Veronika Ponomarenko

**Veronika Ilivna Ponomarenko** (Ukrainian: *Вероніка Ільівна Пономаренко*, Russian: *Вероника Ильивна Пономаренко*; born 18 January 1987) is a Ukrainian singer, songwriter, and model. A popular musician in Russian and Ukrainian popular culture, Ponomarenko is known for her soft soprano singing voice and colorful, eccentric styling.

Ponomarenko began her modeling career after moving to Moscow at age 13, later abruptly ending her career and returning to Ukraine to attend the Petro Tchaikovsky National Music Academy of Ukraine in 2005. After graduating, Ponomarenko found employment as a nightclub performer in Kiev, while also recording demos and sending them to record labels. She was signed to MegaMusic Records in 2010, and began work on her debut studio album. Ponomarenko released her debut single "Ya zhiva" the following year, which went on to top the charts in both Ukraine and Russia, additionally becoming the best-selling song of the year in her home country. Her debut studio album *Siyaniye* was released later that year, which lead Ponomarenko to win six awards at the 2012 Ukrainian Music Awards. Ponomarenko has since released three other studio albums *Ukrainskiye devushki* (2014), *Ya vse yeshche zhiv* (2015), and *Vidrodyvsya* (2018), the latter of the three becoming Ponomarenko's first studio album to exclusively be recorded in the Ukrainian language and be marketed to solely a Ukrainian audience. She has completed three headlining arena tours: *Ukrainskiye Devushki Tour* (2014), *Veronika: Nikogda ne umer* (2016), and *The Vidrodyvsya Tour* (2018).

Ponomarenko has received numerous accolades throughout her career, including eleven Ukrainian Music Awards and four Russian Music Awards. She has sold over 20 million records worldwide, and has been dubbed the "Princess of Pop" by the Ukrainian media.

## Early life and education

Ponomarenko was born on 18 January 1987 in Kiev in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic of the Soviet Union to parents Ilya Ponomarenko (born 1952) and Maria Ulanova (born 1955). Her father is Ukrainian and her mother is Russian; Ponomarenko was raised primarily speaking Russian, but also speaks fluent Ukrainian. Her father is a trauma surgeon, while her mother is an attorney. Her parents divorced when she was 11 years old, and she subsequently lived with her mother. Ponomarenko grew up in the wealthy Pechersk neighborhood of Kiev, and is the youngest child of three children; her elder brothers are Anton (born 1982) and Vladislav (born 1984). Vladislav is an actor and model known for his role as Nikolai Shumin on the Channel One Russia serial drama *Krasnovy* (2007–2015).

Ponomarenko began her education in 1993. She left school at age 13, when she moved to Moscow with her mother and elder brother to pursue a career in modeling. In Moscow, she completed her high school education, graduating in 2005. After her graduation, she returned to Kiev to attend the Petro Tchaikovsky National Music Academy of Ukraine, graduating with a degree in music in 2009.

## Career

### Early career and modeling

In 2000, Ponomarenko was scouted by a modeling agency along with her brother Vladislav while they were shopping at an open-air market in Kiev. They both signed to the agency, and were urged to move to Moscow to further their modeling careers. Later that year, they both arrived in Moscow with their mother for their modeling careers. After arriving in Moscow, Ponomarenko modeled in several ad campaigns in addition to walking in fashion weeks in Moscow, Berlin, Kiev, Paris, and Saint Petersburg.

After completing high school in 2005, Ponomarenko ended her modeling career and returned to Ukraine to attend Petro Tchaikovsky National Music Academy of Ukraine. Throughout her studies in university, Ponomarenko recorded demos and worked as a nightclub performer. After graduating in 2009, she worked as both a waitress and nightclub performer while also recording demo tapes and sending them to record labels. One of her demos eventually attracted the attention of Russian label MegaMusic Records, and they signed her to the label in 2010.

### 2009–2012: Breakthrough and *Siyaniye*

After signing to a record label in 2010, Ponomarenko began work on her debut studio album. Citing her time as a nightclub performer as a major influence on her music, Ponomarenko decided to make music that she could envision playing at one of the nightclubs that she worked at yet also tailored to be radio-friendly. The following year, Ponomarenko released her debut single "Ya zhiva". The song quickly gained traction throughout the countries of the former Soviet Union, with Ponomarenko promoting the song with performances on shows such as *Ukrainian Idol* and *Star Factory: Russia*. The song went on to become a massive success in Russian-speaking areas, becoming a number-one hit in both Ukraine and Russia, and the best-selling single of 2011 in the former.

Following the unexpected success of "Ya zhiva", production on Ponomarenko's debut studio album was rushed and pushed up for an earlier release. The album was recorded primarily in Kiev and Moscow. In August 2011, Ponomarenko released her debut studio album, titled *Siyaniye*. The album was a large success, becoming certified 3x platinum in Ukraine and 2x platinum in Russia. It also produced the successful singles "Yazyk tela" and "Gologramma", the former of which became Ponomarenko's second number-one single in Ukraine. To promote the album, Ponomarenko supported Andromeda on her *Koroleva Tour*, which performed shows in Russia, Ukraine, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Latvia from October 2011 to January 2012.

### 2013–2016: *Ukrainskiye devushki* and *Ya vse yeshche zhiv*

Following the massive success of "Ya zhiva" and *Siyaniye*, Ponomarenko's label was eager for her to begin working on new music. While on tour with Andromeda, Ponomarenko began writing music for her second studio album, which she wanted to be more "poppy" and "fun". After completing the tour in January 2012, Ponomarenko took four months off before continuing writing the album in both Kiev and Moscow. Recording began in the autumn of 2012, and continued into early-2013.

In summer 2013, Ponomarenko revealed that she was "eager" to release new music, and that it'd be released "soon". The lead single to her second studio album, titled "Molotova", was later released in November 2013. The song went on to become Ponomarenko's third number-one single in Ukraine and second in Russia, additionally being certified multi-platinum in both countries. Ponomarenko's second studio album *Ukrainskiye devushki*, was later released in January 2014, becoming the most successful album of her career. *Ukrainskiye devushki* was certified diamond in Ukraine and 5x platinum in Russia, and was additionally the best-selling album of 2014 in both countries. It produced the singles "Osleplennyy lyubovyu", "Zdes i tam", "My prosto druzya", and "V moyem serdtse". All five singles from *Ukrainskiye devushki* went on to peak at number-one in Ukraine, making it the first album in Ukrainian music history to produce five number-one singles. In Russia, "Zdes i tam" and "My prosto druzya" both peaked at number-one, with "Osleplennyy lyubovyu" peaking in the top ten and "V moyem serdtse" in the top twenty. Ponomarenko promoted the album with her first headlining arena tour *Ukrainskiye Devushki Tour*, performing shows in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, Estonia, Kazakhstan, Latvia, and Lithuania from March 2014 to July 2014.

Following the massive success of *Ukrainskiye devushki*, Ponomarenko immediately began writing material for her upcoming third studio album. Unlike her previous albums, the album was recorded primarily in Stockholm, Sweden, using Swedish producers instead of Russian and Ukrainian. This decision caused outcry amongst fans, stating that Ponomarenko was "selling-out" and "losing faith" in her countrymen. Ponomarenko later revealed that she had finished recording the album during the summer of 2015, and later released its lead single "Kak leto" in August 2015. An electronic dance music song, "Kak leto" failed to recreate the success of Ponomarenko's previous singles, only peaking within the top thirty in Ukraine and top fifty in Russia.

With her management team noting a decrease in sales, they got Ponomarenko hired as a judge on the seventh season of *Ukrainian Idol* in order to hopefully boost sales once the album was released. The season aired from October 2015 to March 2016, with Ponomarenko's third studio album *Ya vse yeshche zhiv* being released in December 2015. Like its lead single, the album was both a critical and commercial disappointment, only peaking within the top ten in Ukraine. After the completion of *Ukrainian Idol*, Ponomarenko revealed that she'd not be returning for the eighth season in order to prioritize her career. Only one other single was released from the album: "Nichego ne govoryat", which was also a commercial failure. She promoted the album with the *Veronika: Nikogda ne umer* arena tour, which performed shows in Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus from April 2016 to June 2016. Despite disappointing albums sales, the tour was surprisingly successful, selling out most of its shows.

### 2017–present: *Vidrodyvsya*

After the commercial and critical failure of *Ya vse yeshche zhiv*, Ponomarenko decided to take time off from music in order to find new inspiration for her fourth studio album. In her time off, Ponomarenko traveled Ukraine and began listening to Ukrainian folk music. Through this, Ponomarenko became inspired to embrace her Ukrainian roots and record her next album solely in the Ukrainian language. At first, her record label was not supportive of this as it'd neglect the Russian-speaking world and make the album only marketable in Ukraine, but agreed following Ponomarenko's insistence.

Ponomarenko began working on the album in Kiev and Lviv during the summer of 2017. Recording commenced later in the year and concluded in February 2018. In April 2018, Ponomarenko released the lead single to the album, titled "Ztsilyv"; the song marked Ponomarenko's first-ever release in the Ukrainian language and differed greatly from her previous work, being a piano-driven power ballad instead of a heavily-produced dance-pop song. "Ztsilyv" was a massive success in Ukraine, bcoming Ponomarenko's eighth number-one single and was certified 3x platinum. The album, titled *Vidrodyvsya*, was later released in June 2018. It became her third number-one album in Ukraine, and was certified 2x platinum in her home country. Ponomarenko promoted the album with *The Vidrodyvsya Tour*, which performed shows in Ukraine from August 2018 to October 2018. While on tour, she released the singles "Bohynya" and "Nerozumno zakokhanyy", which both peaked within the top ten in Ukraine.

## Personal life

Ponomarenko is a dual citizen of Ukraine and Russia, and is additionally fluent in both languages. She has residences in both Kiev, Ukraine and Moscow, Russia, but has identified herself on numerous occasions as "firstly Ukrainian" and "a Ukrainian in Russia" rather than vice versa. She is a Ukrainian Orthodox Christian. Ponomarenko has identified her elder brother Vladislav Ponomarenko, an actor and model known for her role in the Channel One Russia serial drama *Krasnovy* (2007–2015), and her "closest friend".

## Discography

*Main article: Veronika Ponomarenko discography.*

* *Siyaniye* (2011)
* *Ukrainskiye devushki* (2014)
* *Ya vse yeshche zhiv* (2015)
* *Vidrodyvsya* (2018)

## Awards and nominations

*Main article: Awards and nominations received by Veronika Ponomarenko.*