Elena Vaenga (real name - Elena Vladimirovna Khruleva) - Russian pop singer, songwriter, actress. Vaenga is the name of the native city of Severomorsk for the singer until 1951, as well as the river nearby. The pseudonym was coined by her mother.
There are many interesting facts in the biography of Elena Vaenga, which we will talk about in this article.
So, before you is a short biography of Elena Vaenga.
Biography of Elena Vaenga
Elena Vaenga was born on January 27, 1977 in the city of Severomorsk (Murmansk region). She grew up and was brought up in a family far from show business.
Elena's parents worked at a shipyard. Her father was an engineer by education, and her mother was a chemist. The girl had a sister Tatyana and a half-sister Inna on her father's side.
Childhood and youth
Elena Vaenga showed artistic abilities in her early childhood. When she was barely 3 years old, she was already studying singing, music and dancing.
Parents raised their daughters in severity, teaching them discipline and independence. Children were encouraged every day to do exercises, study diligently at school, and also go to different circles.
During her studies at school, Elena was distinguished by a strong character. She often participated in fights and did not allow teachers to humiliate her dignity.
One day Vaenga had a serious conflict with a teacher who was anti-Semitic. As a result, the girl was expelled from school and returned back only when another teacher vouched for her.
Elena wrote her first song called "Doves" when she was only 9 years old. With this song, she managed to win the All-Union Competition for Young Composers on the Kola Peninsula.
As a teenager, Vaenga attended a music studio and also went to a sports school.
In 1994, Elena Vaenga successfully passed the exams at the V. N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov, where she continued to improve her piano playing.
Returning to St. Petersburg, the girl entered the Baltic Institute of Ecology, Politics and Law at the theater faculty. An interesting fact is that she graduated from the university with honors.
Nevertheless, Vaenga did not want to connect her life with the theater. Instead, she decided to get serious about music.
Music
After graduating from college, Elena was offered to record a music album in Moscow. The producer of the young singer was Stepan Razin. And although the album was successfully recorded, it never went on sale.
The producer decided to sell Vaenga's songs to various Russian performers. All this upset the girl so much that she wanted to quit singing and go to the theater.
It was at that moment in her biography that Elena Vaenga met the producer Ivan Matvienko, with whom she later began to cohabit.
Thanks to Matvienko, in 2003 her debut album "Portrait" will be released. The songs of the pop singer have become quite popular in St. Petersburg.
Elena began to be invited to various competitions and festivals. A couple of years later, she delighted her fans with the release of her next album - "White Bird" with hits such as "I Wish" and "Airport".
Vaenga's songs were noticeably different from the work of domestic artists. In addition, the girl had charisma and a peculiar manner of performance.
Soon, Elena got the nickname “Queen of Chanson”. She began to receive prestigious awards, including the Golden Gramophone.
Vaenga toured extensively not only in Russia, but also far abroad. An interesting fact is that in 2011 she managed to give as many as 150 concerts!
The authoritative edition of Forbes included Elena Vaenga in the TOP-10 of the most successful Russian artists, with an annual income of over $ 6 million.
During the biography of 2011-2016. Elena has won the Chanson of the Year award in the Best Singer category for 5 years in a row. In parallel with this, her songs also received various prizes.
In 2014, Vaenga was invited to the judging panel on the TV show "Just the same", aired on Channel One.
The following year, the "Queen of Chanson" gave a solo concert in the Kremlin, where she sang her most popular songs. After that she took part in the festival "Chanson of the Year", where in a duet with Mikhail Bublik she performed the composition "What have we done".
Over the years of her biography, Elena Vaenga shot only 5 clips, the last of which was released back in 2008. According to the singer, television art is much less important for an artist than performing songs on stage.
Personal life
When Elena was barely 18 years old, she began to live in a civil marriage with producer Ivan Matvienko. It was her husband who produced Vaenga at the start of her creative career.
However, after 16 years of marriage, young people decided to leave. The breakup of their relationship took place in a peaceful and even friendly atmosphere. An interesting fact is that today the former spouses live in neighboring apartments, continuing to remain friends.
In 2012, 35-year-old Elena Vaenga had a son, Ivan. Later it became known that the boy's father is musician Roman Sadyrbaev.
In 2016, Elena and Roman decided to legalize their relationship in the registry office. It is curious that the singer's chosen one is 6 years younger than her.
In the same year, Vaenga began experimenting with her appearance. She dyed herself blonde, and then did a short haircut. In addition, she went on a diet, dropping those extra pounds.
Elena Vaenga today
Today Elena Vaenga is one of the most popular and highly paid artists in Russia.
The woman is actively touring different cities and countries. At the beginning of 2018, she presented her next album - "1 + 1".
Recently, the manner in which Vaenga's compositions are performed has undergone noticeable changes. She got rid of the tragic anguish and sluggish pronunciation of the end of phrases, which previously blurred the meaning of the song.
Despite the positive assessments of their work from many famous artists, some Russian figures have an extremely negative attitude towards the songs of the Queen of Chanson.
The writer and actor Yevgeny Grishkovets expressed the following opinion: “On TV there was a concert of a singer who sang some absolutely tavern songs and read disgusting rhymes of her own composition. The poems, the performance and the performer were all equally vulgar. " According to the writer, Vaenga is "sincerely mistaken" that he writes poems.
Elena has an official Instagram account, where she uploads photos and videos. As of 2019, over 400,000 people have subscribed to her page.