Andrey Kravchuk

Date of Birth: 17.03.1977

Andrei EL Kravchuk (real name Andrei Viktorovich Ostapenko) - Ukrainian singer, actor, and presenter.

Place of Birth. Education. He was born in Vilnius. His mother is a doctor, his father is a military scientist, lecturer, professor. In 1989, the family moved to Kyiv, where Andrei attended Pushkin Secondary School.

Beginning. It is believed that this artist created the genre of Ukrainian Neoromanticism on the domestic stage.

Andrei has been a long-time admirer of the works of Alexander Vertinsky. He admits that Vertinsky's songs influenced his artistic creativity.

He began his career on stage as a student at the Glier Music College, as a soloist of the group 'Singapore'. In 1994, his career took a significant leap - the country learned the name EL Kravchuk. The mysterious prefix instead of the name sparked many speculations, amplified by the well-known surname Kravchuk (during those years, the President of Ukraine was Leonid Kravchuk). In reality, it was much simpler: 'EL' stood for 'electronic'. At that time, the so-called electronic music style was in vogue, and the aspiring singer presented his style exactly that way.

After seven years, he changed his stage name to 'Andrei Kravchuk'. This was explained by the fact that his music style no longer corresponded to the 'electronic idea'. However, not only the name and appearance changed, but also the image. The artist's work also evolved.

Musical Career. In 1995, Andrei applied to participate in the international competition 'Chervona Ruta' and won (since then, he generally does not participate in music competitions). Recording of the first album.

In 1996 he signed a contract with the 'Music Exchange'. He entered the Kyiv State Tchaikovsky Conservatory.

In 1997, the first album 'Nothing' was released. To support the album, a nationwide tour was organized in 35 cities. He won the 'Person of the Year' event in the category 'Artist of the Year'.

In 1998, he defended three diplomas simultaneously (in addition to the Glier College and Conservatory, also at the Faculty of History of Dragomanov University).

In 2000, the album 'Soldier of Love' was released. A tour to support the album was organized. At the event 'Golden Feather of the Firebird', EL Kravchuk's show 'Soldier of Love' was awarded 'Best Show of the Year'.

In 2001, the album 'Mortido' was released, which was mixed in London. Nationwide tour '100% Love'. Filming of the movie 'Wolf's Trail' (producer - Roman Balayan). All the music for the film was written by Andrei, and a soundtrack disc was released.

In 2002, he filmed the movie 'Happy People' (director - Alexander Shapiro). On September 1-2, charity solo concerts were held at the Operetta Theater with the support of the UN.

Starting from 2003, he dedicated all his time to the theater performance 'Hamlet' (director - Andrei Zholdak). 85 performances in Ukraine, the Netherlands, France, Spain, Macedonia, Croatia, Romania, Bulgaria, Poland, Germany, Russia, Serbia.

In 2005, the premiere of the self-written musical 'The Sun' took place. Host of the show 'I Want to Be a Star' on the channel 1+1.

In 2006, he worked with the company 'Planeta Music' under the guidance of producer Oleg Cherny.

In 2007, he collaborated with the famous composer and sound producer Mikhail Nekrasov. A new song and video 'Hollywood' was released. Director Herman Glynsky. The motto of the song is 'Hollywood is not for us, we are better!'.

In 2008, a new phase in the artist's creative career began. The producer of EL Kravchuk became composer Mikhail Nekrasov. Performance at the 'Taurida Games' together with Verka Serduchka with the song 'Fly to the Light'. Filming of the video for the title song. Director Viktor Skuratovsky. Beginning of concert activities with a new program.

In 2009, he participated in the project 'In the Mood' (recording a song for the Eurovision Dance Contest). The Ukrainian couple Podkopayeva - Kostenko took 3rd place with the dance 'Jive' and the song 'In the Mood'. Participation in the international project 'Golden Lily' - recording the anthem of the sports festival. Participation in the national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest with the song 'Fly to Heaven'.

In 2010, El Kravchuk began to work independently, producing new songs and giving concerts. Participation in the national selection of the Eurovision Song Contest with the song 'My Hope', written by the composer Oleg Popkov and priest-poet from Berlin, Daniel Irbits. The song 'My Hope' became the leader of the national selection. Together with director and producer Semen Gorov, he presented a new concert program 'Tango Vertinsky'.

In 2011 - filming of music videos 'Cities', 'On Clouds' (director Semen Gorov). Release of the album with songs by Alexander Vertinsky 'What I Need to Say'. Beginning of collaboration with the recording label Moon Records. The concert program 'Tango Vertinsky' became the most successful commercial performance at the 'Jazz Koktebel' festival.

In 2012 - guest performances of the concert program 'Tango Vertinsky' took place in Riga (Latvia), Berlin (Germany), Moscow (Russia).