On August 14, 2020, Honored Artist of the Russian Federation Valentina Legkostupova passed away. The compositions performed by the singer sounded from all radio stations and televisions. The most recognizable hit of Valentina remained the song "Berry-Raspberry".
Childhood and youth of Valentina Legkostupova
Valentina Valerievna Legkostupova was born on December 30, 1965 in the territory of provincial Khabarovsk. The girl was brought up in a creative family. The head of the family at one time was an honored bayan player and composer, and his mother was a performer of Russian folk songs.
At the age of 3, Valya moved with her family to sunny Feodosia. Mom wanted to instill in the girl a love of music, so she enrolled her in a music school in the violin class.
The best years of Valentina Legkostupova's life passed in Feodosia. Here she grew up and already firmly decided that she wanted to connect her life with music. She was early discovered vocal abilities, which were transmitted through the maternal line.
Having matured, Valentina found the use of vocal talent on the stage of the school music studio. At one time she was a real school star. Valya sang at parties and discos.
After graduating from high school, Valentina went to Simferopol. In the city, she entered the famous music school of P. I. Tchaikovsky. Studying was given to the girl easily. Without significant difficulties, she graduated from an educational institution and went to conquer Moscow.
In the capital of Russia, Valentina entered the famous Moscow Gnessin Musical and Pedagogical Institute. For herself, she chose the pop vocal department of Professor Iosif Kobzon. In 1990, Valya held in her hands the coveted diploma of higher musical education.
The creative path of Valentina Legkostupova
Interestingly, the creative biography of Valentina Legkostupova began long before moving to Moscow. The novice performer managed to conquer the audience in 1985 on the territory of sunny Kherson.
In this small Ukrainian town, Valentina Legkostupova gave her first solo concert. She was accompanied by the musical group of the Jewish musician Semyon Son, a virtuoso pianist, and today a professor at the Barcelona Academy of Music.
When Legkostupova studied at Gnesinka, she managed to combine visiting an educational institution and concert activity. Valentina was a frequent guest at music festivals, including performing in Jurmala.
Here, in 1986, Legkostupova performed two musical compositions: “The Shore of Happiness” and “Let the Snowstorm”. The performance was warmly received by the jury and the audience. Valentina in 1986 at a concert in Jurmala took an honorable 2nd place.
Collaboration between Valentina Legkostupova and Raymond Pauls
But the main gift for Legkostupova after the Jurmala competition was cooperation with the famous composer Raimonds Pauls. The master even took Valentina under his wing.
Pauls wrote several compositions for the young performer. They instantly became hits and turned her into a successful pop singer. The tracks "In the white keys of birches" and "Two" sounded at all concert venues in Russia.
1986 was an incredibly productive year for Valentina Legkostupova. The fact is that the singer has risen to another career step. She became the leading soloist of the Philharmonic in Tula.
A year later, she went to a popular international festival in Czechoslovakia. After the festival, the singer went to the Zielona Gora contest, which was held in Poland.
Collaboration with composer Vyacheslav Dobrynin
This period of the creative biography of Valentina Legkostupova was marked by another productive collaboration with the composer Vyacheslav Dobrynin. It was Vyacheslav who wrote the immortal hit of her repertoire for the singer. We are talking about the composition "Berry-raspberry".
After the performance of the track "Berry-Raspberry", Valentina began to be called the singer of one hit. But Legkostupova was not very worried about this stamp. Each appearance on the stage was accompanied by the performance of the presented musical composition. The singer sincerely rejoiced that she had the opportunity to please her fans with the performance of a song that pierces their soul.
Vyacheslav Dobrynin replenished the repertoire of Valentina Legkostupova not only with the track "Berry-raspberry". The composer wrote the following songs for the singer: “Music plays on the boat”, “My dear”, “And no one else”.
Valentina has become a frequent guest of various shows and television programs. The releases of the musical shows "Song of the Year" and "Blue Light" could not do without it. Later, journalists said that Legkostupova was not just a guest of the programs, but their permanent resident.
1988 also proved to be filled with positive moments. This year, the singer received a jury prize at the famous festival in Sopot. After such success, Valentina quietly toured in a foreign country, gathering full halls of grateful spectators.
Then the repertoire of Valentina Legkostupova was replenished with new tracks. We are talking about the musical compositions "Crimean Beach" and "A Drop in the Sea". Thanks to the songs, the singer enjoyed even greater popularity. In 1989, she went on tour - with a delegation from the Ministry of Culture, she visited Germany.
In the early 1990s, Valentina Legkostupova again went on tour abroad. This time, together with the team of his former mentor at Gnesinka, Joseph Kobzon.
The peak of the creative career of Valentina Legkostupova
Music critics note that the peak of Valentina Legkostupova's popularity fell in the 1980s of the last century. In the 1990s, interest in her work gradually began to decrease due to significant competition. Until the mid-1990s, the celebrity performed at the Pop Song Theater.
At the peak of the popularity of her creative career, Valentina Legkostupova was not afraid to give birth to a child and plunge into maternity leave. True, it was not possible to return to the stage. Later it turned out that Valentina did not return to the stage because of some star, whose name she did not name.
In the circle of journalists, they said that Alla Borisovna Pugacheva put the “sticks in the wheels” of Legkostupova. The singer then indirectly confirmed this, talking about the "prima donna mafia." From the words of Valentina, it became clear that Alla Borisovna contributed to her disappearance from the stage. But, despite this, Legkostupova always respected the work of Pugacheva.
Valentina Legkostupova: presentation of the studio album
In 1994, Legkostupova's discography was replenished with the first studio album, Berry-Raspberry. Valentina also presented a video clip for the musical composition of the same name. In 2001, the artist's discography was replenished with another album, "I smile."
In 2007, Legkostupova appeared in the rating show You Are a Superstar. Unfortunately, she failed to reach the final. But Valentina managed to “transfer” her fans to the 1980s. One of the brightest performances was the performance of the musical composition "Medals" together with Irina Dubtsova.
After 7 years, one of the Moscow publications published an article in which it was noted that Valentina Legkostupova changed her place of residence. The star moved to the Canary Islands, where she lived on the Spanish island of Tenerife. There, the star opened a real estate business. However, in 2014 Legkostupova did not leave the stage. The singer delighted fans with live performances.
Then Legkostupova appeared in the program "Saturday Evening" with the song "And I like him." Two years later, information appeared that the production center of Valentina Legkostupova VL Music began to work.
Soon the star moved to Feodosia. There she headed the Feodosia city department of culture. Valentina did not hold a new position for long. After some time, she wrote a letter of resignation of her own free will. The reasons that forced Valentina to make such a decision are not known.
Valentina Legkostupova: personal life
Valentina Legkostupova has always been in the center of male attention. The first marriage was in the early 1990s. In this union, the couple had a daughter, who was named Annette. The singer never liked to think about her first wife. Once she mentioned that he had betrayed her.
The daughter successfully married and gave birth to two wonderful grandchildren to Valentina. On June 19, 2020, a new episode of the Fate of a Man program was released on the Russia-1 channel. Legkostupova said that she was not offended by her first husband and was grateful to him for her daughter.
The second husband of the singer was Alexei Grigoriev. In the early 2000s, the couple had a common son, Matvey. Valentina has always said that children are the main achievement of her life. Alexey and Valentina were happy, so the information that they were getting a divorce came as a surprise to fans.
The celebrity was not alone for long. On July 4, 2020, it became known that she got married again. Her chosen one was Yuri Firsov. Valentina and Yuri met on social networks. The star admitted that they have a lot in common, and she has been waiting for this man all her life.
The wedding took place in Sochi. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the celebration took place in very modest conditions. The ceremony was attended exclusively by the closest relatives and friends.
Recently, Valentina Legkostupova devoted a lot of time to her family. A creative career has recently begun to take a secondary role in the life of the singer. Legkostupova devoted a lot of time to raising her granddaughters. They show considerable interest in music and it is quite possible that they will follow in the footsteps of their grandmother.
Death of Valentina Legkostupova
On August 7, 2020, information appeared on the Internet that Valentina Legkostupova was hospitalized. This news excited fans. The main version was that Valentina was beaten by her husband Yuri Firsov. And the woman was taken to the hospital with a serious head injury.
Other sources said that Valentina Legkostupova, while intoxicated, fell and injured her head. The son said that after marrying Yuri Firsov, his mother began to abuse alcohol.
Later it became known that Valentina did not get in touch for more than a week. Relatives began to worry, so they decided to come to my mother and visit her. When they went home, they found Valentina and Yuri in a strong alcoholic intoxication.
Relatives said that there were many bruises and abrasions on Valentina's body. First, the couple was taken to a drug treatment clinic, and then Valentina had to be transferred to another hospital. It turned out that the woman fell into a coma due to a head injury.
The condition of Valentina Legkostupova was grave. The singer's husband Yuri Firsov did not stay long in a drug treatment clinic. Soon he escaped from the medical institution. Manager Legkostupova for a long time denied information regarding the alcoholism of the people's favorite. Later, Yuri Firsov was detained by the police.
On August 14, 2020, Valentina Legkostupova passed away. Her daughter Anette Bril reported about the tragedy on social networks. Doctors recorded the death of the star at 15:30.
