Nikita Kiselev is a singer and songwriter whose popularity has grown rapidly in recent years. Recently, the artist blew up social networks with an emotional performance of Stepan Gigi’s hit “Vivtar” at an evening in memory of the singer in the capital’s Sports Palace. Soon Kiselev released a full-fledged version of the composition, which quickly gained more than a million views on YouTube. At the same time, archival videos of little Nikita unexpectedly went viral - it turned out that as a child he participated in the show “Ukraine’s Got Talent” and reached the finals.

– The video for the song “Vіvtar” had already received several hundred thousand views on YouTube at the time of our conversation. It's a good dynamic? How much do you follow the numbers at all – or do you try to stay more creative - No, I'm watching. The artist must understand what is happening with his music. We constantly analyze YouTube analytics, indicators on streaming platforms, see how people react, and what can be improved. If we compare with my previous works, only “Romantic” and “Elevator” – a duet with SKYLERR – had similar dynamics. " I have a feeling this video could reach 20 million views or more.. I really hope so.

– You support the work in an original way: these days you could be found both in the subway and on minibuses. This is part of a promotional campaign? – Just releasing a song is not enough. I'm interested in promoting my tracks in an unconventional way. I would like to come up with some kind of story. At different times I sang my songs to friends, mother, relatives and filmed their reactions. We did different formats. For example, while listening to the song “Snidanok,” I entered public transport with a small folding table, took strawberries and hot dogs with me, and had an impromptu breakfast right in the trolleybus. Treated people nearby, got to know each other, looked at emotions. And there was also a moment when we, together with SKYLERR, threw snowballs with passersby in a friendly manner - also as part of the content.

- It comes easy to you? How about getting on a bus or subway where you don’t know anyone and can’t predict people’s reactions?. Is this natural for you or do you have to overcome yourself – In fact, it’s much easier for me to work in the studio - it’s my comfort zone. But everything related to interaction with people is a challenge. Both the stage and spontaneous performances in transport are exciting. Before every exit I think: what if someone doesn’t like it, people will react negatively. But, thank God, I almost never encountered aggression or rejection. It’s interesting that during filming, many people get embarrassed: they sit on their phones, pretend that nothing is happening, because the camera, an unfamiliar guy suddenly starts singing. But after the shooting they applaud and come up. And for me this is also an experience. After such performances there is often a feeling similar to euphoria after a concert..

– How did the idea to cover Stepan Giga’s song come about When you were offered to perform at a concert in his memory in Kyiv, “Vіvtar” was chosen randomly or they wanted this particular composition? – No, it was a conscious choice. I wanted to take something strong, emotional, energetic. I have an original song “Black Eyebrows”, which is also inspired by the Carpathian atmosphere. Both “Vivtari” and “Black Eyebrows” contain many authentic words, very lively and beautiful. Today, the Ukrainian language sometimes sounds more literary, polished, but here there is a folk, emotional flavor that catches. But the version of “Vіvtar” that is heard now was not born immediately. There were several attempts - with different sound producers, arrangers. I didn’t like the first versions at all, they didn’t sound like what I felt inside. – After your performance at the Sports Palace, you immediately realized that “Vivtar” could become a separate story? - Yes, I felt it. Even while preparing for the concert, we planned to meet and communicate with Stepan Giga’s children – Kvitoslava and Stepan Jr.. But on the day of the performance it was unrealistic: many artists, crazy schedule. Meanwhile, after the concert, the incredible began. I posted fragments of the speech on social networks - and the videos began to go viral literally in a matter of hours. In the first days there were millions of views: one and a half, two, three million.

Almost every video went viral on the Internet, and people wrote and asked to release the full version of the song. Then negotiations began. We talked about how to arrange everything correctly so that it would be comfortable and interesting for all parties. And in the end we managed to agree. The issue was not about money. Both the children of Stepan Gigi and the label they collaborate with reacted well to this. We found a common solution on good terms for everyone. I didn't pay anything. This is, first of all, a tribute to the memory of Stepan Giga.

– Did you know that in parallel, FIЇNKA is also preparing its own version of “Vіvtar”? – No, I already found out about it from social networks – literally a few days before the release. What was the reaction? I like. Our versions are now being actively compared online. They write comments to both me and her, post videos with two versions. When she published the first fragments, I wrote to her that it was cool. She answered warmly. I think it's cool when one song gets a different sound. At FIЇNKA it came out differently – with a female interpretation. She changed the text a little, giving a different atmosphere to the composition. I saw on TikTok a fragment of the version made by Stepan Giga Jr. - in a more rock sound. It turned out great. – It seems that it was in the last few years that popularity came to you. You feel it not only in recognition, but also in everyday life - in financial terms, opportunities? – In fact, music has always been my job. I wrote songs for other artists for many years, remained behind the scenes. And after the start of the big war, I apparently had an internal reassessment. I spent the first month of the invasion under occupation, in Bucha, and this greatly changed my attitude towards life. I realized: you can’t constantly put off your dreams until later, because it may simply not happen later. Regarding the financial side, I think I definitely started earning more. But – and invest significantly more in creativity. People often don't realize how expensive this profession is.. Clips, crew, studio work, images - all this is expensive. Therefore, I can’t say that I live somehow luxuriously or radically differently.. I don’t have my own house or large apartment - I rent housing. I don’t even really like to count how much I earn, because almost everything is invested back into music. But at the same time I understand: I’m still a young artist.

– How do you remember that month under occupation now – On the morning of February 24 I woke up to endless calls and messages. I picked up my mom, my friends and I agreed to get together at our friend’s house - we thought it was better to stay together. This house was in Bucha. Then none of us imagined that war was about tanks on your street. We thought: we’ll go to the suburbs and then decide what to do. And it turned out that we found ourselves right in the epicenter of events.. There were about 15 of us - friends, parents, animals - we all ended up in this house together and stayed there for almost a month.

- How did you live Where did they get food and water It's hard to imagine how those days went. – We were very lucky with the family who sheltered. They have a large cellar - with homemade twists, vegetables, food supplies. Of course, no one thought about any comfort or prosperity - everyone shared it among themselves. We cooked large pots of porridge, soups, pasta, ate sparingly, little by little. We tried to keep ourselves occupied with something all the time, so as not to simply go crazy from stress. I organized something like a small sports team in the house - they did exercises to keep myself at least in some kind of tone. We read books, talked a lot in the evening, supported each other. In such conditions, it is important not to be alone with thoughts. Light, heat, gas - there was none of this. Warmed up thanks to the fireplace. They also cooked food there and collected firewood on the territory of the house..

We tried to hardly go out. Constantly sat in the house. The military did not come to us, but we saw them in neighboring yards. We watched through the window as they walked nearby. The shots almost never stopped. The nights were especially scary - loud explosions, shooting. There is an airfield nearby, so something was flying all the time. The sounds were absolutely creepy - you don’t even understand what exactly is flying or exploding, but you feel it physically. Windows in the house were blown out and the roof was damaged.. After we left, I learned that the occupants had finally come to the house. And, unfortunately, a tragedy occurred in the family that sheltered us - not everyone survived. - How did you manage to get out then – One day, an acquaintance of ours, who was with us, received a message from the City Council about the “green corridor”. We tried to leave, but failed. The occupiers placed a tank near the City Council and aimed it directly at columns of cars with civilians.. People sat in cars and did not understand what was next. Then they started walking between the cars and picking up phones.. I think they tried to hide everything that was happening in the city then. After all, there were already dead bodies on the streets, destroyed houses, fires. We saw everything that the world later saw in the footage from Bucha with our own eyes.. The city was literally in fire and blood. We managed not to give away our phones. And the very next day we decided to leave on our own.. We were traveling in a convoy of civilian vehicles.. There was shelling on the way, it was very scary. At the checkpoint, fortunately, the Russians let us through. And on the other side, closer to the Zhytomyr highway, the Ukrainian military and volunteers met. We understand that we were just lucky then.

– You mentioned your mother several times, and even in this story with Bucha. As far as I understand, she played an important role in your life and creative development. What does he do – Mom has her own business, runs a small women’s clothing store. Has her favorite brands, selects everything herself, brings it. I'm alone in the family. And in many ways, in the sense of my development, this is my mother’s merit. She didn't literally lead me by the hand, but she always guided me. Took me to a music school, supported the decision to enter a music university. But at the same time I never pressed.

I was fascinated by the process of making music very early on.. When I started writing my first songs, I wanted to have at least a minimal home studio. And this is a whole set of equipment: MIDI keyboard, studio microphone, special headphones, sound card for recording. Each such thing cost money back then.. And instead of some standard gifts for birthdays or holidays, he asked for something for music. And mom bought. Now I have different equipment, everything is updated. But if we talk about that first studio, I think overall it cost about 2-3 thousand dollars. For that time - a lot of money.

– How do you remember the “Ukraine Got Talent” project now – With great gratitude. Imagine: I’m 12 years old, and I suddenly find myself in a different reality.. Of course, for a child it was some kind of miracle. Getting there was my initiative. I was on my way to a music school and saw an advertisement for a casting for the new season on the minibus.. I went there, took the brochure, brought it home: “I want to go there.”. I've been independent since childhood. Mom worked a lot, so she got used to organizing herself and traveling around the city..

– Do you keep in touch with any of the participants or judges of the TV show – We are planning cooperation with Igor Kondratyuk. He helps a volunteer center where girls weave camouflage nets. I invited him to come and sing for them, but it didn’t work out twice. But I will definitely do it. We remember each other well. I remember one very warm moment on the project: Igor Kondratyuk walked into the dressing room with a karaoke system. It wasn't a gift from the show - he bought it personally. He said something like: “This is for you, I believe in you”. It was touching. We also communicated very well with Elena Kovtun, who then became the winner of the project.

– We recently did an interview with her. - I wonder how she's doing?

– I came across as a very strong and purposeful person. Despite all the visual difficulties, he plays music and performs. – We were very friends on the project. We spent a lot of time together - we lived in the same boarding house, rehearsed, learned songs. She showed her numbers, I showed mine. They suggested something to each other. Of course, over the years the connection was lost - after all, I was only 12 years old, she is an adult.

– I read that for some time you collaborated with Yuri Thalesa, the first producer and common-law husband of Ani Lorak. How did you two meet He was the one who found you? - No, everything happened the other way around. At that time I had already written songs and collected a small catalog. Thalesa's name was very big in show business. I emailed him several demo versions. And, to be honest, I didn’t even expect him to react so quickly. But almost immediately he invited me to the office. Then he had a new artist - Masha Kondratenko. We met, started working, and I wrote the first songs for Masha.

This is how our collaboration began. He constantly said that I should sing myself. We released several of my tracks. But over time I realized that I didn’t want to stay in this collaboration. Felt like I was wasting my time. The contract was very long - it seems like eight years. I came to him and honestly said: “I have this amount, I want to get out of the contract.”. Now I don’t even remember the exact figure - something in the range from three to seven thousand dollars, these were all my savings. And we must pay tribute - he reacted normally. I was able to take back the rights to all my songs and left.

– Afterwards we maintained relations with Thalesa? Where is he now? They wrote that he settled in Crimea, where his mother lived. – We never had close communication. We were in contact mainly through work - I communicated with both him and his son. After leaving the label, contacts virtually ceased. Could he sometimes write on some occasion to congratulate him on his birthday?. When the song “Romantic” came on, I wrote: “Well done, I’m watching you.”. I don't know where he is now. Like everyone else, I heard the story that a rocket hit his house in Kyiv. And then we didn’t communicate.

– You wrote songs for many artists, including very famous names, such as Svetlana Loboda. How expensive was your work – It was good money, but not some kind of cosmic money.. Then I was just starting. Nowadays, it seems to me that the prices for songs are much higher. When I wrote for Svetlana Loboda, I didn’t yet have a huge price list. And I probably can’t give specific numbers because of the agreement I signed. But these are not exorbitant amounts.

– Without names: which song was the most expensive? – It seems to me somewhere around 10 thousand dollars. And this was an exceptional case. I just really didn’t want to sell that song - I really liked it myself. But the person who wanted to buy it was ready to pay this money.

- And now? If today someone asks you for a song that you wouldn't want to give? – Now it’s already very expensive (laughs). I think I would only agree in exchange for a new Mercedes..

– Tell us about your collaboration with Tina Karol. How did the idea come about to translate her song “Pole of Attraction” into Ukrainian Did you coordinate this with her – In fact, everything happened spontaneously. I’m one of the arrogant ones: first I translated the song, recorded a fragment and posted it on the Internet - without any agreements. People started tagging Tina en masse in the comments: “look”, “listen”. And she wrote: " We actively worked on the track together for about a week or two. Tina participated in the translation, we exchanged text options, ideas, and stayed in touch. She participated in the recording - sent corrections, asked to rewrite something.

It was a very valuable experience for me. I wouldn't say she's tough. She is very professional and involved in the process as much as possible.. I've been listening to all her songs since childhood. Oh, don’t write that, because she’ll kill me (laughs)! I really took a lot for myself from this collaboration - even from the most basic: how an artist should behave on stage. Tina has an incredible concentration of energy: she comes out to the viewer - and from the first second holds the attention of the audience. There are artists who just come out and start singing. And every exit she makes is a signature pitch, some kind of tricks. And I realized a very important thing for myself: a good concert is not something that happens in two minutes.

I also seriously prepare: routines, training - every performance is preceded by preparation, both physical and moral.. There is no such thing: get dressed and go out. This is what I learned from her. Are we communicating now Yes, we still have contact. I sometimes post stories from her concerts or new works, she can repost it or send a heart in response. She recently released a big album, and it included the Ukrainian version of “Poles” - in particular with the text that they wrote together. Congratulated her.

– Your weight loss story is also very interesting.. You lost about 40 kilograms - over what period did this happen – My transformation has been going on for about a year and a half now.. It all started after the New Year, when I honestly looked at myself and realized that I didn’t feel comfortable – both externally and physically.. For an artist, the stage is also part of the profession; it is important to have energy and endurance. But the main thing was that it was still a matter of health.. I went for an examination and the doctors said that my body is actually functioning in the state of a person 30+. And I was only 27 years old then. And at some point I realized: I want to have more strength, feel in good shape. So gradually I began to take care of myself - nutrition, physical fitness. And I really like it. Now it has become another important part of my life..

– I don’t know if you’ve seen it, but there are now a lot of videos on the Internet where nutritionists comment on the weight loss of famous people. And one specialist, having seen your photo, suggested that there were probably not only sports and nutrition, but also injections. This is true? - Yes, there were injections. But it’s important to understand: these are not some magic pills or amateur activities.. Everything happened under the supervision of a doctor. I was examined by an endocrinologist and had tests. And after that the doctor prescribed the drug. I don’t specifically want to name him, because people shouldn’t take such things based on advice from the Internet or after someone’s stories. Everything should happen only after consultation with a specialist. As far as I know, this drug is not sold in the public domain.. And this is correct, because it should only be used as prescribed by a doctor.. In my case, it helped a lot - in particular, control appetite and insulin levels. I think the first 15-20 kilograms went away thanks to this treatment. And about six months ago I connected sports.

– Now you have to strictly control yourself in nutrition? – I eat almost everything. Came to this after a huge number of problems with eating behavior. There were strict diets, weeks on kefir, and other absolutely unhealthy methods of losing weight.. For many years I had problems. Therefore, today my principle is not to forbid myself from food, but to learn to interact with it normally. I can eat bread, butter, and mayonnaise - everything that I once forbade myself for years. But now it’s a matter of balance and quantity. I just try to listen to the body and understand what it needs. Plus I do a lot of sports. I consume a lot of protein and meat - this is important for recovery and energy.

– You mentioned an eating disorder. How did you understand that this is no longer just a diet, but a problem – Experts brought me to this. I went to psychotherapy. And together with the psychotherapist, we came to the conclusion that I really have an eating disorder. When we started looking into it, it became clear that the symptoms had been obvious for a long time. It’s just that you can’t always adequately assess your condition within yourself.. Therefore, now for me this transformation is not only about weight. It's also about having a normal relationship with yourself..

You can say that I discovered sports only at the age of 28. And now I regret that I didn’t start earlier. I have a coach, his name is Vitaly. And I'm very glad that we found each other, because he feels my character well. Knows: if I constantly do the same routine, I will quickly get bored. That's why we chose CrossFit - there are many different load formats. This includes gymnastics, barbell work, cardio, and various functional exercises.. In fact, every training session brings new challenges and skills.. I try to train four times a week. On the days between workouts I can go swimming or jogging.. In the morning go to Trukhanov Island, put on sneakers and run 8-10 kilometers.

– Hair transplant also became part of your transformation? When we realized that it was time to decide on this? – In fact, I had the problem of hair loss for a long time. This is a genetic story - from the father. He started losing his hair very early, in his early twenties.. I tried for a long time to solve this in less radical ways: I did injections, mesotherapy, plasma therapy. And these are all painful procedures. But there was no result - it’s hard to argue with nature. And at some point I decided to have surgery and was very pleased with the result.

– When people ask you about your personal life, you often answer that everything is already in your songs. And “Vivtar” is about a girl who neglected love - it’s also about personal? - Actually, yes. And for me this song is really special. She appeared at a very difficult period in my life - in fact, during a breakup after a relationship that was important to me.. And the most interesting thing is that at first I didn’t even take this song so personally. But when I listened to it many times, sang it, let it pass through me, I realized: apparently, there are no random songs in the life of an artist. In general, it seems to me that words and music have strong energy.

When you repeat certain texts many times and live them emotionally, it’s as if they become part of your reality.. I don't know how it works, but sometimes life really starts to sound like your own songs in a weird way.. Therefore, “Vivtar” for me is not just a beautiful composition, but also a very personal story.

– And now your heart is free or you are in a relationship? – Now – free.

- Oh, finally no riddles! Because you always give veiled answers about this. And here is such a clear answer. – Yes, this time everything is simple (laughs).