition "New Wave" (Latvia)
• - Muz-TV award in the nominations "Discovery of the Year" and "Best European Sound"
• - awards "

Tell us about the song with which you will go to Eurovision 2016. What will you sing about, what message do you want to convey to the audience from more than forty countries?

The song is called You Are the Only One, and an international team of songwriters worked on it. Among them are the famous Greek composer Dimitris Kontopoulos, whose songs have repeatedly entered the top 3 Eurovision Song Contests of different years, singer, composer and producer Philip Kirkorov, as well as lyricists - Englishman John Ballard and Ralph Charlie from Sweden.

In my opinion, this song has some incredible magnetism and power. The first time I heard it, I was struck by the emotional intensity, power and its meaning. Actually, it was this song that influenced the fact that I finally accepted the offer of the VGTRK leadership to participate in Eurovision this year. It's a love song, and the message is very simple, but very important: each of us the only one is unique and inimitable, and we must remember this.

You have already introduced those with whom you will enter the stage of the Stockholm Ericsson Globe. Most of them are Swedish vocalists and dancers. Why was this choice made?

We have gathered a large and friendly international team of professionals from Russia, Greece, Sweden and England, because music unites. All dancers and vocalists already have experience of working at Eurovision, and this is certainly a big plus. We are all set to work productively, to show the song, number in the most dignified way and to represent Russia at this competition.

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In December 2015, you celebrated the tenth anniversary of your solo career. Do not regret having to complete the Smash story !! and go on stage alone?

Smash !! is already far in the past. It was a wonderful period in my creative life, a great start, and I always speak about this group with gratitude and warmth. It's just that at some point Vlad and I outgrew the band and decided each to go his own way. And for more than ten years now I have been quite comfortable working as a solo artist.

It seems that after the beginning of your solo career they tried to reunite with Vlad Topalov - just for the sake of Eurovision. Is the reunion of your duo possible now, at least in principle?

Yes, Channel One had such an idea about nine years ago, but I refused. And even now I do not see the point in reuniting, Vlad and I have moved too far from each other both creatively and in a friendly way. Everyone has his own path.

You tried to get to Eurovision several times ...

It is a myth. In fact, I participated in the selection only once - in 2008. Since then, every year my name has appeared on the lists of applicants, although I did not send any applications and refused to participate. And only now, after eight years, I agreed, because I felt that a very strong team had gathered and there was a song that hooked me.

The team that works with me has a lot of experience working at Eurovision, and from the first meeting they told me that this competition will give me a lot as a creative person and that this is an absolutely unforgettable adventure. Now, after three months of preparation, I understand that they were absolutely right. Now I do not think about the final result and the place that I will take, because of too many factors this will add up, but my main task is to perform with dignity and represent the country in the most professional way.

It seems to me that a good song is at the head of everything. I don't think that at the moment of voting and choosing their favorite, the viewer remembers who won last year - a man or a woman.

Representatives of our country have been subjected to certain pressure over the past two years due to political events, although Eurovision traditionally eschews politics. Are you ready for this kind of pressure? What would you say to Western journalists if they ask you the appropriate questions?

There are always difficulties and peculiarities, at any international competition, I am ready for them. As for questions about politics, it seems to me that it is not entirely correct to discuss politics with a musician who understands little about it and is unlikely to be able to competently comment on and be responsible for the actions of politicians in a particular country. I'm going to the song contest, not to the political and economic forum.

This year Ukraine is sending the singer Jamala to the competition with the composition "1944" dedicated to the deportation of the Crimean Tatars. We heard calls to almost appeal to the European Broadcasting Union with a demand to ban it, and St. Petersburg deputy Vitaly Milonov suggested sending one representative from Poland and Russia to the competition with a song about the Volyn massacre. In your opinion, is it worth reacting to the Ukrainian choice, even if it seems controversial to someone?

It seems to me that I have no right to discuss or condemn any of the participating countries, because I myself am a participant and we are all on equal terms. Each country independently chooses a song and an artist, and we have no right to criticize this. Only the organizers of the competition can decide not to admit any of the participants if serious violations of the rules are revealed.