January 28 on the 1 + 1 channel will premiere the eighth season of the large-scale vocal project Voice of the Krai, whose star coaches were Sergei Babkin, Jamala, Potap, Tina Karol, leading - Yuri Gorbunov and Katya Osadchaya.

One of the participants of the "blind auditions" of the new season was the Olympic champion in freestyle wrestling Irina Merleni. Irina said that she always dreamed of becoming a singer, and Voice-8 will be the first step towards the realization of the old dream of an athlete.

"For me," Voice of the Kraini "is no less exciting competition than the Olympic Games, and the opportunity to express themselves in a new role. Many fans who cheered for me at the Olympic Games in Athens, do not even realize that I really love to sing. As a child, I regularly attended a music school - I played the violin. But my mother said: "You play not on the violin, but on your nerves". It so happened that apart from music, I liked doing gymnastics and playing chess. But when I turned 15, my father said that you need to make a choice and do one thing seriously. I decided that it would be a free fight, "- said the athlete.

Irina Merleni also admitted that she wants to start a new stage of her life, in which she sees herself on the stage:.

"I was always very worried at the competitions. The only thing that helped me to distract myself was music. I remember that none of the athletes wanted to live with me in the room, because I always sang something, especially the songs from the repertoire of Whitney Houston.

Now is the time when I can show myself as a creative person. This year I even entered Khmelnitsky Humanities and Pedagogical Academy at the vocal department of the Faculty of Musical Arts. And the Voice of the Krai is a decisive step towards the implementation of my old dreams. ".

Will the Olympic champion deploy the red chairs of star coaches, viewers will soon find out.

See the show Voice-8 from January 28 on the channel 1 + 1 and after the air on our website TV. UA.