Pop divas deal with dinosaurs and aliens on their way to success: ANI LORAK (01/20/02)

Pop divas deal with dinosaurs and aliens on their way to success

ANI LORAK

by Roman Woronowycz
Kyiv Press Bureau

Born in the same building as the legendary Ukrainian composer Volodymyr Ivasiuk, with a powerful voice that has some of the quality of a Whitney Houston and the attractive looks of a young Elizabeth Taylor with a dollop of Grace Kelly thrown in, Ukrainian pop diva Ani Lorak seems to have what it takes not only to rule the perch of the Ukrainian music scene, but to become a multimedia international star, as well. And that's what she is bent on doing.

"When I have [beome] world renown and tour internationally; when I have an Oscar in my pocket, as well as a large Swiss bank account, then I will have succeeded," explained Ms. Lorak during an interview with The Weekly.

There is not only the dream, but plans to make it all happen. Ani already moves among those who realized similar dreams long ago. While recording in London in July she met Mick Jagger, legendary singer of the equally legendary rock'n roll band The Rolling Stones, who used their meeting to gather publicity for himself and his recently released solo album by telling the London tabloid, the Daily Mirror, after their meeting that he had spent an evening with a Ukrainian singer.

Ms. Lorak said she was enchanted by Jagger, the 56-year-old charismatic front man for one of the seminal bands of British rock'n roll, known as much for his philandering ways as for his musical talents. It seems, however, that the magic of the Mick wasn't sufficient to affect the result the Rolling Stone may have wanted with Ms. Lorak, who refused his offer of dinner. She explained that he seemed a tad too old for her.

For that matter, the unassuming 23-year-old, who projects a child-like innocence and a smile that comes with a sparkle in her eye, has too much in her future to get bogged down with a musical dinosaur. She has a new album, "Where You Are" and a new music video (nowadays you can't have one without the other) and has just returned from a Ukrainian music festival in England. She says her next project is an album of Ukrainian songs.

"I have a desire to show that an album of traditional Ukrainian songs can be contemporary, that it can be modern, youthful, European and attractive," explained Ani, whose real name is Karolina Kuyek.

She would not be the first singer from the Bukovyna region of Ukraine to rise to the top of her craft. She walks in the footsteps of several renowned Ukrainian contemporary pop stars who grew up in the region, including Sofia Rotaru (who spends more time in Moscow than in Kyiv these days) and Ivo Bobul.

Ms. Lorak was born in the same apartment building as Volodymyr Ivasiuk, perhaps the first, and undoubtedly the most outstanding composer of contemporary Ukrainian pop music. And that is not her only connection to the renowned composer.

When she was a baby, Ani's grandmother put her in the same bassinet that the infant Ivasiuk rested in. Ms. Lorak said she did not know that the building was the home of Ivasiuk until she was 12 or so, at a time when she was already committed to music. She had made the decision to pursue singing as a career at the tender age of four she explained.

"When I was still a kid, I decided I wanted to sing, and not just to become popular, but to conquer the world," explained the young star.

She won her first formal competition in 1992 at the age of 14, at which time she also met her producer, Yurii Falosa. Soon after, she signed a professional contract and was on her way.

The professional name Ani Lorak popped up in 1995, during one of Karolina's first appearances on Moscow television.

"We were told that there would be another singer named Karolina on the show," explained Ani, "and that I should use another name. Yurii and I went through all kinds of variations and then hit on the fact that Karolina spelled backwards is Ani Lorak!"

The name does not really matter, for it is the voice - so gentle when she speaks yet so powerful in song - along with the look that give her a combination claimed by the best pop divas in the business, the Chers, the Whitney Houstons and the Mariah Careys.

And while Ani acknowledges that Ivasiuk and her fellow "Bukovyntsi" left their mark on her, it is Whitney Houston whom she calls her major musical influence. Ironically or not, their voices are very similar in timbre and strength. Nonetheless, Ani's taste was not limited to America's top princess of pop when she was growing up, but extended to the full range of female songstresses of the late 1980s and early 1990s, including Cher, Mariah Carey and Gloria Estefan.

"When I was a kid I would listen to that music and I just loved it," she noted.

She explained that today she continues to listen to her teen heroes. Her latest hit, "Poludneva Speka" (Southern Heat), with its sizzling Cuban beat, shows the deep influence of the sound of Estefan.

As for Ani's future plans, she would like to record more often in London, a town she said she loves, although she indicated she would rather not live there. After that it's on to conquering the European continent, then North America and Hollywood and the silver screen followed by the world, of course. With that done, the Swiss bank account should take care of itself.

Website: Ani Lorak: www.anilorak.com.

Next week: Read about Ukraine's premiere hard rock acts, Vopli Vodopliasova (V.V.) and Okean Elzy.

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