7 winners of the “Star Factory”: what happened to the idols of the 2000s?

In 2020, millennials were unexpectedly captured by nostalgia for the Star Factory television project, seven seasons of which aired on Channel One from 2002 to 2007. The trendsetter was singer and blogger Lyubov Terletskaya, who makes detailed, sometimes very funny, analyzes of factory seasons. In the summer of 2020, they remembered about their project on the “first button”. For several weeks we were shown a selection of performances by factory owners under the banner “Star Factory. The best". In addition, Maxim Galkin dedicated two episodes of the “Tonight” show to the manufacturers.

However, not all fans of the cult show liked the list of so-called best numbers. Not all the factory hits that fans remember and love were played. Duets with stars were preferred to many solo performances on the First. We decided to try to make up for this problem and present the most memorable songs of the TV project “Star Factory”.

"Star Factory-1"

The music producer of “Star Factory-1” was Igor Matvineko. The winner was the group “Roots”. The Factory group took second place, Mikhail Grebenshchikov took third.

“Cool you got on TV”

The song “It’s cool you’re on TV” is a cover version of the composition of the group “Ivanushki International” - “Distant Seas”. For the first season of the television project, a new text was written for it. Since then, “Cool...” was sung by factory owners at every factory.

Group Roots “I’m losing my roots”

For the first time, Pavel Artemyev performed his original track “I’m Losing My Roots” during the nomination. Alexandra Savelyeva performed as a backing vocalist. At the final of “Star Factory-1” at the Olimpiysky Sports Complex, the composition “I’m Losing My Roots” was performed by the first lineup of the “Roots” group: Pavel Artemyev, Alexander Astashenok, Alexey Kabanov and Alexander Berdnikov.

Factory group "About Love"

The country recognized the song “About Love” performed by Sati Kazanova, Sasha Savelyeva, Alexander Berdnikov and Alexander Astashenko. Immediately after this number, Igor Matvienko dispersed the quartet. At the finale of the show, the song “About Love” was performed by the first line-up of the “Factory” group: Sati Kazanova, Irina Toneva, Maria Alalykina and Alexandra Savelyeva.

"Hugging Dances"

Mikhail Grebenshchikov is the most colorful character in Star Factory 1. Misha couldn’t sing from the word at all, but he tried. His song “Hugging Dancers” became one of the main hits of the season. The first version of the track is slightly different from the album version. The arrangement is a bit crude, apparently the organizers didn’t have time to immediately turn the song into a candy. At the premiere of the track, the chorus “Hugging Dancers” was performed by Irina Toneva and Ekaterina Shemyakina, in the version that everyone remembers - the blonde twins with whom Grebenshchikov later performed for a long time.

Yulia Buzhilova “Sleep”

Yulia Buzhilova is the main mystery of all seasons of “Star Factory”. Julia was a black sheep, unlike anyone else, original and deep. And what songs she wrote!

Buzhilova performed the song “Sleep” at one of the first Friday concerts. Nikolai Devlet-Kildeev, a member of the Moral Code group, played along with her on guitar. There was no video for this composition, it was not played on the radio, but many fans of the factory call it almost the best song of all seasons, certainly the first.

Pavel Artemyev and Irina Toneva “You Understand”

The song “You Understand” by Igor Matvienko and Igor Sorin could end up in the repertoire of the group “Ivanushki International”. There is a short video online from 1994 in which future band members Andrei Grigoriev-Appolonov and Kirill Andreev perform this track at an audition. Igor Sorin is also in the frame.

However, in the end, “You Understand” became a hit in 2002, performed by Pavel Artemyev and Irina Toneva.

Ekaterina Shemyakina “The best guys of my country”

Ekaterina Shemyakina’s original song “The Best Guys of My Country” became the decoration of “Star Factory-1”. The rap in it was read by Misha Grebenshchikov.

Immediately after her performance, Shemyakina was kicked out of the factory, they say, she is already a professional, and her rival Sasha Savelyeva needs to learn more.

Ekaterina received a standing ovation while performing “Guys” at the Olimpiysky, but that was where the big story of this composition ended.

Star Factory 1[ | ]

Producer[ | ]

Yuri Nikitin (Chairman of the Mamamusic music society)

Presenters[ | ]

Vasilisa Frolova
Andrey Domansky

Members[ | ]

Olga Tsybulskaya
and
Alexander Bodyansky
(group “Dangerous Liaisons”) - winner
Christina Kim
Vitaly Bondarenko
Dasha Astafyeva
Yulia Borzaya
Evgeniy Tolochny
Dmitry Kadnay
Katya Velazquez -
Alexander Ilchishin
Vitaly Yarovoy
Elizabeth Anum-Dorhuso
Zhenya Milkovsky
Dasha Kolomiets
Taras Chernienko
Arina Domski

Winners[ | ]

1st place
- Olga Tsibulskaya, Alexander Bodyansky
2nd place
- Christina Kim
3rd place
- Vitaly Bondarenko

"Star Factory-2"

The music producer of “Star Factory-2” was Maxim Fadeev. The winner of the project was Polina Gagarina. Elena Terleeva took second place, Elena Temnikova took third place.

Anthem of “Star Factory 2”

The participants of the second season, like their predecessors, sang “You Got It Cool” from concert to concert, but at the end of the project they presented their own anthem. It was performed by Polina Gagarina, Lena Terleeva, Lena Temnikova, Yulya Savicheva and Masha Rzhevskaya.

Polina Gagarina "Where are you"

Polina Gagarina was named the winner of the “Star Factory-2” project at the finale of the show at the Olimpiysky. There are still rumors that Elena Terleeva, who took second place, should have become the first. 10 years after these events, this information was confirmed by Maxim Fadeev. The girls themselves remain silent.

Gagarina, unlike the other finalists, performed only one solo song at the factory. It was "Where are you."

Elena Terleeva “To us, to us”

Modest Elena Terleeva showed that she can be sexy in the song “To us, to us.” Before this, the singer behaved sedately on stage. This track could well have become a hit, but Maxim Fadeev relied on other performers. However, it is still impossible to imagine the second factory without “Us, Us”.

Elena Temnikova “Run” (“Farthest”)

The story of Elena Temnikova’s song “Run” (“Farthest”) is similar to “To us, to us.” The fans adored her, but everything was limited to the performance of this track on the Friday show and at the final at the Olimpiysky.

Yulia Savicheva “High” and “Ships”

Yulia Savicheva was Maxim Fadeev’s favorite at Star Factory 2. The producer knew Yulia from the age of 4, he worked with her father, and involved the young artist in several songs by singer Linda. Therefore, it is no wonder that Savicheva received the most songs from Maxim Fadeev on the project.

Savicheva performed “High,” “Ships,” and “Farewell, My Love.” However, it was “Vysoko” that became her calling card for several years. At the factory, Savicheva took fourth place.

Maria Rzhevskaya “When I become a cat”

Masha Rzhevskaya closed the top five finalists of “Star Factory-2”. After the end of the season, in addition to Savicheva, it was Rzhevskaya that Maxim Fadeev bet on. In 2003, her hit “When I Become a Cat” was heard from literally every iron.

However, after resounding success, Rzhevskaya stopped collaborating with Fadeev and went into the shadows. “When I become a cat” was later covered by Laima Vaikule and Lolita.

Christian Leinich "Light up the sun"

Christian Leinich is the last one to leave the star house before the finale. Christian left beautifully - with the soulful song “Light Up the Sun,” which many still remember and love. In this number he was accompanied by vocal teacher Marina Leonova.

Irakli Pirtskhalava “Vova Plague”

Irakli Pirtskhalava sang one of the main hits of “Star Factory-2”. The song “Vova the Plague” about the charming reptile became the symbol of the project and a super hit of the mid-2000s.

Narcissus Pierre "Chocolate Bunny"

Maxim Faddeev and poetess Irina Sekacheva wrote the song “Chocolate Bunny” especially for Narcissus Pierre. The song became a summer hit in 2003. Narcissus continues to be associated with “The Hare” to this day, since there were no other notable works in his career.

Dmitry Praskovin "Tai"

Remembering “Star Factory-2” one cannot help but mention Dmitry Praskovin, who is remembered for his only solo song “Tai”.

Gagarin, Terleeva, Temnikova, Rzhevskaya “Two Hours”

Maxim Fadeev created a quartet consisting of Polina Gagarina, Elena Terleeva, Elena Temnikova and Maria Rzhevskaya. The group did not last long. The girls performed the song “Two Hours” at one of the reporting concerts. This group also performed with her as part of a tour. When Gagarina left Fadeev, her part in “Two Hours” was performed by Evgenia Rasskazova.

“After winning at the Factory, I worked as a postman.”

What are you preparing for your fans?

— Unfortunately, I was in Kyiv 6 years ago. More often than not it didn't work out, but now I'm back to resume my career. During this time I rethought a lot, prepared, wrote, recorded. In general, there is something to show.

I arrived and literally immediately got into work, because I had to shoot video material for a video, rehearsal, photo shoot... I was unaccustomed to all this, in Germany I lived a slightly different life. Now for me it’s almost all over again. Ahead of us is a track that will be released in two versions - in English and Ukrainian. This was my dream, but I didn’t write tracks in Ukrainian, because I don’t speak it well enough. But recently I met the amazing poet Tatyana Vlasova, the lead singer of the group VLASNA, and it was she who was able to voice my thoughts correctly in beautiful Ukrainian.

— You said that you rethought a lot. What exactly? - It's a difficult question. I rethought a lot due to the fact that fame and crowds of fans fell on me. It’s not like permissiveness, but I had the feeling that I could do anything. And I lost a lot of time that should have been used wisely. And when people appeared who pointed me in the right direction and found levers with which to get the right things out of me, I realized that I could really create something worthy. — So you regret that you couldn’t achieve the resounding success you wanted at that time?

“Of course, I could do a lot more if I met people who could give me a kick in the ass and tell me that there is no need to waste my time, because there is only a year after the show. No one ever teaches this.

— Was there euphoria?

— There was, but I continued my career, starting to realize my weaknesses as an artist and a creative unit. When the rebranding of my solo project began, I was faced with the fact that there were no suitable platforms in the country. My format changed, the songs were not allowed on the radio, the videos became darker. Some frameworks appeared that I did not meet.

— In 10 years, you have experienced a lot: your rise at the “Star Factory” was consolidated with a victory at “Dancing with the Stars,” and then there was a sharp decline. You moved to another country and even worked as a postman... Did the changes have a big impact on you?

- If you want to instill in yourself the feeling that star fever is bad, and that everything has its ending, just for a change, get a job at McDonald's as a simple worker. I just got a job as a postman to sort out the formalities with the documents, but it was a great experience - after popularity, victory and participation in several shows, I came down to earth. I don’t think star fever will threaten me after this.

Star Factory-3

The music producer of “Star Factory-3” was Alexander Shulgin. The winner of the project was Nikita Malinin. Alexander Kireev took second place, Yulia Mikhalchik took third place.

Anthem of "Star Factory-3"

At first, the participants of “Star Factory-3” also had their own anthem. However, the guys managed to perform it only twice. Then they limited themselves to the traditional “Nice job.” This track was performed again in the semi-finals.

Nikita Malinin "Kitten"

Nikita Malinin performed several solo songs at Star Factory-3. However, everyone associates it with the song “Kitten”. Many fans of the project still think that the track is dedicated to Masha Weber. Masha was in love with the son of a famous artist, but the creators of the show tried to limit this relationship to platonic ones. Weber was only 16 years old at the time.

As a result, Masha Weber was kicked out of the project during a vote and she watched “Kitten” from the audience. To add poignancy to the moment, the camera repeatedly shows us Masha’s sad eyes.

Star Factory-3 “Sasha + Masha”

One of the main hits of the third season is the song “Sasha + Masha” - the fruit of collective creativity. The music for it was written by Alexander Kireev and Nikita Malinin, the words were written by them, plus Alexander Shulgin and Irina Zhelnova.

The track about a love polygon was performed by Alexander Kireev, Dmitry Golubev and Roman Barsukov. Also at the end of the performance the factory girls will appear on stage.

Yulia Mikhalchik “Bird” and “Peter”

Alexander Shulgin had his own favorite on the project - Yulia Mikhalchik. During the show, the artist performed many songs by Shulgin, including the famous “Bird” and “Peter.”

At the finals at the Olimpiyskiy, Shulgin proposed to Mikhalchik for “his hand in life.” However, this relationship lasted only two weeks. As soon as Yulia realized who she was dealing with, she quickly ran away.

Svetlana Svetikova “Veshnyaya” and “Forever”

19-year-old Svetlana Svetikova came to Star Factory-3 as an already accomplished artist. She already had the musical “Metro” under her belt. She also played Esmeralda in the Russian version of the musical “Notre Dame de Paris”.

Sveta did not have a good relationship with the producer, so she did not perform Shulgin’s songs. Her main factory hit “Veshnyaya” was written by Star Factory vocal teacher Marina Leonova. Many also remember Svetikova’s track “Forever”.

In the semi-finals of the show, Svetikova took fourth place. However, Svetlana recently said that the results of the semi-finals were allegedly rigged. According to the artist’s information, which was then provided to her by hackers, besides her, Ruslan Kurik, who was announced as the fifth, should have made it to the finals.

Ruslan Kurik "Wings"

Ruslan Kurik is the main rocker not only of the third season, but of the entire “Star Factory”. Ruslan performed several original compositions on the project. The most famous and beloved of them by fans is perhaps “Wings”.

Irina Or

Alexander Shulgin began to mold Irina Ortman into a new Valeria. By that time, a scandalous divorce had already occurred, but Shulgin still had songs “in the style of Valeria.” They had to be performed by Irina Ortman, whose type exactly matched the image. And their voices are similar. The song “Changing” was actively played on the radio and, when the performer was not announced, those who did not watch the factory thought that Valeria was singing. Nevertheless, this track became one of the calling cards of the season.

Masha Weber "Moscow melancholy"

The main princess of “Star Factory-3” Masha Weber was remembered by TV viewers not only for her unrequited love for Nikita Malinin, but also for the song “Moscow Melancholy”. The only negative of this act is that for some reason Masha drags an unfortunate kitten with her around the stage, who hardly likes what is happening.

Dmitry Golubev “Linger and freeze in the clouds”

Dima Golubev was one of Nikita Malinin’s main competitors for the hearts of TV viewers. However, in one of the nominations, Malinin slightly beat Golubev, and the team chose Irina Ortman. When Dima appeared at the final at the Olimpiyskiy with the song “Linger and Freeze in the Clouds” (“Angel of Silence”), the crowd roared.

Nikita Malinin and Masha Weber “First date”

Masha Weber did not get Nikita Malinin’s heart, but she was lucky enough to sing a duet with her factory love. The song is called "First Date".

Star Factory-3 “Happy New Year!”

Song "Happy New Year!" performed by the participants of “Star Factory-3” is still heard at many New Year’s holidays. This composition is a reworked anthem of the third season, to which new words were written.

Yulia Mikhalchik (32)

Many people bet on Yulia Mikhalchik’s victory in Star Factory 3, but the singer only took third place (the winner was Nikita Malinin (36)). And yet Mikhalchik’s songs sounded from everywhere, especially “Peter” and “Bird”.

Mikhalchik is also remembered for her affair with Alexander Shulgin (52) (Valeria’s ex-husband (49)). It didn’t last long, however – after a couple of years, Shulgin and Mikhalchik broke up, they say, with a scandal. Although last year Yulia even congratulated Alexander on his birthday: “Sasha, be it!” And be happy! Thank you for everything!”

In 2012, the singer married businessman Vladimir Goev and two years later gave birth to his son Sasha (3). However, this marriage did not last long - in 2016 they separated, but maintained friendly relations for the sake of their son.

Mikhalchik continues to record and release songs; the single “Unrequited Love” was released in early September, but the singer herself has said more than once that family comes first for her: “I decided for myself that the most important thing is family. I have a beautiful child growing up. I look at artists who are 35 years old, but they have not realized themselves as mothers, and it seems to me that this is more offensive than the lack of popularity.”

Star Factory-4

The music producer of “Star Factory-4” was Igor Krutoy. He was also helped by Igor Nikolaev, Viktor Drobysh and Evgeny Orlov. The winner of the season was Irina Dubtsova. Anton Zatsepin took second place, Stas Piekha took third place.

Star Factory-4 “Guardian Angel”

The unspoken anthem of the fourth season was the famous song “Guardian Angel,” which was written by Igor Krutoy and Igor Nikolaev back in the 90s.

Irina Dubtsova “About him”

The country cried when, during her first nomination, Irina Dubtsova performed her original song “About Him.” Also very colorful in this number was Timati with a bare torso, who pretended to play a pink violin. “About Him” became one of the main hits of all seasons of “Star Factories”.

Anton Zatsepin “Books about love” and “Shorter”

A song about an ordinary St. Petersburg boy, “Books about Love,” was written for Anton Zatsepin by Igor Nikolaev. By that time, Anton already had a hit, “Only Gubin is shorter,” but it was decided to promote “Books.” Zatsepin still performs this track, unlike “Gubin” for which he is ashamed in front of Andrey.

Stas Piekha “One Star”

Stas Piekha performed only one solo song at Star Factory-4 in his only nomination. But what a one! “One Star” became a big hit, and Stas Piekha became one of the most successful graduates of the season. In the act he was assisted by Alexa and Nastya Kochetkova, who portrayed backing vocalists.

Gang "Heaven is Crying" and "New People"

The hit “Heaven is Crying” for Timati was written by project participant Dominic Joker. The author also took part in the issue. Ratmir Shishkov also helped. The song was dedicated to Alexa, to whom Timati was breathing unevenly.

Subsequently, “The Heavens Are Crying” became part of the repertoire of the “Banda” group, which included Timati, Joker, Shishkov and Nastya Kochetkova. The team broke up after the death of Ratmir Shishkov in a terrible accident.

Alexa "Where are you"

Also, “Star Factory-4” cannot be imagined without Alexa’s song “Where are you” by Igor Krutoy and Irina Sekacheva. “Quiet summer day, shadow from the bench...” let’s sing along!

Yuri Titov “Pretend”

“In the emptiness I hear words and sounds, so I want your lips and hands...” - this song is still remembered by heart by everyone who watched “Star Factory-4”. “Pretend” by Yuri Titov became not just a hit, but a smash hit. When Igor Krutoy now wants to remind the public of the existence of this composition, he performs it himself or offers it to other performers. In particular, Sergei Lazarev has sung “Pretend” more than once, and not so long ago Arthur Pirozhkov presented his version.

Angina - Who cares"

Nadezhda Igoshina, who later began performing under the pseudonym Angina, dropped out of the project in the middle. However, the artist managed to become popular. “Who Cares” became a hit, and Angina even released one successful album.

Star Factory-4 “Champion Russia”

Also at the project, the patriotic song “Champion Russia” was performed by the manufacturers. Subsequently, this track moved into the repertoire of the Chelsea group.