Vitas
Vitas Bumac (born February 19, 1981), is a Latvian-born Russian pop singer, most commonly known by his first name Vitas, or Витас in Russian. He first appeared in Russia in December of 2000 with his hit Opera #2, amazing the public with his energetic soprano voice.
Biography
Vitas was born on February 19 1981 in Latvia.
Biography
• VITAS first appeared on the Russian stage with his hit "Opera # 2" in December 2000.
• he released five albums ("Philosophy of Miracle", "Smile!", "Mother", "The Songs of My Mother", "Kiss As Long As Eternity") which were entered into the Top Three most popular albums in 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004. (according to the official sales).
• he released two singles ("Opera # 2" and "Goodbye"). According to the official sales results, the single "Opera # 2" was awarded a Russian Prize (established by the producers of phonograms "Record") as the bestselling single of 2001, 2002 and 2003.
• he became a Musical Discovery of Year according to the newspaper "Komsomolskaya Pravda" and the Internet Survey "FORUM 2001".
• he became a three-time-laureate of the festivals "The Song of the Year-2000", "The Song of the Year-2001" and "The Song of the Year-2002".
• he became a two-time-laureate of the People Prize "Golden Gramophone" for the song "Opera # 2" in 2001 and for the song "Smile!" in 2002.
• he became a three-time-laureate of the Musical Prize "PODIUM" for the most stylish achievements in pop music in 2001, 2002 and 2003.
• he became a laureate of the prize "People’s HIT" in 2001, 2002 and 2003. His songs "Opera # 2", "Smile!" ,"The Star" were the most frequently rotated ones in RF.
• he became a winner of the Prize "100 Per Cent HIT" established by the radio station "HIT FM" in 2001 and 2003.
• he was acknowledged the Soloist of the Year according to the results of the National Musical Prize "Ovation" in 2002.
• According to the Russian Internet portal AFISHA.COM Vitas is recognized to be a artist among Russian artists in 2004, 2005, who has given the greatest number of concerts on the territory of Russian Federation, the Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Belarus, the Baltics, Israel.
• he established a indisputable record having organized the premiere of his solo concert in the State Kremlin Palace on March 29, 2002. Vitas became the youngest artist who performed a solo concert at the Kremlin.
• Vitas presented his collection of the clothes "Autumn Dreams" on the stage of the State Kremlin Palace in September 29, 2002.
• Vitas got an invitation from Lucio Dalla, the composer, who created "In Memory of Caruso", to perform this famous song Vitas together with the author at the concerts "San Remo in Moscow" held in the State Kremlin Palace. Vitas’ voice enchanted not only the audience but Mr. Dalla himself. So the composer invited Vitas to come to Rome to take part in the rehearsals of "Toska", the modern version of the legendary opera.
• Vitas presented his second solo program "The Songs of My Mother" in the Concert Hall "RUSSIA", Moscow in November 2003. Two albums: “ The Songs of My Mother” and “ Mama” of the artist were released for the premiere. The album “ The Songs of My Mother” included the songs which are considered to be the gold reserves of Russian pop-music. And the another album “ Mama” included only the new songs composed by Vitas.
• The Production Center "Pudovkin" organized an unprecedented tour with the program "The Songs of My Mother" in Russia and the USA, Canada, Australia, Germany, Kazakhstan, Israel and the Baltic States in 2004-2006. Vitas gave more than 250 performances with the program "The Songs of My Mother" in 2004.
• Vitas became the most popular touring artist in Russia in 2004-2005. His premiere "The Songs of My Mother" was acknowledged "the best musical event of the year".
• The album "A Kiss As Long As Eternity" released on October 8, 2004 had unprecedented record sales in Russia and CIS: more than 2 million copies were sold less than half a year. The total number of CDs sold during the period of the singer’s creative activity exceeded 10 million copies.
• In June, 2006, Vitas was invited by “ China Central Television” (CCTV) to take part in the grand event of “The Year of Russia in China” in Beijing. Vitas performed 2 songs in a CCTV’s program which was specially devoted to “The Year of Russia in China” : ” Star” and “Opera # 2”.
• Vitas’ new premiere "Return home" will take place in March, 2007 on the stage of The State Kremlin Palace. More than 20 new Vitas' compositions will be included in the premiere. Many new songs have already become favourite for the fans by the Internet such as "Crane's Crying", "Shores of Russia", "I Ask All Saints", "The Little Prince", "I Repeat Your Name" , they are a small part of new songs which will be presented to the audience at the premiere.
He has a distinct unique style in his songs and music videos. He produces music with a wide range of genres. Notably, his video for "Blessed Guru" has a very eccentric style. He has also made a mark on Russian television.
Vitas' soprano voice has been a very controversial issue in Russian media. It isn't a surprise for anyone in Russia that most pop artists not only hardly ever sing live, but also use someone else's voice (like Milli Vanilli). Obviously, Poudovkin and Vitas himself are denying these rumours. In concerts, he makes it pretty obvious that he is not lip syncing by moving the microphone away and towards his mouth as he sings.
From 2005, Vitas'MV "Opera#2" has been forwarded greatly by Internet in Asia and Vitas has become popular and famous in Asian market.
Albums
- 2001 The single " Opera #2 "
- 2001 The single " Good-bye "
- 2001 Philosophy of Miracle
- 2002 Smile!
- 2003 Mama
- 2003 The Songs of My Mother
- 2004 A Kiss as long as Eternity
External links
- The Official Vitas Site [1] (In English/Russian)