The Hardkiss

Last updated

The Hardkiss
Thehardkiss2019.jpg
L–R: Bebko, Sanina, Lysiuk, Kibeliev (2019)
Background information
Origin Kyiv, Ukraine
Genres
Years active2011–present
Members
Past members
  • Max
  • Kreechy
  • Pol Solonar
  • Vitaliy Oniskevych
  • Roman Skorobahatko
  • Dmytro Smotrov
Website thehardkiss.com

The Hardkiss (stylised as The HARDKISS) is a Ukrainian rock band formed in 2011, consisting of Julia Sanina (vocals), Valeriy Bebko (guitar), Klym Lysiuk (bass), and Yevhen Kibeliev (drums). [1] They participated in the Ukrainian national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with the song "Helpless", placing second in the final. [2] [3] [4] To date, the Hardkiss has released four studio albums, one EP, one live album, and numerous singles.

Contents

History

Formation

In 2011, at the age of 18, Julia Sanina interviewed the MTV Ukraine broadcast producer Valeriy Bebko for an article she was writing as an aspiring student journalist. [5] The two became friends (and later married) and began to write music together as Val & Sanina, with Sanina as the vocalist and Bebko playing bass; they released a music video and a number of songs in Russian. [6] [5] Producers Volodymyr Syvokon and Stas Tiunov of the Firework Sound record label suggested that they sing in English instead and build up an audience in the West. [5] With the help of friends, Sanina and Bebko selected the name the Hardkiss for their band. [5]

2011–present

In September 2011, the Hardkiss released their first video, "Babylon", while their lineup had expanded to include Max and Kreechy. [7] They opened for the English synthpop duo Hurts in Kyiv on 20 October. [8] [6] On 18 November, they opened for American singer Solange Knowles, also in Kyiv. [9]

In December 2011, the band released a music video for "Dance with Me", directed by Bebko, with Yurii Korol as the camera operator. It appeared on MTV Russia and Muz-TV, before airing globally on MTV. [10] [11] [12] The online magazine DosugUA ranked the video second on its list of the most stylish music videos of 2011. [13]

On 29 January 2012, the Hardkiss performed at MIDEM festival. [14] [15] By March, the band had been signed to Sony BMG. [12] The same year, the band was nominated for the MTV Europe Music Award for Best Ukrainian Act. [16] By the time of the nomination, Pol Solonar had joined the band as a keyboards player, while Max had left. [16]

Val Bebko and Julia Sanina at the 5th Odesa International Film Festival, in 2014 OIFF 2014-07-11 172650 - Val Bebko & Julia Sanina.jpg
Val Bebko and Julia Sanina at the 5th Odesa International Film Festival, in 2014

In 2013, the Hardkiss won two awards at the Ukrainian national music award, YUNA—one for Best New Act and the other for Best Music Video for "Make Up", which was awarded to Bebko. [17] The band played their first solo live performance that year, with all tickets sold out one week in advance. [18] They also opened the Muz-TV Music Awards in Moscow, became the "voice and face" of Pepsi in Ukraine, and took part in a Pepsi Stars of Now tour covering sixteen cities. [19] [20]

In 2015, the Hardkiss was nominated for the YUNA music award again and won in two categories: Best Music Album, for Stones and Honey, and Best Song, for "Stones". [21]

In 2016, they took part in the Ukrainian national selection for Eurovision Song Contest 2016. Klym Lysiuk joined the band as a bass guitarist the same year. [22]

In 2018, the band won two awards at YUNA: Best Rock Band and Best Song in Ukrainian, for "Zhuravli". [23] Later that year, guitarist Roman Skorobahatko left the band but was set to continue performing with them as a live session musician. [24]

In November 2019, the band's masked drummer, Kreechy, revealed his idendity as Dmytro Smotrov and announced his departure after five years with the group. He was replaced by Yevhen Kibeliev of SKAI. [25]

In 2021, the band was slated to perform a ten-year anniversary show at the Olympic Stadium in Kyiv, but this was cancelled after a series of delays related to the COVID-19 pandemic and the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. [26]

In the aftermath of the invasion, the Hardkiss released the song "Як ти?", together with a music video, whose proceeds were to be donated to humanitarian aid. [27] The war generated increased international interest in the band, who then embarked on charity tours in support of the armed forces of Ukraine and Ukrainian children. [28] [29]

Band members

Discography

Studio albums

EPs

  • Cold Altair (2015)

Live albums

  • Акустика. Live (2020)

Singles

  • "Babylon" (2011)
  • "Dance with Me" (2011)
  • "Make-Up" (2012)
  • "October" (2012)
  • "Part of Me" (2013)
  • "In Love" (2013)
  • "Under the Sun" (2013)
  • "Shadows of Time" (2013)
  • "Tell Me Brother" (2013)
  • "Hurricane" (2014)
  • "Stones" (2014)
  • "Strange Moves" feat. Kazaky (2014)
  • "PiBiP" (2015)
  • "Organ" (2015)
  • "Tony, Talk!" (2015)
  • "Helpless" (2016)
  • "Perfection!" (2016)
  • "Rain" (2016)
  • "Closer" (2016)
  • "Антарктида" (2017)
  • "Журавлi" (2017)
  • "Lovers" (2017)
  • "Кораблі" (2017)
  • "Мелодія" (2018)
  • "Free Me" (2018)
  • "Коханці" (2018)
  • "Серце" (2019)
  • "Хто, як не ти?" (2019)
  • "Жива" (2019)
  • "Косатка" (2020)
  • "Гора" (2020)
  • "Кобра" feat. MONATIK (2020)
  • "Все було так" (2020)
  • "Обійми" (2021)
  • "7 вітрів" (2021)
  • "Сестра" (2021)
  • "Як ти?" (2022)
  • "Маяк" (2022)
  • "Два вікна" (2023)
  • "Festival" (2023)
  • "Мрійники" feat. Tvorchi (2023)
  • "Тільки там" (2024)

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References

  1. ↑ "About". The Hardkiss Official Website. Archived from the original on 13 March 2014.
  2. ↑ Omelyanchuk, Olena (26 January 2016). "Participants in Ukrainian national selection revealed". eurovision.tv. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
  3. ↑ Rodríguez, Tony (4 February 2016). "The Hardkiss: "The main message of Helpless is that rebirth always hurts" (Ukrainian semifinalists – Exclusive Interview)". esc-plus.com. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
  4. ↑ Omelyanchuk, Olena (21 February 2016). "Jamala will represent Ukraine in Stockholm!". eurovision.tv. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Силина, Дина. "The HardKiss". JetSetter.ua (in Russian). Archived from the original on 27 March 2013.
  6. 1 2 "Yulia Sanina: Strong, authentic voice of The Hardkiss wins fans, shakes up music scene". Kyiv Post. 1 December 2016. Retrieved 28 March 2019.
  7. ↑ "Группа The Hardkiss презентовала дебютный клип" [The group The Hardkiss present their debut video]. Gloss.ua (in Russian). 13 September 2011. Retrieved 8 January 2025.
  8. ↑ "Dance with Me — новый клип The Hardkiss!". Muz.ru (in Russian). 31 January 2012. Archived from the original on 17 October 2014.
  9. ↑ "Диджей-сет Соланж Ноулз на Дне рождения b-hush" (in Russian). Jetsetter. Retrieved 28 March 2019.
  10. ↑ "The Hardkiss — Dance with Me" (in Russian). Muz-TV. 30 December 2011. Archived from the original on 22 January 2012.
  11. ↑ "The Hardkiss – Dance with Me". MTV.ru (in Russian). Archived from the original on 6 August 2012.
  12. 1 2 Ганчукова, Елена (1 March 2012). "The Hardkiss: Мы боимся момента, когда умрет последний абориген в Австралии". allfun.md (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2 March 2012. Retrieved 18 December 2024.
  13. ↑ "Топ-5 фешн-клипов 2011 года". DosugUA.com (in Russian). 16 January 2012. Archived from the original on 18 October 2014.
  14. ↑ "The Hardkiss at MIDEM 2012 (29th of January, 22.00 – Sparkling)". patreon.com. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  15. ↑ "MIDEM Festival Wraps Up in France". The Hollywood Reporter. 31 January 2012. Retrieved 30 March 2019.
  16. 1 2 "Названо номінантів на звання Найкращого українського артиста MTV EMA-2012" (in Ukrainian). korrespondent.net. 20 September 2012. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
  17. ↑ "ІІ Церемония Yuna (15.03.2013)". yuna.ua (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on 15 March 2015.
  18. ↑ "Гурт The Hardkiss дав перший сольний концерт" [The Hardkiss gave their first solo concert] (in Ukrainian). TSN. 21 May 2013. Retrieved 8 January 2025.
  19. ↑ История премии. Премия Муз-ТВ 2013. Перезагрузка (in Russian). premia.muz-tv.ru. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
  20. ↑ "Pepsi Stars of Now". Pepsi Ukraine via YouTube . Retrieved 28 March 2019.
  21. ↑ "IV Церемонія Yuna (25.03.2015)" (in Ukrainian). yuna.ua. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
  22. ↑ ""Братику, з днем народження!" Лідерка The Hardkiss Саніна опублікувала привітання". Гордон (in Ukrainian). 22 January 2021. Retrieved 18 December 2024.
  23. ↑ "7th YUNA honors nation's most talented musicians". Kyiv Post. 2 March 2018. Retrieved 28 March 2019.
  24. ↑ "The Hardkiss покинув гітарист Скоробагатько". Гордон (in Ukrainian). 10 April 2018. Retrieved 18 December 2024.
  25. ↑ "У складі гурту The Hardkiss сталися зміни". TSN.ua (in Ukrainian). 5 November 2019. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
  26. ↑ "Після п'яти років переносів. The Hardkiss скасував свій концерт на Олімпійському, який планувався до 10-річчя" [After five years of postponements, The Hardkiss has canceled its concert at the Olympic Stadium, which was planned for the 10th anniversary]. New Voice (in Ukrainian). 3 January 2025. Retrieved 5 January 2025.
  27. ↑ Орлова, Віолетта (12 April 2022). ""Як ти?": The Hardkiss випустила пронизливу пісню про війну (відео)" ["Як ти?": The Hardkiss Release Profound Song About War (Video)] (in Ukrainian). UNIAN . Retrieved 27 December 2024.
  28. ↑ Карманська, Юлія (24 October 2022). "Українські музиканти вирушили за кордон із турами. Які гроші це приносить і чи дозволить стати частиною світового шоу-бізу — Forbes.ua" [Ukrainian musicians have gone on tour abroad. How much money does this bring and will it allow them to become part of the world of showbiz?] (in Ukrainian). Forbes Ukraine. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
  29. ↑ "В Туреччині відбулися благодійні концерти гурту The Hardkiss" [The band held charity concerts in Turkey The Hardkiss] (in Ukrainian). Ukrinform. 30 October 2022. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
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