Is Jenya Otradnaya a cinderella of the rock-and-pop music?

She sings:”Go away and close the door!”, but she dreams about rock…

“Go away and close the door, I have another one now!”- this phrase falls into your head in a moment so deep, that you can’t but think about it all day long. Because of it, perhaps. The song is perceived as an intrusive pop music. I confess, that I had this very thought, when I went to interview Jenya Otradnaya, whose voice smote all the country. “I don’t need your number in my notebook!” I come into the studio and see a repetition of rock group. Drummer taps, guitarists tear the strings with a sense, and Jenya sings in front of them. Maybe it’s too early to take her as a pop singer?

— How could such a girl escape from Krasnotyrynsk? You are not paid for, because your father is not an oligarch.

— I sang and went to the concerts during all my childhood. The director of the show- group “Pharaohs” from our children concert hall saw me in the kindergarden on a concert and took me into his group. And I had classes there until I left this town. That work period was very reach in competitions, festivals, where I went as a part of our group and as a soloist, and as a guest. I went abroad, in regions, to “Morning Star”, «On Cinderella’s ball» and “Vocation” in Moscow. I remember, I ran there with a little notebook and took Allegrova, Bylanova, Rotary, Leshenko, Kyzmin’s autographs! Where else could I see such “monsters»? It gave me forces and I worked- it was practically a professional singing work, which took all free time. That’s why I skipped many children walks in the yards. It was very difficult and I often caught a cold because of this stress.

— And what about studying? Did you study badly?

— I had to pass everything in triple volume: not everybody of my teachers liked me to practice singing. It goes without saying, that I went to the concert tours with books. The first rate of music college was extremely perfect! I worked with children- I studied vocals with the little ones, and in parallel I should have studied myself: harmonyca, solfedgio were the rocket science for me that time! And except this work I had time to work in a town TV- studio:I led the program “With best wishes”. I congratulated everybody with anniversaries, read verses and letters. During the dinner break I managed to run to the studio, to record some programs and come back- and everything in a hour!

— And how did Moscow appear in your colorful and saturated life?

— In 18 years old I decided that it is the high time to leave the town- since the youth I had raved Moscow. But to put it mildly, Moscow is a very expensive city. Nowadays I work, I am rented a flat. But that time my boyfriend and I left for Taganrog. Just thought: let’s run away! It is just similar to the first head song of my album:”Let’s run away from this town without a cause and a reason”. My mood was like I have now. Spring! We decided: the southern city, sea, the Sun- it’s funny and nice!There were many restaurants as usual, so…where else do I work? And in no time I found work for myself. I studied during a day, and worked at night. These two years I lived, waiting for any project. I saw “The Stars’ Factory”, “People’s Artist” and there were many of my friends in these projects, who I met on the children contests and tours. Some time later I saw an advertising on TV and went to casting in Samara, and I was called to Moscow therefrom.

— How do the producers react to you?

— They still remember and laugh! I was in a jacket with suspenders, my hair was dirty of course – I spent two days riding in the car – the head was tightened with a khaki bandana, there was a bullet with a string on my neck, a sweater was tied at the hips. Militantly I come in – and began to sing: “Oh, Mom, I was skating on a sledge exactly with not needed person! ..” I didn’t expect that I will be taken into the contest, and then – bam! It was all of a sudden, and I got to the final! I was shocked, because I do not have a father-millionaire who the director of some plant is. He is just a worker at the same factory. I do not have a boyfriend with “Ferrari”. I paid money for nothing.

— How did you go through the time of your loss? After all, you got the second place.

— After that moment when you were shown the spotlight, you’re in a beautiful dress, sing every week, you have master classes with Babkina and Tsiskaridze … You need go to Taganrog, work in a restaurant. And you’re sitting in a hotel room, pack your bags. Depression … But suddenly I was called and someone said me:”We have decided to invite you to thew show “Saturday Night”. And come to sign a contract.

— And recently you took part in “Eurovision” as a professional competitor, in a qualifying round…

— Here I got the third place. I don’t know how I survived through the concert because I sang first, and the results were announced only in the end. And I had sat for two hours all on pins and needles – because so many people had put their powers in my action! They sang both in English, Spanish, and Russian the song “What for love is.” And Dima Bilan won. I grieved a little, but then calmed down, because nobody forbids me to expose my candidacy next year again.

— That boy, with whom you ran away from Krasnotyryinsk, did he stay in Taganrog?

— No, he moved here, got his job in “Ostankino”, we just parted then. It goes without saying, first months after “The secret of success” I stayed at home, I just didn’t know what to do. But then appeared new songs. The first one was “Very, very” with the Russian color, which got a video-clip, where I am in hay. It Is very simple, but due to it people remembered my face. And then there was “Go away and close the door”, I sang it and everything managed!

— Yes, the song is a hit. And there is a very powerful story in the video, when a crowd of girls and boys snapped at each other and it seems that they will fight now, but they start kissing.

— I didn’t know until the end that everybody will kiss – I found it out only in the set. And it was not even known exactly whether or no I will kiss, but everything was done without it.

— And aren’t you confused by the fact, that the song is too pop, as Laskovyi May has?

— We sing for the stage, it”s so popular, it is remembered as a ditty. However, it is a banter, because in fact it is necessary to treat it with humor. The main thing is that this song is all understandable, because who didn’t have any problems with girls and guys? It has some funny aggressiveness.

— You released the album “Let’s run away” – there is collected a variety of songs. And “Go away” – it is not a good example of your creativity.

— The record has the songs of different genres. There are both “romance”, which was written by Nadejda Novosadovich. There are both “Serge” – a stupid song truly, but at the same time very sweet. I don’t think, that if I am a singer, I should be definitely like Christina Aguilera, to play roulades. I would like to be positioned just as an artist – it’s a wide range, multi-faceted. I love the songs in “play” genre, there is no need to push everyone with the help of your voice power. And the most important thing is – the texts by themselves. I grew up on Russian rock. I like “DDT” very much – I mean Shevchuk’s texts. I am delighted with our stage of the beginning of the century, with Vertinsky. It seems to me we don’t need to go far from it.

— And you sing pop songs for teenagers…

— Mmm…Why not? It is pop-rock, at least in live performances. Nowadays to come into radio and TV, you need to make songs easy. So I have to make concessions and do more pop than rock. But I tend to rock. I think you can safely grow from pop into rock. It is worse, when people suddenly fall from rock into pop. I want the girls listen to my songs, because they are all good, not sexual. Now my fans are small, but they also grow up! Let’s grow together – why not? The songs which I sing – it’s not a soulless pop songs. Although I don’t like to scold anyone. The only thing I cannot stand – is the promotion of music.

— Sexual?

— Debauchery. Videos and songs of a certain contents. Everything of this type affects the girls very much, they think it is OK to wear mini-skirts, paint the lipstick, and then something happens in the gateways… I do not want to chase the children out. All the girls want romance, they rush anywhere without thinking! Go to a nearby town, to hang out there. I am for positive, for optimism. You just stay kind and don’t quarrel with each other. That’s my thoughts.

— Because of your love to rock and pop music you decided to release the second version of your debut album, and you work with it now? Will you make it “heavy”?

— While we were working with the album, each song has been made in several arrangements. As a result, I like this disk very much, of course, but there are just brilliant variants in aside, as I think. For example, the song “Romance” was made with a guitar and string quartet – and it is absolutely magical! And now the producers have made some concessions to me and let me publish the author’s version of the album, which I will constitute by myself.

Alla Jidkova,
09.06.2008

http://www.mk.ru/culture/cinema/article/2008/06/09/36886-zhenya-otradnaya-zolushka-rokapopsa.html