Rada Rai is a Russian performer of the chanson genre, romance and pop songs. Laureate of the music award "Chanson of the Year" (2016).
A bright, memorable voice with a subtle Indian and European accent, a high level of performance skills, combined with an unusual appearance, made it possible to realize her cherished dream - to become a singer.
Today, the geography of the artist's tour covers not only the Russian expanses from Kaliningrad to Kamchatka, but also the EU countries, the former republics of the USSR. However, few people know that "ascent to the Olympus of fame" was not easy.
In order to achieve the goal, the girl literally had to descend "to the very bottom of the star stage" in order to "blow up" radio broadcasts in a few years, "break into" the hearts of millions of fans around the world.
The young talent began with singing in transitions, and only then, thanks to a lucky chance, Rada managed to break into the big stage.
Childhood and youth of Rada Rai
The future chanson star was born in Magadan on April 8, 1979. Rada Rai is a pseudonym. Real name Elena Albertovna Gribkova.
The girl's parents worked on a fishing boat, where they met. Rada inherited her extraordinary appearance and strong character from her father, a gypsy by nationality.
From kindergarten, little Lenochka participated in all events and festive performances. The public was not afraid.
She managed to get the main roles, for example, the role of the Snow Maiden at the New Year's party, thanks to her natural artistry and incredible charm.
From childhood, parents instilled in their daughter a love of music. My father was a member of a musical group at local parties. The future artist accompanied almost all her actions with singing: when she walked, went to the kindergarten, played with friends.
Noticing the talent of the child, the parents decided to send Lena to a music school. From the age of 6, the baby began to master the subtleties of vocals.
When the girl was 14 years old, she and her mother moved to Nizhny Novgorod. There, the young singer passed the exams and was selected for the music school. M. Balakireva.
She studied for 2 years at the pop vocal department. Later she continued her studies at the Moscow College of Improvised Music. But it was not possible to finish it, as it was difficult to combine part-time work and classes.
The first creative successes of Elena Gribkova
An ambitious young lady, having dropped out of college, went headlong into creativity. She performed compositions in underground passages, sang in restaurants. She was a participant in the recording of backing vocals for compositions by famous Russian chansonniers: Vika Tsyganova, Mikhail and Irina Krug.
The girl was not shy about such a role, but, on the contrary, made the necessary acquaintances, confidently “paving the path” to glory. It was then that the musician Oleg Urakov appeared on the path of a talented, but so far unknown singer, who later became her producer and husband.
Elena was able to charm the young man with her beauty and musical abilities. Oleg suggested that the aspiring singer take the pseudonym Rada, and she agreed. The surname Ray was added later by the Soyuz Production team.
The couple recorded the first demo album in the style of a folk song, then went with it to the Chanson radio. On the advice of one of the directors of the popular radio station A. Vafin, the couple turned to the Soyuz Production production center.
It was from that moment that Rada's singing career began. The company signed a 10-year contract with the artist. And her husband became a producer and member of the creative team of the newly-made star.
Rada Rai: Path to Glory
In 2008, the first disc "You are my soul ..." was released, published in a significant circulation, which is unusual for the chanson genre. The songs "Soul" and "Kalina" instantly took the top positions of musical releases.
A year later, on April 24, in the concert hall of the State Kremlin Palace, the singer presented to the public a joint project with Andrei Bandera.
The new project "It's Impossible Not to Love" had 18 songs. The video recording from the concert appeared on sale in 2010, when the second album of the performer "I'm happy" was released.
It is noteworthy that a significant part of the songs were written by ordinary people who sent their musical masterpieces to the People's Producer website.
In the next solo project "Let go to the sky ..." (2012), almost all the compositions were taken from the same site. 2015 was marked by the release of the fourth disc of the Rada "Territory of Love", which mainly included romances.
In addition to her solo career, Rai sang a duet with Arthur Rudenko, Abraham Russo, Dmitry Pryanov, Timur Temirov, Eduard Izmestyev.
In 2016, the artist presented the song "Shores", dedicated to the armed conflict in the Donbass. The contract with Soyuz Production ended in 2017, and the singer began her independent career.
In 2018, the vocalist released 2 new albums: “Music will tell everything for us”, “Gypsy Girl”.
The artist is actively touring the country and abroad, recording new clips. One of the last "You are in my heart Magadan" (2019).
Rada Rai: family life
The singer is legally married to her producer Oleg Urakov. However, topics about personal life and family are taboo for the singer. It is known that young people met at one of the music venues when Rada was not famous.
The romance between Urakov and Rai was not immediate. The guys at first just talked in a professional environment.
In one of the interviews, the performer said that her characters and temperaments are different with her husband. However, this did not prevent them from creating a strong, friendly family. The couple has no children yet.
Concerts of Rada Rai are always sold out. It was possible to achieve the location and recognition of the public thanks to the sincere performance, the incredible power of the voice and "live" communication with the audience.
The artist maintains pages on social networks, where she posts information about the upcoming tour, answers questions from fans and does not forget to thank the audience for their love and support. According to Rada, it is the audience that inspires her to new creative projects.
Rada Rai in 2021
At the end of May 2021, Rai presented the fans with a video for the song "I Believe in the Horoscope". The video was directed by A. Tikhonov. Rada said that the video turned out to be incredibly sensual and charming. The main highlight of the clip is the Renaissance statues and busts of philosophers.
