This article may be expanded with text translated from the corresponding article in Ukrainian. (April 2015)Click [show] for important translation instructions.
|
Brunettes Shoot Blondes | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Origin | Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine |
Genres | indie, alternative, electronic |
Years active | 2010–present |
Labels | independent |
Members | Andrii Kovalov Roman Sobol Yevhen Kobzaruk Dmytro Leonov |
Website | brunettesshootblondes.org |
Brunettes Shoot Blondes is a Ukrainian indie rock band, founded in early 2010 and based out of Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine. The band released 2 mini-albums and 7 singles.
The group gained international recognition in September 2014 for an animated music video to their song "Knock Knock". The video went viral, receiving more than five million YouTube views in the 10 days after its release. In early 2015, the band continued developing their music video style for the song 'Bittersweet', made in partnership with German automobile manufacturer Opel. Brunettes Shoot Blondes currently has no contract with any record labels, instead promoting the band independently.
Since 2011, Brunettes Shoot Blondes have performed numerous concerts in their homeland Ukraine and across mainland Europe. The group has played at festivals including OstAnders (Nuremberg, Germany), Sziget (Budapest, Hungary), Colors of Ostrava (Ostrava, Czech Republic), Waves Vienna (Vienna, Austria) and Metronome (Prague, Czech Republic). In 2011, they also participated in the BalconyTV project in Poznań. The band continues to work on new songs and music videos, in between their appearances in concert and on Ukrainian TV channels.
Brunettes Shoot Blondes has also cooperated with famous commercial brands to produce music for advertising, including Watsons (song: You Broke My Heart) and Nova Poshta (songs: Tomorrow and Nothing At All). The music video for the song 'Bittersweet' was produced in partnership with German car maker Opel.
In September 2014, Brunettes Shoot Blondes released a new music video on YouTube for their song Knock Knock. The story features an animated love story of a rabbit and a girl, [1] shot in real time using 14 Apple iPhones, iPads and MacBooks. The band's members produced the video, with the band's frontman Andrii Kovalov assuming the role of video director. [2] The video attracted more than 600,000 YouTube views in the first five days after being uploaded. By April 2015, this number was more than seven million. The video was also posted on Facebook and received over 26 million views and 800,000 shares.
In October 2014, the video topped YouTube in the category of 'New performers «Emerging Artists From Across the Globe»'. Various international media outlets conducted interviews and features with the band following the release of 'Knock Knock' including Billboard , [3] Yahoo!, [4] The Daily Mirror , [5] Rolling Stone , [6] Mashable, [7] Business Insider, [8] Daily Mail , USA Today , The Verge , [9] Dezeen and The Huffington Post .
In May 2015 the music video Knock Knock won the "Best Concept" award at the Berlin Music Video Award 2015.
The band's success was recognized by the Ukrainian president's administration, with frontman Andrii Kovalov becoming one of the first Ukrainian citizens to receive one of the new biometric passports. [10] Kovaliov thinks the video has improved Ukraine's international standing and relationship within the European Union, saying "everybody should actually do what they can to make our country stronger, to show that we're a European country and that we have to do something for this country". [11]
In the beginning of 2015, Brunettes Shoot Blondes released a debut EP Bittersweet. The album features four songs including the well-known singles "Knock Knock" and "Bittersweet'" [12]
Front man Andrii Kovalov says: “EP 'Bittersweet' was the first release into which we invested lots of strength and inspiration. Most of the material was recorded in studios in Warsaw and Kyiv”. The song was produced in partnership with German advertising agency Scholz & Friends and with German car maker Opel. The music video develops the use of a 'picture in picture' effect used in the video for 'Knock Knock' – consisting of footage performed directly from the screens of devices, without editing. After Bittersweet's release, Brunettes Shoot Blondes went on to guest perform on Ukraine's X-factor.
After Bittersweet, they became very active on the European music festival circuit, playing Sziget, Colors of Ostrava, and others. In the summer of 2015 they took part into the Berlin Music Video Awards, winning the Best Concept category with Knock Knock. [13]
In 2016, Brunettes Shoot Blondes released the song Every Monday. They competed in the Ukrainian National Song Selection for Eurovision 2016, with Every Monday as their entrant.
Brunettes Shoot Blondes has remained active on the Festival circuit, playing Waves Vienna in 2017, and Metronome (Prague) in 2018. The latest release was the 2018 EP and music video Hips. It was supported by Apple Music, and appeared on the front page of the service in more than 14 countries. Moreover, the music video for Hips was released to critical acclaim, receiving Best Music Video honors from the Los Angeles Film Awards.
On January 22, 2019, it was announced that Brunettes Shoot Blondes would be competing in the Ukrainian Song Selection for Eurovision 2019.
Year | Video | Director | Album |
---|---|---|---|
2013 | «I Don't Know» | Denis Breslavskiy | — |
2014 | «Knock Knock» | Andrii Kovalov | Bittersweet |
2014 | «Bittersweet» | Andrii Kovalov | Bittersweet |
2017 | «Hips» | Andrii Kovalov | Hips |
TNMK or Tanok na Maidani Kongo - is the most successful Ukrainian hip-hop group. They are known for clever, yet often tongue-in-cheek, lyrics; mixing hip-hop with rock, funk and jazz music and playing real instruments on their albums and live shows, rather than using samples and drum machines. TNMK performed at many festivals as: Sziget Fest, Zakhid, Tavria Games, Chervona Ruta, Faine Misto and Bandershtat.
Tim Levinson, better known by the stage name Urthboy, is an Australian hip hop MC and producer from New South Wales. He is widely known for his solo music under the moniker Urthboy, as a founding member of the hip-hop group The Herd, and for co-founding and managing the Elefant Traks record label. Levinson has released five solo albums: Distant Sense of Random Menace (2004), The Signal (2007), Spitshine (2009), Smokey's Haunt (2012) and The Past Beats Inside Me Like a Second Heartbeat (2016); as well as five studio albums with The Herd.
Leon G. Thomas III is an American actor, record producer, songwriter and singer. After early roles in Broadway and providing the singing voice of Tyrone on the Nick Jr. animated series The Backyardigans (2006–2008), he played André Harris on the Nickelodeon series Victorious (2010–2013), for which he received a NAACP Image Award nomination.
Mandry is a Ukrainian folk-rock/blues/ska band formed in 1998 in Kyiv. The band's vocalist and lead member is Serhiy Fomenko. Their music combines traditional Ukrainian folk music with modern rhythms, influenced by urban life, French chansons, reggae, blues, rock and punk.
DeAndre Cortez Way, known professionally as Soulja Boy, is an American rapper and record producer. He rose to prominence, after his self published debut single "Crank That " peaked at number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, for seven non-consecutive weeks in 2007. He then released his debut album Souljaboytellem.com (2007), which also included the single "Soulja Girl".
No Sleep Tonight is a song by British post-hardcore band Enter Shikari, taken from their second studio album, Common Dreads. The song was released as a single on 31 July 2009.
The Weekend: Friday is an EP by American pop punk band Forever the Sickest Kids. It was released on November 17, 2009 worldwide through Universal Republic.
Devin Star Tailes, known professionally as Dev, is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, model and radio host. She was discovered by the Cataracs and record label Indie-Pop via Myspace after Dev's friend posted a video of her singing. Dev's song "Booty Bounce" was sampled in Far East Movement's hit single "Like a G6", which reached number one in the US and sold over four million downloads in the country.
Studio Killers is a Finnish–Danish–British electropop virtual band made up of four animated characters: vocalist and designer Chubby Cherry, keyboardist Goldie Foxx, DJ Dyna Mink, and manager Bipolar Bear.
Knock Madness is the third studio album by American rapper Hopsin. It was released on November 24, 2013, by Funk Volume and distributed by EMPIRE. Hopsin has said that the overall vibe of the album is different from his previous album Raw and that he has said all he needs to about leaving Ruthless Records. The album contains guest appearances from rappers SwizZz, Dizzy Wright, Jarren Benton, and Tech N9ne, among others. Like its predecessors, the album's production was entirely handled by Hopsin himself.
La'Reonte Wright, known professionally as Dizzy Wright, is an American rapper and record producer.
MKTO is an American pop and hip hop duo, consisting of Malcolm Kelley and Tony Oller. Their self-titled album was released on January 30, 2014, by Columbia Records. In July 2015, the duo released their first extended play, titled Bad Girls EP. As of 2022, the band has sold over 1 million records worldwide.
"It Won't Stop" is a song recorded by American singer Sevyn Streeter, featuring vocals from American singer Chris Brown. It was released on May 22, 2013, as the first single from her debut extended play (EP) Call Me Crazy, But..., by Atlantic Records. The single achieved Platinum status from Recording Industry Association of America and received a warm reception from industry critics and the public.
Ivan & The Parazol are a Hungarian indie-garage rock band based in Budapest, Hungary. The band incorporates influences from the 1960s and the 1970s. The band have played hundreds of gigs mainly all over Hungary with Heaven Street Seven and several shows in Europe or in The United States. The band's first hit was Take My Hand, which was a number one song for 10 weeks on the Hungarian national radio station, MR2 Petőfi Rádió.
Trophy Eyes is an Australian punk rock band from Newcastle, formed in 2013. They are currently signed to Hopeless Records. The band currently consists of vocalist John Floreani, bassist and backing vocalist Jeremy Winchester, lead guitarist Andrew Hallett, and drummer Blake Caruso. Their single "Hurt" was ranked No. 135 on Triple J's Hottest 100. Other Hottest 100 appearances include No. 101 in 2016 with "Chlorine" and No. 93 in 2018 with "You Can Count On Me". To date, they have released three studio albums: Mend, Move On (2014), Chemical Miracle (2016), and The American Dream (2018).
"Kiss It" is a song performed by American recording artist Dev with the collaboration of rapper Sage the Gemini, produced by Hit-Boy. It was written by Dev as single in anticipation of her EP Bittersweet July. The song was released on December 12, 2013, after posting a preview of the single on Facebook. "Kiss It" is a hip hop, swag song with synth influences that speaks about uncaring attitude.
"Honey Dip" is a song performed by American recording artist Dev, cowritten by remaining member David Singer-Vine aka "Campa" of hip hop duo The Cataracs and produced by Benny Cassette with the assistance of Rayintosh. It was written by Dev as a single extracted from her EP Bittersweet July. The song was released as the first official single on November 5, 2014. "Honey Dip" is a synthpop song with rap verses before the chorus. The official video was directed by Californian rapper Kreayshawn.
Psycho Village is an Austrian rock band.
Dreamers is an American pop rock duo, featuring Nick Wold and Marc Nelson.
Marius Lucas Antonio Listhrop, better known as Scarlxrd, is an English rapper and former YouTuber. He is known for his unique musical style combining elements of trap music and heavy metal, and is considered a pioneer of the trap metal genre. Formerly known under his YouTube moniker Mazzi Maz, he began a career in music as the vocalist for nu metal band Myth City before debuting as a rapper under the Scarlxrd name.