Anna Sergeyevna "Anita" Tsoy (russian: Анна Серге́евна "Анита" Цой; born Kim, russian: Ким; 7 February 1971,

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

) is a Russian singer-songwriter of

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...

descent. She is a

Meritorious Artist Merited Artist of the Russian Federation (russian: link=no, Заслуженный артист Российской Федерации, ''Zasluzhenny artist Rossiyskoy Federatsii'') is an honorary title in the Russian Federation. The title is ...

of Russia (2003).

Early life

Anita's grandfather, seeking free education, emigrated from

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

to the

Russian Far East The Russian Far East (russian: Дальний Восток России, r=Dal'niy Vostok Rossii, p=ˈdalʲnʲɪj vɐˈstok rɐˈsʲiɪ) is a region in Northeast Asia. It is the easternmost part of Russia and the Asian continent; and is admin ...

. He, his wife and his children were later caught up in the 1937 deportation of the ''

Koryo-saram Koryo-saram ( ko, 고려사람; russian: Корё сарам; uk, Корьо-сарам) is the name which ethnic Koreans in the post-Soviet states use to refer to themselves. The term is composed of two Korean words: "", a historical name for ...

'' to

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...

. Anita's mother was born in 1944 in

Tashkent Tashkent (, uz, Toshkent, Тошкент/, ) (from russian: Ташкент), or Toshkent (; ), also historically known as Chach is the capital and largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of 2 ...

Uzbek SSR Uzbekistan (, ) is the common English name for the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic (Uzbek SSR; uz, Ўзбекистон Совет Социалистик Республикаси, Oʻzbekiston Sovet Sotsialistik Respublikasi, in Russian: Уз ...

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

and successfully graduated from the

Moscow State University M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU; russian: Московский государственный университет имени М. В. Ломоносова) is a public research university in Moscow, Russia and the most prestigious ...

and became a chemistry

doctor Doctor or The Doctor may refer to: Personal titles * Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree * A medical practitioner, including: ** Physician ** Surgeon ** Dentist ** Veterinary physician ** Optometrist *Other roles ** ...

. Tsoy's mother did everything she could to make her daughter educated in all kinds of arts. Anita's favourite one became music. She began

violin The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...

lessons at a young age; she later studied

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

, flute, and

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

. When Tsoy became an adult, her mother was branded a "

class enemy The term enemy of the people or enemy of the nation, is a designation for the political or class opponents of the subgroup in power within a larger group. The term implies that by opposing the ruling subgroup, the "enemies" in question are ac ...

" in the 1970s in response to her record of speaking out in support of

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Chemistry, Physics, Physiolog ...

-winning dissident

Andrei Sakharov Andrei Dmitrievich Sakharov ( rus, Андрей Дмитриевич Сахаров, p=ɐnˈdrʲej ˈdmʲitrʲɪjevʲɪtɕ ˈsaxərəf; 21 May 192114 December 1989) was a Soviet nuclear physicist, dissident, nobel laureate and activist for n ...

. For her dissidence, she was briefly committed to a mental institution and became a permanent invalid. After leaving school Tsoy attended the

teacher training college A normal school or normal college is an institution created to train teachers by educating them in the norms of pedagogy and curriculum. In the 19th century in the United States, instruction in normal schools was at the high school level, turni ...

, then law school at

, where she met her husband

Sergey Tsoy Sergey Petrovich Tsoy (russian: Сергей Петрович Цой; born 1957) is a well-known Russian politician and journalist of Korean descent. He is a former Moscow City Hall official and is currently working as a deputy chairman of the ...

Career

After graduation, rather than becoming a teacher or lawyer, she began saving up money in order to launch a singing career, while her husband began working as a press secretary for

mayor

Yury Luzhkov Yury Mikhailovich Luzhkov ( rus, Ю́рий Миха́йлович Лужко́в, p=ˈjʉrʲɪj mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪtɕ lʊˈʂkof; 21 September 1936 – 10 December 2019) was a Russian politician who served as mayor of Moscow from 1992 to 2010 ...

in 1994. Her first album ''Polyot'' (Полёт; ''Flight'') was released in 1997; she kept it a secret from her husband until after she had already signed the contract with her production company. In 1998 her second album, named "Черный лебедь" ("The Black Swan") was released and in 1999 a concert show "Черный лебедь или храм любви" ("The Black Swan or a Love Palace") was held in the concert hall "Rossiya". This show was accepted as "Best Show of the Year" and Anita won an "Ovation" She went to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

in 2003 to record an English-language album, where she worked with cinematic composer

Lee Holdridge Lee Elwood Holdridge (born March 3, 1944) is a Haitian-born American composer, conductor, and orchestrator. A 18-time Emmy Award nominee, he has won two Primetime Emmy Awards, two Daytime Emmy Awards, two News & Documentary Emmy Awards, and one ...

; while there, she was offered a five-year contract as a solo vocalist in the

Cirque du Soleil Cirque du Soleil (, ; "Circus of the Sun" or "Sun Circus") is a Canadian entertainment company and the largest contemporary circus producer in the world. Located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul on 16 Ju ...

, but turned it down in order to return to Russia and be near her family. She records her third Russian dance solo-album "1000000 минут" ("1000000 Minutes") in 2003, which was introduced to public in the "Elevator" club, a former factory in Moscow. In 2005 a major show-concert "ANITA" was held in the "Rossiya" Concert Hall, Moscow, featuring high technology decorations like large LCD-screens and fountains on the stage. The show was considered to be one of the most successful ones in Russia and was released on DVD by

Universal Music Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

. Tsoy recorded her fourth album "На восток" ("To The East") in 2007 and changed her image greatly since the 2003; she turns to manga-

anime is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...

style. In autumn of the same year she performs with her "To The East" show, which attracted more than ten thousand people. Following the show, the DVD-recording of this live concert was released. Both "ANITA" and "To The East" shows are considered to be one of the best live-performances in Russia and the recordings of these concerts were shown on Channel One,

Muz-TV Muz-TV (russian: Муз-ТВ, from Музыкальное телевидение - Music Television) is a Russian music TV channel, broadcasting since 1996. It is largely modelled after western MTV and predates launching of MTV Russia in 1998. M ...

and other influentable Russian channels. Anita recorded 5 albums in total and won more than 10 major awards for both performing and charity during her 13-year career as a solo artist._Анита_Цой_биография_[Anita_Tsoy_bio]
._Russianlyrics.com._Retrieved_on_5_August_2014.Анита_Цой_.::._Артисты_от_А_до_Я._Музыкальный_каталог_.::._Русское_Радио
._Rusradio.ru._Retrieved_on_5_August_2014.

_Summary_of_music_career

Tsoy_is_known_for_regularly_changing_her_music_style_and_image._She_began_performing_as_a_nearly_Rock_music.html" "title="nita Tsoy bio]"> Анита Цой биография [Anita Tsoy bio]
. Russianlyrics.com. Retrieved on 5 August 2014.Анита Цой .::. Артисты от А до Я. Музыкальный каталог .::. Русское Радио
. Rusradio.ru. Retrieved on 5 August 2014.

Summary of music career

Tsoy is known for regularly changing her music style and image. She began performing as a nearly Rock music">rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

Early life

Career

_Summary_of_music_career

Summary of music career

1997 – In memory of Viktor Tsoi

"The Black Swan" of Russian pop

2003 – Switch to dance music

2007 – To The East

Charity

Current career

Albums

Live concerts

Awards

References

External links