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A PERSON
"Smooth Criminal"
A: ...for me generally these 4 days in the country is really long. Usually I travel over Europe and all the time it's like - 2 days here, 2 days there -
I have such a tour that there is always a crazy schedule... eh... suddenly I woke up one day and understood that - oh my God, I've travelled all over Europe but I haven't almost been to Russia.
But here are my roots. Well, I was born in Belarus so I really want to understand Slavic culture better, I want to delve into your country, your culture, your history.
Generally I think that Moscow is a European capital of music. My mom brought me up on the classic - Tchaikovsky, Rakhmaninov, Shostakovich.
And... I just... when I came here this week I felt at once that huge scale, that everything here is just tremendous.
One can think that I am used to Europe already but it's still now when I am in Moscow I really feel like a star because everything is so huge here... yes, stunningly...
My uncle lives here and I didn't see him 1,5 years already... I didn't leave you. Although I live in Norway, I tour, well, in Germany, in France, in Belgium...
here... well, I'm learning the Russian language. Not... not German but Russian. Because I really really want to...
well, now for example I still feel like a foreigner in Russia but I really want sooner to feel like... kind of yours.
The main reason why I am here is presenting my new video.
"Leave Me Alone"
A: I always try to find new genres, to experiment with different music. Well an instrument... I am a classical violinist but I want to show...
I have such a mission in my life to show people that they can develop their talent really in diverse ways. I have a violin but it does not mean that I will play only Mozart.
Well, for example I participated in ESC. It was an experiment too. I thought - well let me compose such a folk pop song and maybe I will win, who knows.
"Fairytale"
A: After this I composed black metal, rap music. Now I thought that's it - it's time to write a Russian song
maybe in such a provocative genre and with provocative lyrics because it's about the girl who pursues me. She has pursued me for 3 years already.
I have a lot of such fans who call me sometimes and... jump on me, kiss me on the street. It's nice. In small doses, in moderation it's nice.
When they give me gifts. But when this woman calls me 60-70 times a day then it's somehow uncomfortable. And she did that every day for 3 years.
I understand. I try to be such a strong guy. I know perfectly that I chose this life myself and that this life, this career, this business has many different sides.
So I don't complain. But when she started to call my mom and dad, when she started to spoil the lives of my friends,
then I feel somehow ashamed because my friends didn't choose this life. It's me who chose that.
"Dostala"
A: I thought that I am an artist and ... my task is to tell my audience everything that happens in my life.
She appears in my life every day. So I wrote a song, made a video.
The director is very good - Alexander Filatovitch. This is my third video with him.
I invited A really really beautiful girl from Ukraine - Yana Obodets who works as a model, A very popular model in Japan and in China - to play the role of this woman from Israel.
And my fans liked that I found a new genre with my violin. Well, now it's such a dance track.
A dramatic serious song plus I was half-ashamed when we shot it because I thought -
oh my God, Sasha, there are people who are really sick, who are in need of help like this woman from Israel and you pretend that you are crazy yourself.
But I hope that people will understand that it's more like an art-style. I make an aesthetic of that. So...
I just wanted to show such an extreme ... an extreme situation that she brought me already up there (shows his hand to his throat)
A PERSON
A: I don't know if I am humble or not humble... I have my own star fevers like all others have. I think...
I am just that artist who ... I am firstly a musician and then a celebrity.
I don't like ... now all these Red carpet events I am invited to - I never go there, because this part is not interesting for me in this business.
I want to write music and find a new audience all the time. My music is not of some format and experimenting is more interesting for me.
And I know that my audience is really diverse, they like every genre I give them.
It's because of that maybe I am that down to earth because I know that I don't seek for the top charts in America, in China. It's not important for me.
I already have such a big audience now that I just want to support them.
I have already 500.000 people on my Facebook site. So... I want to please them.
It's not my private site but ... how is that... a fansite. I write there but it's not like I communicate there... with girls .
It was like that before I used facebook to communicate with girls.
One of the reasons why I didn't come to Moscow last year was because I had a girlfriend. And the last few months she didn't let me come here because here you are too beautiful...
well, we broke up now so now... she let me come to Moscow...
"Strela Amura" ("Arrow of Cupid")
A: Every girl needs a guy who can be with her all the time. I think...
especially her... She was very... really... she was really the kindest girl, the most beautiful. I just really respect her and I decided that she needs a better guy than me.
I... I tried of course every time when I had a concert somewhere I always tried to take her with me.
But that wasn't interesting for her. In Scandinavia the girls are so individual. They don't like to run over a guy. On the contrary they like when a guy runs over her.
And it was really difficult for me both to give such big-scale concerts for 15.000 people - for example I had a concert in Serbia and she wanted me to come to her because she had a party with her girlfriends.
I said: "Please, Masha, believe me that I really need to go to this concert, my fans wait for me there".
And she wanted me to come to her. And of course it's understandable.
A PERSON
A: I had to make such a big choice, eh... to hold concerts in Sweden, 3-4 concerts in Sweden, and not disappoint my fans or to go to Oprah Winfrey to America where they invited me at the same time.
And still I had to refuse Oprah Winfrey because for me the main thing is to fulfil agreements.
I never wanted to become bigger, more important. I think I have really big privilege that I have so many fans here in Europe, that...
I travel around the world with pleasure, they invite me to China, to America, but the audience I have now is more important for me.
Well, okay, it's one story. Then there is another story that I had a very strict recording company.
And Philip Kirkorov wanted to work on my concerts. It was in about one year after ESC, well 2 years ago.
And I said: "Yes, with pleasure! Cool! I am ready. Just call my company and..."
But he is a company himself. So he didn't need that. He manages his career himself. So he said: "Why the company? Let's make an agreement at once without them"
But I thought , they have already drilled into my head that: "no, no, no, I can talk to nobody, I have to..." So I missed the chance to tour with him that year.
I really seek to have so many songs in order that people can say while watching Youtube: "oh, yes, Sasha could do this and that".
However I already have many songs on Youtube. My songs are not of a radio format. Sometimes I make songs of a certain format
but usually I write non-format songs. On Youtube I already have the whole catalogue. And I am really happy with this.
"Europe Skies"
A: I write my songs myself. On the contrary it's more important for me to be a composer than an artist. Maybe I'll even write a song for Kirkorov, who knows.
My biggest dream is to become A famous composer. Well, everybody says: "Sasha, you won with your smile. We are so happy for you".
And I say: "What smile? I smile like other people do. And I won not with my smile but with my song. I wrote a song and I won with it"
And I really hope that in the future I will write songs not only for myself but for another artists as well.
Maybe even for ESC who knows. Because my biggest dream is to become a composer and ...
when I finally find a girlfriend, when I will have a wife and children then I can quietly live a bit far from the city and I won't have to travel over Europe.
Now it's my big privilege - I adore travelling here and there, visiting you - I am really happy about it.
But now I am single. And when I will have a wife, I think a family life is the most sacred thing we have.
Sometimes I have that thought in my head that "yes, I would like more girls" but it's... I just haven't decided yet if I want to be the best husband or the best bachelor.
But still I dream of a family.
I had an author's company in Scandinavia and I signed a contract with the recording company in Ukraine. Very good company. But I did that without checking that everything is okay in the papers.
And it happened that - I did know nothing - and that happened that Alexander Rybak as the author sued Alexander Rybak as the artist. Strange situation.
Well, generally I remind to myself that my talent is not to be a businessman, not to be a bachelor, nothing like that... My talent is music. It's all I can do. All the rest is...
I try to be a good human being but... Music is the only thing where I am sure that it's my talent.
"Stary Klion"/ "Old Maple"
A: My idols... Jascha Heifetz and David Oistrakh... well, as the violinists. And beside this... Michael Jackson for sure. He is just...
his talents were stunning. I think there is no artist who could both dance and sing. He wrote songs himself!
And every song became at once an international hit. Without being of a certain format.
In Russia I can mention Kirkorov again. Because he is diverse, all songs that he gets he makes for 100%. Sting, Kirkorov, Bocelli. I like Andrea Bocelli very much.
Then if I will list different styles I like - for example I like Blink 182 or Greenpeace... Green Day. I really like Eminem. I listen to rap very often.
Each mood has it's own genre, it's own melody and it's own songs.
So I really hope/want that people - and in Russia too - will be more open for new genres.
Bach's "Chaconne"
A: In Russia I have no time to meet other stars. I would be friends with somebody with pleasure but so far I only try to...
although this time I came to you, I am really happy that everybody invites me here and there.
And next time I will have thought over whom I want to work with, whom I don't want to work with.
Yet now I've come home and started to watch Youtube channels. I just respect so much your (show)business that if... and I see that I do know no artist here. So it's time already.
I hear so many good songs on radio all the time but I don't know who sings them. I ask my manager all the time: "Oh, it's a good song! Who is it? What artist is it?"
Russian parties are very good because there are beautiful girls, you can admire them. But, well, just parties...
just for getting drunk, for hanging out all the time - I have no time and no desire. In Baku when ESC took place, they invited me to this party and to that one.
And I went there, opened a party, sang, played and went home right away and practised on my violin.
I know that for an artist it's better not to say that we listen to us ourselves
but when I am done in the studio, when I have recorded the song then I can listen to this song for half a day, the same song of mine.
To enjoy that "yes, Sasha, you had an idea and you did it 100%".
It's very easy to get a star fever and think that "oh, that's it, I need again the same stir, the same girls who scream... It's...
I don't need that because my audience is anyway crazy wherever I would appear. It was like that last year, and this year and the next year it will be like that.
It's... just... cool! But...
to feel that contest's instinct ... I could do that as a composer.
I would participate in ESC with pleasure one more time as a composer. 20 more times. And not necessary for Norway. I can do that for Russia.
A PERSON
A: The omens I have... anyway they are not material. People tried to give me such mascots. I put them right away somewhere in other place. But, well...
I have traditions. For example about one hour before the concert I completely close myself for 10 minutes. Really 10 minutes per day I have such a thing. Not more.
Usually I always communicate with somebody. It doesn't matter what mood I'm in, I always communicate with everybody if it's necessary.
But 10 minutes about one hour before the concert I don't talk to anybody. Then I have that look that everybody understands that means "you can't reach him".
And the producers can shout at me in my ear and knock at me - I am completely closed because I think only...
either about some lyrics or my fingers are running, I am trying to remember some phrase...And this is, well, such my tradition.
I do ski, snowboard with pleasure. In summer I had my biggest vacation ever - one week.
Finally I had vacations. The first ones in 2 years. And then I only did windsurfing. Well, I wouldn't say it's extreme.
I just hate when people start to climb mountains or skydive or ...eh... go on safari without any car, without anything near...
People who kind of have such a mission to talk to animals and suddenly...
there is a video on Youtube how a lion has eaten a man who thought he was such a 'nature's man' and suddenly ... a family is left without a father...
So I think when a man has a family it's absolutely stupid to do some extremal sport. Because it's... it's just very egoistically I think.
An extreme should be in moderation. I can understand when people lose their families, God forbid,
and they start to do some extreme sport because it's all they are left with in the world... I can understand that.
But when you have a quiet life and you suddenly decide - that's it - I will climb the highest mountain without any... clothes, it's...
I don't understand what people use for thinking then...
And I ... sometimes I play basketball, volleyball. However I know that it's bad for my fingers, but I know that I won't die from that.
Bach's "Chaconne"
"Fairytale"
A PERSON