Biography
During his long career, Dominic Joker managed to work with various Russian show business representatives. The musician spent about half of his creative biography in the shadows, working behind the scenes on songs for other artists, and in the mid-2000s he took a risky step: he came out from behind the backs of those for whom he created hits in order to declare his talent in full force.
Dominic Joker
In addition to music, Dominic is involved in many things: he launched his own clothing line, Dominick Joker, owns the recording studio JOB Recording, founded a children's art school and opened a karaoke club. In 2009, the performer received a medal from the Patrons of the Century charity foundation.
Childhood and youth
Dominic, whose real name is Alexander Breslavsky, was born in July 1980. The boy grew up in Odessa, a port city that absorbed a mixture of cultures of different nationalities and peoples, which left its mark on the Joker’s worldview. And Alexander himself is a quarter Spanish by blood, half a Polish Jew - this “cocktail” became the reason for the singer’s unusual, memorable appearance and his voice timbre, which is not typical for the Slavs.
Dominic has lived in Moscow since the early 2000s, but he remembers his hometown with tenderness. The man also speaks with great love about his family.
Dominic Joker in his youth
The boy first appeared on stage at the age of 7. This happened by accident: there was a KVN production at the school, and due to a delay in the participants, the first person who came to hand was brought out to entertain the audience. After this, as the performer admitted, he realized two things for himself: he really likes the stage, and participation in school productions softens the attitude of teachers towards educational mistakes.
After school, Joker went to study at a nautical school and even went to sea. But the young man quickly realized that naval romance was not for him, and changed his sailor uniform to study at the conservatory. He did not graduate from the educational institution.
Dominic Joker in school years and now
Even during his school years, Alex teamed up with friends in various groups playing in various styles, from rap to rock. His first serious project was the boy band “2+2”, where Dominic became both a performer and the author of most of the material performed. The singer even performed with the band members at the New Wave competition, where the musicians took 9th place. But in Jurmala, the Joker met Igor Krutoy.
Soon after returning to Odessa, the group broke up, and Dominic left for Moscow. At first, the singer was in a creative search. He wrote music for a solo album and appeared on the stage of capital clubs. Even then, he was familiar with future colleagues from the “Star Factory” - Timati, Dino MS 47, Nastya Kochetkova.
Dominic Joker's childhood and family
Dominic Joker's real name is Breslavsky Alexander Alexandrovich. He was born in the city of Odessa. His name on his birth certificate is Alex. For a long time, the parents could not decide on a name, so they gave their son the name Alex - something between Alexey and Alexander.
The singer’s mother is half Spanish, his father is a Polish Jew. Dominic considers Odessa his homeland and always speaks with special warmth about this unique city. The future singer and composer was raised by his mother and stepfather.
"Star Factory"
Dominic announced himself to the general public in 2004, becoming a participant in the “Star Factory - 4” project. This show gave the young man many new opportunities, which he immediately took advantage of.
Dominic Joker at Star Factory 4
Having been nominated together with Timati after the 3rd week, Joker lost to him in points and dropped out of the project. But the producer brought the singer back, and a week later the duet “Mom, I Love You” premiered, which Dominic performed together with Nastya Kochetkova.
Joker did not look like a pop singer at all: a well-fed young man (the musician weighs about 80 kg and is 172 cm tall) with a simple face did not seem like a future pop star, but his perseverance and musical abilities allowed him to break onto the big stage. Dominic teamed up with three project participants: Timati, Ratmir Shishkov and Nastya Kochetkova, forming the R'n'B band "Banda".
Dominic Joker and the Banda group
After graduating from “Factory” the guys began performing, the tour lasted 1.5 years. At the same time, the group released an album with the ambitious title “New People”. “Banda” quickly became popular, especially since the performers waged an “offensive on all fronts”, releasing 2 videos for songs from the new album into rotation.
The guys confidently walked towards success until a tragedy occurred in 2007: one of the group members, Ratmir Shishkov, died. The remaining participants, connected not only by work, but also by friendship, decided to close the project because they could not imagine its work without their deceased comrade.
The group "Banda" broke up after the death of Ratmir Shishkov
Later, Dominic Joker will return to the project that gave him all-Russian popularity. In 2011, he will become a participant in the TV show “Star Factory. Return”, where the group “Roots”, Victoria Daineko, Irina Dubtsova, Natalya Podolskaya and others will also appear.
"Star Factory"
Dominic Joker announced himself to the general public in 2004, taking part in the project “Star Factory-4”. This show gave the young man many new opportunities, which the disruptive artist immediately took advantage of.
Dominic Joker at “Star Factory”
Joker did not look like a pop singer at all: a plump young man (the musician weighs about 80 kg and is 172 cm tall) with a simple face did not at all seem like a future pop star, but his perseverance and musical abilities allowed Joker to make his way onto the big stage. Dominic teamed up with three project participants: Timati, Ratmir Shishkov and Nastya Kochetkova, forming the r'n'b group "Banda".
Group “Gang”
After graduating from “Factory”, the guys began to actively perform, and in the same year the group released an album with the ambitious title “New People”. “Banda” quickly became popular, especially since the performers were on the offensive on all fronts, releasing two videos for songs from the new album into rotation.
The “gang” broke up after the death of Ratmir Shishkov
The guys confidently walked towards success until a tragedy occurred in 2007: one of the group members, Ratmir Shishkov, died. The remaining participants, connected not only by work, but also by friendship, decided to close the project because they could not imagine its work without their deceased comrade.
Music
Dominic again took up his solo career. Many superstars of the Russian stage began to invite the talented composer to collaborate. The musician became the author of songs for the groups “Slivki”, “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels”, performers Vlad Topalov and Lolita, etc. For 4 years in a row, since 2004, Joker was nominated for the “Song of the Year” award. In 2008, he worked as a sound producer for the show “You are a Superstar,” where experienced but undeservedly forgotten stars of the 80s and 90s competed with each other.
Dominic Joker
The following year, the performer released his first solo album, “Real People,” which collected all the cream of the material accumulated over 10 years of experience in show business. In 2012, his popularity rose to new heights: the piercing and bright soul ballad “If you are with me” conquered the Russian stage.
The composition was put on ringtones, ordered on the radio live - the music world was literally in a fever with the new melody. For this song, Joker received the Golden Gramophone and won the Radio Takeoff 2012 nomination from the Top Hit Music Awards.
Dominic Joker - "If You're With Me"
Dominic didn’t stop there, experimenting with the form and content of the songs. In the song “Farewell,” the video for which was released in 2013, lovers of Russian poetry were surprised to find out that the performer set a poem by Maxim Gorky to music.
In September of the same year, Dominic became a choir mentor in the Russia-1 musical project “Battle of the Choirs”. Joker's team took 3rd place in the project and attracted the attention of representatives of the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games in Sochi. The choir met delegations of participants; between performances, the musicians shot an original video for the songs they performed, in which politicians and athletes were involved.
Dominic Joker - "I Breathe You"
Soon, Dominic presented a new video, “I Breathe You” (sometimes this composition is called “I Breathe You”), which was timed to coincide with Valentine’s Day. In 2020, the musician released a new album, “Deja Vu,” and recorded the single “So One,” for which a video clip was shot the same year.
2016 became the year of duets for Dominic. He recorded 2 tracks, adding female vocals to them: Joker sang the song “You Know” together with Katya Kokorina, and the song “Where Have You Been” - with Lyubov Uspenskaya. On May 19, 2016, the artist gave his first big solo concert. The live performance took place at the RED club; the main theme of the show, like all of the musician’s work, was love.
Dominic Joker and Lyubov Uspenskaya - “Where have you been”
In February 2020, Dominic became a guest of the popular talk show “Tonight”, dedicated to the “Star Factory” and further biographies of the participants in the sensational musical project. In addition to the Joker, other famous “manufacturers” also took part in the program: Stas Piekha, Victoria Daineko, Prokhor Shalyapin, Yulianna Karaulova and others.
Career and personal life
Little information is also provided about Bobkova’s field of activity. Based on photographs on Instagram, she is a fashion model. Advertising photo shoots in fashionable clothes (for example, Alice Street and Alex White Wear), breathtaking dresses and swimsuits of all kinds are part of everyday work.
One of Ekaterina’s main “professions” can be called clubbing - constant parties in the city’s entertainment venues in the company of beauties like her, and, as the events of October 2018 showed, Russian football players.
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Ekaterina Bobkova in a swimsuit
Actually, speaking as a witness in the case of Kokorin and Mamaev, Bobkova gave funny testimony about her personal life. After the prosecutor’s questions about her close relationship with the striker of FC Zenit and her “forward movements of her head” on her knees in front of him, she answered with a phrase that instantly spread across the Internet:
“I didn’t do anything like that. I am a lesbian and am not attracted to men. I don’t remember if we kissed Sasha Kokorin.”
Personal life
Dominic has long been an exemplary family man and loving father. The Joker's first wife was Albina. After marriage, the girl, in accordance with traditions, changed her last name and became Albina Breslavskaya. The musician did not like to talk about his personal life and his household, but he still shared general information, and once the couple even gave a joint interview.
Dominic Joker with his wife
The couple has two sons, born in 2007 and 2008 - Martin and Marcus. The performer spoke warmly about his sons, talking about the sporting achievements of the eldest and the demanding character of the younger Breslavsky.
In 2014, information appeared in the press that Dominic left his wife and children for the sake of the young singer Ekaterina Kokorina, whom he met at the “Battle of the Choirs.” The musician’s wife calmly accepted his departure; she told reporters that there had been problems in the family for a long time and things were heading towards divorce.
Dominic Joker with his family
Dominic's acquaintance with his new chosen one occurred after the breakup of relations with Albina. Initially, artists limited themselves to business communication only. The Joker appointed Katya responsible for the behavior of the choir members during the trip to Sochi. Only on a casual date did a spark flash between the young people.
The Joker's sons were very upset that their parents no longer lived together and their father at one time stopped communicating with them, citing being busy.
Ekaterina Kokorina and Dominic Joker
Now the relationship between the ex-spouses has improved. Albina now has a young man, and the boys alternately live either in their father’s house or with their mother.
Dominic Joker spoke for the first time about his young lover, Ekaterina Kokorina
One of the most lyrical singers and composers of the Russian stage, Dominic Joker, will perform a concert in St. Petersburg today. The singer shared details of his personal life with Life for the first time and said that the recently held big solo concert in Moscow was completely staged by his girlfriend Ekaterina Kokorina.
— I just recently gave a big solo album for Moscow, a big solo concert, the first in 15 years. I didn't know that the big recital was somehow different from the regular recitals that I give in other cities. We prepared it for four months. My significant other directed it. The girl who begins filming a video today under my strict guidance is Katya Kokorina, for the sake of this concert she postponed the start of her solo project for four months. Here it is, love! She directed the entire scenario, shouting from above. If someone was at a concert and saw a little man screaming, it was Katya Kokorina,” said Dominic.
According to him, meeting his soulmate happened suddenly for him, but now Katya is already familiar with his children and gets along well with them.
— We met when I was selecting vocalists for the “Battle of the Choirs,” somehow it all happened, completely suddenly. At that time I had a rather strained relationship with my wife. Well, we have an excellent relationship with my ex-wife, we get along great, yesterday was my parents’ day, Katya and I took the little ones and went to buy them all sorts of summer things. I believe that a bad peace is better than a good quarrel. Children don’t feel offended,” Joker noted.
He added that he also communicates with his ex-wife’s boyfriend and is glad when he can help advise his son.
“I’m in contact with Albina’s other half, she has a wonderful young man, an athlete, she can tell Martin something, since Martin is a serious athlete - a figure skater, so I don’t see a problem in this,” said Dominic.
The singer also said that he believes in love at first sight and is confident that it can save the world.
- I believe love at first sight, I don’t believe that there is any other love. I watched this in films, when yesterday it was just a friend, and today... This is also love at first sight, which means that yesterday there was a different look. I believe that if anything can save this world, which is heading into the abyss, it is love. Not necessarily for your soulmate - love for the city you live in, for the street. Love in its purest form can save this world,” added the Joker.
He said that today at the concert he was going to show “the ontology of himself” and feel nostalgic.
“Today I want to show Peter the ontology of my beloved self, I want to go back to 2000, when we were “Twice Two,” and sing the songs of “Gang,” the composer summed up.
Dominic Joker now
The musician’s success is proven by the ratings of his new hits. The video for the single “Chemistry Between Us” received 1 million views in a few months. In 2020, the singer appeared on television several times.
In winter, I attended the show “Stars under Hypnosis,” where, under hypnotic influence, I turned into a 5-year-old child. Later he became a guest of the “Anecdote Show” program. The singer's solo performances take place in various cities of Russia, from the Far East to Moscow.
Dominic Joker - “Chemistry Between Us” (Clip premiere 2018)
Now Joker devotes a lot of time to promoting the artists of his label. This is rapper LIL' ARCHI and performer Katya Kokorina. According to the composer, he is interested in discovering new talents and participating in their career growth.
For this purpose, the musician opened a school for gifted children, and is now expanding the network of its branches in Russian cities. Dominic announces the opening of new branches of the school on his Instagram page. His work and personal photos and video materials also appear there.
Katya Kokorina and Dominic Joker: “You know” and “I heard”
Lyubov Uspenskaya, Olga Buzova, Garik Burito, Artik&Asti, Stas Kostyushkin, Dino MC 47, Stas Yarushin and other Russian show business artists took part in the filming of the “You Know” video.
"You know!" - this is how you can address any connoisseur of the best dance music, because he has heard the song of the singer Katya Kokorina with the same name many times on the air of the largest radio stations in the country. Now it’s not just “you know” and “heard” - from today, fans of the new dance star can finally see the video for this fiery summer hit. The heroes of the video, shot in the dance medley genre, were Lyubov Uspenskaya, Olga Buzova, Garik Burito, Artik&Asti, Stas Kostyushkin, Dino MC 47, Stas Yarushin, Alisa Selezneva, Elena Borshcheva, Alexandra Kutsevol, Oleg Yakovlev, Natalya Bochkareva, Lil”Archi and Edgar, but the main characters turned out to be heat and selfless love for life: which, however, comes from each of the filming participants.
With trademark honesty to their fans, Katya and Dominic admit that before filming began, they were inspired, among other things, by the hits of their foreign colleagues.
“The idea of creating a video was mine and Dominic’s (Katya Kokorina is Dominic Joker’s production project - approx.),” says the singer. — I always liked the Pharrell Williams video “Happy”: it is filled with joy and happiness. This is what we were focusing on. In addition, there is something here inspired by the Justin Timberlake video – “Can”t stop the feeling.”
Gathering so many famous artists in the “You Know” video was not easy, but what touring schedules will get in the way if there is a common goal? Dominic Joker knows - none.
“I am very glad that all the artists happily agreed to help Katya and me in this work,” they say
It’s musician and producer Dominic Joker, “Some even called and asked: “Well, when are we going to film?” Everyone liked the song. For a whole month during the preparation and filming itself, the song did not leave our heads. I've already started dreaming. As a result, we filmed for many days, since each artist has his own schedule. All the artists who took part in the filming are my good friends. Therefore, they happily agreed to help Katya and me realize this idea. I personally traveled with director Anton Dumchev to each shooting location.”
Katya Kokorina remembered one of the locations - perhaps it was there that she was best able to recreate the hot atmosphere of the video.
“Anton approached his work very painstakingly. For several days he was choosing places to shoot the video,” she says. — The coolest moment for me personally was shooting at dawn 60 kilometers from Moscow in a field. Mosquitoes and wet grass didn’t stop us and the dancers from getting great shots.”
