The band Via Gra (Via Gra) is a Ukrainian collective that appeared in the early 2000s. Its success could not be repeated by any female band created afterwards. For many years, the group remains at the peak of popularity, despite the changing composition and the emergence of new projects. In her discography - songs in the genre of pop, which became hits. The change of soloists gave the beginning of a new history, which lasted almost 20 years.
Creation of the group: history and the first members
The idea is based on the world-famous British pop collective Spice Girls. Inspired by their success, businessman Dmitry Kostyuk offered composer and producer Konstantin Meladze to realize his own project. So began the story of the creation of the group "Via Gra".
The first approved participant was Alena Vinnitskaya. Two more performers, Julia Miroshnichenko and Marina Kashchin were invited to work, but the result did not impress the creators, and they continued the search for stars.
In Zhitomir, Konstantin Meladze's brother Valery met Nadia Granovskaya. He recommended the producer to the artist. Nadia was approved for participation in the project immediately. Initially, the creators wanted to make a trio, but so far they decided to stop at a duet. The history of the group's development began in such a composition.
Debut and first steps to success
In 2000, the song "Attempt No. 5" premiered. It was played on the radio, occupied the first lines of hit parades and today remains the "business card" of "Via Gry". The composition won a number of prestigious awards ("Golden Gramophone", "Stopudovy Hit", etc.). Soon the video of the same name was filmed, which was also honored with an award. The video became the starting point on the way to fame.
During the first year of existence, 7 compositions were recorded. And at the end of December the band gave the first concert in Dnepropetrovsk. It gathered 4000 spectators. The group actively participated in concerts and awards, starred in the New Year musical "Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka" with other show business stars. In the same period, another composition was released, which became a hit, "I will not return". Video clips were shot for it, as well as for the songs "Bomba" and "Hold Me".
The following year the band signed a contract with the British recording studio Sony Music Entertainment. When the collective was at the peak of fame, the first major changes occurred in the composition. Nadezhda Granovskaya found out about her pregnancy, and she had to leave the project. Producers invited Anna Sedokova and Tatiana Nainik. The four girls worked on the song "Stop! Stop! Stop!". Like the past clips, the video made a furor.
Six months later, Granovskaya recovered after the birth of the baby and returned to the team. For a while the girls worked as a foursome. But soon Nainik left to build a solo career. And the collective continued its development in the trio format.
Further activity
In 2003, the first member of the group, Alena Vinnitskaya, decided to leave "Via Gru". Her place was taken by Vera Brezhneva, not yet known to anyone, who won the casting results. In spring a new album "Stop! Cut!" was released. It sold out more than 500 thousand copies. Fix on the Olympus of fame helped the composition "Do not leave me, my love!". The music video with the song "Kill My Friend" appeared on the screens. Thanks to it the band became famous abroad, where it became known as Nu Virgos.
The English-language album Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop! was released in Europe, and the trio went on tour to the Eastern countries. The tour was successful and brought the band popularity outside Europe. The fourth "golden" lineup was the most productive. They released the album "Biology", recorded the songs "Ocean and Three Rivers" and "Attraction No More" with Valery Meladze, shot clips for them, made the band famous almost all over the continent.
In 2004, Anna Sedokova had to choose: personal life or career. And she decided to leave the project. Producers were urgently looking for a replacement soloist. This place went to Svetlana Loboda. Despite the attractiveness and unusual, beautiful voice, the new participant was negatively accepted by fans. The girl worked for about 4 months, after which she left the project. Her place was taken by Albina Dzhanabaeva. Together they filmed a video for the song "The world, about which, I did not know before you". But after it began a creative crisis, which reached its climax when Granovskaya and Brezhneva announced their desire to leave the project.
Further the composition was constantly changing. New participants came to the project:
- Olga Koryagina;
- Eva Bushmina;
- Kristina Kots-Gotlib;
- Meseda Bagaudinova;
- Tatiana Kotova.
In 2008 the album "Emancipation" with the hit of the same name was released. It began to gain momentum again, shone at awards and music charts. Soon Nadezhda Granovskaya, who was beloved by the public, returned to the group, but did not work for long. In 2011 she left the project again due to pregnancy. For three years the group was nominated for the "Disappointment of the Year" award. In 2012 it received it. The producer talked about his intentions to close the project, but it remained afloat. At the time of the celebration of the decade, the project changed 13 compositions. All present and ex-participants gathered on one stage in honor of the anniversary.
Show "Want in "Via Gru" and the new composition
In 2013, the project came to the TV screens. It was aimed at finding new performers. One of the hosts of the program was Vera Brezhneva. And the other ex-participants of the project shared the secrets of performances and success. According to the results of the show, the new soloists of the group were: Anastasia Kozhevnikova, Masha Romanova, Erika Herceg. In such a composition, the collective released 1 album and 10 singles. Hits of this period:
- "Truce";
- "I've got another one."
The group traveled with concerts in Russia, Ukraine, Europe. In 2018, Maria Romanova decided to devote herself to her family and left the project. In her place came a little-known performer Olga Meganskaya. The debut concert of the new composition of the group gave in 2018 in Georgia. A few months later, Nastya Kozhevnikova left the project. Her place in "Via Gre" was taken by singer Ulyana Sinetskaya.
In the catalog of artists on the website kontramarka.de you can follow new events in the work of the group, biographies of outstanding personalities and the history of their formation on the stage.
Discography:
2001 - "Attempt No. 5"
2003 - "Stop! Cut!"
2003 - "Stop! Stop! Stop!"
2003 - "Biology"
2007 - "L.M.L."
Song collections:
2005 - "Diamonds"
2006 - "MP3 Collection"
2007 - "Kisses"
2008 - "Emancipation"
2008 - "Best Songs"
2014 - "MP3 Music Collection"
2015 - "All the Best in One"
