Morning Star competition of young talents. Stars who started their journey with the Morning Star
Each of us has watched a music show at least once. Star Factory" This show gave our stage many young talents. Perhaps, if they had not come to the casting, their fate would have been completely different, and modern hits would not have been played from the speakers of our radios.
However, few people remember that “Star Factory” was preceded by a television competition “ morning star", which was broadcast on the ORT channel (Channel One). But it was here that Sergei Lazarev, Ani Lorak, Valeria and other modern performers performed for the first time. Let's remember how it was.
Sergey Lazarev
Young Seryozha came to the program with musical experience behind him. He was a member of the children's ensemble "Fidgets". In 1997, he won the Morning Star competition with his song “My way”.
Angelica Varum
No one knew about Angelica's talent until 1990, when she performed on the show with the song "Midnight Cowboy." The next year, the whole country sang her songs from the album “Good Bye, My Boy.”
Valeria
In 1992, the singer was far from a child when she appeared at this children's competition. At the age of 24, she took first place with the song “A meeting only happens once in a life.”
Ani Lorak
17-year-old Carolina Kuek impressed the judges with her vocals in 1995. Another girl was entered into the competition under the name Carolina, so the singer got out of the situation by inventing the pseudonym Ani Lorak.
"Lyceum"
Anastasia Makarevich, Elena Perova and Izolda Ishkhanishvili sang the ABBA song “One of Us” in 1991, and in 1995 they blew up the stage with the hit “Autumn”.
Yulia Nachalova
10-year-old Yulia with the song “Titmouse Bird” in 1992 became the winner of the competition, like Valeria. Only she performed in a different age category.
Vlad Topalov
In 2001, the already famous Lazarev performed on stage together with Topalov with the song “Belle” from the musical “Notre Dame de Paris”. Soon they organized the duet Smash!!
Pelagia
Pelageya took first place and won the honorary title “Best Folk Song Performer in Russia 1996” and a prize of 1 thousand dollars.
Prokhor Chaliapin
Prokhor performed in 1999 with the song “Unreal Dream”. Later he became a finalist in the Star Factory 6 project.
The permanent host of the TV show throughout all the years of its existence was Yuri Nikolaev. He has been appearing on television since 1975. His last project was the show “Honestly.”
For young talents, “Morning Star” became a ticket to the big stage. It was thanks to this project that children had the opportunity to express themselves.
However, there were also critics of this program. Thus, pianist Nikolai Petrov spoke about the program as follows: “ “Morning Star,” in my opinion, is one of the worst programs on our television. Little children of seven years old are forced to be exposed to Moiseev and Pugacheva. I feel sorry for these children and their parents».
The author of popular children's programs, Sergei Suponev, also spoke unflatteringly about the competition: “ “Morning Star” is swarming with children like frogs, but it is not a children's program. This is a program for old grandmothers who, having neither taste nor a modern understanding of music, are simply touched by children in tuxedos and ties singing famous songs of pop stars».
Author of the article
Vyacheslav Yuriev
Vyacheslav Yuryev loves historical topics and everything related to travel. If you need a brief information about some distant country, feel free to contact Slava. This editor will unearth little-known facts about the lives of military leaders and literary classics. At the same time, he is not alien to modern technologies, from fashionable gadgets to the exploration of outer space.
In March 1991, ORT (Channel One) launched the first musical talent competition in the history of Russian television - the program “Morning Star”.
The host of the show, Yuri Nikolaev, introduced the country to many future celebrities, but in 2003, the program was displaced from the air by the reality “Star Factory”... We remembered the musicians who started on the stage of the “Morning Star”.
"Lyceum"
Anastasia Makarevich, Elena Perova and Isolda Ishkhanishvili shot in 1995 with the song “Autumn”. 4 years earlier, the girls warmed up on the stage of the Morning Star with the ABBA song “One of Us”. Prokhor Chaliapin
In 1999, Prokhor took third place on Zvezda with the song “Unreal Dream”. The future wife of the young artist was then 43 years old... Ani Lorak
In March 1995, a certain Carolina had already applied for “Morning Star,” so 17-year-old Carolina Kuek wrote her name backwards and, under an unusual pseudonym, sang the song in her native language. Valeria
In 1992, Valeria won the Morning Star. 22 years old was the maximum age to participate in the competition. Yulia Nachalova
Nachalova won at Zvezda in the same year as Valeria, only she was 10 years old at the time. Yulia competed in a different age category. Sergey Lazarev
Vlad Topalov
In 2001, Lazarev again appeared on the stage of “Stars” - already in the company of Vlad Topalov. The guys performed a song from the musical “Notre Dame de Paris”. To the all-Russian hysteria over the Smash duet! There was just a little bit left. Seryozha and Vlad had no idea how many more times they would have to perform the famous “Belle”... Pelagia
In 1996, 10-year-old Pelageya won the Morning Star competition and received a thousand dollars! Angelica Varum
In 1990, Varum made her debut as an independent vocalist with the song “Midnight Cowboy,” and the following year the singer’s first album, “Good Bye, My Boy,” was released. Of course it was a bomb. Yuri Nikolaev, having made Yulia Malinovskaya the host of “Morning Star”, literally turned her life upside down Photo: from the archives of the Fidget Theater Studio
Yulia Malinovskaya - the main girl of the country
This is what journalists dubbed Yulia. And all thanks to Yuri Nikolaev. He played a significant role in the fate of each of the “fidgets”. But Malinovskaya’s life was literally turned upside down.
While working on the concept of his new program “Morning Star”, Yuri Alexandrovich decided that his co-host should be a little girl. First it was Masha Bogdanova. But she grew up, and the organizers had to look for a new candidate for this role. Yura turned to me:
Do you have anyone in mind?
I replied:
Of course! - and showed him Vlad Topalov’s sister Alina and Yulia Malinovskaya, whom Nikolaev already knew a little from filming in the program. The choice fell on her.
I remember their first appearance on stage. Nikolaev says:
Well? Shall we get acquainted? My name is Yuri Alexandrovich, what about you?
Julia! - Malinovskaya answered loudly. And after being silent for a second, she added weightily: “Vladimirovna!”
Her spontaneity and organic nature amazed both Nikolaev and the entire film crew.
I’ve heard the legend a million times that it was no coincidence that Julia appeared on the air of “Morning Star”. Like, behind her thin back stood someone so powerful that even Nikolaev could not resist him. Or that someone incredibly rich brought a giant bag of money to the Morning Star editorial office. All I could do was laugh: I knew perfectly well how everything really was.
Yulia, her mother and sister lived in a tiny Khrushchev building; they had neither rich nor influential relatives. For the fact that Malinovskaya became “the main girl of the country” for several years - once a week she had an hour of airtime in the prime time of the highest-rated channel - we must thank only Yulia herself, her talent and hard work. And also Yuri Alexandrovich, who gave the girl a chance.
They formed a wonderful tandem. One day Nikolaev had to announce a number and leave the stage, leaving Yulia alone. He says to the audience: “I’m leaving you, Yulechka remains in charge of the eldest!” And Malinovskaya suddenly extends her hand to Nikolaev and sings with enthusiasm: “Don’t go away, stay with me!” How Yuri Alexandrovich laughed! I didn’t expect such agility from the co-host at all.
Behind the scenes, the “fidgets” often parodied each other and famous artists. I remember Yulka portraying Irina Allegrova, it was so funny! She saw this, came up and asked in surprise:
Am I really that terrible at spreading my legs?
“There is a little,” answered the impudent little one. Someone else in her place would have fainted from fear upon hearing the famous artist’s question. But not Julia!
Malinovskaya had good reason to feel like a real star. Everywhere we went, there was a line of people eager to get an autograph outside her dressing room. Julia was recognized everywhere, pulled at her, and not allowed to pass. To be honest, the girl was dizzy from such fame. And who could resist? But “Fidgets” managed to overcome this disease. It helped that we all felt like one. Let’s say, if on Sunday Yulia hosted “Morning Star”, on Monday she performed in the number “Fidget”, singing backup with Seryozha Lazarev or Nastya Zadorozhnaya. This approach greatly sobered up our “stars”: their arrogance disappeared instantly. In addition, I had a secret ritual: when we went on tour somewhere, before lights out, I sat the guys in a circle and each one in turn said what he thought about his comrade. This helped not to accumulate anger and tension in the children.
I got into Fidgets literally from the street. He was about 10 years old then. Our girl Yulia Komleva’s mother worked in a store not far from Serezha’s house. And he was an independent guy, he went to the store himself as a child. And then one day I came to the bakery, and at the same time started talking with the woman behind the counter. Yulia’s mother mentioned that her daughter is involved in the “Fidgets” ensemble.
By that time, Seryozha had heard a lot about us, because we often appeared in “Morning Star”, and Lazarev adored this program and dreamed of getting there more than anything else. Yulina’s mother introduced him to her daughter, and the two of them went to the children’s art house.
Entering the building, Seryozha stopped on the first step of the stairs and said: “No, I won’t go. Afraid". He stood there, caught his breath, resolutely went upstairs, reached the second floor: “No, I still won’t go, it’s scary!” Yulia, half-heartedly, dragged him to the third floor.
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Then he skidded in front of the door to my office. At this point Yulia began to act decisively, came in to me and said: “Lena, here’s a boy who came, without a competition, without a casting, but he really wants to show himself to you.” In general, I forced him into my room, closed the door and leaned on it from the outside so that the guy wouldn’t run away. Seryozha hesitated and blushed, but still pulled himself together and began to sing.
I understood everything immediately, without any castings. High treble of amazing purity. Very confident dance moves. In general, I told him to come the next morning and immediately start studying. It was obvious from the very beginning that not taking such a guy would be a mistake.
But while I fell in love with him right away, he didn’t settle into the team from the very first days. Lazarev had to go through a kind of initiation, which was arranged for almost all newcomers. Our star Yulia Malinovskaya, who already hosted “Morning Star” and was known throughout the country, could not pass by such a shy and sincere boy. I decided to make fun of him. He comes up and says: “Seryozha, Lena asked me to tell you that by tomorrow you must learn this dance. And if it doesn’t work out, she’ll kick you out of Fidget right away!”
The poor guy got scared, diligently rehearsed all night, the next morning he comes up to me and says: “Elena Mikhailovna, take the job, I’ve learned everything!” “What have you learned?!” I wonder. “Like what? Dance! As you requested. They won’t kick me out now.” I had to explain to him that our kids were joking like that. But after this incident, Seryozha quickly became the life of the party, and Yulia did not give him such checks anymore.
Sergey Lazarev and Nastya Zadorozhnaya (center)
One day, he and I went to a song competition in the city of Cremona, Italy. Between rehearsals we had some free time, and we decided to wander around the city. While walking, we came to the square overlooked by the town hall. We climbed up to the bell tower - an amazing view opened up from there.
“How good!” - says Seryozha and begins to sing from the fullness of his feelings. Naturally, I chose “Santa Lucia” to perform - this song suited the situation perfectly. The amazing acoustics of the bell tower greatly enhanced Serezha’s angelic treble. Literally for a second he stopped to catch his breath, and at that moment we heard a noise below. We leaned over the fence and saw, far below us, in the square, a huge crowd. Everyone looks at us and applauds. I had to finish singing and bow.
About Vlad Topalov
Little funny man
Five-year-old Vladka, then still very tiny, was brought to us for an audition by his grandmother. I just put up a notice on the doors of the Sokol Children's Creativity Center, and they just lived nearby.
Vladik was such a small, funny, plump doll. He went out into the middle of the room, blushed and, blushing more and more with each word, sang: “A Christmas tree was born in the forest...” The baby was very embarrassed. Yulia Malinovskaya immediately drew attention to Vladik. She came up, took his hand and announced that “this will be my little man!”, which plunged little Vlad into even greater embarrassment.
However, he took his studies seriously. One day, six-year-old Vladka was giving an interview to some TV channel, and the journalist asked him: “You do vocals and dance here - that’s understandable. Why do you, boy, need a classic machine, explain?” And he, shrugging his shoulders, said with emphasis: “I, to be honest, don’t know myself, but my mother says that if you practice the classical machine, you will be slim and beautiful.” Coming from the mouth of a strapping six-year-old, it sounded wonderful.
Vladik grew up as an imperturbable and unusually calm guy. Once we went on tour to America, and for some reason one of the performances took place in the concert hall of some fire station. This very fire station had a very low ceiling. And now “Fidgets” is on stage, the girls are dancing, everything is very emotional and expressive. Suddenly, at some point, Zhenya Tremasova makes such a sweeping movement with her foot, and her shoe falls off. It flies to the ceiling and ricochets down from it, right on Topalov’s head. Vladka didn’t move a single muscle on his face; he continued to dance as if nothing had happened. Zhenya also doesn’t show it and continues to dance in one shoe.
The guys worked the routine to the end, and behind the scenes Zhenya runs up to Vlad and begins to apologize: “Forgive me, I did it by accident. Did it hurt you?” And he answers her completely calmly and unperturbed: “Eh, Zhenya, just think, some kind of shoe. A month ago, a vase fell on my head - it fell off the cabinet - and then I had nothing. Do you see how big and strong my head is? She’s not even afraid of a vase, let alone your shoe.”
About Nastya Zadorozhnaya
The most beautiful ugly duckling
The first time I saw Nastya was backstage at the concert hall. We then performed at the Christmas tree at the city hall. It was a very responsible and important event, and I was completely overwhelmed, running from dressing room to dressing room, settling various matters. The administrator comes up to me and says: “A girl wants to see you.” “What kind of girl is there?” I wave it off as I run. Five minutes later again: “The girl is calling you,” I again ignore. The fifth time I can’t stand it, I say: “Give her here!”
I see an angel standing there. With huge eyes. With long eyelashes. And in a timid voice he says: “Take me to Fidgets!” Her dad brought her to the Christmas tree, she saw our children, plucked up courage and made her way backstage to ask to join the team. The city’s arrogance is appalling: they hired Nastenka for a trial period, and then into the main team.
Lena Katina and Nastya Zadorozhnaya (left)
She had a hard time at first in our friendly and “friendly” team. There was always a catastrophic shortage of boys in Fidgets, and they were worth their weight in gold not only by teachers, but also by girls. When all the girls suddenly and without declaring war suddenly fell in love with anyone, the shortage of boys was felt especially acutely.
And at this very moment Nastya comes - she is beautiful and smart. Nastya has always been a beauty, and even in adolescence Zadorozhnaya remained a very pretty girl. And immediately, of course, I fell in love with our brightest boy - Seryozha Lazarev.
In general, seeing this, our girls went into all sorts of troubles. We decided to eliminate our competitor. From the very first day they began to convince Zadorozhnaya that she was ugly. Jokes, jokes, sometimes even outright bullying - it got to the point that Nastya really believed that she was an ugly duckling. She cried, suffered, was sad, but did not give up. Then she admitted more than once in interviews that she went through such a powerful life school in “Fidgets” - all subsequent tests seemed like baby talk.
Thanks to “Fidgets,” her acting career also began. Directors and producers often contacted us in search of performers for children's roles. Our children are bright, talented, and relaxed. In addition, at the Fidget school we teach stage speech and stage movement. Our fidgets starred in various episodes of Yeralash.
While on vacation at Orlyonok, we were approached by producers from the Cinebridge television company, who were filming the first teenage series on our television, Simple Truths. The first cast of their young actors has already grown up and even graduated from school according to the script. They were looking for new actors. Their choice immediately fell on Nastya.
Episodes of “Simple Truths” were published every day on RTR. Therefore, I had to film a lot. During the day, Nastya went to school, then went to the music school, from there to “Fidgets,” and in the evenings, weekends and holidays she also managed to film - she has been a workaholic since childhood. This useful quality later helped her greatly in her future career.
About Yulia Volkova and Lena Katina
A thin leader and a head on his shoulders
Yulia Volkova... I say her name, and a picture pops up in my memory. “Fidgets” are still completely new, we study at Sokol, in the center of creativity for children and youth. We are conducting a casting and choosing a new addition. It’s a small hall, the stage is elevated, and kids walk along it. We are watching them closely. And then a girl appears on stage - a blonde in a velvet dark blue dress, pretty - you can’t take your eyes off her. Everything is clean, fragile, transparent. She came out and sang, “Oh, it’s not evening, it’s not evening,” and her voice is like a bell. And he sings the notes very well. As it turned out later, she studied at a music school, and she was doing great there. In general, it was some kind of angel. We, of course, took it without any hesitation.
At first, Volkova didn’t stand out in any way, but about a year later we all went to Artek together. This was a common practice, we went there every summer, a special “fidget” detachment was organized in the camp, they had their own counselors, their own buildings and their own schedule.
A week passed, and suddenly, out of the blue, walkers - our “fidgets” - reached out to me. One or two at a time they came and said thoughtfully: “Len, it turns out that Yulia Volkova is such a cool girl, we couldn’t even think of it!”, “Oh, Len, it’s so great with Volkova!” And since then I’ve only heard from them “Volkova, Volkova, Volkova”, “Yulia this, Julia that.” She became not just the soul of the party - the ruler of thoughts. She won the trust of our leaders - Lazarev and Malinovskaya. This couple usually worked as our main clowns, and now the three of them with Volkova were amusing the whole squad until they dropped.
Vlad Topalov, Sergey Lazarev and Yulia Malinovskaya (bottom row) and Lena Katina (top right)
Volkova also had her own trick - she loved to treat everyone. Since she herself was a thin, frail girl and at first quite sickly, her parents packed a whole chest with a variety of tablets, ointments and pills. And Yulka generously fed them to all the suffering. “Do you have a headache? On you, aspirin, take it! Do you have a tummy? Here's activated carbon for you." It is clear that her mother did not give her any serious medications with her to the camp, knowing full well that it was dangerous, but she was still in charge of all the plasters and brilliant greens and earned the fame of Doctor Sorreltail.
Girls were especially drawn to Yulka: in addition to everything else, she also had the talent of a stylist and makeup artist and loved doing hair, dressing up, and putting on makeup. This was a rare combination of kindness and sparkling, infectious fun. And also the unique ability to become one of the people and a leader in any team. Not a girl, but a treasure.
Yulia Volkova and Lena Katina (left) and Sergey Lazarev (right)
Her future partner in the duet “Tattoo” Lena Katina came to us at “Fidgets” later than Volkova. And her story is completely different. Lenin's dad is a professional composer and sound engineer. We met him at the studio when we were recording one of the songs with Fidgets. After a while he called me and said: “Len, listen to my girl? She’s involved in some kind of singing group, she sings Spanish songs with a guitar, it turns out interesting.”
A girl of about 12 came. She was bright, red-haired, and these hemp plants were charming. Well, she's a beauty, not a girl! The voice is amazing, the timbre is very pleasant. And she herself is calm, mature, quiet. Naturally I took it.
Yulia Malinovskaya and Nastya Zadorozhnaya (center) and Lena Katina (right)
It’s not easy to join a long-established team, but Lena managed not to come into conflict with anyone. The old-timers, of course, tried to reward the “new redhead” with a portion of ridicule and jokes. But Lena reacted to this extremely philosophically and calmly. This calmness and “maturity” have always distinguished Katina. Even after the stormy rise of Tatu, Lena managed to keep her head on her shoulders. And she remained completely unspoiled by success, money and fame.
About first love
Lovers Lazarev, Zadorozhnaya, Topalov and Volkova
