Vitalij Gracev

Vitaliy Vladasovich Grachev (russian: Виталий Владасович Грачёв; uk, Віталій Владасович Грачов, Vitaliy Vladasovych Hrachov; born 19 February 1979), known professionally as Vitas ( rus, Витас, , ˈvʲitəs; stylised as VITAS), is a Latvian-born Russian singer, songwriter and actor. Vitas is known for his unique falsetto and his eclectic musical style, which incorporates elements of operatic pop, techno, dance, classical, jazz, and folk. Though somewhat debated, it is said that he has a vocal range of 7 octaves.

Having achieved prominence through Russian television in the early 2000s, Vitas crossed into Asian markets in 2005. Much of his recognition outside Russia and Asia came in the 2010s, when songs such as "Opera #2" and "The 7th Element" (both from his 2001 debut album ''Philosophy of Miracle'') and "Smile!" (from his 2002 album of the same name) achieved viral success; the unusual music videos for "Opera #2" and "The 7th Element" have been cited as the most prominent examples of this.

Vitas has performed with entertainment labels such as Universal Music Group, and has toured extensively in several countries. He designs his own stage costumes, and employs a backing band named DIVA during live performances.

Early life

Vitaly Vladasovich Grachev was born in Daugavpils, which was then in the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic, on February 19, 1979. He soon moved with his parents to Ukraine, where he was raised in Odessa.

Vitas has Russian, Latvian and Jewish roots origin. He is the son of Lilia Mihailovna Gracheva who was Russian, and Vladas Arkadevich Grachev-Marantzman who was half Latvian and Jewish origin. His paternal grandfather, Arkadiy Davidovich Marantzman, was Ashkenazi Jewish while his paternal grandmother was of Latvian descent. He showed an interest in music from an early age; his grandfather taught him to play the accordion at the age of 5 and wrote his first song, "Rain in Tbilisi", when he was 6. He later said that he had composed at least 1,000 songs by the age of 12. He attended an art school in Odessa from the age of seven, and appeared in various theatrical productions as a teenager. His dean at the art school in Odessa reportedly hailed him as "a gift from God".

Career

Before becoming famous, he performed small gigs at bars and restaurants in the late 90s (1996-2000). One of his more notable performances from this time was "Opera 2" at a bar in Odessa, showcasing his now iconic high note. Thanks to recovered footage, it was discovered that his first music video was that of "Opera 1 (Euro version)" dating to 1999 in Odessa.

Vitas came to public attention in Russia in December 2000 with the song "Opera #2", which was notable for his surprisingly high-pitched and energetic vocals. In the music video, he portrays an eccentric lonely man with fish gills who lives in a bathtub with jars of fish and plays the accordion naked. In February 2001, he held his first concert, "Opera #...", at the "Russia" Concert Hall in Moscow, and presented his first concert tour, Philosophy of Miracle, which started in March 29th, 2002 at the State Kremlin Palace in Moscow and ended in April 2nd, 2003 with his concert in Kazan.

Vitas received an invitation from Lucio Dalla, the composer who created "Caruso", to perform this song together with the author at the "San Remo in Moscow" concert in the State Kremlin Palace in 2003. Mr. Dalla then invited Vitas to come to Rome to take part in the rehearsals of "Toska", a modern version of Puccini's opera.

In dedication to his mother who died in 2001, Vitas released two albums, "The Songs of My Mother" and "Mama". "The Songs of My Mother" included classic Russian songs which are sometimes considered to be the "gold reserves" of Russian pop-music. In November 2003, Vitas presented his second tour program, "The Songs of My Mother" in the Russia Concert Hall in Moscow. Compared to the flamboyant nature of his previous "Philosophy of Miracle" tour, "The Songs of My Mother" was more conservative, drawing on classic Russian songs. From 2004 to 2006, Vitas' management, the "Pudovkin" Production Center continued "The Songs of My Mother" tour in Russia and the United States, Germany, Kazakhstan, Israel and the Baltic states.

In addition to his singing career, Vitas also starred in a murder mystery television series called "Сволочь ненаглядная" ("Beloved Scoundrel"), in which he played a pop singer with an unusually high voice. He also starred in a comedy called Crazy Day.

In June 2006, Vitas was invited by China Central Television to take part in a grand event entitled "The Year of Russia in China" in Beijing. Vitas performed two songs, "The Star" and "Opera #2" during the event, marking the beginning of his popularity in China.

Vitas' "Return Home" tour, beginning in 2006, had a conservative atmosphere similar to the "Songs of My Mother" tour. The concert performed in Saint Petersburg on 4 March 2007 was later released on DVD on Vitas' website, as well as officially in some countries, albeit with many songs removed. The full concert in Moscow was later released on DVD.

In October 2007, Vitas was signed with now-defunct American label Gemini Sun Records. Gemini Sun released the Audio Visual Connect Series Vitas compilation CD + DVD set featuring eight music videos with the corresponding songs also on audio CD, in addition to a bonus audio track. In 2008, Vitas also released "Light of A New Day", a 40-minute track of non-lyrical vocalization and instrumentation. The song is available as a free download on his website.

The "Sleepless Night" tour included concerts in China and more elaborate presentations than the more conservative "Return Home" program. Vitas performed his "Return Home" concert in Bucharest, Romania on 25 February 2009. The concert was broadcast on the Romanian TVR2 and TVRi television networks, achieving their highest ratings in twelve months. A benefit concert, with Vitas performing "The Star", was held on 12 May 2009 in Sichuan province in memory of the victims of the previous year's earthquake there; a song known as "Mommy and Son" was released in late October 2009 in remembrance of the victims. It was the very first title track of the "Mommy and Son" album (released 1 September 2011), which included new songs, such as "C'est La Vie" (French for "Such is life"), "Once More", "Let the Father Teach!", "Young Rook" and others.

Vitas played the role of Gude in the Chinese film ''Mulan'', which premiered in Beijing on 16 November 2009. He recorded music for the film's soundtrack.

In early 2011, Vitas performed a series of seven "Sleepless Night" concerts in New York City, Toronto, Chicago, Miami, Vancouver, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. Later that year, he played the role of Bolshevik Comintern official Grigori Voitinsky in the Chinese propaganda film '' The Founding of a Party''. He also starred with Huang Shengyi in the musical ''A Night to Be a Star''. In March 2011, Vitas' concert tour "Mommy and Son" started in several cities of Russia. His large-scale concert at the Palace of Arts "Ukraina" in Kyiv in March 2012 was broadcast in Ukraine's main TV channels and later released in DVD. In 2013 he brought the tour to Germany, performing in several cities.

In June 2015, Vitas' unusual music video for his 2001 song "The 7th Element", which features him as a kind of humanoid alien performing on a '' Top of the Pops''-esque show, became popular after it was posted on Reddit.

In 2017, Vitas' song "Smile" became popular in Brazil, where Facebook pages such as "South America Memes" were responsible for memes using footage from his performance of the song at the "Songs of My Mother" tour. On 5 October, he thanked the pages for his popularity.

In August 2020, Vitas' 20th anniversary EP ''OPERA20'' was released in China. The album contained songs in English, Russian, and Chinese, as well as a collaboration with Chinese singer Elvis Wang. 1,000 limited edition vinyl copies were issued.

Personal life

Noted for fiercely guarding his private life, Vitas has frequently declined interviews. In an unusual move, he allowed himself and his family to be interviewed on the talk show ''Let Them Talk'' in January 2012.

In 2007, Vitas appeared on the talk show ''Everybody Is At Home'' to discuss his personal history and his development as an artist. Later that year, he appeared on the show again to address a man's allegations that he was Vitas's biological father. After much backlash from friends and family, and the man's admission of lying, the DNA results proved that he was not Vitas's father. To show that he had no hard feelings, Vitas sang and danced with the man's mother on the show.

On 10 May 2013, Vitas was arrested after hitting a cyclist with his car near the VVC Exhibition Centre in Moscow. The cyclist was uninjured and proceeded to film the scene with police afterward, which depicted an unkempt and possibly intoxicated Vitas being held by authorities. The accident was widely covered by Russia-1 and Channel One Russia,TV news of ''Channel One Russia'' about Vitas's incident on 10 May 2013
(Russian) two of many other TV channels who broadcast Vitas's driving license with his personal data, which had been presented to journalists by a police officer.Russian television Channel One Russia shown Vitas's Ukrainian driving license after accident on 10 May 2013 with all personal data
(Russian)Russian television Russia-1 shown Vitas' Ukrainian driving license after accident on 10 May 2013 with all personal data
(Russian)

Backing band

Current members

* Aleksandr Gruzdev – guitar, saxophone, backing vocals (2001–present)
* Maxim Musatov – keyboards, backing vocals (2019–present)
* Aleksandr Illin – bass guitar, backing vocals (2016–present)
* Yaroslav Andreev – drums (2012–present)

Former members

* nknown– guitar, backing vocals (2014–2015)
* Vasiliy Musatov – keyboards (2004–2019)
* Ilya "G.IL.V" Grebenyuk – keyboards (2001–2003)
* Aleksey Rostov – keyboards (2003)
* Andrey Artemov – bass guitar, backing vocals (2007–2015)
* Rashit Kyamov – bass guitar, backing vocals (2001–2007, 2015–2016)
* Rushan Harryasov – drums (2001–2012)

Discography

Studio albums

DVDs

Singles and EPs

Videos

Concert programs

Filmography

Film

Awards and achievements

References

External links

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1979 births
Living people
Musicians from Odesa
Russian emigrants to Ukraine
Russian folk-pop singers
Russian male songwriters
Russian people of Jewish descent
Countertenors
Internet memes
Opera crossover singers
Ukrainian people of Jewish descent
Universal Music Group artists
21st-century Russian male singers
21st-century Russian singers
21st-century Ukrainian male singers