The singer who will represent Ukraine at the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 gave an exclusive interview for KW.
KW:What inspired you to dedicate your life to the stage?
TK: To tell you the truth, I don’t know. I started singing when I was two. To be more specific, my mother says that I started speaking through song. I turned speech into scales and transferred my emotions into music. I perceived the world as music.
KW:What is the most vivid memory from your childhood?
TK: I have many memories. Mainly, they are my performances at home. I just loved to sing in front of my family and guests.
KW:The smile never seems to leave your face and you are always filled with optimism. Did it help you in school? Do you consider yourself the life of the party?
TK: Yes, I’m an assured optimist. Optimism can move mountains. By the way, all my victories, including the one at the New Wave and Eurovision selection rounds, were achieved thanks to my optimism. As for being the life of the party, I must admit that others say that I am big part of it!
KW:How important are your parents in your creative and personal life?
TK: They are extremely important for me. Thank God that I have such loving parents. They’ve always been understanding and supporting. I understand that these words remind you of an Oscar speech by some Hollywood star, but I can’t say it any other way. After all, it’s the truth.
KW:Do you have a favorite place where you always feel peace of mind?
TK: My parents’ home and the make-up room. It doesn’t matter where in the world the make-up room is located. I feel at peace anywhere. I don’t know why. Maybe it’s something like a professional disease.
KW:Why did you decide to study at the National Aviation University?
TK: Airplanes are everything. They are beautiful and daring. Airplanes are like music.
KW:When and why did you decide to participate in the national selection for Eurovision?
TK: In truth, it was a spontaneous decision. We submitted documents for participating in the selection just five minutes before the commission finished its work. Why? Maybe because the time of great contests and prospects has come.
KW:Tina, you plan to bring Eurovision to Kyiv. How do you plan to achieve that?
TK: I always set great goals for myself, even tremendous ones. One should aim not just for something big, but something bigger. We create our own dreams and therefore we must believe in them. This is exactly what I’m doing.
KW:For successful preparation to Eurovision, one requires a team of professionals. Do you have such a team at the moment or are you still looking for one?
TK: I already have a team of professionals and these people did not just appear out of the blue. They are my dearest friends. By the way, they don’t work for money. To be more specific, earning money is not the main objective for them. They are just as much fans of music as I am. We are a real team and I don’t know what I would have done without them.
KW:Which participants of Eurovision throughout the history of the contest do you see as an example?
TK: Ruslana! Her performance is probably one of the strongest in the entire history of Eurovision. Naturally, I like ABBA, but more as an example of further development. They received a chance at Eurovision and managed to grow brilliantly, and to enhance their popularity and go much further.
KW:Who do you think will be serious competition for you at Eurovision?
TK: Everything is changing so quickly in this contest. To tell you the truth, I only think about the performance I give and the results I should attain. Besides that, at the moment I have practically no information about my competitors.
KW:Because of the preparation for the contest, you left your position as host of Stan Zirkoyu! (Become a Star) program. Do you plan to return to work on TV?
TK: I haven’t thought about it. Actually, I don’t like to plan such things. Naturally, I really liked the programs that I hosted for the fact that they gave children a chance. I think I would return to TV to do host a children’s program without thinking twice about it.
KW:You haven’t forgotten the Military Song Ensemble, where your career began, have you?
TK: Of course not! How can I possibly forget about it? Those people have always been very close to me.
KW:When should we expect the release of your first album?
TK: In fact, it is ready now. The only thing left to do is to compile it and record it. But life introduced its own changes to events and now a victory at Eurovision comes first. Then the album will be released. Or maybe even sooner. Who knows?
KW:How does the career of a professional singer influence one’s personal life: does it interfere, help, or diversify it?
TK: None of the above. At the moment, my whole personal life is the career of a singer.
KW:Who conquered the heart of one of the most beautiful singers in Ukraine?
TK: So far, nobody. Though, I work too much. Maybe I just did not notice the one (laughing).
KW:What is your favorite place on Earth?
TK: Ukraine! That is for sure. Of course, I like many cities and countries, but our country is my favorite. These are not just sublime words. This is a truthful confession.
KW:What book do you like to read over and over?
TK: I like American author Kurt Vonnegut, Russian satirists of the beginning of the last century Ilya Ilf and Yevgeniy Petrov, British writer Robert Sheckley, and Ukrainian poetess of the 19th century Lesya Ukrainka. Sometimes I feel like re-reading Fyodor Dostoyevsky.
KW:What kind of music do you listen to when you are feeling cheerful?
TK: Cheerful!
KW:How much money do you need to feel completely happy?
TK: I don’t need a lot of money to feel happy. Even if a person has loads of money, this does mean that they will be happy.
By Olena Lytvynenko
Background
Tina Karol (real name Tetyana Lieberman) was born on January 25, 1985 in the Magadan Oblast, Siberia, Russia to a Ukrainian family.
Her parents are engineers. In 1992, the family moved back to Ukraine to their native town, Ivano-Frankivsk.
There she entered musical school and studied piano and after she graduated she went to study at the Glier Kyiv State Higher Music College in the Stage Vocals Department.
Currently, Karol is studying at the State Aviation University in Kyiv.
She also plays on stage and stars in movies. Karol has played the main character in Equator, a musical by the Ukrainian composer Oleksandr Zlotnyk and also in the musical Assol.
She has a role in and performed all songs for the recently released film Tango of Love by Roman Voityuk.
In 2004, she participated in the semi-final of the national selection for Eurovision and in 2006 was announced a winner.
Achievements
1997 - Young Stars of Prykarpattya – 1st Prize.1998 Your talents, Ukraine – 1st Prize.
2000 - Performed in 17 concerts for charity in the USA: New York, Philadelphia, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, and Milwaukee.
2003 - Singer in the Ensemble of Song and Dance of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
2005 - Second prize at the New Wave International Contest in Jurmala, Latvia.
2006 – International Music Award Zolota Sharmanka.
