Oleksandr Valeriyovych Ponomarev (born 9 August 1973, Khmelnytskyi, Ukrainian SSR, USSR) is a Ukrainian singer, composer and People's Artist of Ukraine (2006). He represented Ukraine at the 48th Eurovision Song Contest and coached the talent show The Voice (2011-2013, 2015).
He was born to Valeriy Ponomaryov, from Khmelnytskyi, and Lyubov Anatoliyivna, from Donetsk.
As a child, he suffered from anaemia. When he recovered, he changed: he started to fight with boys all the time and belonged to hooligan groups. And at the age of 6, he decided to put all his energy into boxing, which he did until he was 15.
From an early age, his mother noticed another talent in her son - singing. But his parents could not find money for a music school, and Oleksandr got his first piano when he was finishing eighth grade. Throughout his childhood, he sang in the yard with a guitar. At the age of 12, he came up with the song "Saint Anna", which he sang under the windows of a classmate who liked it.
During one of the boxing matches at the end of the 8th grade, he missed a punch to the head. The injury led to a rapid deterioration of his eyesight. Doctors ordered him to give up boxing, so he had to choose a school to continue his studies. Among the schools available in Khmelnytskyi at the time were medical, pedagogical and music schools, and given his long-standing love of music, he chose the music school. At the entrance exam, he sang the song "What a Moonlit Night".
After graduating from the Khmelnytsky Music College in 1993 with a degree in choir master and entering the vocal faculty of the Mykola Lysenko Lviv Music Institute, his first performance on the big stage ended in triumph. He won first place and the prize for the best vocal performance at Chervona Ruta-93 in Donetsk. At the end of the same year, he was recognised as the best pop singer in Ukraine. In 1995, he won the Grand Prix at the Volodymyr Ivasyuk International Competition for Young Pop Singers in Chernivtsi. As his popularity grew, he moved to Kyiv and entered the capital's National Music Academy.
In 1996, he won the Grand Prix at the prestigious Yalta-96 International Competition for Young Singers. That year he released his first music album "From Morning to Night".
In 1997, at the Tavriya Games International Festival, he was awarded the Golden Firebird Award in the Singer of the Year nomination at the All-Ukrainian Award in Music and Mass Entertainment. In the same year, he was nominated for Pop Star of the Year as part of the nationwide Man of the Year programme. In the same year, he released his second album, First and Last Love.
In 1997, the music video "Heart" was released (KMstudio production, directed by Iryna Kovalska, cameraman: Vladimir Sovyak-Krukovsky) for the song of the same name by Alexander Ponomarev. The video clip "Heart", in combination with specially filmed scenes, also uses the original video sequence from the TV series Highlander.
On 21 December 1997, he gave a sold-out solo concert - "First and Last Love" - at the Kyiv Palace "Ukraine".
In 1998, he was awarded the title of Honoured Artist of Ukraine (at that time he became the youngest Honoured Artist). In February-March 1998, the first "live" all-Ukrainian tour in the history of independent Ukraine took place in 25 cities of Ukraine.
On 26 May 1998, he created the production centre "From Morning to Night".
On 16 December 1998, at the All-Ukrainian Award Ceremony in the Palace "Ukraine", he received the Golden Firebird in the nomination "Singer of the Year" for the third time in a row.
In 1999, Max Papernik filmed a video for Ponomarev's song "Nizhnymi Ustami", and in November of the same year, the video "You Are Mine" was released.
In December 1999, he received another Golden Firebird award, and according to music experts, he was the best singer of the country in 1999. On 20 February 2000, his third album, Vona, was released in 125,000 copies.
On 4 February 2001, a new video for the song "He's Waiting for Her" (music and lyrics by Svyatoslav Vakarchuk) was premiered.
On 18 May 2001, the fourth album "He" was released.
In July 2001, he again became "the best singer of Ukraine" (the only Ukrainian artist to win the Golden Firebird award five times in a row).
At the end of 2001, two video clips for the songs "Wings" and "Fire" were premiered. At the 2002 Tavriya Games, he again won the Golden Firebird award.
In 2001, he starred in the television New Year's musical Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka.
On 3 November 2002, the video for the song "Boat" was premiered in Venice.
On 4 May 2003, the 48th Eurovision Song Contest took place in Latvia, where Ukraine made its debut with the song "Hasta la vista" performed by Ponomarev. He took 14th place.
In June 2003, he made his film debut (in the four-part film Personal Life, where he played the role of singer Vlad Khmelnytsky).
From December 2005 to mid-2007, he hosted the culinary programme "Delicious Country" on 1+1 TV channel.
In 2006, he released his fifth album, I Love Only You.
On 18 August 2006, President of Ukraine Viktor Yushchenko awarded Ponomarev the title of People's Artist of Ukraine.
In 2011, he received the YUNA music award in the Best Performer category for his achievements in music over 20 years.
Since May 2011, he has participated in seasons 1, 2, 3, 5 of The Voice on 1+1 TV channel as a coach.
In 2017, he premiered a video for the song "Captive".
Personal life.
On 26 August 2006, he married Victoria Martyniuk, a fifth-year student of the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. On 15 February 2007, at 06.18, he became a father for the second time: in one of the private maternity hospitals in the capital, his wife Victoria gave birth to a boy, Oleksandr. He was present during the birth. From his first marriage with Olena Mozgova (daughter of Mykola Mozgovyi) he has a daughter Zhenia.
Discography
Albums
From Morning to Night (1996)
First and Last Love (1997)
She (2000)
He (2001)
I love only you (2006)
The Night (2007)
The Best (2016)
Singles
Hasta la Vista (2003)
100 kisses - together with Ani Lorak (2006)
UKRAINE WILL WIN (2022)
Compilations
The best (2004)
Golden hits (2007)
The best (2016)
Filmography
Year Title Role
2001 Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka Vakula's friend
2003 Personal life Singer of Vlad Khmelnytsky
2007 A very New Year's film, or Night at the Vampire Museum
2016 The Contestant. Deadly show Alexander Ponomarev
2018 Sotka Mayor
Civic position.
Noted for his performances in the political campaign in support of Leonid Kuchma. Together with a number of other singers, he travelled around Ukraine in support of the then pro-government presidential candidate.
In 2004, he took part in the events of the Orange Revolution and performed the National Anthem of Ukraine on the Maidan.
Awards
Order of Merit III class (23 August 2022) - for significant achievements in strengthening Ukrainian statehood, courage and selflessness in defending the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, significant personal contribution to the development of various spheres of public life, defending the national interests of our country, conscientious performance of professional duty
