Valeria

Valeria ranks among the leading figures in Russian pop. Early in her trajectory she focused on adult-oriented material before shifting toward brighter pop and dance styles in subsequent phases of her work. Born Anna Perfilova on April 16, 1968, in Aktarsk, Saratov Region, she grew up in a family of musicians. After completing studies at the local music school she relocated to Moscow in 1985, enrolling in vocal training at the Gnesinykh Academy and receiving her diploma in 1990. In 1989 she encountered producer Alexander Shulgin, who became her husband. Their initial collaboration resulted in the English-language album The Taiga Symphony. Sessions for that project, begun in 1990, occurred across London, Munich, and Moscow and featured players drawn from Pink Floyd, Dire Straits, and Pet Shop Boys. The album appeared in 1992 throughout Russia and several European territories. Parallel to The Taiga Symphony, Valeria cut Russian romance material for the album Pobud So Mnoy ("Be with Me"), presenting updated versions of classic romances; a matching video collection followed soon afterward. Late in 1993 Russian Journalist's Soyuz, the independent journalists’ organization, named her “Woman of the Year.”

The 1995 album Anna drew inspiration from the birth of her daughter that same year and adopted a more overtly pop direction than the preceding releases. “Samolet” (“Airplane”) and “Moskva Slezam Ne Verit” (“Moscow Doesn’t Believe in Tears”) both reached the top of the Russian charts. Her subsequent major release, the 1997 album Familia, Pt. 1 (“Family, Pt. 1”), struck Valeria herself as more personal and intimate, built around a melodic yet forceful guitar-based sound. The 1999 compilation Samoe Luchsheye (“Very Best”) introduced the new track “Ty Gdet-to Tam” (“You’re Somewhere There”), which gained traction through its streamlined pop-dance arrangement. That same lighter pop texture characterized the maxi-singles “Metelitsa” (“Snowstorm”) and “Riga -- Moskva” (“Riga -- Moscow”), issued in advance of the summer 2000 album Perviy Internet Albom (“The First Internet Album”).

Following a tour supporting Perviy Internet Albom, Valeria began preparing Glaza Tsveta Neba (“Sky-Color Eyes”). After concluding both professional and personal ties with Alexander Shulgin, she entered a new agreement with producer Iosif Prigozhin, who later became her husband. Their debut joint project, the 2003 album Strana Lyubvi (“Country of Love”), surpassed previous CD sales benchmarks. In 2006 Valeria published the autobiography I Zhizn, I Slezy, I Lyubov (“Life, Tears, Love”), which achieved best-seller status, as did the accompanying album Nezhnost Moya (“My Tender”), another collection of straightforward pop songs. The following year she turned toward the European market. Working with international producers Ray St. John, David Richards, and Chantal Kreviazuk, she issued her second English-language album, Out of Control, in March 2008, which met with modest success.