Valery Meladze
Valeriy Shotayevich Meladze is a Russian singer of Georgian descent and a Meritorious Artist of Russia. He is the brother of composer and producer Konstantin Meladze, who writes songs for him.
Biography
Early life
Valeriy Meladze was born on 23 June 1965 in Batumi in the family of Shota and Nelly Meladze, who were engineers. Valeriy has a brother, Konstantin, and a sister, Liana. He was an impatient and disobedient child, while his brother was very quiet. He went to music school and learned to play the piano. In school he did not study well. Since his parents, his grandmother and his grandfather were engineers, he decided to enter the Engineering Institute. Meladze entered the Nikolayev Shipbuilding Institute in Ukraine to study mechanical engineering of ship power plants. In 1985, Valeriy's brother started playing keyboard in the group "April". After some time, Valeriy started to sing in this group as a back-up vocalist, but this group broke up.First success
When he was studying in his third year he met his future wife Irina. They married in 1989.He lived in a dormitory and he lacked scholarships to feed his wife and daughter. During this year, his homemade album "April" reached the producer of the successful Soviet Union group Dialog. The producer liked Valeriy's voice. Valeriy began singing the group as the lead singer and Konstantin started to write songs for the group. In 1991, was released "Dialog"s album - "Poseredine Mira".
In 1993, the producer of the group died and the group had financial problems. Dialog lost popularity and in end of 1993 Meladze left the group. During The Moscow Tour, they met their future producer Evgeniy Friedland. Evgeniy helped to record the first of Valeriy's songs - "Ne Trevoz Mne Dushu Skripka". After the success of the song, Evgeniy asked Valeriy to change his last name from "Meladze" to "Lisov" or "Lisovskiy", because the translation of "mela" from Georgian to Russian is "lisa". However, he refused to change his name.
Many labels didn't want to work with Meladze, "because this music was not modern...long and not happy". But in 1995 their demo record was heard by Alla Pugacheva and she invited Valeriy to sing their song at "The Christmas Meeting" in Moscow. After success at "the meeting" Valeriy released his debut solo album "Sera" on the music label "Souz". Song "Sera" - one of the more successful of Valeriy's songs at that moment. Also songs "Poserеdine Leta" and "Noch' Pered Rozdestvom" had major success.
Сontinued career
In end of 1995 Valeriy won two awards, Ovatsii and Zvezdy in nomination "Debut Of Year" and "The Best Singer of Year". In October 1996 his second studio album Posledniy romantik was released.In early of 1997 was Valeriy gave 19 concerts in the biggest Russian cities. 7 and 8 March Valeriy sang in Olympiskiy, Moscow. In end of year was released first concert and video record album "Live Olympik Moscow".
In 1998, the brothers broke off their relationship with the producer Evgeniy Friendland and with label "Souz". But in January of that year, the third studio album Samba Belogo Motylka was released. After a dispute with a producer, Valeriy changed his public image, he start to wear only formal clothes and the songs became more cruel and aggressive.
In 1999 Konstantin moved to Kiev to work on the Ukrainian telechannel "Inter" and wrote fewer songs for his brother. Therefore, Valeriy released a greatest hits album "The Best". Many fans thought that Valery left show-business. However, at the end of 1999 the fourth studio album was released - "Vsyo Tak I Bylo" on a new label "Iseburg Mesic". Songs "Mechta", "Rossvetnaya" and "Krasivo" have topped the Russian charts. In the same year Meladze voiced cartoon "Neznajka Na Lune" and wrote a song with the same name.
Pause in career and collaboration with "Via Gra"
In 2000 brothers founded Russian-Ukrainian pop group "VIA Gra. At this time Valeriy took a pause in his career. But in 2004 was released songs in duet with "Via Gra" "Prityazeniya Bolshe Net" and "Okean I Tri Reki" . In the same year a greatest hits album Nastojashee was released. Fedor Bondarchuk filmed a video "Komediant", which was banned in Russia. On March 1, 2002 Valeriy acted in Kremlin and later that year performed 11 concerts on a US tour. The same year Meladze took part in a First Chanel project "10 songs of Moscow" and sung the song "Podmoskovnie Vechera".In 2003 he released his fifth album Nega, including the songs "C'est la vie", "Ya NE Mogu Bez Tebya" and "Oskolki Leta", which was a hit in the CIS. In early 2003 the album Sera was re-released, "Poslednij Romantik", "Samba Belogo Motilka" and "Vse tak i bilo". Also the album "Nega" was released. In 2004 Meladze won two awards "MUZ-TV" and "Russian Music Awards" as "The Best Vocalist", "The Best Song" and "The Best Duet". In 2005 Valery was "The Best Singer" again and also won an award as "The Best Duet" with "Okean I Tri Reki". He has released a compilation "Okean" for the tenth career. In 2006 Valery won award as "Singer Of Year" and became a meritorius artist of Russia. The Meladze brothers were the producers of "Fabrika Zvezd-7" in 2007. In end of 2008 Valery became People's artist of Chechnya and released a sixth studio album "Vopreki"
Awards
Meladze and Nu Virgos girl group were bestowed the title of the Best Duo of the Year at 2004 Russian Music Awards. On June 2, 2006 Meladze won the 4th Muz-TV Music Award as the Best Artist of the Year. On August 24 of the same year he was categorized as the Best Performer and the Best Artist at the MTV Russian Music Awards nominations. Valeriy is a meritorious artist of Russia and People's artist of Chechnya.Discography
Studio albums
Extended plays
| Chego ty hochezh ot menya! EP "What Do You Want From Me? EP"
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