Oksana Kovalevskaya

Oksana Kovalevskaya (Russian: Оксана Ковалевская) is the lead singer of the Russian band Kraski ("Paints"), where she released five albums, each with a different color theme. Her 2001 single, "Today I Went Home to Mother" (Russian: Сегодня к маме я приехала домой), became a top charting song in Belarus and Russia. Her album Big Brother (Russian: Старший брат) topped charts not only in Belarus, but also throughout the Commonwealth of Independent States.

Oksana Kovalevskaya
Born (1983-05-06) May 6, 1983
Smilavichy, Minsk
Occupation(s)singer
InstrumentsVocals
Years active2001–present
Associated actsKraski
Websitehttp://www.oksanakraski.ru/

Early life

Kovalevskaya was born on May 6, 1983 in Smilavichy, Minsk. As a child, she would put on her mother's makeup and sing in front of the mirror while imitating singers Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey. She briefly attended a school for gifted children where she sang in its choir and attended a technical school where she sang the song "Lost Dog". When she was eight, she started to win some music competitions and was recognized by a music teacher at her Smilavichy school. In one of the competitions, she became the regional representative for the Slavic Bazaar in Vitebsk. When she was 11, she received an offer to take a second year course in vocal at Glinka Music School, but she remained at Smilavichy to be with her mother.[1]

Career

When Kovalevskaya was 15, she signed a contract with a music producer. In 2001, she released the single "Today I Went Home to Mother" (Russian: Сегодня к маме я пиехала домой), and her first album You're an Adult. As part of their promotions outside of Belarus, she worked with Real Records to release her album in Russia. By then, she started using a color-based theme for her albums, and the name of her touring band was Kraski (Russian: краски). Her debut album was thus released as the Yellow album – Big Brother (Russian: Желтый альбом (Старший брат)). In October 2001, Kovalevskaya and Paints went on tour, where they performed about 200 concerts at venues throughout Belarus. Her music was received well by the public. In 2002, she released her second single, "He doesn't know anything" (Russian: Он не знает ничего), which is about a bandit. She appeared on several television shows such as Big Laundry where she sang "He does not know anything." After the tour concluded, she released her third single "I love you Joe". In January 2003, she released her fourth single, "My Mother" (Russian: Мамочка моя), which is about a grown-up girl who wonder what's next. "My Mother" topped the singles charts. In 2003, Paints appears on some Russian television programs.

Paints returned to the studio to record their second album, which uses the red color theme. The first single off of Red album, "I love you, Sergey"(Russian: Он не знает ничего), was about Kovalevskaya's interests in a young man of that name. It topped the singles chart. The album topped charts in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Poland, Germany, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. In May 2003, Kraski announced a tour to support the album. The shows were typically 90 minutes long and full of hits, dances, and costume changes.

Kovalevskaya released her third Kraski album with an orange color theme. It contained the single "My Mother", and its title dance track "Orange Sun" (Russian: Оранжевое солнце), which was released in November. The song reflected the changes in her life from a little girl to a young woman. Its corresponding video was presented as very bright and colorful. The band toured for the album in early 2004.

In summer 2004, Kovalevskaya released her fourth Kraski album with a blue color theme. Its title track, "Spring" (Russian: Весна) topped the singles chart. Its second single "Big Brother-2" (Russian: Старший брат- 2), was a tender ballad, whose music video featured Kovalevskaya dressed as a bride.

Her fifth album had a purple color theme. Its title track, "Those who love" (Russian: Те, кто любит), was a duet with Russian pop singer Andrey Gubin. The album continued to show her mature side. Kraski expanded its 2005 tour to cities and countries they have not been to before. In 2005–2006 they traveled to England, Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, Hungary, Ireland and the United States.[2] Kovalevskaya also lived in the United States for about a year, until she was pregnant with her second child.

In the autumn of 2007, after a two-year hiatus, Oksana resumed her songwriting and started to produce her own album.

In 2010, Kraski disbanded, as she decided to devote herself to new projects. She began touring as Oksana Kovalevskaya Kraski, where she sang music written by her producer, Alexei Voronov. She has released a few singles as Kraski, many of which have been picked up by DJs for remixes.

Personal life

Kovalevskaya married her music producer Alexei Voronov on July 1, 2001. On August 26, she gave birth to their first child, Vladimir. In 2007, she had her second son, Alex.[1]

Discography

This is a list of her albums and prominent singles.

Studio albums
Kraski[3]
  • Yellow album – Big Brother (Russian: Желтый альбом (Старший брат)) (originally released as You're an Adult in 2001) (2002)
  • Red album – I love you Sergey (Russian: Красный альбом (Я люблю тебя, Сергей!)) (2003)
  • Orange album – Orange Sun (Russian: Оранжевый альбом (Оранжевое солнце)) (2003)
  • Blue album – Spring (Russian: Синий альбом (Весна)) (2004)
  • Purple album – Those Who Love (Russian: Фиолетовый альбом (Те,кто любит))(2004)
Solo
  • Spring in the Heart (Russian: Весна в сердце) (2013)

Singles
Paints[3]
  • "Today I Arrived Home to Mom" (Russian: Сегодня к маме я приехала домой) (2001)
  • "He Doesn't Know Anything" (Russian: Он не знает ничего) (2002)
  • "Elder Brother" (Russian: Старший брат) (2002)
  • "My Mother" (Russian: Мамочка моя) (2003)
  • "I Love You, Sergey" (Russian: Я люблю тебя, Сергей) (2003)
  • "Orange Sun" (Russian: Оранжевое солнце) (2003)
  • "Just Fifteen Years" (Russian: Всего пятнадцать лет) (2003)
  • "Elder Brother part.2" (Russian: Старший брат 2) (2004)
  • "Spring" (Russian: Весна) (2004)
  • "Those Who Love" (Russian: Те, кто любит) (with Andrey Gubin) (2004)
  • "Boy" (Russian: Мальчик) (2004)
  • "Don't Say" (Russian: Не говори) (2004)
  • "I'll Be Waiting" (Russian: Я буду ждать) (2004)
  • "Sea" (Russian: Море) (2005)
  • "Boy with Postcards" (Russian: Мальчик с открытки) (2006)
  • "Late" (Russian: Поздно) (2007)
Solo
  • "You Are For Me" (Russian: Ты для меня) (2012)
  • "Game Without Rules" (Russian: Игра без правил) (2012)
  • "Leave" (Russian: Оставь) (2012)
  • "I'm Running" (Russian: Я убегаю) (2012)
  • "Race" (Russian: Гонка) (2012)
  • "Happy New Year!" (Russian: С Новым годом!) (2013)
  • "Paradise" (Russian: Рай) (2013)
  • "Girl Wants" (Russian: А девочке хочется) (2013)
  • "You Ocean Of Light" (Russian: Ты океан света) (2013)
  • "Spring in the Heart" (Russian: Весну в Сердце) (2013)
  • "Loveless" (Russian: Без любви) (2013)
  • "I'm Playing in Love" (Russian: I'm Playing in Love) (2013)
  • "About U" (Russian: О тебе) (2013)

References
  1. "Официальный сайт группы КРАСКИ: Биография". Oksanakraski.ru. n.d. Retrieved March 21, 2013.
  2. Kraski, Group. "Official site". Archived from the original on November 23, 2011.
  3. "discography". oksanakraski.ru (in Russian). Retrieved March 20, 2013.
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