| Natalia Podolskaya was born in 1982 in Mogilev, Belarus. She studied piano at music school and started singing at the age of nine in the ‘Studio W’ group of the Mogilev Music and Choreography School. With this group she won festivals such as ‘Zornaya Rostan’, ‘Magutny Bozha’ (Belarus) and ‘Goldenfest’ (Poland). She went on tour in Belgium, Germany and Poland.
Between 1999 and 2004, she studied law at the Belarusian Law Institute and continued to gain experience as a solo performer. Natalia regularly took part in music shows on Belarusian radio and television and, in 2002 / 2003, she was finalist in the national TV festival ‘On the Crosses of Europe’. In 2002, she moved to the Russian capital and joined the Moscow Institute of the Modern Art.
Natalia Podolskaya became well-known in 2002 after her brilliant performance at Vitebsk Festival ‘Slavyansky Bazar’. The same year in Prague, Czech Republic, 16 members of ‘Universetalent Prague 2002’ International Jury marked her performance very high: Natalia Podolskaya won in the ‘Best Song’ and ‘Best Singer’ categories.
In the beginning of 2003, Rayan Lobsher and Michael Jay (the Grammy-winning producer and writer of the songs for Kylie Minogue, Céline Dion, Lara Fabian and others) wrote ‘Unstoppable’ specially for Natalia and invited her to take part in the 2004 Eurovision Song Contest as the UK representative. However, Podolskaya was determined to sing only for her home country Belarus. But even though she did well, another contestant was selected to represent Belarus last year.
In 2004, Natalia Podolskaya got through the auditions and became a participant of ‘Star Factory-5’ in which she was taught by the best singing, dancing and acting teachers in Russia. It was here that Natalia met Victor Drobysh, the famous songwriter and producer. With his help she recorded her first album, which was released in December 2004. Incredible artistry, natural charisma and excellent vocal technique helped Natalia to win the public’s affection. Her debut album was a success. Today the song ‘Pozdno’ (‘Late’) is a hit on all TV and radio stations.
In February 2005, the Russian national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest took place. TV viewers chose a winner by televoting. It was Natalia who was chosen to represent Russia with her song ‘Nobody Hurt No One’ at the Eurovision Song Contest in Kyiv. |
