Ruslana (singer)

Infobox musical artist
Name = Ruslana Lyzhychko
Руслана Лижичко

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Img_capt = Ruslana 2008
Img_size =
Landscape =
Background = solo_singer
Birth_name = Ruslana Stepanivna Lyzhychko (Руслана Степанівна Лижичко)
Alias = Ruslana (Руслана) , Lana , Rusiya
Born = birth date and age|1973|05|24 [http://www.ruslana.ua/bio.php Руслана - Биография] ]

Origin = Lviv, Ukraine
Instrument = piano, guitar, drum, keyboard, trembita
Genre = Pop, Pop rap, Contemporary R&B, pop folk, dance, rock , electro, Folk rock
Occupation = singer, politician, dancer, producer, composer, conductor, pianist, voice actress
Years_active = 1996—present
Label = EMI, Warner Music Group
Associated_acts = T-Pain , Missy Elliott , Varvara, Harem
URL = [http://www.ruslana.ua/ www.ruslana.ua]

Ruslana Stepanivna Lyzhychko ( _uk. Руслана Степанівна Лижичко, Ruslana Stepanivna Lyžyčko; born May 24, 1973) is a World Music award winning artist and the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2004.

She is a singer, dancer, producer, composer, conductor, and pianist. She writes, composes and produces her own songs and music videos. Since 28 December 1995 she is married to Oleksandr Ksenofontov, a Ukrainian record producer. Together they are running the company "Luxen Studio" since 1993, where radio and film trailers are produced.

She won the Eurovision Song Contest 2004 with the song "Wild Dances", which earned 280 points, receiving points from 34 of the 35 other countries participating in the contest (the exception being Switzerland).

Biography

Early life

Ruslana was born on 24 May 1973 in Lviv, Ukrainian SSR (now Ukraine) to Ukrainian parents Nina and Stepan Lyzhichko. She was raised in Lviv Oblast (province). Encouraged by her mother Ruslana studied from the age of four at an experimental musical school and sang in different bands, including in the vocal-instrumental band Horizon, the band Orion and the children’s ensemble Smile. After a ten-year secondary school with mathematical bias, Ruslana entered the music Conservatory in L'viv where she graduated as pianist and orchestra conductor in 1995.She has a half-sister named Anna.

Musical career

Early mucial period

Ruslana started her career as a winner of Slavyanskiy Bazar song competition in Vitebsk, Belarus in 1996 with the song "Oj, letili dyki husi". In the same year she was amongst the nomination for "The Singer of the year 1996" of the First All-Ukrainian National Show "The Person of the Year" and the video for "Dzvinkyi Viter" (Wind Bells) was awarded "Best video of the year" at the television festival "The Golden Era".

In 1997, Ruslana began working on "Christmas with Ruslana" - the first L'viv Christmas television project of an All-Ukrainian scale including the video clip "Ballad of a Princess" which was the first animated music video in Ukraine.

Her first album "Myt' Vesny - Dzvinkyj Viter" ("A Moment of Spring – Wind Bells"), released in 1998, received high praise from the critics.

Still, wider recognition didn't come until 1998 with the song "Svitanok" (Sunrise) and the album "Myt' Vesny - Dzvinkyj Viter Live". "Svitanok" was the first big video clip in Ukraine. In 1999 Ruslana became Person of the Year, the song "Svitanok" was Best Song of the Year and the video of Svitanok was awarded as the Best Video of the Year.

In 1999 she worked on the Christmas musical "Ostanne rizdvo 90th" (The Last Christmas of the 90's), which won the Ukrainian "Movie of the Year" award. With the video clip to the song "Znaju Ja"(I Know) which is about the ancient people of the Hutsuls living in the Ukrainian Carpathians, Ruslana set new standards for modern video clip filming.

Wild Dances Project

Ruslana's father is from the West-Ukrainian area of the Hutsuls, the dwellers of the Ukrainian Carpathian Mountains. They have a unique culture with an ancient and rich history which inspired Ruslana to create her song and album "Wild Dances". The Wild Dances style combines powerful and permeating ethnic drums, trumpet sounds of the trembita, an ancient Hutsul music instrument with modern dance beats.

The album "Dyki Tantsi" ("Wild Dances") was released in June 2003 in Ukraine. It was the first album ever to get 5 times platinum in Ukraine, selling over 500,000 copies. The English version of the album "Dyki Tantsi" was released in Europe in autumn 2004: "Wild Dances - Welcome to my wild world". The song "Wild Dances" brought Ruslana the victory at the Eurovision Song Contest 2004 and entered dozens of European music charts. She also achieved golden records in Sweden, Russia, Greece, Czech Republic and Slowakia.

Eurovision Song Contest

2004

Ruslana was chosen by NTU, using an internal selection, to represent Ukraine at the Eurovision Song Contest 2004. Before the contest she was a hot favorite for victory by the bookmakers. At the Eurovision Song Contest 2004 she performed her self-composed song, "Wild Dances" and won the contest receiving 280 points (the highest amount of points received by a winner of the Eurovision Song Contest from the first 50 editions of the contest). Also, she received points from every country in the semi final and from every country except Switzerland in the final. "Wild Dances" was number one in Belgium for 10 consecutive weeks, Greece and Ukraine.

2005

Ruslana opened the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 with the song "Heart on Fire". At the interval act she performed "The Same Star" which became a hit as soon as it was released, entering most of the music charts all around Europe. The song "Heart on Fire" was released on her 2008 album "Wild Energy.

2006

Ruslana's song "Wild Dances" was named the Best of Eurovision by the Germans. On the television program "Grand Prix Hitliste", Wild Dances was presented as the winner, ahead of famous songs, such as Waterloo and Germany's only winner, Ein Bißchen Frieden, which finished sixth and twelfth, respectively. The program was viewed by a television audience of approximately six million people in Germany.cite web | url=http://www.esctoday.com/news/read/6210 | title=Ruslana - The best of Eurovision | author=Busa, Alexandru | publisher=esctoday] | date=2007-07-04 | accessdate=2006-05-24]

2008

Ruslana was a guest performer at the national final of Azerbaijan with her "Wild Energy" show. Azerbaijan made its debut in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008.

Wild Energy Project

Ruslana's new project Wild Energy is based on the science fiction novel by Maryna and Sergij Diachenko "Wild Energy. Lana". In a future city which experiences a global energy crisis, far more threatening than lack of oil and gas, people are lacking their will for life, their energy of the heart - the "fuel for people". Lana, one of the synthetic inhabitants, sets out to find the mystical energy source. After many adventures she discovers that the wild energy comes from her own heart.
Wild Energy combines the art of music and video production, literature and social commitment in an extraordinary way. In June 2006 Ruslana presented the new single and video Wild Energy in a unique fantasy style. In this video clip the singer develops from a synthetic blonde girl into her wild image. Within the frames of the FIFA World Cup 2006 Ruslana went on tour in Germany to support the Ukrainian national football team. She performed in Hamburg, Cologne, Berlin, Leipzig, and Nuremberg.

In Grand Theft Auto IV, Ruslana hosts Vladivostok FM. Her song Wild Dances is featured as one of the songs on Vladivostok.

In March 2008 Ruslana's Ukrainian album Amazonka was released in Ukraine, Czech Republic and Slovakia. The English album Wild Energy was released in Canada on 2 September 2008 and will be released in several European countries and China on 10 October 2008. The album was recorded at the Hit Factory Studio in Miami and contains two collaborations with American Urban superstars T-Pain and Missy Elliot. [ [http://blog.ruslana.ua/?p=377&language=en Ruslana to release Wild Energy] ] On this release Ruslana creates her own distinctive technique of incorporating ancient ethnic styles of the Carpathian Mountain people with modern popular music.

Political activities

In autumn 2004 Ruslana actively supported the democratic processes in Ukraine known as the Orange Revolution. She declared her support for Viktor Yushchenko during the disputed Ukrainian presidential elections. She became one of the prominent figures that addressed the mass crowds rallying in support of Yushchenko's demand that his original defeat be declared fraudulent. From spring 2006 to summer 2007 she was a Member of the Ukrainian Parliament for the party Our Ukraine. [ [http://www.ruslana.com.ua/text/arch/eng/arch2007summer.html Ruslana resigns as Member of Parliament] ]

ocial commitment

Ruslana was appointed Good Will Ambassador of Ukraine by the UNICEF and combats trafficking in human beings. She released two video clips which aim to make potential victims aware of the dangers of human trafficking. In February 2008 Ruslana performed at an anti-human trafficking event in Vienna, Austria, organized by UN.gifT (The United Nations Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking) in front of 117 international delegations. Her song "Not For Sale" became the anthem of the anti-trafficking campaign [ [http://blog.ruslana.ua/?language=en Ruslana Blog] ] .

Within the frames of the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 in Kyiv she gave a charity concert for children suffering from the consequences of the Chornobyl tragedy. For another charity project Ruslana joined forces with German rock star Peter Maffay [ [http://www.maffay.de/begegnungen/ Website of Peter Maffay] ] . In April/May 2007 they went together with artists from 14 countries on a four weeks tour through Germany. The funds gathered benefited children in need.

Ruslana has also staged numerous charity concerts benefiting Children's hospitals in Kiev, L’viv and Dnepropetrovsk

With her project Wild Energy Ruslana supports the use of renewable energy. She regards the energy of the sun, the water and the wind as an energy independence. The project gradually developed into this bigger meaning. Ruslana wants to make people aware of the dangers of global climate change. [ [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89436819 A Ukrainian Pop Star's Would-Be Revolution] ]

After large regions in Western Ukraine were hit by a flood in July 2008 Ruslana set up the co-ordinating and relief centre "Carpathians. Flood. SOS! 2008". The aim of the centre is to create a database of the people in need, to provide emergency humanitarian help and to collect and distribute donations both from the public and from other Ukrainian artists and sportsmen to support the victims of the flood. [ [http://karpatysos.info/en/ Carpathians. Flood. SOS!] ] .

Commercial Activities

For some time Ruslana has been the face of Garnier in Ukraine. In the spring of last year L’Oreal Cosmetics offered Ruslana an endorsement contract where she will become a new face of L’Oreal.

Discography

Ukrainian-language studio albums

*1998: "Myt' Vesny - Dzvinkyj Viter"
*2001: "Najkrashche"
*2003: "Diki Tantsi"
*2008: "Amazonka"

English-language studio albums

*2004: "
*2008: "Wild Energy"

Awards and nominations

Music Videos

*"Ty" (1998)
*"Myt' Vesny" (1998)
*"Svitanok" (1998)
*"Balada pro princessu (1998)
*"Kolyskova" (1998)
*"Znaju Ja (2000)
*"Proschannya z disko" (2001)
*"Dobrij vechir, tobi... (2002)
*"Kolomyjka" (2003)
*"Oj, Zagraimy, Muzychenku" (2003)
*"Wild Dances" (2004)
*"Dance with the Wolves" (2004)
*"Ring Dance with the Wolves" (2005)
*"The Same Star" (2005)
*"V rytme serdtsa" (2005)
*"Dyka Enerhija" (2006)
*"Vidlunnja mriy [Ukr. version of "Moon of Dreams"] " (2008)
*"Moon of Dreams (feat. T-Pain)" (2008)
*"Vohon‘ chy lid (Vse ne te)"(2008)

See also

* Eurovision Song Contest 2004
* Ukraine in the Eurovision Song Contest
* Ruslana's Charity Concert
* Wild Energy.Lana
* Ultratop 50 number-one hits of 2004

References

External links

*cite web|url=http://www.ruslana.com.ua/|title=Official website of Ruslana|publisher=Luxen Studio
*cite web|url=http://www.fanclub.ruslana.ua/|title=Official fan club of Ruslana|publisher=Luxen Studio
*cite web|url=http://www.ruslanatv.com/|title=Official Ruslana TV Channel|publisher=Luxen Studio
*cite web|url=http://www.youtube.com/ruslanatube|title=Youtube Channel

Listening

* [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89436819 Ruslana interview] from NPR "All Things Considered" program, April 7, 2008

Persondata
NAME = Stepanivna, Ruslana Lyzhychko
ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
SHORT DESCRIPTION = Ukrainian singer
DATE OF BIRTH = May 24, 1973
PLACE OF BIRTH = Lviv, Ukraine
DATE OF DEATH =
PLACE OF DEATH =