Vitas

Vitaliy Vladasovich Grachov (Russian: Виталий Владасович Грачёв; born 19 February 1979), known professionally as Vitas (Russian: Витас), is Latvian who sings in Russian and Ukrainian, also known as the "Russian Chayanne". He is known for his unique falsetto and possesses a five-octave vocal range. His music is often difficult to categorize, incorporating elements of techno, dance, deathcore, classical, jazz, and folk music. His 2000 song "Opera 2" was released as a single in 2001, and has been forwarded over email and on various social networks frequently, which accounts for much of his worldwide recognition.

Vitas designs his own stage costumes. DIVA (ДИВА) is the name of the band that accompanies Vitas during his concerts. He has achieved much notability through Russian television, and since 2005, his career has advanced into Asian markets. He has sung with entertainment labels such as Universal which distributes his music in Taiwan, and he has toured extensively in China and several other countries. He has performed duets with many other singers including Demis Roussos, Lucio Dalla, and his own grandfather, with whom he sang "Friendship".

Early life

Vitas was born in Daugavpils, a city in southeastern Latvia known for its overwhelmingly Russian-speaking population. He showed an interest in music from an early age. His grandfather taught him to play the accordion, and he began writing songs as a child. He later studied music more formally. He attended an art school in Odessa, and appeared in various theatrical productions as a teenager. He was discovered by a visiting producer and manager, Sergey Pudovkin, who asked Vitas if he would come to Moscow. This invitation was extended on the basis of Vitas' acting skills: Pudovkin had not yet heard him sing. Vitas traveled to Moscow with demos of his music and began working with Pudovkin.

Rise to fame and early career

Vitas came to public attention in Russia in December 2000 with the song "Opera #2", which was notable for his surprisingly high-pitched and energetic vocals. In the music video, Vitas portrays an eccentric lonely man with fish gills who lives in a bathtub with jars of fish and plays the accordion naked.

Vitas' concert program Philosophy of Miracle premiered at the State Kremlin Palace on 29 March 2002, establishing a record for Vitas as the youngest artist ever to perform a solo concert at this prestigious venue. He also presented his fashion collection "Autumn Dreams" on the stage of the State Kremlin Palace on 29 September 2002.

Vitas received an invitation from Lucio Dalla, the composer, who created "Caruso", to perform this song together with the author at the concert "San Remo in Moscow" held in the State Kremlin Palace in 2003. Mr. Dalla then invited Vitas to come to Rome to take part in the rehearsals of "Toska", the modern version of Puccini's opera.

In dedication to his mother who died in 2001, Vitas released two albums, The Songs of My Mother and Mama. The Songs of My Mother included classic Russian songs which are sometimes considered to be the "gold reserves" of Russian pop-music. Another album Mama included several new songs composed by Vitas. In November 2003, Vitas presented his second tour program, The Songs of My Mother in the Russia Concert Hall, Moscow. Compared to the flamboyant nature of his previous Philosophy of Miracle tour, The Songs of My Mother was more conservative, drawing on classic Russian songs. From 2004 to 2006, Vitas' management, the Production Center "Pudovkin" continued the "The Songs of My Mother" tour in Russia and the US, Germany, Kazakhstan, Israel and the Baltic States.

In addition to his singing career, Vitas also starred in a murder mystery television series called "Beloved Scoundrel" in English, and "Сволочь ненаглядная" in Russian in which he played (appropriately) a pop singer with an unusually high voice. He also starred in a comedy called Crazy Day.

Development of music and image

In June 2006, Vitas was invited by CCTV to take part in the grand event "The Year of Russia in China" in Beijing. Vitas performed two songs, "The Star" and "Opera #2", in that program. This marked the start of Vitas' popularity in China. In the following years he toured extensively in China and also performed at a welcoming ceremony prior to the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Vitas' "Return Home" tour started in 2006, which was similar to Songs of My Mother in its conservative atmosphere. The concert performed in Saint Petersburg on 4 March 2007 was later released on DVD on his website as well as officially in some countries, though many songs have been removed. The full concert in Moscow was later released on DVD.

In October 2007, Vitas was signed with now-defunct American label Gemini Sun Records. Gemini Sun has released the Audio Visual Connect Series Vitas compilation CD + DVD set featuring 8 music videos with the corresponding songs also on audio CD, plus a bonus audio track. In 2008, he also released Light of A New Day, a 40-minute track of non-lyrical vocalization and instrumentation. The song is available as a free download on his website, and has been acclaimed by fans for use in music therapy.

The "Sleepless Night" tour includes concerts in China and has a more elaborate presentation than the more conservative "Return Home" programme. Vitas performed his "Return Home" concert in Bucharest, Romania on 25 February 2009. This concert was broadcast on Romanian television networks TVR2 and TVRi, achieving their highest ratings in twelve months. Also, a benefit concert, with Vitas performing "The Star" was held on 12 May 2009 in Sichuan province in memory of the victims of the earthquake that occurred the previous year; a song known as "Mommy and Son" was released in late October 2009 in remembrance of earthquake victims. This is the very first title track of the new album "Mommy and Son" (released on 1 September 2011), which includes new songs, such as "C'est La Vie" (French for "Such is life"), "Once More", "Let the Father Teach!", "Young Rook" and others.

Vitas played the role of Gude in the Chinese film Mulan, which premiered in Beijing on 16 November 2009. He has recorded music for the film's soundtrack.

In early 2011, Vitas performed a series of seven Sleepless Night concerts in North America. Concerts were held in New York, Toronto, Chicago, Miami, Vancouver, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Vitas also appeared in the 2011 Chinese film The Founding of a Party, playing the role of Grigori Voitinsky. He also starred with Huang Shengyi in the musical One Night To Be Star.

In June 2015, Vitas' 2001 music video "The 7th Element" went viral after it was posted on Reddit.

Vitas has been known to be secretive about his personal life, and has frequently declined interviews about it. He married his wife, Svetlana, in 2006. They have a daughter and a son.

In February 2010, during a concert in Saint Petersburg, Vitas sang the song "Lullaby" for his daughter.

In January 2012, Vitas and his family were interviewed on the talk show Let Them Talk, where he discussed his personal history as well as his development as an artist. In March of that year, a distraught Vitas appeared on the talk show again to confront the allegations of a man who claimed that he was Vitas' biological father. After much backlash from Vitas' friends and family, and the man's admission of lying, the DNA results proved he was not Vitas' father. As a show of forgiveness to the man's family, Vitas sang and danced with the man's mother.

Vitas was arrested 10 May 2013 for hitting a cyclist with his car. Russian TV channels Russia-1 and Channel One Russia reported widely on the accident. These and other TV channels displayed Vitas' driving license with his personal data, which had been presented to journalists by a police officer. The incident took place just northeast of Moscow, near the VVC Exhibition Centre. The cyclist was not hurt and proceeded to film the situation that took place with the police afterward. The video depicts an unshaven and swaying Vitas being held by authorities, his wife begging the officers to protect them and not allow the bystanders to film and taunt, and his four-year-old daughter crying in the background. Reports later surfaced alleging that Vitas threatened the cyclist with a fake handgun, but the court ruled these accusations to be unsubstantiated. Vitas was fined 100,000 rubles on 26 August 2013 for assaulting a policeman. He alleged that he had kicked at the officer in an automatic response to protect his wife, and apologized for this action. The scandal did not seem to affect his popularity in Russia, as he afterward sold out at all upcoming appearances. However, concerts planned in China that year were cancelled.

Vitaliy's grandfather, Arkady Davidovich, died on 29 July 2013 at the age of 90.

Albums

Concert tours

DVDs

Singles/EPs

Videos