Elizaveta Valdemarovna Ivantsiv (russian: Елизаве́та Вальдема́ровна Иванци́в; ua, Єлизаве́та Вальдема́рівна Іванці́в, Yelizaveta Valdemarivna Ivantsiv; born 2 July 1982), known professionally as Yolka (russian: Ёлка, "Spruce"), is a Ukrainian singer, songwriter, recording artist, presenter and actress.
Raised in
Uzhhorod
Uzhhorod ( uk, У́жгород, , ; ) is a city and municipality on the river Uzh in western Ukraine, at the border with Slovakia and near the border with Hungary. The city is approximately equidistant from the Baltic, the Adriatic and the B ...
, she started her musical career with
R&B band. After that she signed to the label 100PRO and producer
Vlad Valov and released her debut album ''City of Deception'' (russian: Город обмана), which included major hits "Girl in Peugeot" and "High Spirits" as for as album was proved a success. Afterwards Yolka released albums ''Shadows'' and ''This Gorgeous World'' in collaboration with Valov, which was unsuccessful.
Since 2010 to 2012 she was a judge in Ukrainian version of popular show ''
The X Factor
''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...
''. Yolka's breakthrough came after the viral success of her single "
Provence
Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bor ...
" in 2011. She was nominated in three categories at the annual
''Muz-TV'' Music Awards 2011. Her fourth studio album ''Points Are Collocated'' (russian: Точки расставлены) was released in 2012 and received widespread critical acclaim. Several Russian critics called it 2012's best album. Also magazines such as ''
Afisha'', ''
Time Out'' and ''
Interview
An interview is a structured conversation where one participant asks questions, and the other provides answers.Merriam Webster DictionaryInterview Dictionary definition, Retrieved February 16, 2016 In common parlance, the word "interview" ...
'' included ''Points Are Collocated'' on their year-end top lists.
Yolka has fourthly received
Golden Gramophone Award
The Golden Gramophone Award () is a yearly national Russian music award, established by Russian Radio in 1996.p. 241, ''Pop culture Russia!: media, arts, and lifestyle'', Birgit Beumers, ABC-CLIO, 2005, . The awardee receives a gold-colored figur ...
(for songs "Handsome Man", "Provence", "Next to You" and "Fly, Liza"); she was nominated for ''
MTV
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
s
Russia Music Awards. In 2011 she was recognized as Singer of the Year by ''
Glamour'' magazine and among top-ten of the most successful people in Ukrainian show business, according to the ''
Focus
Focus, or its plural form foci may refer to:
Arts
* Focus or Focus Festival, former name of the Adelaide Fringe arts festival in South Australia Film
*''Focus'', a 1962 TV film starring James Whitmore
* ''Focus'' (2001 film), a 2001 film based ...
'' magazine. In the same year she won in category Singer of the Year at the annual
ZD Awards
''Zvukovaya Dorozhka'' (russian: Звуковая Дорожка, "sound track") is Russia's oldest hit parade in the field of popular music. It was founded in 1975 and has been published monthly in Moskovskij Komsomolets
''Moskovskij Komso ...
by ''
Moskovskij Komsomolets
''Moskovskij Komsomolets'' (russian: Московский комсомолец, lit=Moscow Komsomolets) is a Moscow-based daily newspaper with a circulation approaching one million, covering general news. Founded in 1919, it is famed for its to ...
''. In 2016 she won the "Best Female Singer in Popular Music" Award at the
Russian National Music Awards. In 2019 she became a singer at
WorldSkills
WorldSkills organizes the world championships of vocational skills and is held every two years in different parts of the world. The organization, which also hosts conferences about vocational skills, describes itself as the global hub for skills.
...
(section "Experiment": the speaker - is the inventor
Pranav Mistry
Pranav Mistry (born 14 May 1981) is a computer scientist and inventor. He was the President and CEO of STAR Labs (Samsung Technology & Advanced Research Labs). He is best known for his work on SixthSense, Samsung Galaxy Gear and Project Beyon ...
, the artist -
Denis Semionov
Denis Semionov (russian: Денис Игоревич Семенов, ''Denis Igorevich Semenov''; born 29 September 1985) - is a Russian new media artist.
Biography
Denis Semionov was born in 1985 in Moscow. His great grandfather, a Russian-Fi ...
).
In 2020, as part of the Top Hit Music Awards, she received the title of "Artist of the Decade", as the statistical music service TopHit found that "over the past 10 years, her songs have been played on the air of various radio stations about 19 million times".
Biography
1982–2001: Childhood and youth
She was born on July 2, 1982 in
Uzhgorod
Uzhhorod ( uk, У́жгород, , ; ) is a List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality on the river Uzh in western Ukraine, at the border with Slovakia and near the border with Hungary. The city is approximat ...
. At first she studied at secondary school No. 8 in Uzhgorod, and graduated from school No. 19. She grew up in a musical family, father - Valdemar Mironovich Ivantsiv (d. June 13, 2012, Uzhgorod) - a collector of jazz music, mother - Marina Eduardovna Lyashenko - a musician playing three instruments, grandparents sang in the Transcarpathian folk choir, Elizaveta sang in the school choir, then moved to the vocal circle at the Palace of Pioneers. While studying at school, she took part in the school
KVN
''KVN'' (russian: КВН, an abbreviation of , ''Klub Vesyólykh i Nakhódchivykh'' or ''Ka-Ve-En'', "Club of the Funny and Inventive") is a Russian (and formerly Soviet) humour TV show and an international competition where teams (usually comp ...
. Gained local popularity thanks to the KVN team of Uzhgorod schoolchildren "Ward No. 6", in 2001-2003 transformed into the team of Uzhgorod and Vinnitsa. According to the performer, she did not invent her pseudonym on purpose. From the age of eleven, everyone began to call her Yolka, after “one of my friends blurted out:“ Yolka ”, someone heard - and away we go”
6 “... Yes, I have not responded to my name since the age of eleven. Even mom calls Yolochka. Only dad remembers everything and reacts very inadequately when my friends forget my name. He immediately lists all the vegetation of the Red Book to them, especially when they call at night, ”said the artist.
She studied vocal classes at the music school, but did not finish. According to her confessions, she did not develop relationships with teachers. In the mid-1990s, she joined the Uzhgorod group "B&B", where she performed as a backing vocalist.
2001-2005: Early career and album "City of Deception"
In 2001, the B&B group performed at the Rap Music'01 international festival, where Yolka was noticed by Vlad Valov, the leader of the Bad Balance group, who later became the singer's first producer. After the group broke up, Youlka did not appear on stage for some time. At this time, she gave up her dream of becoming an artist and got a job as a waitress in a cafe. Three years later, Yolka received a call from Valov's company, and she moved to Moscow. Vladislav Valov signed a contract with Yolka, and one of the first songs recorded with him was “Words Spoken by You”, included in the collection “Girls Attack”.
In 2004, she performed in a concert on the day of memory of Mikhey with her group, which also included two guitarists and DJ Lenar. At the concert, Yolka sang Mikhey's song "Bitch Love". Continuing cooperation with Valov, the singer recorded a song of his composition "City of Deception".The composition was released on the radio in the summer of 2004 and became Yolka's first hit, hitting the hit parade of the Maximum radio station and staying there for twelve weeks.
On November 9, 2005, the debut album of the performer was released, entitled "City of Deception". Work on the disc, released on the 100PRO label, was completed in mid-2005, and, as the performer said, the record was written: "in one breath". Yolka presented music in a different style, which was attributed to both rock (due to guitar parts) and hip-hop (due to “broken” rhythms and scratches). The singer described her style as "guitar-heavy R&B". NewsMusic.ru wrote that "in Russia, such a mix is being done for the first time". The album was met with mixed reviews. Rita Skeeter of InterMedia spoke positively about the work, saying: "Yolka and Valov found a way to make this genre
&Btruly competitive even in our market with its national characteristics". Andrei Nikitkin wrote in Rap.ru that Yolka is still a pop project, but “very high quality. Incorporating elements of both R'n'B and rock, reggae, chanson, and pop. And designed not so much for fans of one of these styles, but for a wide audience. Boris Barabanov in the Kommersant newspaper also spoke of the singer as the main hope of Russian pop music.
In 2005, Yolka became a nominee for the MTV channel's RMA award, in the Best Rap nomination. Several more singles were also released from the album, including the successful songs "Girl in Peugeot" and "Good mood", the latter of which reached position 56 on the Russian radio chart.
Filmography
* 2005 – ''
Hoodwinked!
''Hoodwinked!'' is a 2005 computer-animated musical comedy mystery film. It retells the folktale ''Little Red Riding Hood'' as a police procedural, using backstories to show multiple characters' points of view. It was produced independently by ...
'' –
Red Riding Hood
"Little Red Riding Hood" is a European fairy tale about a young girl and a sly wolf. Its origins can be traced back to several pre-17th century European folk tales. The two best known versions were written by Charles Perrault and the Brothe ...
(
Anne Hathaway
Anne Jacqueline Hathaway (born November 12, 1982) is an American actress. The recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Anne Hathaway, various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime Emmy Awar ...
) dubbing
* 2012 – ''Gentlemen of Fortune!'' – cameo, star at corporate
* 2012 – ''Scramble'' (film)
* 2013 – ''
SashaTanya
''SashaTanya'' (russian: СашаТаня ) is a Russian situation comedy television series, a spin-off of Univer. The first run started on June 3, 2013.
Plot
After graduation, Sasha and Tanya move into a two-room rented apartment on the outski ...
'' – cameo (5 series)
* 2013 – ''That's love''
Discography
Albums
* ''City of deception'' (2005)
* ''Shadows'' (2006)
* ''This magnificent world'' (2008)
* ''
Point Apart
Elizaveta Valdemarovna Ivantsiv (russian: Елизаве́та Вальдема́ровна Иванци́в; ua, Єлизаве́та Вальдема́рівна Іванці́в, Yelizaveta Valdemarivna Ivantsiv; born 2 July 1982), known profes ...
'' (2011)
* ''Live concert'' (2013)
* ''#Neby'' (2015)
* ''No offense'' (2021)
Songs
* "City of deception" (2005)
* " Girl in the Peugeot" (2005)
* "Good mood" (2005)
* "I Want to Be a Movie Star" ( 2005)
* "Two Roses" (2006)
* "Girl – student" (2006)
* "Terror" (2006)
* "Flood" (2006)
* "Mountains" (2006)
* "Handsome Boy" (2007)
* "Point – City" (2007)
* "Do not lose heart" (2008)
* "Good Morning" (2008)
* "Your Words" (2009)
* "Dreams" (2009)
* "Provence" (2010)
* "The large balloon" (2011)
* "Boy" (with Paul Will) (2011)
* "About You" (2011)
* "Chain Feeds" (2012)
* "I want" (2012)
* "Star Star" (with the band Megalopolis) (2012)
* "Body Ofigel" (2013)
* "The New World" (with the heat) (2013)
* "
Fly, Liza
Elizaveta Valdemarovna Ivantsiv (russian: Елизаве́та Вальдема́ровна Иванци́в; ua, Єлизаве́та Вальдема́рівна Іванці́в, Yelizaveta Valdemarivna Ivantsiv; born 2 July 1982), known profes ...
" (2013)
* "We do not understand" (with Noize MC) (2013)
* "Do you know" (with Burito) (2014)
* "DJ Groove feat. Ёлка - Отпусти (Let it go)" (2016)
* "World opens" (2017)
Charts
"—" – missing song in the chart
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yolka
1982 births
Living people
Musicians from Uzhhorod
Russian-language singers
Ukrainian pop singers
21st-century Ukrainian women singers
Ukrainian women television presenters
Russian National Music Award winners
Winners of the Golden Gramophone Award