POLINA

Russian-born vocalist and composer Polina, now based in Los Angeles, has written successful material for numerous performers while supplying guest vocals on dance productions from many leading producers. Her songwriting appears on tracks by Sean Kingston and Eminem, and her voice features on Felix Jaehn’s 2015 single “Book of Love,” which reached number one on the German airplay charts. Additional credits include recordings with Tiësto, David Morales, Steve Aoki, and others. Recording dramatic electro-pop as Contessa and dance-pop under her own name, she has issued several Russian-language tracks plus English songs such as 2021’s “Faena” and 2023’s “Crave.”

Polina Goudieva entered the world in Moscow, daughter of pop singer Anka and abstract artist Ruslan Gudiev. She studied piano as a child, collecting Russian honors before earning a scholarship to Berklee College of Music at sixteen. During the 1990s electronic music drew her in, leading her to explore that realm more deeply. Her first guest appearance arrived on the Scumfrog’s 2009 track “Escape,” while her own debut single, “Shotguns,” surfaced the same year. In 2010 she joined the writing team—alongside Stargate and Sandy Vee—that shaped Sean Kingston’s “Party All Night (Sleep All Day),” a U.K. R&B Singles chart-topper later certified silver.

She placed material on Ultra Records alongside David Morales and later teamed with Felix Cartal on “Don’t Turn On the Lights,” Tiësto on “Tornado,” Kaskade on both “Human Reactor” and “To the Skies,” Steve Aoki on “Come with Me,” and, most notably, Eminem on “Legacy” from the Grammy-winning Marshall Mathers LP 2. Her own 2014 single “Fade to Love” became a hit and earned gold status in Italy. In 2015 she joined Felix Jaehn again for “Book of Love,” which went gold in Germany after topping the airplay charts. Further solo releases include 2016’s “Little Babylon,” while guest spots continued with Paper Diamond, Moguai, and Matrix & Futurebound. Under the Contessa name she issued electro-pop ballads such as “Oxygen” and “Immortals.” Beginning in 2018 she started releasing Russian-language singles, among them a duet with pop star Dima Bilan and the 2020 track “JANGA,” whose video drew heavy streams. “Faena” appeared in 2021, followed by a Latin version featuring Colombian artist Llane in February 2022. That same year she recorded “Keep Holding On” for the Arknights mobile-game soundtrack, and in 2023 she wrote and released “Crave” for Crave Theater Moscow.