Serebro

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 Third

 **Serebro** is is a Russian girl group formed by their manager and producer Maxim Fadeev. The group currently consists of members Olga Seryabkina, Polina Favorskaya and Katya Kischuk.

## History

### **Formation and Eurovision Song Contest**

In early 2007, producer Maxim Fadeev began preparing a concept for a new band titled Serebro. The concept began as a proposal for Channel One Russia for a new Russian entry into the Eurovision Song Contest 2007. Despite original indications that the concept was for a solo singer, it morphed into a group around the former Star Factory participant Elena Temnikova who was paired with two newcomers: Marina Lizorkina and Olga Seryabkina. On 8 March 2007, the expert panel at Channel One Russia selected Serebro and the song "Song #1" as Russia's entry to the 2007 Eurovision Song Contest. Due to Russia's successful result in the 2006 Contest, Serebro pre-qualified to compete directly in the final of the competition without having to participate in the semi-final.

On 12 May 2007, Serebro performed at the contest and placed third in a field of 24 musical acts from competing nations, scoring 207 points. Serebro later said: "We are happy because of our third place. But, the most important thing is that we weren't there because of ourselves, it was for our fans, for Russia and for the Russian people". The performance in Helsinki became their first official release and first concert for a large live audience.

### **2007 - 2008: Continued career**

After the success at Eurovision Song Contest 2007 in Helsinki, Serebro rapidly became one of the most popular bands in Russia. Starting in the summer of 2007, the group gave a number of concerts and performed at events throughout Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Poland, Uzbekistan, and Belarus. All of the band's singles, without their real titles, are named Song #1, #2, #3, etc. According to the group and their management, this should make it easier to recall their songs.

Soon after the Eurovision contest, Serebro released "Song #1" as a single CD, which contained 13 different versions of "Song #1" marked by colours, as well as an extended version of the video. The girls then released a Russian version of "Song #1", called "Песня #1". It was Serebro first Russian single. The song was a commercial success worldwide, particularly in European markets. The song charted in countries including Russia, Switzerland, Germany, Ireland and the United Kingdom. As soon as the music video was release, the group received much commercial attention. In July 2007, the group released their second song, "Дыши". Though the song was somewhat commercially successful in their native Russia, the song did not chart around the globe and the group saw a marked drop in the level of commercial attention globally. Later in October, a video for "Дыши" was released.

In 2008 the group continued their work on their first album, OpiumRoz, which had a projected release date of 17 October. Unfortunately, there was a delay in the release of their debut album as there were some problems in the track list. In November, the girls released the new song, "Скажи, не Mолчи" ("Say, Don't be silent"). The song did not achieve worldwide success, but managed to score the top spots in their native Russia.

### **2009 - 2012:** **Lineup change, experimental works and Mama Lover**

On 18 June 2009 it was announced that Marina Lizorkina had left the band, due to both financial and personal reasons. Many reports around the Russian federation reported that Lizorkina has left due to a recent pregnancy, but band mate Olga denied these reports. Lizorkina was replaced by Anastasia Karpova. On 24 June 2009 Serebro announced they had finished work on their new music video for their fifth single "Сладко" (English: Sweet) which was released in Russian as well as in English under the title "Like Mary Warner". This single is not featured on the band's debut album and is the first single to feature the work of the latest Serebro member, Anastasia Karpova.

On 29 March 2010 Serebro official website invited women between the ages of 18 and 30 with a "non-standard appearance (piercings, dreadlocks, braids, tattoos, vivid hair color, etc)" to send in applications to feature in their new video and are invited to do so until 3 April 2010 in preparation for the filming of a new music video which began on 4 April 2010. The title of the song was revealed to be "Не Bремя" (English: No Time) and was released to radio airplay in Russia on 13 April 2010. The song was written by Maxim Fadeev and the lyrics were written by member Olga Seryabkina. "Не Bремя" was released on 19 April 2010 and its English counterpart, "Sexing U", was later released on 18 September 2010.

On 30 July 2011, Serebro premiered their eighth single, Mama Lover on Europa Plus Live. It is their third official English language release after Song #1 and Like Mary Warner. On 15 September 2011, the music video for Mama Luba (Russian version of "Mama Lover") was released. After the release of their single Mama Lover, media attention across Europe and other countries was piqued by the single. It became the group's first single to chart in different countries outside the Russian Federation, including Spain, Italy, Belgium and the Czech Republic. According to media outlets, more than 250 parodies of Serebro music video for the single were uploaded to YouTube alone. The reaction made "Mama Lover" Serebro most successful single to date and some media sources suggested the group was poised to capture markets beyond Russia. The song was certified Platinum in Italy, selling over 30,000 copies. On 14 June 2012, Serebro released their second studio album Mama Lover on their label. The album was released in Russia, and was also slated for a European release.

### **2013 - present:** **Lineup change, experimental works and Mama Lover**

After the decline of their success after "Mama Lover", the group started to record songs for their third studio album. In January 2013, the group announced that they would release their further material in Japan after signing with EMI Music. They also announced that they plan to release a compilation entitled Serebration that includes songs from their first and second studio albums. The group traveled to Japan to promote the compilation album and to do a live concert tour. In March 2013, the group released their promotional single "Sexy Ass", but it failed to chart in Russia. In June 2013, the group released their single "Mi Mi Mi" which charted in Italy, peaking at 5 on the Italian iTunes chart. In July 2013, the group released the song "Little Of You". The song was released on Russian radio airplay on 10 July and marked a welcome return to the top ten in Russia for the band, ultimately peaking at number five.

On 28 September, member Anastasia Karpova confirmed her planned departure from the group.[28] Karpova had told Fadeev months prior that she intended to leave the group. She noted that the decision was mutual with other members of the band and that her primary motivation was to pursue a solo career. A new member, named Dasha Shashina, was announced on 3 October 2013. Shashina has re-recorded Anastasia's recordings in the group's songs "Malo Tebya" and "Ugar", which is expected to release a video with Shashina featuring in it.

Temnikova left the group in May 2014, ahead of her planned December exit, after having become pregnant. Karpova temporarily returned until newest member Polina Favorskaya was introduced on June 5, 2014.

Serebro 3rd studio album '925' was supposed to be released on iTunes Russia on 15th October, 2015 but due to their studio harddrive being stolen, the album release had to be cancelled. In March 2016, Shashina left the group due to serious health issues and having to undergo two surgeries, and was replaced by Katya Kischuk.

## Members

* **Olga Seryabkina** began to study ballet at the age of seven. She was awarded the rank of "Master of Sports Candidate". She took part in many international dancing competitions. Seryabkina graduated from the Department for Estrada and Pop Singing at the Art School, and in 2006 graduated from university with a degree in "Translation and Entrepreneurship". She was brought in to audition for Serebro by her friend Temnikova. In addition to performing, Seryabkina also contributed to producing and writing a number of the group's songs. She first contributed as a writer on the group's single "Like Mary Warner", and also wrote and composed some of the songs featured on Mama Lover.
* **Polina Favorskaya** is the replacement of Elena Temnikova, who was introduced 5 June 2014.
* **Katya Kischuk** is the replacement of Dasha Shashina, who was introduced in April 2016.

## Previous members

* **Anastasia Karpova** was very interested in music since her early age, but dedicated herself to ballet. She was also attending singing classes and decided to pursue her singing career. Anastasia had replaced Lizorkina, after the latter announced her departure. She first had her debut with the group on their single "Like Mary Warner". Anastasia, along with Elena and Olga had recorded their second studio album Mama Lover, making it Karpova's first full-length studio album. Karpova decided to leave the group to pursue a solo career. The song "УГАР" was her last song with the group.
* **Marina Lizorkina** entered the Contemporary Art University in Moscow at the age of sixteen. She used to sing in a choir, before she became the lead singer of the group "Formula". In 2004, they released a few singles for the series Obrechennaya Stat Zvezdoy. Lizorkina was the last to join Serebro, after she saw an Internet announcement.
* **Dasha Shashina** is the replacement of Anastasia Karpova, who began performing with the group in October 2013. Shashina left the group in March 2016 due to serious health issues and having to undergo two surgeries.
* **Elena Temnikova** came to media prominence as a contestant on the Channel One talent show Star Factory in 2003. She was spotted by Maxim Fadeev, the main producer of Star Factory, and signed to his recording company Monolit Records. Although Temnikova released two disco singles, "Begi" and "Taina", she did not continue her solo career and joined Serebro instead. She married co-member of Star Factory Alexey Semenov; the two separated in 2007, before a settlement for divorce. She then had a brief conflict with Fedeev, after dating and subsequently leaving his brother. She currently resides in Moscow, Russia. On 15 May 2014 the official Serebro website reported that Elena had left the group due to ill health. She was replaced with Karpova who had left the band earlier the previous year until they find a replacement.

## Albums

* OpiumRoz (2009)
* Mama Lover (2012)
* 925 (2016)