Mika Newton

Date of Birth: 03.05.1986

Place of Birth. Education. Her real name is Oksana Stefaniwna Grytsay. Born in Burshtyn, Ivano-Frankivsk region.

In 2001, Oksana moved to Kyiv and began her studies at the Kyiv College of Variety and Circus Arts, specializing in Variety Singing.

In 2007, she attended the Actors Studio in England.

Career. In 2002, she won the 'Black Sea Games' competition in Skadovsk. That same year, she signed a contract with producer Yuriy Falesa (previously he produced the singer Ani Lorak). Yuriy Falesa invented the stage name Mika Newton for Oksana Grytsay: Mika - after Mick Jagger (member of the group 'Rolling Stones'), Mika Box (member of the group 'Uriah Heep'), Newton - 'new sound' in English.

The collaboration with Yuriy Falesa ended in 2009. Afterwards, the singer's producer was Timofiy Nagornyy, the ex-husband of gymnast Liliya Podkopayeva.

On February 26, 2011, Mika Newton won the Ukrainian selection for the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest with the song 'Angel'. The singer won in all three categories - SMS voting, online voting, and voting by jury members.

On May 12, 2011, Mika Newton performed as number six in the second semifinal of the Eurovision Song Contest in Düsseldorf and earned the right to participate in the final, which took place on May 14. In the final of Eurovision 2011, Oksana placed 4th with the song 'Angel' and scored 159 points, supported by Kseniya Simonova with a sand sculpture animation.

After the Eurovision Song Contest, she traveled to California, planning to live in the USA until 2013, as 'JK-music group' offered her and her producer Timofiy Nagornyy a collaboration and promotion of the singer in the West. The musician Randy Jackson works with Mika. She lives in downtown Los Angeles in a rented three-room apartment and dreams of getting a 'Grammy'.

Scandal. Immediately after the final of the selection process, a scandal broke out regarding the honesty of the event. In particular, the deputy head of the Presidential Administration of Ukraine, Anna Herman, stated that she intended to establish a special commission to review the preparation process and the course of the final selection of Ukraine at the Eurovision Song Contest. Anna Herman was very impressed by the performance of the singer Jamala.

Personal Life. In December 2018, she married Chris Saavedra, the owner of the American modeling agency Saint Agency.

03.05.2022