The Russian Cinderella - Valeriya

Valeriya is a wondrous singer gifted with an adorable soprano voice who has a knack for finding simply fantastic material. As topical as that might sound, the truth is that everything that Valeriya records is a little piece of pop Heaven brought to earth, and all her albums are indispensable additions to your collection - even the bad songs are delivered with so much charm, that you will not be able to help loving them in their sheer cheesiness! It’s like being in Kinder-garden again, only surrounded by spacey bleeps and thumping dance beats! Isn’t that fantastic? :-P That is not to say, however, that Val’s music is bland in any way, although it isn’t exactly innovative either. Melodic pop with an edge is the best way to describe it.

Born in the tiny town of Atkarsk at a conveniently forgotten date, Valeriya comes from the Southern region of Saratov, which also can boast of being the birthplace of legendary cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin and too-shady-for-his-own-good billionaire Roman Abramovich! With these credentials, it was obvious that she was meant to be a celebrity. And her life has given enough material to tabloids to keep her being one for a long, long time.

Her beginnings were a bed of roses, as far as I’ve read: happy family of professional musicians, élite musical education and massive success when she exploded into the Russian music scene in 1992. In a few years, she had won more prizes than she could keep, so she started throwing them away… No, that was a lame joke. The part of the prizes is true, but things in Valeriya’s life were turning sour really fast: apparently, she found it increasingly difficult to hide the bruises with which her husband-cum-business-and-artistic-manager liked to ‘embellish’ her face (I’m trying to be sarcastic here). Tired of being constantly slapped around, she publicly announced that she was firing and divorcing the wanker without telling him beforehand! Unfortunately, things didn’t go well – the guy was ridiculed, but he took all of Valeriya’s hard-earned money and left her and their three children in the streets. Literally.



Disillusioned, she declined all offers to sign for a major label and went back home to raise her kids. Things were really looking dim… Until one of the most important record executives in Russia went to her hometown to offer her a recording contract. Needless to say, she accepted, then married him and bounced back bigger and better than ever!!! Isn’t that fantastic? Cinderella all over again! Then people say that reality ain’t better than fiction. So there goes my selection… But before – please, go buy her records at ebay.

Чёрно-Белый Цвет - Chyorno-Byelyj Tsvyet/Black and White Colour

This is one of Val’s greatest hits ever – it was released in 2004, and became massive in Russia. Only her previous hit, Chasiki (Locks) has managed to be even bigger by staying 15 weeks at the number one position in the charts. Still, I prefer this song, so it’s the one I’ve posted. It’s a TERRIFIC dance number that has a very cold atmosphere in the verses, and explodes into an impossibly catchy chorus that will have you dancing across the room in no time! God, I LOVE this song! Video of a 'live' performance.

Рига-Москва - Riga-Moskva/Riga-Moscow

This is a very sweet fast ballad that attained quite a lot of success back in ’98. And if you listen to it, you’ll see why: you just have to love it – and it’s danceable, which is a plus. It’s a very relaxed melodic song that showcases the prettiness in Valeriya’s voice like few other songs could manage to do. In fact, it is so sweet and pleasant, that I don’t have a lot to say about it – that’s a first for me! :-D Video.


Была Любовь - Byla Lyubov'/There Was Love

Oh, this is just marvelous! It truly is one of the loveliest piano ballads that I have heard in years. The instrumentation is very sparse, and it allows the voice to take center stage. And let me say, that metallic soprano is just wonderful – and very, very warm and evocative. It’s impossible to escape the allure of this song, which narrates a (duh!) love that was lost long ago in the most poignant of ways.

Нежность Моя - Nyezhnost' Moya/My Tenderness (Ural Dance Mix)

This is one of Valeriya’s latest singles and the title track of her latest album. I didn’t want to sabotage her, so I’ve posted this particular remix, which can only be found in the CD. If you love this gorgeous remix, you’ll love the original, which is a superb soft rock song. The chorus, which here is anthemic, only manages to acquire legendary proportions in the original (my use of superlatives is starting to seem annoying even to me! :-P ). Seriously, this is a fantastic song and I would find it difficult to believe if a pop music fan didn’t love it. Enjoy!