Ilianna Śarina

**Ilianna Markavećna Śarina** (born 17 January 1995) is a Dalian-Lungarian singer and model. She is best known for being a member of the Lungarian girl group The Velvet Dolls.

## Life and career

### Early life

Śarina was born on 17 January 1995 in Halavan, Salia to parents Marko and Gor Śarina (née *Garbarshantsa*). Her father is from Dalia while her mother is Salian. Marko is a diplomat who had been working in the Dalian Embassy in Salia since 1987, while Gor is an attorney. The family settled in Morgante two years later, where Marko worked at the Dalian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. They moved to Munbach in 2007 when Marko became the Dalian Ambassador to Lungary. She has one younger brother Gheorghe, born in 1997.

Śarina began her education while living in Dalia, beginning kindergarten in 2000. Before graduating from primary school, the family moved from Dalia to Lungary. She then began attending the Dalian School of Munbach, a Dalian international school. While living in Lungary, Śarina assimilated to Lungarian culture quickly and began speaking the Lungarian language fluently within a year. She graduated from high school in 2013, and remained in Lungary after her family returned to Dalia that same year. Following her graduation, she began working as a professional musician and model.

### 2014–present: Work with The Velvet Dolls

In summer 2014, Śarina was among the twenty female singers selected to compete in season two of the Muzicka X reality television series *Superstar*. She survived the first cuts and was able to qualify for the top twelve. Week by week, she continued to perform consistently and was saved by the audience at home. Eventually, she advanced to the final five and became one of the four singers selected by the public to make up The Velvet Dolls, along with Mena Göffleiner, Veronika Jeffertschaüf, and Katrina Neurmausch.

The day after the show's finale, the group signed a recording contract with Mammoth Music Lungary and Island Music, while Śarina was also signed to a solo recording contract. They then began working on their debut studio album. In summer 2015, they released their debut single "Leave You Behind". The song was heavily inspired by pop and dance-pop, but did not fare well commercially. "Leave You Behind" charted with number-87 in Lungary and number-98 in Haff, not charting in any other countries. However, it was still included on their debut extended play *A Girls World*, which was later released in September 2015. Unlike its lead single, the extended play went on to be certified gold and peaked at number-ten on the Lungarian albums chart. Following its release, they began supporting Danica Würschleschesch on her *Miss Independent World Tour* from October 2015 to February 2016.

In March 2016, Jeffertschaüf revealed that their new single would be released in April. The song, "Ugly", was ultimately released in May 2016, and was of a similar style to the music featured on *A Girls World*. "Ugly" went on to become the group's breakout single, peaking within the top ten in seven countries' singles charts, and becoming certified platinum in Lungary. The group went on to release their debut studio album *Dance/Smile/Cry* in August 2016. Like its lead single, the album became a wide success. It was certified platinum in Lungary and peaked at number-two. Internationally, it peaked in the top ten of fifteen countries' albums chart, becoming a worldwide success. They promoted the album with the *Dance Your Ass Off World Tour*, which ran from August 2016 to December 2016.

In March 2017, the group revealed that they were working on recording new music for their second studio album. Göffleiner later revealed in summer 2017 that they had adopted a new sound for the upcoming album and that it was "very different". In January 2018, they were confirmed to be taking part in *Lüngarderisch Song 2018* with the song "Hoodie".

## Personal life

Śarina was born with Dalian and Salian citizenship, and was raised bilingually speaking both Dalian and Salian fluently. She became a Lungarian citizen in 2013, and began speaking Lungarian fluently by 2008. She was raised within the Church of Dalia, but no longer identifies with the religion.