Anastasia Prikhodko

3.1. Breakthrough and Fabrika Zvyozd

Prikhodko achieved her first major mainstream success in 2007 when she participated in the seventh season of the Russian music competition Fabrika Zvyozd, which is an international adaptation of the Spanish program Operación Triunfo. She consistently advanced through the competition, ultimately being declared the winner of her season. During her time on Fabrika Zvyozd, Prikhodko also faced an early controversy regarding remarks she made. (For more details, see the "Early Controversy: Racism Allegations" section.) Following her victory in the competition, she signed a contract with Ukrainian music producer Konstantin Meladze, who was a frequent guest on the show. Despite her success, Prikhodko later stated that she did not enjoy the experience of being on reality television and that her only friend during the entire process was a member of the production crew. In 2007, she released several singles, though none achieved significant mainstream attention at the time.

3.2. Eurovision Participation

Prikhodko's involvement in the Eurovision Song Contest was marked by several notable events and controversies. In January 2009, she entered the Ukrainian national final for Eurovision 2009. The Ukrainian selection process underwent frequent changes and was ultimately structured into a non-televised 30-song semi-final and a televised 15-song final. Prikhodko participated in the non-televised semi-final on 8 February 2009, with the song "Za tebe znov". However, she did not qualify for the final.

In response, Prikhodko criticized the Ukrainian broadcaster UA:PBC for a lack of transparency in the selection of finalists, questioning their integrity. It was later revealed that she had not performed "Za tebe znov" during the semi-final, but instead the non-competing song "Vsyo dlya tebya," which led to her disqualification. Prikhodko and her management maintained that they believed the semi-final was solely a showcase of vocal abilities and that performing the potential Eurovision entry was not a requirement. She subsequently filed a formal complaint against the broadcaster, which was supported by Meladze and prominent Ukrainian singers such as Sofia Rotaru, Mykola Mozhovyy, and Tina Karol. As a result, a Kyiv court postponed the televised final and eventually ruled in Prikhodko's favor, though she ultimately allowed the final to proceed.

Following this controversy in Ukraine, Prikhodko applied for the Russian national final. Her inclusion as a 16th competitor, when 15 had already been decided, was met with controversy. On 7 March 2009, she performed her song "Mamo", a bilingual entry sung in both the Ukrainian and Russian languages. She won the competition, securing both the public and jury votes. Her victory sparked allegations of vote rigging among jury members and complaints about a Ukrainian-language song representing Russia in an international competition. Despite these concerns, Prikhodko remained the Russian representative for the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 in Moscow. She became the second non-Russian to represent Russia in the contest, following Natalia Podolskaya of Belarus in 2005. As the host nation, Russia automatically qualified for the final, held on 16 May 2009. Prikhodko's performance included a visual effect where a video of herself digitally aged from 20 to 70 years old in the background. She finished in eleventh place, receiving a total of 91 points. "Mamo" remains Prikhodko's most successful single to date.

After Eurovision, Prikhodko ended her professional collaboration with Konstantin Meladze in 2010. She then began working with producer Igor Goncharenko in May of that year and also collaborated with her elder brother, Nazar. Later in 2010, she once again sought to represent Ukraine in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 with her entry "Action," a techno song performed in English, marking a significant departure from her characteristic folk rock style. She qualified from the fourth heat on 14 November 2010 as one of the three jury qualifiers and advanced from the second semi-final on 12 December 2010. In the final on 26 February 2011, she placed eighth. Her debut studio album, Zazhdalas, was released the following year.

3.3. Later Music Activities and Retirement

Beginning in 2014, Anastasia Prikhodko notably shifted her focus, adopting a staunch pro-Ukrainian stance and eventually announcing her retirement from music to pursue politics in 2018. (For more details on her political activism and the controversies arising from this stance, see the "Political Activism and Reactions" section.) In 2016, she was announced as a competitor in the Ukrainian national final for the Eurovision Song Contest 2016, which was the inaugural edition of the Vidbir competition. She competed in the first semi-final on 6 February 2016 with the song "I Am Free Now," but she placed seventh and did not qualify for the final. Later that year, her second studio album, Ya vilna, was released. On 16 October 2018, Prikhodko made a public announcement via her Facebook account, stating her decision to end her musical career to pursue a future in politics.

3.4. Musical Style and Artistry

Anastasia Prikhodko is recognized for her deep contralto vocal range, which lends a distinctive quality to her performances. Her musical style is largely influenced by her training as a folk vocalist, resulting in a repertoire that often features songs in a minor key, drawing inspiration from genres such as folk rock and pop music.

Initially, many of her songs were performed in the Russian language. However, over time, she increasingly incorporated the Ukrainian language into her music, a shift that culminated in her declaration in 2015 that she would no longer perform in Russian. She has also performed songs in English. Prikhodko engages in songwriting for some of her music, but she frequently collaborates with other songwriters and producers. She is proficient in playing several musical instruments, including the flute, guitar, and piano, with the piano being her stated favorite instrument. She is known to pay close attention to critical feedback regarding her work, often striving to incorporate critiques and improve her artistry based on external observations.

6.1. Early Controversy: Racism Allegations

During her participation in the 2007 season of Fabrika Zvyozd, Prikhodko became embroiled in an early controversy when she was recorded on film stating that she disliked Chinese people and black people. These comments quickly led to widespread accusations of racism. In response to the backlash, Prikhodko issued an immediate apology for her remarks.

6.2. Political Activism and Reactions

Her strong pro-Ukrainian political stance, particularly from 2014 onwards, generated considerable public and media reactions, especially from Russia. Prikhodko's vocal support for Ukrainian sovereignty, her performances at Maidan Nezalezhnosti advocating for European integration of Ukraine, and her participation in tours supporting Ukrainian forces during the War in Donbas positioned her as a prominent figure in Ukraine's national movement.

Her public statements, such as describing Russians as "puppets," "narrow-minded," and "deaf," and her firm vow to never perform in Russia again, drew sharp criticism from Russian media. Notably, she became the subject of a smear campaign on the Russian television channel NTV in a program titled 17 Friends of the Junta, which targeted critics of Russia's actions in Ukraine. The program depicted her as an anti-Russian rebel and featured an interview with her estranged paternal grandmother, who publicly expressed shame over Prikhodko's actions. Russian singer Joseph Kobzon also weighed in, calling her 2009 Eurovision performance disgraceful and referring to her as a "street girl who swears like a prostitute." Prikhodko publicly denounced the program, dismissing it as "laughable."

Her decision in 2015 to prioritize the Ukrainian language in her music and cease performing in Russian also impacted her career significantly. She stated that this choice resulted in a loss of popularity, particularly within the music industry of most post-Soviet states where the Russian language is dominant. Furthermore, her refusal to perform concerts in Russia, which had previously been a major source of her income, imposed a considerable financial burden on her.

7.1. Albums