We met Natella three years ago against the backdrop of a conflict that occurred between the editors of KP in Ukraine and producer Krapivina, who was defending her artist. Thunder and lightning flew from both sides, everyone tried to prove that they were right, everyone was right in something and wrong in something.
Soon, when the grievances subsided a little and the opportunity arose to meet, we met and explained. Each remained with his own opinion, but each tried to understand the other - the grievances and misunderstandings went away. And somehow we got along so well, discussing books, movies, music and even politics that, unnoticed by each other, we switched to talking to each other.
What is all this for? First of all, if people are ready to hear and listen, then they can live in peace and harmony. We also talked about this during our recent conversation.
About Loboda's pregnancy and childbirth
— In a recent interview, Svetlana told us that during the birth the family was there, in the Los Angeles clinic. Not in the delivery room, of course, but nearby. Were you there too?
- Yes I was there. I arrived literally two days before. Everything happened quickly, easily and somehow smoothly. We were just walking around the hospital, drinking tea, talking, the doctor came and said it was time. We came in 20 minutes later and the baby was already being washed. A real miracle!
— Six months ago, you and I discussed a man who could be with Sveta. You described him then: “ First of all, he must be confident in himself in order to afford such a woman, because she must be free. A man must trust her. This must be a person of a certain level of income. Not necessarily richer than Svetlana or some oligarch. But a wealthy one who can afford the standard of living that Loboda leads. As for personal qualities, he must be a noble person ." Tell me, does the child's father resemble this description of yours?
— He must also be an interesting person and passionate in a good way. In principle, these are the canons that any woman strives for in an attempt to find her ideal man. Energy must be renewed all the time, constant interchange. This will not work with an amorphous, static person.
It is very difficult for me to comment on Svetlana’s personal life, because for the last one and a half to two years we have been so immersed in the work process that even our friendship suffered from it.
For me, Svetlana’s pregnancy was an unexpected surprise, but a pleasant one. I know how she dreamed of a second child. It’s difficult for me to comment on anything, but I know that Svetlana is happy, and for me this is the most important thing.
To questions about what the child’s father is like, whether he meets her expectations, it’s better to let her answer it herself.
— So Svetlana is happy both as a mother and as a woman?
- Svetlana is happy! (smiles).
“Did she tell you herself that she was pregnant?”
“I noticed that some emotional changes were taking place in her, and even once I asked a question, to which I received a confident answer: “No, this is impossible.” And a couple of weeks later she called me from her American tour and, barely breathing, literally whispered that she was expecting a child.
Of course, it was a shock for me, to a certain extent. I had a tough, tight schedule for the year, and I had to change a lot of things. To really enter this new mode, because whether a woman is an artist or an astronaut, pregnancy changes a lot in the perception of reality.
But Sveta got her bearings so quickly that, in fact, our activities were not affected. She worked until the seventh month, we immediately decided that we would not advertise anything.
The only thing is that I asked for additional conditions from the concert organizers, and they did not always understand why. Well, the temperature is higher in the dressing room, etc. But nevertheless, I rearranged the schedule a little so that Sveta had more days off.
- So this pregnancy was not planned?
- No! This was very welcome. But not planned.
— Has she guessed who she wants to have a child with?
- No! She just really wanted it. She constantly said: “I want a baby so much, and Evka (the eldest daughter - author) wants it.” And I turned on the producer: “Sveta, how can you want a child now?! We are astronauts, we have a career, a plan to conquer the universe.” And she: “You know, if I meet my own, that very person, I will put everything aside.”
In general, the maternal instinct is very developed in her. Yes, it doesn’t quite sync with her stage image. But if people had the opportunity to observe her, in her home community of “mothers, grandmothers, children,” they would be surprised.
Now I tell her: “Listen, breastfeeding is too much, we can’t afford so much, it binds you to the child, deprives you of the opportunity to work fully.” I also have some production tasks, although we are friends, I still have to plan somehow. She says: “No, as long as there is such an opportunity, I will feed, this is important to me.”
— She plans to breastfeed for at least six months - like it was with Eva?
- Yes.
"I LIVE ON AIRPLANES"
What kind of man does Loboda see next to him? She herself knows the answer: strong, powerful, has his own business, and therefore does not interfere too much with her own. That is, as psychologists say, subconsciously Sveta chooses exactly the type of man who, in fact, is unlikely to tolerate such a bright and capricious thing. And it is unclear when she will be able to devote time to her potential lover. After all, according to the singer herself, she is at home once a month at most.
– If you are successful in your career, in rare cases you are successful in your personal life. Being at home, caring for your beloved man, preparing food for him is impossible, because you are not at home at all. When they ask me where I live, I answer: on airplanes,” says Svetlana.
And recently, the singer spoke about her family’s experience. As you know, her grandmother was once an opera singer. However, when she got married, she gave up her career and devoted herself entirely to family and raising children. So, my grandmother repeated to Sveta more than once that if you have to make a choice between a career and a man, then you need, without hesitation, to choose... the first option: “Because men come and go, but self-realization makes you an individual.”
About music awards
— I want to talk to you about Ukrainian music awards. One award, a second, a third - and Sveta is not even in the nominations (the author is a “boob”: LOBODA was in the “Best Performer” category for the Yuna Award. - Ed.). Although it is obvious that last year Loboda made a lot of hits. What do you think is happening?
“I honestly don’t even know what to say about this... You see, in Ukraine, local consciousness and clanism are still highly developed. I don’t want to offend anyone, but this provincial syndrome is very actively present, and the more we develop, the more obvious it becomes.
Any music resource, be it the M1 channel, the Yuna Prize, etc., should not live within its own capsule. You cannot be so dependent on your own ego and be guided solely by subjective opinion or mood in choosing the best. There is an objective reality, and it is that Loboda today is the defining person in show business. Its demand is so high that I have no dates until the end of 2019. Today she is the most popular artist in the CIS. Without exaggeration.
You may like it or not, but in music awards of this scale there must be an objective factor. This is an opportunity to show that you are not a ciliate shoe that sits at the bottom of the sea and understands nothing.
I don’t want to spoil the issue with the M1 channel, I have a lot of respect for both Nikolai Georgievich Bagraev and Seryozha Pertsev (owner and general director of the M1 channel - Ed.), I have known these people for many years, they decided so - let it stay with them. But even without them, we received more than 12 awards at the end of 2020.
- Not in Ukraine...
— Not in Ukraine, yes. But, you see, it so happened that for some reason we were always here trying to prove that we were worth something. And throughout the entire post-Soviet space we did not have to prove anything. We just make good music, shoot expensive video clips, come to a city, give ourselves to people and leave to conquer the next one.
— Or maybe our musical “deciders” transferred Loboda from the category of Ukrainian artists to Russian ones?
— Why didn’t they then transfer many other artists who also tour in the Russian Federation? In my opinion, many who tour in Russia ended up receiving the same awards.
- Who?
- I won’t name it, it’s not correct. But, nevertheless, if you analyze the list, you will understand that there are a lot of those who are still touring both here and there.
- Agree, there is probably some kind of situation of fear here. Lorak also didn’t get into any nominations, although she did a lot last year...
- Yes, one hundred percent. It is very important to understand that this is not voting on the Internet, or voting live. This is a subjective vision of individuals who represent a certain channel, the interests of this channel or the organizers, founders of the awards.
If it is in the interests of the channel not to popularize Svetlana Loboda today, we accept it, and we respect this decision. If the channel policy changes tomorrow, we will discuss under what conditions we can interact.
I don't stick to any rotation. But I really want to be friends and be on human terms with everyone. This is a priority.
When I got a call today from one wonderful channel, which made it so that a lot in our lives changed (a clear hint at the conflict “1+1” with Loboda and Krapivina. - Ed.), and offered me a chair in their highest-rated vocal project... Well , guys, are you kidding me? Or do you think that we have a memory the size of a hair? It doesn't happen that way.
- Or maybe it’s worth putting up with sometimes? They carry water to the offended...
- No! There are things I never cross. Maybe they had a desire to make peace, but in this case, before inviting me on air to make ratings at our expense, invite me to tea, talk to me, maybe apologize for the way you behaved, explain yourself.
When I have questions, relatively speaking, with the same channel directors, I don’t call and say - you know what, play us this song. I say: “Guys, let’s meet, have dinner, and discuss.” We meet, communicate, talk, I understand the mood, the atmosphere - the microclimate. You know, sometimes you just need to have a good meal together. It’s not just a drink, but something to eat – and any issue can be solved.
Producer Natella Krapivina - about the vicissitudes of Svetlana Loboda’s career and about Ukrainian show business
Interview
September 25, 2017
2560
kommersant.ru
Share
Ukrainian Svetlana Loboda is the most popular pop singer in Russia. Each of her singles becomes a leader in the number of radio rotations. The range of engagements ranges from concerts in sports palaces and large music ceremonies to parties at the St. Petersburg Economic Forum and the “Person of the Year” ceremony of GQ magazine. But in Ukraine her career is now “on pause”, there are no concerts, the singer is literally persecuted by various kinds of activists and the yellow press. Boris Barabanov talked about why this happened with Svetlana Loboda’s producer Natella Krapivina, a new major player in the domestic music market.
— Russian show business is very dependent on federal television channels and the large production centers associated with them. What is the core of the Ukrainian music industry?
— I came to show business from a completely different sphere. I am a lawyer by training, I worked in a jewelry and watch company, then I had a television project “Heads and Tails”, it immediately became successful, and I made many acquaintances in the show industry. I accidentally met Svetlana Loboda and in a conversation I mentioned some things that I could try to do. And she immediately invited me to work together. I remember I told her: “Five years will pass and you will be collecting sports palaces.” Many doubted it then, and even then she could only dream about it... So, as an outsider, I can say that the phenomenon of Ukrainian music lies precisely in the fact that there are no production centers here. In Ukraine there are no such structures that can make your song successful; it can only become popular if it is truly worthy of it. Now the situation is changing in Russia too. In many ways, success determines the quality of the product and its fate on the radio and on the Internet. Let’s take “Russian Radio”, which largely determines the musical tastes of the population of our countries. It seems to me that four years ago it was a different “Russian Radio”, different faces, different positioning. Today on Russian Radio you can hear Basta, Diana Arbenina, Svetlana Loboda, Artik & Asti, and some generally unknown people who simply produced a good song. I often communicate with the station management about getting songs on the air. This is a healthy situation. You bring a song, discuss it, maybe some adjustments need to be made, but this no longer applies to artists like Svetlana Loboda; no one has any doubts about the quality of our material. And returning to Ukraine, I will say that there everyone is their own boss. There is no point in focusing on “Russian Radio - Ukraine” or “Europe Plus - Ukraine”, it gives nothing. The country is small, if a song has potential, it will quickly become famous and you will have your own concerts. Artists write music the way they feel. And if Ivan Dorn, a unique performer of his kind, has now lost some positions, it is only because his new music is the music that he feels, it is his choice. But those who are trying to make an opportunistic product in Ukraine are precisely vegetating somewhere in the middle.
— For all the talk about rapprochement with Europe, Russia remains the main market for Ukrainian music. Does it just have to do with language?
— No matter how high-quality Ukrainian music is, it is all secondary. Compared to the Russian market, yes, Ukrainian music looks very fashionable and relevant. But as soon as you start comparing our music with Western music, all the patterns, all the references are immediately visible. We are not needed there. Short breakouts into some markets are possible, but this is not a long-term prospect. You see, there is not a single video that was shot without a foreign reference point. The only question is how skillfully the clip makers or arrangers work with these references.
— Probably, with the exception of the Dakha-Brakha group and its circle.
— Yes, with the exception of those who work directly with folk. As for the language of the songs, this is a fundamental point. In our territories people dance to the words, in this sense nothing changes. And in this sense, it is also more convenient for Ukrainian artists to turn to those who understand the texts.
— Svetlana Loboda was one of the most beloved singers in Ukraine. When did you feel that there was an order, that you were disturbing someone?
“I didn’t believe in the “order” until recently. For a long time we tried not to react to what appeared in the press and continued touring in the country. People bought tickets to concerts - nothing could be more important for us. The situation with the “1+1” channel became a turning point. They have been trying to provoke us for a long time. And then one day the operators of the TSN program filmed Svetlana’s house in her absence. We climbed the fence. The security guard demanded to hand over the camera. I must say that this is a very professional security guard, very correct. But in the end he took the camera from them, and that was the reason we had to fire him. And yet, legal proceedings began, loud statements followed one after another. People were put on edge. Twenty-five prime-time programs were dedicated to me alone. I went into stores and people turned to look at me. Need I say that politics immediately followed the everyday situation? The channel just needed a reason, and, unfortunately, we gave it. We never returned to this situation. But we decided that if artists such as Svetlana Loboda, Ani Lorak, Ivan Dorn face so many obstacles, then perhaps they need to take a break from touring in Ukraine for a while. In 2020, we had a tour of 26 cities, Svetlana received “Singer of the Year”, there was a grand show in Kyiv - Svetlana said a lot in Ukraine. Only five cities in Ukraine can cope with Svetlana’s scenographic needs today. And her schedule is so packed that there is simply no time for performances.
— How much can you trust those who believe that the persecution against Ani Lorak and Svetlana Loboda was organized by their rival, singer Tina Karol and her high-ranking patrons?
“They’ve been talking about this for so long that I don’t pay attention anymore.” Yes, Sveta and Tina have some old history, but I have no evidence that this was Tina’s order, and I don’t want to accuse anyone unfoundedly. And the fact that one of the main Ukrainian oligarchs is behind Tina is no secret to anyone. Just like the fact that no one has ever stood behind Sveta.
— I am sure that any Ukrainian artist in the last three years had to determine some important things for himself: decide how he comments (or does not comment) on military actions, where and with whom he performs, whether he helps ATO fighters, how he formulates his attitude towards Crimea. It is clear that public figures are being “scanned”; the same thing is happening in Russia.
- If I say that Svetlana and I did not have conversations on this topic, then it will not be true. We are all hostages of this situation. Artists, perhaps more than anyone. We make songs, we absolutely don’t care where to sing them: in Kazakhstan, in Azerbaijan, anywhere. Svetlana has always been apolitical. They offered us everything - to join the party, to speak for one president, then for another. My father is a very serious person in Ukrainian business, he always told me: “If you can, bypass politics.” We will never support any military action from either side. If you help, then children or low-income families. If the state considers it necessary to enter into any conflicts, this should be decided at the state level. In general, if artists commented less on these events, talked less about these topics, it would be better. Their job is to sing.
— Svetlana Loboda’s concert at the Odessa club “Ibiza” at the end of May turned into a scandal in which patriotic activists were involved. But there is another point of view, which is that this is a racket and the same activists are ready to turn a blind eye to a lot for a certain amount.
— The likelihood that many high-profile situations in Ukraine have similar background is very high. Odessa has a special situation; we usually gave four or five concerts there over the summer. After the cancellation of the concert at the Ibiza club, we nevertheless decided to perform at the Chernomorets stadium in the fall. We proceeded from the fact that this is more of a dispute between economic entities than part of a campaign against us. As soon as information about the concert at Chernomorets appeared, people began to literally scatter tickets on the Internet. But when the Odessa governor called on the townspeople to boycott this concert, we were powerless. There were phrases in his address in which one could, if desired, see an administrative violation. But we decided that it was useless to fight in this situation.
— Has your team moved to Moscow now?
- No. Now we are on tour in the USA, and then Sveta will be in Kyiv editing video footage of her big concert. And Sveta’s child is in Kyiv, with her mother. We can only hope that the overall situation will change for the better. But I think that Ukraine’s isolation will only increase. And in show business too. You know, it’s like a young artist who decides that he doesn’t need a producer, he’ll do it on his own.
— Have you been following the Kyiv Eurovision?
- No, there was no time. I only remember the guy who ran onto the stage with his butt bare.
— How do you feel about the fact that the Russian participant was not allowed into Kyiv?
- This is monstrous. Maybe I don’t really understand Russia’s choice. Why give reason to say that you are playing on compassion for the participant? You need to be very delicate in this, especially in the current situation. But the fact that Yulia Samoilova was not allowed into Kyiv, and even made such an emphasis on it, is terrible.
— Do you agree that Jamala’s victory at Eurovision 2016 with the song “1944” was due to political reasons?
“When I heard this song for the first time, I didn’t even think about the fact that there was some kind of political component in it. The arranger of this song, The Maneken, is a talented Ukrainian musician. I thought, “God, what a fashionable thing.” In my opinion, this is the most powerful thing in Jamala’s repertoire, it gives you goosebumps, and for this you don’t have to delve into the text. But as for the victory at Eurovision, it may well be that if there had not been a corresponding political situation, Seryozha Lazarev would have won. His song had it all. I will say this: both he and Jamala deserved to win.
— Are you currently collaborating with Diana Arbenina?
— We have been friends for a long time, I have always loved her music. And finally the opportunity arose to do something together. My arranger made her the song “Wake Me Up,” and I shot a video for it. By the way, she will soon release a new song “Sad People”, in my opinion - a song for this fall. If there is an offer for a video, I will be only happy. But Diana is a self-sufficient artist, next year she will be on stage for 25 years. I still have to grow and grow before her experience.
— With your capabilities, with your ambitions, with the way you are treated in Russia, you could very well launch your own production center here. Maybe become one of the central figures in the local industry.
— For me to become an artist, I have to be truly interested in him. I have to admire him. I recently tried to produce a guy... I got bored on the second song. In addition, there will be less time for music, since I am going to make films as a producer. I bought the rights to the film adaptation of Karina Dobrotvorskaya’s book “Has Anyone Seen My Girl?” I am writing the script together with Angelina Nikonova. I am in love with this work, and Sergei Dobrotvorsky’s articles have largely shaped my taste in cinema. And at the same time, I will be making a film based on the show “Heads and Tails.” It's something like "The Bachelor Party in Vegas", only on our soil.
— Natella, who is worth following on the Ukrainian stage now, in your opinion?
- Always behind the Elzy Ocean. Always follow Dima Monatic. ONUKA is very interesting. There is a beautiful boy named Kadnay. Everything that is new is always interesting.
About creativity and sexual harassment
— Now the new LOBODA track “Superstar” is tearing up the charts. Wait for the clip? What will it be?
- Certainly! I’m working very actively on it, we’re going to shoot on June 20 in Los Angeles, we’ll finish filming on June 27 - and we’ll immediately edit it in parallel in order to release it quickly. The clip is very interesting, in my opinion, very relevant. About women demonstrators (smiles).
I was very inspired by the story of Cate Blanchett, her manifesto. She was president of the jury at the Cannes Film Festival this year, and the question was raised about why there was still discrimination against female directors. They went to the square, they had a strike, they all took off their heels and said: according to the dress code, we won’t wear heels anymore, etc. I really like this topic.
And the phrase in Svetlana’s song “All people are like people - I’m a superstar!” - This is an appeal to all women. Each of them is a superstar. You just have to believe in yourself and don’t let anyone doubt you.
- Well, this is banter?
- Yes, banter! And the song is banter!
— Since we've moved on to women's manifestos... What do you think about the mess with Weinstein and all these sex harassment and accusations?
“Everything smacks of some kind of nonsense.” Firstly, the acting, directing, and producing environment presupposes certain hobbies, tricks, and suggestions. This has been the case since time immemorial. And suddenly this strange story arose.
A friend of mine who moved to America when he was 14 years old said that at first, when he opened the doors for girls and let them in, it seemed like they might hit them. Many people thought that he was making a move on them. And he says: “I just stopped doing it at a certain point because I ran into it a couple of times.”
And just recently, my girlfriends were walking through the airport, suddenly some guy ran up to them and snatched their bag, they started screaming, calling the police, but he just wanted to help.
Their women are not used to the fact that such signs of attention can be shown without any consequences. But I think it’s normal when a man opens the door for a woman and helps her carry her bag...
But Weinstein, like Kevin Spacey, I think, became a victim of some certain insinuations at a very high level. We don’t know from whom he borrowed money or to whom he did not give it. There is always a reason for persecution at this level. Well, some girl, even an already famous actress, cannot suddenly remember that in some year 17, before the revolution, Weinstein approached her!
This is most likely some kind of custom story.
— Is it true that you and Svetlana worked on Kirkorov’s song “The Color of Mood is Blue,” which caused so much stir? What kind of collaboration was this?
— I was at the sound check, Philip came up to me, said that he had long wanted to work with us, so that we would do the sound production of the song, he really likes “Random”, its lyricism, sound... I talked with Svetlana, who knows Philip a lot years old, she told me: “No problem, give me a song, if you like it, we’ll do it.”
We listened and it was immediately clear that this was a hit. But it was very artlessly made in terms of sound. Philip had been working on it for quite some time and came to us with the words: “They’re ruining my song. The demo is better than what they did for me.”
I immediately put together the so-called skeleton of the song with our arrangers, and Sveta had already brought everything to fruition. She spent a very long time bringing it together, collecting it bit by bit for about two months. Philip was very doubtful and said: “Girls, I’m so scared, it seems to me that this is not really my sound.” And Sveta said: “Philip, just trust me, it will be a bomb!” And she was right.
— I heard that you are now working very closely with Artem Ivanov ( ex-member of the Yin-Yang group. — Ed.)?
- This is a partnership - Artem and I have been friends for a long time and decided that we need each other. He wrote a lot of songs for Sveta - words and music. We are holding them back a little now, we will give them in parts. The first track was “Guy”, now “Superstar”...
He writes very different songs - and that's cool. He has a very personal form of musical storytelling, which I like. I am sure that Artem will reveal himself both as an author and as a performer gradually, but irreversibly.
We have already made a summer warm-up song for him, and we are preparing a very cool track for the fall. At the crossroads of genres and, of course, in a very current sound.
Artem has amazing vocals, which manifest themselves differently from song to song. It's interesting to work with.
Loboda, Svetlana Sergeevna
Born on October 18, 1982 in Kyiv in the family of Sergei Vasilyevich Loboda and Natalya Vasilievna Loboda. She graduated from a music school with classes in piano, conducting and academic vocals[2].
After receiving her first musical education, she entered the Kyiv Variety and Circus Academy in the department of pop vocals. During this period, she became a member of the popular musical group “Cappuccino”, whose producer was Viktor Doroshenko. The group's repertoire included songs such as “New Fairy Tale” and “Feelings”. In addition to Loboda, the group included Victoria Batui and Adeline. The group had no work for several months, so Loboda began performing solo under the pseudonym Alicia Gorn
, invented by its ex-producer Mikhail Yasinsky, in Kyiv nightclubs, secretly from the group’s producer[3]. Soon Loboda left the team[4].
After working in the group, Loboda participated in the first Ukrainian musical “Equator” (dir. Viktor Shulakov), where she received one of the main roles - the savage Mirana[5]. During the existence of the musical, a song and video, “Black Angel,” recorded and filmed with Svetlana Loboda, were released into wide circulation.
On December 28, 2003, Loboda formed her own team called “Ketch”. In the spring of 2004, after passing the casting, Loboda became the new soloist of the VIA Gra trio. As part of the group, she took part in a tour of Asian cities, starred in the video “Biology” and the New Year’s musical of the Inter TV channel “Sorochinskaya Fair”. However, already in September of the same year, Loboda left the group and released her first single in December[6].
Solo career
2004—2009
In December 2004, together with Taras Demchuk, she recorded the composition “Black and White Winter”. In 2005, the video for the single “I will forget you” received first prize at the festival of foreign videos in Portugal. [ source not specified 1162 days
] In November 2005, Svetlana Loboda’s first solo album, “You Won’t Forget,” was released [7].
In 2006, a video was released, and then the single “Black Angel”, and after a trip to Japan, Loboda recorded the song “Wait, Man”[8]. In the same year, she hosted the Showmania program on the New Channel, and in 2007 she became the host of the Miss CIS project on the TET TV channel. She opened her own travel agency, Happy Vacations. In October 2007, a video was released for the lyrical song “Happiness”[9]. On October 18, 2007, Svetlana Loboda organized a photo exhibition of her own photographs dedicated to India. The purpose of the exhibition is to help orphans and children with cancer[10]. In 2008, the creation of the youth clothing collection “F*ck the macho” began, and in the same year the second album, “Not Macho,” was released[11]. On October 18, Svetlana Loboda became a laureate of the National Olympus award in the category “Original style of performance”[12].
In the spring of 2009, the single “Be My Valentine” was presented for participation in the Ukrainian qualifying round of the Eurovision 2009 song contest. On March 8, Loboda won the Eurovision 2009 qualifying competition and earned the right to represent Ukraine in the final part of the competition. On March 18, she presented the video Be My Valentine (Anti-crisis girl!).
At the opening ceremony of Eurovision 2009, the singer appeared in bandages and with abrasions on her body. It was makeup designed to draw attention to Loboda’s social campaign “Say Stop Domestic Violence,” based on the fight against domestic violence. Subsequently, the French singer Patricia Kaas joined this action[13].
Loboda’s participation in the final of the competition caused a wide public outcry - some journalists and jury members argued that this song was “unformatted” for Eurovision. Russian music critic Anton Kulakov, who has been following Eurovision since 2000, harshly criticized the song, saying that only “Ruslana with a hangover” could have written it (ratings on a 10-point system)[14]:
- Music: Ruslana wrote a new song with a hangover. The hangover affected the quality. 5/10
- Text: And from the same hangover I gave out the text. 4/10
- Vocals: Ruslana with a hangover... 5/10
- Result: It is obvious that Russia and Ukraine decided to take a break this year. After last year's masterpiece - THIS. Horror. 4/10
The author of the Internet project “Eurovision-Kazakhstan” Andrey Mikheev was not so categorical (ratings on a 10-point system)[14]:
- Music: Marching pop-folk. Minus for using El Condor Pasa. 7/10
- Lyrics: Nice banter, and could have worked if it had been more clearly executed. 8/10
- Vocals: Despite the fact that the singer has to move a lot on stage, the performance is quite normal. 8/10
- Bottom line: Since this is practically the only freak act of the year, it should work and make it to the finals. And there it will be more interesting to fight with Russia, and others will compete for first places. 7/10
As a result, Svetlana Loboda took 12th place in the final of the competition, scoring 76 points. Low final positions did not prevent her from taking first place at preliminary competition concerts in London, Paris and Amsterdam and becoming one of the most talked about artists:
- According to the number of views on the official Eurovision YouTube channel, the video “Anti-crisis girl” ranks third.
- According to statistics of search queries from Eurovision participating countries, Svetlana Loboda took 4th place in the Google ranking.
Loboda especially for the competition created T-shirts with the inscription “Anti-crisis boy” and bags with the inscription “Anti-crisis bag”[15].
In January 2010, a video clip for the song “It’s Easy to Live” was released, where Loboda appears as the fat woman she became after her failure at Eurovision. Following “Living is Easy,” Loboda recorded the duet song “The Heart Beats” with manufacturer Max Barskikh, and soon a video clip was released.
LOBODA
In 2010, Svetlana Loboda officially renamed her musical project and registered the brand and trademark LOBODA
.
In the summer of 2010, the single “Revolution” was released. At the VIVA awards, Loboda presented the single “Thank You,” dedicated to her daughter. The video for the song was filmed in two stages: the first part of the filming took place when the singer was 9 months pregnant, and the second took place after giving birth. In the summer of 2011, the premiere of the song “In the Light” took place on the stage of Crimea Music Fest. Later, LOBODA presented a video. At the beginning of 2012, Loboda went to the USA, where she shot a video for the single “Clouds” and a short film in the suspense genre based on the musical work “Clouds” - “Criminal Woman”. Filming took place in Miami. The director and cameraman was Vladimir Shklyarevsky. The leitmotif of the film was a 19th-century work entitled “Woman, Criminal and Prostitute” by the Italian author of prison psychiatrist Cesare Lombroso, which reveals the theme of a crime of passion[16][17].
April 12, 2012 at Crystal Hall
presented the show “Beginning”, with which she toured Ukraine for almost a year.
In June, a video was released for the song What about U
, recorded for the EURO 2012 championship. This composition was selected among hundreds of others submitted to the UEFA European Commission and was included in the official track list of the championship[18].
In August 2012,
the lyrical composition “40 degrees” was presented Crimea Music Fest In 2012, LOBODA became a coach in the talent show “The Voice. Children" on channel 1+1[20]. In February 2013, she presented a new single, “Tenderness”. On March 17, 2013, the “Yuna” award took place on the Inter TV channel, during which the singer presented a new single called “Under the Ice”[21].
At the end of June 2013, Loboda was awarded the honorary title “Honored Artist of Ukraine”[1].
On November 1, 2013, she released the single “Kohana” - her first work in the Ukrainian language[22]. On February 13 and 14, 2014 she performed at BIG LOVE SHOW 2014
, where she performed the song “Banned City,” and on March 26, 2014, the official release of the single took place. On March 29, LOBODA goes on an all-Ukrainian tour “Under Ban!”[23]. On May 22, 2014, LOBODA together with Eminom presented a joint single and video clip “Looking at the Sky”[24]. The video clip was directed by LOBODA producer Natella Krapivina. The production designer was Sergei Ivanov, who worked on the film “Stalingrad”. On September 29, 2014, LOBODA and Emin presented a remake of the track “Looking at the Sky”[25]. On October 18, 2014, the premiere of the single “Not Needed” took place[26][27][28].
On December 26, 2014, Loboda was awarded the “Song of the Year 2014” award for the single “City Under Ban”[29]. On March 7, 2020, LOBODA presented a new video for the song “Not Needed.” Filming of the video took place in Portugal. The video shows the difficult story of a woman who, overcoming pain and betrayal, fights for her fragile feminine happiness. The video is in many ways a reflection of the singer’s personal experiences associated with her separation from her loved one[30]. On March 26, 2020, the YUNA
2015, where LOBODA and Emin won in the category “Best Duet” for their joint creation “Look at the Sky”[31][32].
On April 2, 2015, the premiere of the single “It’s Time to Go Home” took place on “Russian Radio”.[33] The video clip was filmed in Istanbul, directed by Natella Krapivina[34]. On May 20, 2020, the premiere of the video clip “It’s time to go home” took place with the participation of the hosts of the show “Heads and Tails” Andrei Bednyakov, Lesya Nikityuk, Regina Todorenko and Zhanna Badoeva[35]. On June 8, 2020, the 6th annual Fashion People Awards
, where Loboda won in the
Fashion Voice Woman
[36].
On November 4, 2020, LOBODA goes on a tour of Ukrainian cities with the show “It’s Time to Go Home.” During the tour, she presented new songs “To hell with love”, “Angel”, “Your eyes” and “Don’t love”[37]. On November 23, 2015, on the eve of the International Day for the Protection of Women from Violence (November 25), she presented a social art project for the first Ukrainian-language composition “Oblish” - a message designed to draw attention to one of the most important problems: violence against women. On November 26, 2020, the first M1 Music Awards 2015
, where LOBODA won in the “Clip of the Year” nomination with the video clip “It’s time to go home”[38][39].
On November 28 and 29, 2020, solo concerts were held at the Palace of Ukraine in honor of the singer’s decade of creative activity[40]. In December, according to Yandex research, the singer became the most popular woman in Ukraine[41]. Loboda in Vitebsk in 2020 On
January 11, 2020, Loboda presented the composition “To hell with love”[42], and on February 19, 2020 the video clip premiered[43]. On May 9, 2020, she opened a concert on the Inter TV channel dedicated to the 71st anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War, performing Bulat Okudzhava’s song “Our Tenth Airborne Battalion.” She closed the concert with the military song “Cranes”[44][45]. On June 30, 2020, the Organizing Committee of the international competition “Miss Ukraine-Universe 2016” officially recognized LOBODA as the brightest representative of the music industry and awarded the title “The most beautiful singer of the country”[46]. On September 6, 2020, the single “Your Eyes”[47] premiered, and on November 9, 2020, the video clip premiered[48]. The single held the lead on iTunes in the CIS countries for 5 weeks[49]. On November 19, 2016, she received the Golden Gramophone figurine in Moscow for the song “To hell with love”[50].
On March 8, 2020, LOBODA staged a three-hour show at the Kiev Sports Palace and presented the album “H2Lo”, which she had been working on for five years. That evening, seven new singles were performed: “Paris”, “Bride”, “Random”, “Bitch” and others[51]. On the first day after the official premiere of the album on iTunes, H2LO hit the first line of the chart in seven countries: Ukraine, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan[52].
In December 2020, she became the host of the “star” edition of the travel show “Heads and Tails” together with Alexander Revva[53]. In 2020, he was the music producer of Philip Kirkorov’s single “The Color of Mood is Blue.”
Svetlana Loboda at VK Fest 2018
In 2020, she became one of the mentors of the show “The Voice. Children" on Channel One[54]. On March 1, 2020, the premiere of the song “The Last Hero” took place, which became the title theme of the new season of the reality show of the same name[55]. After the scandal with the voting results of the show “The Voice. Children,” the singer’s producer announced the completion of work on the project[56].
At the end of March 2020, the German concert agency Berin Iglesias Art
filed a lawsuit against Loboda for damage to business reputation and financial losses. “The claims are related to the fact that during the organization of the tour in Europe there were several violations on the part of the artist, which the promoter considers unacceptable,” said press service representative Elena Bukhmak[57].
About concerts
— Today I read some funny news on the Internet. Colleagues write: “Svetlana Loboda cheated her Ukrainian fans.” And all because there are no Ukrainian cities on your tour this year. Do you have anything to say about this?
— I dream that we will be able to give concerts in Ukraine again. Dima Feliksov (co-founder of a large concert agency - Ed.) suggested that I make two Sports Palaces. When I told him: “You’re either crazy or don’t understand something,” he replied: “No, I understand everything...” They conducted a study and are sure that the hall will be full.
There are a lot of calls, I am regularly offered performances in Kyiv, Lutsk, Lvov... But we are very afraid that some schizophrenic, or “sent Cossack”, or just a person in whom anger and aggression has been brewing for a long time, will commit some act, which can harm other people and himself. And it is impossible to explain such things later. In this case, you become, albeit indirectly, that same executioner. This is the only reason.
Moreover, I would like to really appeal to all our fans in Ukraine and say that for us this is simply an irreparable loss. And as soon as we have absolute confidence that we can tour here and nothing threatens people, we will come back and do not tour some small halls, it will be a tour of huge venues, we will put on an amazing show. We are really looking forward to this!
— Have you seen what Dorn did in terms of organizing a concert in Kyiv? He spoke in the church - and everything went quietly and peacefully. Maybe you should come up with some kind of move?
“That’s great, but I’m not going to run from anyone.” The fact that Vanya did this, well done, because he apparently needed it. He needs to interact with the audience, since they don’t really understand the music he’s making now, and if he doesn’t broadcast this music live, he may lose a certain layer of fans.
— More than a year ago, you called on your colleagues to contact the president, go to the Administration and solve something about this mess with “activists” blocking concerts, violating the laws. How did it end? Did any of your colleagues support you?
— There is no artistic community at all in Ukrainian show business. It is impossible to gather these people.
We are very bad at being happy for each other. If someone’s concert was disrupted, it’s nothing. Others will sit out and wait it out. But in order to rebel against injustice - no.
This idea of mine is essentially idealistic, absolutely absurd. Now in our country everyone thinks only about themselves. And therefore society is under great threat.
About cinema
- Let's move on to lighter topics. How are things going with the comedy film “Heads and Tails”?
“We wrote a script with one of the best screenwriters, Andrei Zolotarev, but, despite the fact that it is wildly funny, it lacks the coin factor. And I believe that this is a key element of our show, and, of course, in the first part of the film (and there are at least three plans) the main engine should be announced. Therefore, we have now started writing a new version of the script, and we will leave this one for the second part.
At the same time, I acted as a producer for the film “Acid,” which already received its first award at Kinotavr. Almost no one has seen him yet. It will be released in the fall.
— Will it be shown in Ukraine?
— Unfortunately, I have not been able to achieve this yet, because the film was shot partly with money from the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation. Although in the Ukrainian box office there were a lot of films made with Russian money: “Loveless” by Zvyagintsev, “AriLeto” by Serebrennikov will be coming soon.
By the way, it so happened that the filming of “Acid” and “Summer” took place in parallel, and our guys-actors starred in both films, managed to fly to Cannes and at the same time pick up the main prize at Kinotavr. I'm sure this movie will have an exciting future.
And in August we begin filming “Girls” (based on the book by Karina Dobrotvorskaya “Has anyone seen my girl?” - Author).
- Who will be there? What is going to be there?
— Screenwriter and director Gelya Nikonova. But, of course, my partner Sabina Eremeeva and I will “show” this project from start to finish.
One very famous actor has already given his consent to play the main role (Sergei Dobrotvorsky - famous film critic, screenwriter, journalist, director, actor. - Author). I deliberately do not name the name, I want to maintain intrigue. We are trying several big actresses for female roles. And then everything will depend on the chemistry between the main characters. Our film is about love and passion, fatal and beautiful. This is a very acting movie, and that’s what I’m betting on.
About my daughter
— Your daughter Sofia is 15. What does she listen to?
- Black, black rap! These Tyga, Kendrick Lamar, ASAP Rocky... Hellish darkness! (laughs). She listens to very hard music. Moreover, in order to talk to her, I need to pick out the earphone from my ear - she listens to music all the time.
- Studies?
- He will go to study in London, he will please his mother.
— Did you want it yourself?
- We decided this together. This year we went and looked at the school. There is, of course, a nature reserve there. Four hours from London, literally a kilometer from Stonehenge.
This is a closed school, which is located in a tiny town of 12 thousand people. All the people who live there serve the school. Nearby there is a pasture, cows, sheep... Five meals a day. Moreover, there is not a single imported product here - everything is only grown in the fields of their own farms.
There is a six-day period - the children are constantly studying. This is a very strict school. Sofia has a personal curator who is responsible for her - a Russian-speaking woman who is always in touch with me.
- What is the price?
— Tuition costs on average 45 thousand pounds per year. But no one forces you to pay the full amount at once.
- And how long will you study?
- Year. Then he moves to London - there he will prepare to enter college.
— Has your daughter already decided what she wants to become?
— She wants to go into the field of art, design, working with style.
— Style in clothes, interior?
- In clothes. This is absolutely her conscious choice. She goes into a store and never buys one thing for herself, she always models an image. And if, conditionally, she understands that she won’t pick up any accessories to go with these pants that she really likes, she won’t buy them.
Lately, my daughter really helps me get dressed if I go to an event.
She knows that I am very conservative - and she always chooses strict cufflinks for me, a certain cut of shirt, fabric.
Recently she chose a white tuxedo from Yves Saint Laurent for me and, realizing in advance that it would be difficult to persuade me to wear it, I agreed with Sveta - and Sveta gave it to me. So for the premiere of “Acid” - all in white (smiles).
- For a birthday?
- That was after. Sofia just called and said: “Sveta, mom liked one tuxedo so much, you know her, she said it was expensive and wouldn’t give that much money for a tuxedo.” I come home and my tuxedo is hanging.
“Aren’t you taking on too much”: Snigir and Loboda’s producer started a squabble over the film
Producer and friend of singer Svetlana Loboda Natella Krapivina and actress Yulia Snigir argued. Celebrities sparked a heated debate online.
Natella Krapivina spoke about the series “The New Pope,” which was released not long ago. She admitted that the director of the multi-part film, Paolo Sorrentino, disappointed her.
In her personal profile on Instagram, Natella noted that she has always been a big fan of Paolo, but his new brainchild looks like “a long, meaningless aesthetic narcissism of a genius.” The celebrity had difficulty watching the series to the end.
Meanwhile, Krapivina thanked actress Yulia Snigir, who starred in a multi-part film about Catholic clergy. According to friend Svetlana Loboda, “she hid an epic fail (a crushing failure – editor’s note) of a great master behind her impeccability.”
Next, a post appeared on Yulia Snigir’s page. In the publication, the artist did not name names, but many Internet users decided that the artist responded to the producer’s claims in this way.
Snigir wrote that she often meets people who “know and understand everything better than anyone else.” Being experts in everything, they easily determine who is talented and who is not, and present their opinions as the ultimate truth. According to Yulia, social networks have given everyone a free hand.
“And I want to say to such people: “There is nothing more boring and stupid in the world than your confidence. NOTHING,” said Yulia Snigir.
The producer responded to the artist’s text in the comments. Natella wrote that everyone has the right to a point of view, even a wrong one.
The celebrities discussed for some time, Snigir once again explained that one’s opinion cannot be presented in the form of absolute truth, and no one forbids expressing one’s own point of view. “But to write “bad, tasteless, mediocre...” Don’t you take on a lot when you write something like that? – Julia noted.
It’s interesting, but after a while, when the celebrity bickering reached the media, the artist softened. “I want to clarify, just in case: I wrote my post at all. Inspired by comments about the film “Ice-2″ under my previous post. Your text, of course, falls into the category that I am writing about,” wrote Yulia Snigir on Natella Krapivina’s page. In response, Svetlana Loboda’s friend said that she did not take her words personally.
The situation with coronavirus in the Penza region.
Other news from the region.
Subscribe to our channel in Yandex.Zen and join our Telegram channel.
