Vitaliy Kozlovskiy is a singer, producer, actor and performer from Ukraine. He sings about love and has an extraordinary love for people. Proceeds from his upcoming tour will go to help families who suffer from the effects of war. We invite you to enter his world by reading the words from the heart of this artist.
Vitaliy, how long have you been singing and what got you started?
I dreamed about stage and music since childhood. My sibling Lena and I used to play as if we were singers on professional stage and we often sang to each other all popular songs, using deodorant as a microphone. I come from an ordinary family from a beautiful ukrainian city, Lviv. My mom is an accountant, and dad – electrician. So none could ever believe their son would become a professional singer. But my dream was big enough to come true one day.
What did you do as a child or a young person to feed your interest in singing.
I was constantly watching musical programs like “Morning star”. At school age I was singing in a choir, and I always performed at school events. Later I started dancing in a professional show-ballet “Life”. We performed with the popular Ukrainian singer Ruslana and went on tour all over Ukraine. I raised the first money in my life by dancing. And I felt a huge burst of energy and adrenaline while performing on stage, but I also realized, It was not enough for me, cause I always dreamed of myself as a professional singer.
How do you define the type of music that you do? What genre?
I define my genre as a romantic pop music. But I never try to limit my work with this definition. Sometimes it is interesting for me to try myself in different styles and genres, even something close to rock music.
You are very physically fit. What is your workout routine like and how often do you workout?
Three years ago I had a huge problem with my back. I had to stop workout in a gym and pay attention to my health. Once I was advised a new type of activity which could help me to fix a problem. It was a new method of development of a body flexibility, some kind of yoga and stretching. And it really helped me to feel better. But physical exercises were not enough to achieve the goal. It was very important to eat nutritious food, vitamins, to avoid fatty, fried foods, carbohydrates. Protein food should be the basis of diet. And I began to combine daily workout and protein diet.
Time passed and I felt myself fit enough to restart my strength trainings. Nowadays l feel much more healthy and full of energy. And workouts are the important part of my daily routine.
You often travel to areas affected by war and travesty to try to bring people hope. We can understand why a person would want to do this, but tell us why this is important to you.
I have visited the areas affected by war three times during last year. It was a program of a humanitarian help to soldiers, recruits, civilians, children and there also took place concerts for supporting people. I returned home totally shocked and upset. After I saw people who lost everything in their lives, destroyed cities, broken houses and bridges, I thanked God for my opportunity to live in my house and sleep in my own bed. I realized, that this opportunity was given to me for helping other people. Last year I started my all-Ukrainian tour “Be stronger”. It will go on this year and will finish in Kiev with a large concert on the main stage of our country. And all the money, raised during this tour, are given to people, who need help. I don’t work with charity funds, because I want to be sure that all recipients will get the assistance. I help certain people and families with money, medicines, clothes and other necessities. Hope that war will end soon and people will be able to live in their homes peacefully and never worry, that “tomorrow” may never come.
You are a dancer, songwriter, an actor, as well as a singer. How did you develop such diverse talents? Did these things come naturally and easily for you, or was there a lot of training involved?
All achievements in my life took a lot of work and perseverance, but it had never depressed me, cause I can honestly say, that I’m living in my big dream. That is why I’m always ready to work hard. Perfection has no limits, but on the other hand, I never try to be perfect. I’m not a dollar to be liked by everyone. There are always people who will criticize you or tell you are doing wrong things. I never let such words influence my decisions. There are a few people, whose opinion is important for me. My parents, for example. My mom or dad can call me and tell that she or he didn’t like what I told in the interview and I can have the whole sleepless night because of that. I will think and analyze everything I did or said. But if the same thing is told me by other people – I never mind. I’m honest in everything I say and everything I do.
Who was or is your favorite teacher and why?
When I was at school, I had good relationship with most teachers. I was always active while organizing school events and performing on them, that’s why teachers forgave me the sometimes unlearned lessons. When I graduated from school, my class chief came up to me and said: “ Vitaliy, I’ve always seen your desire to do what you love doing most of all in your life – singing and performing. I wish your dream to come true and I wish you all the best on your way”. I was very happy to hear these words. And even nowadays, many years after graduating from school, I’m grateful to my teachers for their understanding and support.
What subject do you like to sing about the most?
It turns out, that the main subject of music is love. The love that is beginning, lasting or the one dying, happy or unhappy love. Relationships between people who are like one entity, or those, who can’t even understand each other. Love is an eternal subject for all types of artists. And when I talk or sing about it, I mean not only love of a man with a woman, but also love of parents and children, love to your country, to your friends. It’s a very deep feeling that is worth singing about.
Fans say that you are one of the best Ukranian singers. Who is your favorite singer and why are they your favorite?
There’re a lot of singers, whose work and talent I admire a lot. Whitney Houston, Madonna, U2, Robbie Williams. Their contribution to the world of music is really great.
We want to know how you define yourself. Tell us who the person Vitaliy Kozlovskiy is in a few sentences.
It’s difficult to speak about myself. I think, people who surround me can tell much more. I can say that I’m a person, who loves life and believes people. I quickly forget all the bad, looking forward to all good, that is happening in my life. I try to care about my family and my closest people, to help my parents, to be a good godfather to my godson and three goddaugters. I know for sure: if someone is constantly looking back into the past or looking into the future, he will never be happy and satisfied today. That is why I try to live right now and enjoy life. There are a lot of things to praise – music, family, friends, peace.
Though music is a universal language, do you think that people who speak other languages will relate to your music even though they do not understand the words? What is your personal opinion, what is the opinion of your management and how is this addressed?
I’ve visited international music festivals for many times and I’m sure, music is an international language, that can touch both your heart and soul.
There is not only language that is important, but also emotions, your honesty towards your audience, charisma.
I will be honest if I say, that I’m looking forward to expansion of my boundaries. We are working on it and I’m sure that a lot depends on a music material. It should be a musical product of high quality, which will adequately represent the Ukrainian show-business in the global arena.
We always like to ask artists what they believe they will think of themselves and what they’ve done when they are 80 or 90 years old and looking back. So, tell us what an 80 year old Vitaliy will tell his grandchildren about himself.
I have many goals I have to aim before telling, that I have held in my life. Sometimes, when I dream about my future, I see a big house. All the family is sitting by the hearth – me, my children, my grandchildren. It’s an ideal picture of my life, which exists just in my imagination, but I hope it will one day come true. I will tell my children and grandchildren that they should never stop dreaming and believing in their dreams. But they should work hard to make their wishes come true and not to be afraid of making mistakes. They should boldly make changes in their lives and in case of necessity – leave their comfort zone to become stronger.
Contact Management: yuliabakumenko@mail.ru