Max Barskih (Макс Барских) is a Ukrainian pop singer who has grown in popularity in recent years. His first performance was in 2008 on a Ukrainian television show called Star Factory 2.[1] Two years later, he was named best Ukrainian performer by the MTV Europe Music Awards. He is 30 years old but has already […]

While studying abroad in Ukraine, I grew accustomed to watching a TV show called Vidbir on Sunday evenings. The name, Vidbir, refers to “selection” in Ukrainian, which is appropriate as the show itself selects who will represent Ukraine at Eurovision, an annual Europe-wide pop-music contest. This year, the 2020 season of Vidbir featured many good […]

Dimitry Monatyk, known as “Monatik,” (often spelled with Latin letters) is a Ukrainian dancer and singer-songwriter that performs primarily in Russian, and occasionally in English and/or Ukrainian. Born in northwestern Ukrainian city of Lutsk, 1986, Monatik was a member of the Lutsk Breakdance Crew (DBS Crew) from 2000 until 2006. In 2003 he joined the […]

Zlata Ognevich (Злата Огнєвіч; real name Inna Leonidivna Bordyug, Інна Леонідівна Бордюг) is a Ukrainian pop singer and political activist. She sings mainly in Ukrainian, though sometimes also in Russian and English. Ognevich was born in Murmansk, Russia, to Serbian and Italian parents, but they moved to Sudak, a city in Crimea, when she was […]

Potap and Nastya (Потап и Настя) are a Ukrainian pop/rock duo. They sing mainly in Russian, occasionally in English, and rarely in Ukrainian. Their linguistic preferences have brought them controversy in their native Ukraine, but they remain a highly popular contemporary group, and they affirm that they are fully Ukrainian, despite singing in Russian. The group consists […]

Alyosha (Альоша; real name Olena Kucher, Олена Кучер) is a well-known contemporary Ukrainian pop singer and songwriter who has written hits for both herself and other artists. She is known both for her male name—“Alyosha” is usually a diminutive of “Aleksey”—and, of course, her singing. Her website introduces her thus: “In her character, as well […]

Gaitana (Ґайтана; real name Ґайта-Лурдес Ессамі, or Gaita-Lurdes Essami, which means “strong and great” in the Lingala language) is a Ukrainian/Congolese jazz, funk, soul, and pop singer. Her biggest fame may have come from representing Ukraine at Eurovision in 2012, but she also has a slew of successful albums to her name and is one of Ukraine’s most […]

Svetlana Loboda (Світлана Лобода) is a contemporary Ukrainian pop singer. Though she sings mainly in Russian, most of her career has taken place in Ukraine, and she is widely esteemed in her country. She was named a Distinguished Artist of Ukraine in 2013. Loboda grew up in Kyiv, where her parents encouraged her musical leanings […]

Ani Lorak (Ани Лорак; real name Karolina Kuyek, Кароліна Куєк) is a multitalented Ukrainian pop singer. Lorak isn’t shy about her contributions to Ukrainian pop culture—her website describes her as “a singer who was fated to become the nation’s idol.” Born in Bukovina, Lorak wanted to be a singer from the time she was four years […]