How tall is Yulia Sanina? How do you dress in real life? And the child’s grandparents are not old

Biography

From 2006 to 2008 - soloist of the group Sister Siren.

In September 2011, Yulia Sanina and music producer Valery Bebko created a pop duet Val & Sanina. A test video and several songs were recorded. One of them is “Love has come” (words by Robert Rozhdestvensky, music by Raymond Pauls).

Soon they changed the image and name of the group, added “heaviness” to the sound, began singing in English - and thus the group was born The Hardkiss. Valery and Yulia write their own music and lyrics. That same fall, the group released several songs and shot their debut video clip for the song Babylon. Also at the end of October 2011 The Hardkiss opened for British group Hurts. Before the end of 2011, the group released another video called Dance with me, which received rotation on leading Ukrainian music channels.

Already in February 2012 The Hardkiss signed a contract with the label Sony BMG. The team quickly gained popularity and a series of awards in Ukraine and abroad.

In December 2014, Yulia Sanina began publishing video blogs on YouTube about her life and the behind-the-scenes work of the group. The Hardkiss.

In 2016, Yulia Sanina became a member of the jury and mentor of the seventh season of “X-Factor” on the STB channel. Her wards from the Detach group became super finalists.

Smiles: “Val is an amazing father, the only person to whom I entrusted the child in the first two months after his birth.” Our conversation is about motherhood, competition in the musical environment, the consequences of the Eurovision competition and the complex of an excellent student.

Julia, how do you feel in the judge’s chair? It’s so responsible: to make a decision on which someone’s fate depends.

This is a very heavy burden! Really not easy to find suitable words to explain my decision to people. We don’t just make a verdict: yes or no, but we try to give advice. Sometimes he can sound quite categorical: “You shouldn’t make music in principle.” You have to hurt people to understand that they have no future in music. But it's better to be honest about it.

Experienced people gathered at the judge's table, such as Konstantin Meladze and, and people whose work is now modern and relevant - artists from the groups The Hardkiss and Agon. It's difficult to judge, but it's very necessary work, especially now, when Ukraine needs new artists.

- Don’t you look at them as potential competitors?

No. We have big country, a lot of concert venues and a great shortage of artists. We festival group, we go on tour a lot. And when we see the same faces at festivals, it starts to become boring. Even for ourselves, due to the lack of competition, the incentive to look for something new and move forward disappears. It's very relaxing. Therefore, the more quality artists there are, the more confident Ukraine will be ahead of the planet in music.

Most recently, The Hardkiss were themselves contestants. I mean the Eurovision selection. Are you used to this role?

I participated a lot in children's competitions and festivals. Then I developed as a musician, searched for myself, and studied. It was very good school, tempering the spirit. From a daisy girl, a tender bud, I turned into a fighter. Without these qualities, it is impossible in show business, as in any business. Then I stopped competing, and the Eurovision selection became my first adult competition. It was then that it became clear that I had lost my competitive acumen. I had a million moments when I wanted to give up and give up everything, because it was a very big experience and nerves. And they are baseless. After all, will you win or will you just make it to big Eurovision, this does not guarantee a long artistic life. Still, the most important thing is yours current creativity, songs, videos, your musicians. The competition doesn't solve anything. The light didn't hit him like a wedge.

- Did you worry alone or together with the musicians? Was Valera nervous?

Val is generally alien to experiences of this nature - he clearly understands that this is just a stage that can either be overcome or not. He was calm and reassured me. Now I shrug my shoulders: “So what?”

- It seems to me that over time, many events in life cause a similar reaction.

Now I understand that you definitely shouldn’t worry about competitions. If this is your day, your competition, then it will give you something in life, it will be yours. If the day is not yours, you need to accept it. In general, despite the fact that we did not go to Stockholm, we still gained a lot: we had a new audience.

Julia, you have a very expressive stage image. I will assume that in ordinary life You probably don't look like that. It seems to me that it is difficult to recognize you on the street.

It's true, on stage and in life it's absolutely two different people. As an actress, in everyday life I take a break from images, fill myself up like a sponge, absorb, rather than give myself away.

What are you inspired by, what do you absorb? Do you walk the streets, look at people, observe the mise-en-scène, travel? What does it consist of? nutrient medium for a sponge named Julia?

IN this moment my inspiration is my family. All free time I spend time with my son Danya, he is mine main source joy and creativity. I wrote a lot of songs, the meaning of which boils down to “when you grow up, I will show you...” I’m already thinking about what he will be like when he grows up, what he will become, what I would like to tell him about...

I see you are a man of perspective. Are you already thinking about what your son, who is not even one year old, will become?

(Smiles) I don't think twice about it. I'm curious, I'm just wondering. These are thoughts out loud.

- And daily joy is the first smile, the first “aha.” Do you document this somehow?

Of course, everything happens the same as with all normal parents. Valera, for example, does not part with her camera. I joke: “Your son gives you an incentive to take up photography more often.” Val takes photographs every minute. And I write down more of our achievements in my diary: Danya is already sitting, crawling, saying “be-be-be”... For me, this is such happiness, as if he had flown into space. Such pride! At the same time, I understand that with the birth of my child I became more vulnerable, vulnerable, and sentimental.

- Dana is lucky - he has very young parents.

Yes, I really wanted to become a mother no later than 25 years old. Because there is a slight difference between my parents and me, they are very young, and I am very friendly with them. I like it when you are a child's friend. There is no big generation gap: you use the same gadgets, speak the same language, you understand each other. It is important when there is a feeling of a friendly parental shoulder. This is very cool.

- Yes, and the child’s grandparents are not old.

Exactly! This is another bonus.

It is believed that for the harmonious and happy development of a child, it is necessary that he be surrounded by at least two generations - parents and grandparents.

Then, I hope Danya is very “organic” and happy, since absolutely everyone babysits him! We even have a fight for his attention. The long-awaited grandson (smiles).

- How was your pregnancy? Did you work or switched to a gentle regime?

I worked until the seventh month because I felt good, I had no contraindications, the doctors allowed me to sing, and I received a positive charge of emotions from this. I performed at festivals, and we traveled all over Ukraine with concerts. Then I was preparing to become a mother, and a quiet period of vacation began. But even here I couldn’t bear it and for my 25th birthday I made a mini-apartment. I sang and felt that my son liked it - he danced with me... in his tummy. It seems to me that if something was wrong, I would have felt it. Danechka loves music very much now and recognizes our songs. He really likes it when I sing.

- In what language? After all, your repertoire mainly consists of English-language songs?

I sing on different languages, but my signature one is “The Bear’s Lullaby” from the cartoon “Umka”. I like her very much.

- What functions does the father have, besides photographing his son every hour?

Val is the most best helper, the best nanny in the world! For the first two months, I didn’t let anyone hold my son. It seemed to me that he was so small and fragile. The only exception was Valera. In everything that concerns the child, I trust him more than myself. He is very neat, calm and balanced. And he can do absolutely everything: feed, change diapers, entertain, bathe, put to bed.

Are you progressive parents? Dynamic gymnastics, scuba diving, early development... Do you practice such things?

We're not into this. It is still too early to delve into all sorts of aspects - the psychology of development, some special toys. For now, the main task for us is to give the child everything necessary for his health and safety. Surround with love and care. Usually young parents are reckless, but we are very responsible. I read blogs and specialized literature.

- Do you consult with your friends?

No, I only turn to doctors for advice. I trust the opinion of professionals. Even grandparents do not take the liberty - they ask me what is the right thing to do. Because I - this applies not only to the baby - am generally an excellent student in life. In some moments this is good, but sometimes it prevents me from relaxing, just letting go of the situation.

- Now the son will grow up and feel the pressure of his mother, an excellent student.

(Laughs) I hope that I will give him that inner freedom that I myself do not have. After all, being able to brawl is also very important. True, in moderation.

- Looking at your stage image of a vamp, it’s hard to imagine that there’s a good girl hiding behind it.

Like any woman, I want transformations. I’m lucky with my profession - if I want, I can do whatever I want on stage: be sexy, aggressive. What is not always decent in ordinary life, I allow myself on stage.

- Julia, you are the frontwoman in the group - you write music and lyrics, and perform solo. Do you have leader status?

After all, we are equal leaders with Val. He’s just a person who doesn’t like to stick out, prefers to be in the shadows and often says that if he had his way, he would generally be behind the scenes and not appear on stage. Publicity is difficult for him, he makes an effort on himself. He likes to create, but performing is sometimes difficult for him. And we persuade him, because Val is so bright man, he does so much in the group that it’s a sin for him to be behind the scenes.

- How do you feel in a men's team?

Amazing! Very comfortable. They treat me with respect. And if on stage I can “turn on the coquette”, then in the team I try to be more of “my guy”, a friend for the guys. I strive to be treated as an equal and not make allowances for the fact that I am a girl.

- Do you prefer male or female company?

Definitely masculine! Perhaps it all comes from childhood, I was an excellent student, and boys usually don’t like people like that. They need girls who are approachable and frivolous. I wasn’t like that, now I’m catching up or something (smiles). I don’t like women’s squabbles, gossip, or discussions of outfits. In general, I am very calm about the topic: “What brand of shoes or lipstick do you wear?” This is not interesting to me - it’s more interesting to talk about strings.

I run Instagram and vlog. There's our backstage creative life: how we shot the video, how we went on tour, what rooms we live in, what we eat, what kind of bus we have, how we dress... And it’s all with humor. I think our listeners will be interested to see behind the scenes life which reveals us as ordinary people, in love with creativity, music, creativity. Many people discover me and Val in a new way thanks to the vlog. We are so real there, we say in simple language. This makes us closer to our listeners.

- Is it like a film about a film?

Absolutely right. I personally find it interesting to watch my favorite artists. I am very inspired by films about musicians, the atmosphere they find themselves in when they tour or write albums in the studio. In general, it’s a dream when you have six months, you sit in the studio, don’t perform, and focus on the album, on creativity.

It’s good to create when you know that you have a financial “cushion” and you don’t need to organize “chess” in cities and villages to earn money. Can you afford to sit in the studio for six months?

Yes, we talked with Andrei Danilko. (We, the X Factor judges, generally talk a lot during breaks between the contestants’ performances). And he advised dividing your year into semesters, like in school. After each semester, give yourself the opportunity to replenish and be inspired, because working non-stop is very exhausting. Andrey is now just in the period of filling.

I won’t surprise anyone if I confess: when I went for the interview, I was preparing to meet the artists, at least in the uniform of space tourists, and write stories into a voice recorder in the spirit of Zhanna Aguzarova. The musicians came to the meeting minute by minute - a fragile brunette in a leather vest and a tall, fathom-shouldered, bearded man, Val. The guys drank coffee and lamented the fact that one of the fans managed to photograph them together during winter holidays in Lviv. The couple keeps their relationship strictly secret, and around wedding photos, which someone posted on the Internet, a serious scandal broke out, and the pictures were removed from the World Wide Web. Viva! became the first to answer questions about the personal lives of the participants in the English-speaking Ukrainian group Instead of a stingy “we don’t comment,” I received meaningful answers. We managed to find out how the most extraordinary couple in Russian show business lives outside of flashy scenery and gothic stage costumes.

- This is news - you really are a couple! How long have you been hiding this?

Val: Five years.

Julia: We have been together for five years and have been working in the group The Hardkiss for three years. I didn't sign a contract with Sister Siren, I left the group at will because I didn't see creative perspectives. At the time I met Val, I was studying at the Institute of Philology and was interested in journalism. I came to him for an interview; he worked as a broadcast producer at MTV. That tape recording of our first conversation is a family heirloom! Now, when I listen to it again, I laugh - I went out of my way, flirted, he was shy.

V.: You were flirting, but I wasn’t shy.

Yu.: I was shy!

V.: Okay, then I’ll voice my version of the acquaintance. I was going on a date with another girl, I scheduled the interview an hour before the meeting. I hoped that I would have time to do everything, and then the conversation dragged on for four hours. But at first glance I realized that Julia was my man!

- Julia, did you also immediately feel that Val was your man?

Yu.: I immediately realized that Val is one in a million, and I’m unlikely to meet another person like him. When I returned home without taking off my shoes, I collapsed on the sofa in my down jacket and burst into tears. Mom was scared, and I sobbed and wailed: “I met such a guy, such a guy!” He was unlike anyone I knew, and I was looking forward to new meeting- After the interview, Val invited me to his home to listen to music.

- Do you often go to visit guys you don’t know well to listen to music?

Yu: No! When we met, I was a child. At 18, I didn’t date guys, I had no relationship experience, I’d never even kissed! Of course, I suffered from this. (Blush) But Vala accepted the invitation. He said that I should not be afraid of him, that we would not be alone at home - there would be a mother and a small dog. It sounded so sincere and not at all vulgar. He also promised to introduce me to the music he listens to and composes.

V.: And with the dog!

Yu: We really listened to music and watched movies. A week later he invited me to Christmas dinner and introduced me to his family.

- Do you invite all the girls to a family dinner?

V.: No, of course. But Julia was the first girl who combined intelligence, beauty and talent at the same time.

Yu.: Did I hear right?! To be honest, today I’m surprised how he even paid attention to that 18-year-old girl Yulia with the stupid bangs.

V.: A brunette with bangs in a hat with earflaps and shiny shadows - ah-ah! Visually, I didn’t like Julia.

Yu.: I’m starting to recognize Val: the habit of telling a person about his shortcomings to his face has not gone away. A brutal type, not spoiled by sincerity and warmth. It was terribly unpleasant for me to listen to what types of girls he liked and what types he didn’t. He found fault with my appearance and clothes. (By the way, I grew bangs during the first six months of our relationship; I’m really better off without them.) And he constantly insisted to me that a woman’s mission is to please a man, look after him, and never argue with him.

- Val, Bluebeard is not your middle name by any chance?

V.: (Laughs) Despite her appearance, in Yulia I found those qualities that I could not find in others - sincerity, purity, naivety.

Yu.: I have always been a good and exemplary girl. My parents didn’t control me, but they knew where I was and what I was doing. I've never been in bad company bad stories. At school, I looked at the cool guys who skipped school and clown around in class, but they never paid attention to me. I silently suffered from being too correct. Positive guys looked after me, looked at me with puppy dog ​​eyes, this stressed and irritated me. In short, until the age of 18, my personal life sagged. And then a meeting with Val. He asks for a date, a week later introduces him to his parents, and after a gala dinner he suddenly announces: “We can’t meet anymore, my vacation is ending, I have to work tomorrow...” The world turned upside down for a moment, and he smiled and asked: “So , we are dating?"

- What is your age difference?

V.: Six years. When I proposed to Yulia, I was 25 and she was 19.

- How long have you dated before this?

Yu.: Val proposed to me six months after they met, but I spent another year and a half as a bride. After six months of relationship, he realized that no one but me would tolerate his character. And I, due to my inexperience and devotion, will be able to do this throughout my life.

V.: We quarreled almost every day. Yulia suffered, suffered and cried, and I became convinced that she was my person. Even when I was buying wedding ring, we didn't talk. I invited her on a date, it was in Podol, and proposed marriage. In my heart I had no doubt that the answer would be positive.

Yu.: I answered “yes” and never regretted it. Although at every quarrel I wanted to flare up: “! It’s all over!”, and already with the ring on her finger, she threw out phrases: “I changed my mind!” But he didn’t even raise an eyebrow.

V.: Because I’m older, more experienced and wiser.

- Julia, what does “heavy artillery” look like in your performance during a quarrel?

Yu.: I go out for a long walk.

- Is it weak to go to your mother?

Yu.: Not weakly, she left, slamming the door. He then came to ask for forgiveness, although a day later. Then he was afraid that he might lose me. Even dragged teddy bear under the arm.

V.: B pedestrian crossing there were only bears.

Yu.: I’ll ignore this. You also hid a toy elf in the mailbox.

- Val, how do you show character?

V.: I’m calmly nervous. If I raise my voice, it’s involuntarily.

Yu.: He realized that the biggest set-up for me was to ignore my desire to quarrel. But I don’t give up, I hope that one day he will remember all the important dates for me and give gifts.

V.: I hate holidays, because you have to artificially rejoice, but I don’t want to. Choosing gifts is a punishment for me. Julia loves the holidays, she adores all this chaos with gifts. So a holiday in our family is always another wonderful reason for a quarrel. What saves us is that on such days we have a concert, and sometimes two.

Yu.: For five years he spoiled every New Year, started whining three days “before.” Last year I made an exception - I practically didn’t whine, I even delivered the gift on time.

- Val, a wedding is a holiday, which means perfect occasion for a scandal?

V.: A wedding is not a holiday, it’s just a stamp in a passport.

- Why did you put it there then?

Yu.: Because they don’t get married without a stamp in the passport.

V.: The wedding was important to us.

-Are you believers?

Yu.: Without fanaticism. But we have a confessor who said that we won’t be able to get married without painting... Ok!

V.: It was a farce!

Yu.: I bought a short one White dress and a veil, took some kind of shot bouquet. Val dressed up in a suit. Hanging with cameras (we decided to remove the painting ourselves) we went to the registry office. The auntie at the registration desk was warped when she saw two eccentrics, strangely dressed, hung with cameras from head to toe. We laughed all the time, while the other couples remained pompously silent, and their guests mourned and wiped away tears of emotion. After painting, we went to take photos, but fell asleep on the way, and when we arrived, it was already dark. Then we went to the cinema, the only showing we had time for was the horror film “Final Destination”. You can imagine the picture: everything is collapsing on the screen, and the newlyweds are in the kissing areas.

- How did your parents react to your idea? Didn’t they really cry out: guys, when will you finally grow up?

Yu.: A wedding is important for whom? For parents, grandparents. We played it for them after the painting. It was important for us to get married, which we did later in a small circle. I am a folklorist by profession, and my close girlfriend, who was our witness at the wedding, decorated everything in an authentic style.

V.: As for our parents, they haven’t given us advice for a long time.

- And they don’t push children?

V.: No. But I won't answer this question. I don’t like to make plans and talk about things that don’t exist yet.

Yu.: We are still only thinking about children, but not planning.

- Not everyone knows that you are together. Julia, do your fans often ask you to get married?

Yu.: Fans bombard me with compliments on Facebook, but I have this rule: if I understand from a message that a person is counting on something more, I won’t even open the letter, let him think that I just didn’t see his message. I was invited many times to various brides festivals, but I always tactfully refused. In general, I was lucky: no one has ever made any obscene, vulgar proposals to me, perhaps because my image is not vulgar. I didn’t expose myself for men’s magazines, although there were offers.

V.: And if a girl hits on me on Facebook, I immediately delete her. Yesterday, five people wrote to me - both girls and boys. (to Yulia) Just don’t make those eyes! What century are we living in? We used to have a trick: when they asked about my personal life, I said that I was sleeping with Kreechy (drummer The HARDKISS. - Note Viva!)

-Are there famous people among your fans?

Y.: Yes, Massive Attack, . Lambert said that he would like to work with our stylist, and on his Twitter he quoted lines from our composition Make Up. The PR person at a closed party came up to introduce himself.

- Your head isn't spinning?

Yu.: (Smiles) Val helped me cope with dizziness, he is still a pessimist.

V.: My motto is: everything is bad. So don't be happy good times, they have the peculiarity of ending.

Yu.: And I like to rejoice in good moments, but I rejoice carefully and not prematurely, so as not to be disappointed. In the case of Rihanna's PR person. Of course, it’s wonderful that he met us, but... He ordinary person and tomorrow may not remember us, because he has his own life.

- What do you spend your fees from concerts on?

Yu.: We invest them in The HARDKISS, because we have everything to be happy. We are Kiev residents - the apartment issue has been resolved. Expensive cars not interesting. Diamonds do not evoke any emotions; my only jewelry is a wedding ring and a silver cross from Jerusalem. Vases, carpets, and other branded rubbish are not exciting at all. What people spend money on is not clear to us and does not make us happy. For the New Year we bought ourselves a PlayStation console, played it - it was a blast!

Listen, when I asked Elka why she was a “Christmas tree,” she sent me to Google. Can you find out from the source why you are The HARDKISS?

V.: The group HARDKISS was born from the Val & Sanina project. I knew that Julia sang, but I had never heard it. We vacationed together in Egypt, at that time we had already been in a relationship for a year. We were sunbathing on the beach, Yulia was listening to something on the player, I asked for headphones - it turned out that my girlfriend has an amazing voice!

Yu.: I also didn’t know that you play guitar and synthesizer.

V.: I suggested doing a joint music project- Val & Sanina. It got off to a good start, but we understood that we were doing the wrong thing at all - pop, and in Russian too. We decided to add “heaviness” and make English-language texts, change the image and name. I proposed to Yulia: I’m leaving television and working exclusively with our group, let’s switch to austerity. If for three years this does not give any result, we will consider that we spent three years enjoying ourselves. And we return to ordinary, uncreative professions.

- Did you have to save a lot?

Yu.: We saved, of course. I was a student and received an increased scholarship.

V.: Yes, yes, we shot our first video with Yulina’s scholarship. To raise money for the second video, we decided to get married. (Laughs) In fact, we wrote the lyrics and music ourselves; there were many enthusiasts who voluntarily agreed to help with filming videos, costumes, and promoting our group. By nature, we are homebodies and are always in search of perfect sound, Pictures.

- But besides music, are there other activities that you like to do together?

Yu.: Walk around Kyiv, drink morning coffee in some cozy cafe. You see, we’re just very lucky - we have a job we love. We are not a production project, we are our own bosses and are always busy with our work.

V.: Yesterday I watched “live” concerts until the morning.

- Okay, what would you like to learn?

Yu.: I am engaged in folklore and dream of filming documentary about our group.

V.: And I independently made a mask for Kreechy by modeling.

Yu.: I’m also interested in drawing, although I’m only sketching for now, but I can do it.

V.: Yes, yes, I actually managed to do this in the third grade. (Laughs)

Yu.: I want to learn how to cook haute cuisine.

- Who's cooking now?

Yu.: Multicooker.

V.: Microwave and grill. (Laugh)

- Do you have common friends? And in general, do they exist?

V.: I don’t feel an urgent need to communicate with people. I realized this back in kindergarten, when I went out into the yard for a walk, saw children playing Easter eggs, and I was not interested in them. Not much has changed since then.

Yu.: I was also a home child. I have always had few friends. Scrolling through Instagram, I sometimes think: “Should I “friend” this girl, is she from my circle?” This is where it all ends - I break it off: I will not seek friendship with anyone, I will be friends with Val. He has a couple of friends for whom he can never find time, and over time they became mine.

In the film “The Diary of His Wife,” Andrei Smirnov’s hero, writer Ivan Bunin, says a wonderful phrase: “If you already love a woman, then you love her completely - with all her hysterics and fat thighs.” Today do you share his opinion or are you still trying to change Yulia?

V.: You know, I initially had big plans for Yulia, plans for the rest of my life. I only make offensive remarks to people I truly love. Our endless quarrels and disagreements are evidence that we are not indifferent to each other. Otherwise, they would have fled long ago - why bother? And so we quarreled and continued to hold each other tightly.

Yu.: We always have something to talk about and remain silent about.

V.: And quarrel... I like to watch foreign music channels, I love the music of the 90s, Julia doesn’t recognize it.

Yu.: Val read the only book in his life - “The Wizard Emerald City”, and doesn’t bother about it. And for me the book is best gift. When Val plays 90s music, which I hate, I start slurping loudly, banging my fingers on the table, scratching myself...

V.: ...speak mobile phone and drink tea. And I get hysterical.

- Julia is teasing you, but what if we are talking about strangers?

V.: I get up and leave. I feel embarrassed to make a remark to a person, to send him away. And then, why? He won't even understand that anything is wrong.

Yu.: When we accept new people into the group, Val always conducts conversations and tells us what habits it is better not to demonstrate.

V.: In general, we are very exemplary. We never send anyone away, we don’t drink before or after concerts.

Yu.: We have friends who told us how they relaxed after the concert - they trashed their hotel room. I don’t understand why this is - concerts take all my energy.

Ilya Lagutenko also said that after a concert, real artists not only do not destroy hotel rooms, but also do not have sex.

V.: But this is not true, Ilya was just unlucky to find a partner in his group!

Irina Tatarenko

I have known and loved The Hardkiss for a long time - for their character, drive and courage, and this year I got to know the musicians even better: in the summer the group invited me to go on a short tour to Ternopil, to the “Fine Misto” festival. We spent almost two days together: we slept in a real concert bus with a colorful driver, we conducted a sound check in the pouring rain and were freezing at rehearsals, and fell asleep in a cafe from fatigue. I watched how makeup artist Slava Chaika and hairdresser Vitaly Datsyuk, hung with combs, cosmetics and hair dryers, conjured Sanina’s image, how the whole group gathered in Chaika’s room a couple of hours before the concert - to stroke, comb their hair, line their eyes with black eyeliner (and this does not concern Yulia Sanina). Together we endured a three-hour delay in the performance and together - finally! - had a blast when headliners The Hardkiss took the stage at midnight. During this time, I learned a lot about the group, but the main thing that unexpectedly turned out to be this is that being an artist is hard and tiring: artists sleep little, hardly eat and work a lot.

In this touring turmoil, what struck me most was how fragile it seemed at first glance. Despite all the delays and fatigue, she was collected, cheerful, professionally withstood three hours of makeup, and at the same time answered my questions, periodically being distracted by calls home - she stayed in Kyiv with Val Bebko, the creative producer and guitarist of the group, infant. When at the sound check it turned out that everything was dragging on for a couple of hours, Yulia was not indignant or complained, but simply went to bed right on the concert bus, with the rain pattering. “Superwoman, no less,” I thought. After a tiring day on her feet, superwoman Sanina drank hot tea and went on stage at midnight - and sang and danced for an hour and a half straight in high heels, just a rock girl. At first, however, he reprimanded the festival in a cold tone for poor organization and apologized to the public for the delay. Therefore, when, a couple of months after our trip to Ternopil, we met with Yulia in Kiev to record this interview, the first thing I asked was how Sanina, who graduated from a jazz school as a child and sang in a jazz big band, became a real rock star:

I have a classical jazz education, but I always wanted to sing rock. In rock music you can show your whole voice; among musicians it is generally very authoritative to play rock. All musicians love rock, but are afraid to “touch” it. I have always loved this style: at the age of 17-18 I worked in cover bands, and even then I felt this thrill - to sing what you want. True, then I had a pop period: when Valera (Val Bebko - approx.) and I met, we soon launched the Val&Sanina project, which turned out to be quite pop.

Why?

Because at first we listened to people from television - program directors and producers. But we stopped it in time, because this is not what we wanted to do in life.

And I also found out that you once sang in the girl group “Siren Sisters”, it was 2006, I think.

Yes, I was still in school, I was 16 years old. But by the way, you should have noticed that we played rock there - the guys from the group Green Gray were involved in the project. True, I didn’t work in the “Siren Sisters” for long - in my case, girl bands are doomed, I find it hard mutual language with girls, especially if I’m not the main one in the project (laughs).

Have you sung in cover bands and performed in bars?

Certainly! I was 18, I was in my second year at university, and I needed my own income. I am very grateful to this experience - working in clubs strengthens you, after that you can sing anything. A lot of musicians work like this - the path to the big stage is thorny.

In October you celebrate your fifth anniversary. What are you most excited about about this?

I am glad that everything worked out for us. Five years is not a long time for musicians, because many have been playing since school, so we are only five years old. But we have achieved a lot - first of all, to gain our listener, who heard and loved us, and who is ready to follow us further. This is the core of our fans, which we call The Hardkiss family.

Yes, I was at your performance during the national selection for Eurovision and noticed that you were like classic rock stars - surrounded by fans.

Yes, and these are not the people who listen to one thing today and another tomorrow. They follow us all the time.

I really feel how they grow with us. I know many of them by sight and by their avatars. I see them in the hall, how they turn from teenagers into students who enter some kind of creative specialties. I know a girl, for example, who travels with us from city to city, and who this year specifically moved to Kyiv to study directing. By the way, all our listening friends are artists, and this is largely thanks to Chaika - the makeup he does for me inspires fans and they want to paint. At the same time, I really like that people love not just the soloist, but, for example, the stylist Slava Chaika, or the guitarist Roma Skorobagatko, or our manager Yegor Kiryanov - the one who is generally behind the scenes.

You perform much more often not in Kyiv, but in the regions, you travel a lot around small towns- Exactly, Zhitomir, Kremenchuk, Nikolaev. You know Ukraine and its people very well, better than some politicians. What is Ukraine like, in your opinion? Everything is clear about Kyiv, but beyond its borders?

The audience is very different. There are cities where people jump up from the first song, greet you very enthusiastically and have a blast. There are very modest cities where people are clearly not used to big concerts, and seem to be embarrassed. There are cities that immediately make contact, and there are those that need to be pumped up. And, of course, the West and the East are very different: in the East people are simpler and more open, but in the West - just try to conquer them!

There are very punctual cities,” group manager Egor Kiryanov, who is sitting next to him, intervenes in the conversation. - For example, Zaporozhye! We recently played there: at 19.00 I look from behind the scenes - and there is a full seat!

But the most unpunctual one is Odessa,” continues Kiryanov. - In general, on tour you learn a lot of interesting things about the country. For example, we were surprised to learn that in Chernigov over the past two years only two artists have gathered a full house - Oleg Vinnik and The Hardkiss.

Val Bebko

Returning to the topic of fans. Is it true that after Eurovision The Hardkiss family collected petitions and wanted to challenge the result?

Yes, they were not lazy and collected several thousand votes, and were already ready to submit them somewhere, but we asked not to do this. To be honest, it was unexpected for us that they took this competition so seriously - much more seriously than we did. We even felt like football players - the fans are ready to go into battle for them too! ( laughs) And in general, I was glad that it was over. Competitions and competitions - this is not close to my nature, because I do not know how and do not like to push my shoulders.

So you won't try it next time?

While we haven’t decided for sure, we want to understand what this is for us: a step forward, a step back, or a step in place. In addition, when Eurovision takes place at your home, all attention is focused not on the artists, but on how everything is organized and what bad roads. I don't want to get into this.

Do I understand correctly - the main thing you got from participating in this competition was a new audience?

Certainly. We haven’t had such a boom as after the song “Helpless” and “Eurovision” for a long time. We felt the wonderful influence of television - our grandparents and middle-aged people fell in love with us.

Let's talk about personal things. You yourself manage the group’s Instagram account, and there you are quite frank, posting photos with your child...

But I don’t show it at the same time... I don’t photograph it.

No, there is no strategy, this is absolutely sincere. I will say more, I even constrain myself - I want to share and brag even more, like any normal mother! But I restrain myself so that all this does not become more than creativity. Our manager, by the way, swears when I publish some personal things too often.

Yulia Sanina with her husband Val Bebko (photo from Instagram)

Tell me, how quickly after giving birth did you go on stage?

We played our first concert a month later, and our first big tour three months later. Honestly, I wasn’t really drawn to the stage at first; I wanted to be with him and improve my life with the baby.

I noticed on tour that you switch off with a click: if now you have half an hour to sleep, Sanina lies down and sleeps...

It's in my character - I should always have a plan for a month, a week, or more. I set priorities for myself, what is important for me now - surf the Internet or still sleep. And with the advent of a child, it’s impossible to have no plan at all. Those who think that Small child- these are the lyrics, they are mistaken: a baby is rock and roll!

And about fatigue. You know, I'm just sure: you don't have the right to whine when people around you large group. Well, in general, I’m a pretty steadfast soldier - even when it’s very hard on tour, I’m not the last one in the group to give up ( laughs). I can sleep - I sleep, I need to get up - I get up. And, of course, refusal bad habits- I don’t smoke or drink, and in general, you know that The Hardkiss is a sober band, you were on tour with us ( smiling). I can’t even imagine how to work in this state... We are very boring rockers in this sense.

Well, I have my own secrets: our riders have wishes that concerts should not start later than midnight. You can't fool the body - if it's outside deep night, he wants to sleep, not sing.

Makeup artist Slava Chaika casts a spell on Sanina during an interview for the website

Do you have favorites? stage images? Perhaps some old ones?

Yes, I remember with pleasure our first work with Slava on the Babylon video: then for the first time he gave me makeup with bleached eyebrows and put a headdress of two dragons on my head. By the way, the most uncomfortable images were at the beginning, when we tried and looked for ourselves. For example, five years ago we opened for Hurts - it was the first big performance, the first Sports Palace. One Ukrainian designer gave me boots on a huge platform, but I stood in place for the entire concert - it was impossible to move in them. I also really love massive headdresses or structures on my hair, but it’s hard to perform in them. A couple of years ago at one of the concerts I performed in a magnificent yellow dress Bicciola, very beautiful, but very heavy. And our hairstylist Vitaly Datsyuk also came up with a hoop with huge birds for this dress, which he attached with tape. I have never put on anything heavier in my entire life! And after the concert it turned out that the hoop was stuck tightly and we took a long time to remove it...

Admit it - after all, in a purely feminine way, you get a kick out of all these crazy make-ups, hairstyles and costumes?

Certainly! Moreover, I think all the girls are jealous of me ( laughs). In normal life, I don’t spend much time on my appearance and go almost without makeup, and I’m pleased that two or three times a week two professional guys work their magic on me. Plus, I am very flexible and always open to experimentation, and I almost never say “no” to our stylists! When Val and I argue, I tell him: “If you were me, you wouldn’t last a week!” Our boys are sometimes cold, sometimes hot, sometimes itchy, sometimes uncomfortable. I endure everything.

You almost always perform in costumes by Ukrainian designers. It is fundamentally?

Yes, this is one of the main concepts of the group, which was introduced by Chaika - we show Ukrainian designers on ourselves. And not only me, but also the rest of the musicians. Wherever we are - in Kazakhstan, Poland or Italy - we are always asked: “What brand is this?” Most of my costumes are made in Ukraine: Frolov, Bevza, LAKE, Sasha Kanevsky, Elena Burenina, Alina Zamanova.

Slava Chaika likes to tell that he main pride- this is what now clients or other artists come to him and say: I want makeup not like Kardashian, but like Sanina. "I saw how you painted her eyelashes with blue mascara on last shoot“It turned out great, do it for me too!”

Yulia Sanina during FNO in 2014

You really often wear fancy makeup. Does he help you get ready for the concert?

Yes, I feel more confident in my character on stage, I feel like a real artist. The songs we write are seasoned, pretentious and pathetic, in in a good way, of course - I just can’t sing them without makeup, it would be complete dissonance.

After the words about “seasoned songs,” Sanina puts on a pink wig, which the hairdresser prepared for her, and hurries to the stage: today she is the headliner of the Queen Tribute show. And very soon The Hardkiss will take the Stereo Plaza stage to play a big concert: tickets for the first solo album were sold out a few months before the concert, and the group announced an additional one. TO solo concert in Kyiv, the group prepared responsibly for several months, and, as Sanina says, day and night: they wrote new songs, prepared visual effects and “a unique light that no other Ukrainian group had.” 10 thousand spectators is no joke!

Photo: Alina Krasieva, Vogue archive, The Hardkiss press service

Futuristic Yulia Sanina. That's exactly how I see her. Each of her images is unique, with its own edges and lines. Undoubtedly, she is different everywhere, and it is not the image that adorns her, but she - him.

I suggest you look at a photo selection of Yulia’s bright, amazing outfits.

Here's what Julia says in an interview about her outfits, fashion and style:

You have achieved the impossible: you are the only artists in Ukraine who manage to look bright, but not vulgar. Do you come up with the images yourself or leave it to the hands of stylists?

We work with the unique guys Slava Chaika and Vitalik Datsyuk, who come up with all our images. Art has very fine edges, here everyone should do what they are truly talented at. Therefore, the roles in The HARDKISS team are clearly distributed.

How do you dress in real life?

In life I prefer comfortable clothes, simple but tasteful. I'm trying on great amount images for the stage and shooting, so behind the scenes I need to relax and focus on music, poetry, rehearsals, etc. Among designers, I have always admired the work of Alexander MC Queen, Vivienne Westwood, Gareth Pugh. And the brands that I wear with pleasure Everyday life- Diesel, H&M, Topshop.

As you know, fashion is changeable, but style is a constant. Either he is, or he is not. What's your recipe for perfect style?

Do not try to stand out in any way; most often this leads to bad taste. Clothes should suit your face.




From an interview with Slava Chaika (stylist Julia)

How did your work as a stylist begin? How long have you been doing this?

It’s hard to say why exactly, because I started drawing from the cradle - I painted my room, the walls of the courtyards, the school! Then, I wanted to draw on a living body, and without realizing it (in those years no one knew correct name There has never been anything like this in our country before), I started doing body art! Thanks to him, I created a project with models who, with the help of choreography, showed in their performances what was inside me! Body art is about scale, therefore, for complete accuracy of the conveyed image, all my thoughts and efforts also went into selecting accessories, and even sewing some items of clothing!

Then, somehow very quickly the desire to do make-up came. I wanted to do this so much that at the same time I suffered a lot - due to the lack of finances of my parents, who at that time sent me to a medical college to become a dentist, in the hope that something good would come of it... But my desire did not subside, and since I always, through my own efforts, picked up what fascinated me, I also practiced in make-up for 5 years without stops and restrictions. Later, when I came to my senses, I realized that all this still lacked a certain aesthetics and grammar. Then I decided that I needed a teacher, and for a long time I could not choose a teacher for myself - at that time, as a more successful teenager, the successful personalities of the city of Kharkov did not like me, and I decided that it was not worth studying here and left for Dnepropetrovsk. There I found Elena Yudina, a talented teacher, who once said in front of all her students: “Chaika, I also have something to learn from you.” She was very worried about me, even talked with my mother, helping us find understanding among ourselves. And the style overtook me on its own. It is thanks to stylistics that I now clearly understand what is possible and what is not, it’s like a separate mind in which a different pattern operates.

Who was (or is) a role model, teacher or idol in your work and why?

In fact, for me it is very personal to name the name of an idol :) Because for a huge part of my life I looked up to this person in habits, views and even self-esteem! Until my very opinion and habit of being myself grew and didn’t let you know! This is a singer who was more popular in the 90s. Her music then gave me a reason to consider myself special, to realize that I am individual, and in adolescence this is a great balm for the heart :) Then I loved to be somewhere in nature, in the forest, and painted landscapes in watercolors when her songs sounded in the player. I was impressed by a certain mystery of my heroine, the presentation of her thoughts, just watching her was already a pleasure.

But this is Julia in everyday life.

"she's beautiful... no, that's not it, I've seen a lot of nice women. Nobody! Do you hear? Nobody... can compete with her..."

Perhaps a little pretentious, but these are the lines that come to mind when talking about Yulia Sanina.

(I remind you that everything except excerpts from the interview is a purely personal opinion).

Have a nice evening everyone, dear gossips)))