A young and beautiful Kyivite, who became the silver voice of this year’s international competition of young pop music singers New Wave in Jurmala (Latvia) appeared to be a revelation for many music experts and journalists from various countries. The performance of our singer was very strong. The winner, American Jayden Felder, professional with a huge concerting experience, used to be the backing vocalist of the legendary Stevie Wonder’s and outstripped Maria by a mere one point. And just that very point divided the competitors in all three rounds. In one of its publications Den/The Day already mentioned that all members of jury and music reviewers, accredited for the New Wave-2011, admitted that Sobko’s voice is strong and beautiful and its mellow timbre you will never confuse with anyone else’s voice.
Incidentally, the song “I love you,” which Sobko wrote herself and performed on the third day of competition, is breaking all records on the Internet, and the video to this song is being broadcast in the pop charts not only in Ukraine, but also in Russia and Latvia. It will be recalled that Ukrainians remember Sobko from the popular TV shows, like Chance of 2006 and 2008, and BUM of 2010, where she reached the finals, as well as the national selection event for the Eurovision Song Contest 2010, when she shared the first place with Alyosha. Apparently, Sobko has everything to become a winner, but some tiny thing prevents her from becoming a leader.
After the competition, you told in an interview that you went to Jurmala not to win, but to be noticed. Are you satisfied with the result?
“The competition discovered many performers, who are now pop stars. They are successful in their careers, people listen to them, they go on tours, and make new hits. As for me, the future development, what I am going to bring to the audience and with what mood – that is what matters. Nearly 150 million people were watching the contest on TV, which is quite a large audience. The show enjoyed high ratings. So, I think the audience noticed me, and the jury appreciated me at my true value. Number two is a good number, which makes me work even harder.”
Can you say that the New Wave has determined the vectors of your further singing activity? Do you intend to conquer the music scene abroad?
“At the moment I take interest in both European, and Russian markets. Money plays a very important role at the foreign music scene. For example, you cannot get on air on radio or television without paying a certain sum for rotation. In Ukraine, I have never paid a kopek [cent. – Ed.] for performance on air. I think my chief goal is to make sure that people are interested in my creative work. Nowadays everyone can learn the news on the Internet, download songs, and watch videos.”
You have a strong point, a rare timbre and strong voice. Who are your teachers?
“I have been in professional variety singing for only a year. I take lessons from Irma Gviniashvili, teacher of singing from the Kyiv-based Gliere Music Institute. I do not have any music education. However, I have sung at the vocal choir studio Radist of the children and youth center of Kyiv’s Darnytsia district. I have been a soloist, and I took private lessons. But that was a different technique and singing manner.”
n your opinion, what is the difference between high quality and low quality popular music?
“First, it is the difference in lyrics, such as not too clever rhymes, banal melody, and poor arrangement. The song should be richly arranged, there should be an emotional coloring. The brighter the colors are, the more interesting the song is. You need time for everything and professionals, who is difficult to find. But not all singers do look for them. I am lucky in this regard, I am working with the professionals.”
The audience remembers you as a bright performer since the TV shows, such as Chance of 2008 and 2009: you quoted Omar Khayyam’s verse in your conversation with the producer Natalia Mohylevska. Does philosophy help you in your show business work?
“You should behave decently, and people will treat you in such a way. This is the best of philosophies not only for show business, but in life on the whole. There is a popular opinion that there are only sharks in show business, and you lose human qualities in such a milieu. There are different people and different performers. I think the energy you radiate on stage, your attitude to people, and your deeds come back to you like a boomerang.”
Recently a new show, the Voice of the Country, has been launched in Ukraine. It positions itself as a project, where the singer’s vocal is of paramount importance. However, after the “blind selection” the show’s format started to resemble all previous music shows. How do you assess the declared independence of the jurors at the Voice of Ukraine?
“Taking into consideration that the music producer of the show is a well-known composer and producer Konstantin Meladze, the Voice of the Country is a high-qualified project. Every person in the audience has his or her own taste and may vote for the singer he or she likes best. The selection of music material performed by the participants of the show is being done under Meladze’s guidance; therefore it is a high level.”
The problem of many Ukrainian performers is that they lack proper repertoire. How do you find authors of lyrics and composers?
“It is hard to find your author. This problem intertwines with another one: frequently, it is hard for the performers to make up their mind about their scenic image and songs. Therefore, the most important thing is to understand what you want to perform and, taking into account your own priorities, select the repertoire. The process of finding authors takes much time. At first I have cooperated with composer Ruslan Kvinta and poet Vitalii Kurovsky. Then I got acquainted with Diana Holde, who wrote three songs for me. This author was especially interesting for me as she had cooperated with Konstantin Meladze. My producer Olha Revuk purchased one song from Brandon Stone, a composer whose songs became hits [he has been a music co-producer of the New Wave for many years, he was the producer of Jayden Felder, who won in this year’s competition, and Indonesian Sandhy SonDoro, who shared the New Wave’s first place in 2009 with our Jamala. – Author]. I also cooperate with beginning authors, because they are fresh blood and new vision. I pay no attention to whether the author is famous. There are many talented composers and authors; you just should be able to choose songs you feel with your soul and heart. This is a precondition for a hit. For this moment we have found our authors, but creative exploration is an endless process. In the fall I want to tour across Ukraine and present my new songs.”
