Ani Lorak

AniLorak (real name - Karolina Myroslavovna Kuyek; born. September 27, 1978, Kitsman, Ukrainian SSR) is a Ukrainian singer, People's Artist of Ukraine. Represented Ukraine at the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 in Belgrade, where she took second place with the song "Shady Lady".

Childhood

Carolyn's parents divorced before she was born, and for some time she was raised in an orphanage. Karolina had three brothers, but her older brother Sergei Linkov died in Afghanistan in 1987.

Career

Karolina started singing since she was a child. The first significant success for the 14-year-old singer came at the first Chernivtsi festival "Pervotsvet-92". She became known as Ani Lorak in March 1995.

Her repertoire includes more than 10 albums and over 100 songs in Ukrainian, Russian and English. Her main musical directions are soul, funk, pop-rock and pop. She played leading roles in musicals and TV musicals: "Gypsies", "Take the overcoat", "Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka" (Oksana), "Crazy Day or The Marriage of Figaro" (Fanchetta) and so on.

At present, the singer lives and works in Russia, sometimes visiting her homeland for filming.

The best known songs: "Tell me", "Three Words", "At First Sight", "Dream about Me", "My Dream", "Slowly", "Crazy", etc.

The Family

From 1996 to 2006, for 10 years, Ani Lorak lived in a de facto marriage with her producer Yuri Falyosa.

In 2009, she married Murat Nalcajiola, whom she met on vacation in Antalya in the summer of 2003. In 2004, he moved to her in Ukraine, and two years later he proposed marriage. In 2011, she gave birth to a daughter, Sofia.

Civic position

During the Russian-Ukrainian war since 2014, she did not interrupt ties with Russian show business, for which she was repeatedly criticized in Ukraine.

After Russia's annexation of Crimea, Ani Lorak planned for July and August 2014 performances on the peninsula, which caused public outrage in Ukraine. As a result, the singer cancelled the planned concerts.

At the end of 2014, activists tried to disrupt Ani Lorak's concert in Odessa. The singer cancelled her performance in 2015 in that city, but held them in Kiev.

Ani Lorak's appearance on the Inter TV channel in the New Year's programs from December 31, 2014 to January 1, 2015 caused massive outrage in social networks and the blogosphere; subsequently, a large number of Ukrainian officials of the highest level, politicians and public figures made statements about it.

Also, Ani Lorak participates in TV New Year's Eve shows of Russian propaganda channels.

In July 2016, she performed at a concert dedicated to the 320th anniversary of the Russian Navy.