Verka Serdyuchka is an artist of the travesty genre, under whose stage name the name of Andrei Danilko is hidden. Danilko gained his first "portion" of popularity when he was the host and author of the "SV-show" project.
Over the years of stage activity, Serduchka "took" the Golden Gramophone awards into her piggy bank. The most appreciated works of the singer include: “I didn’t understand”, “I wanted a groom”, “Knock, knock, knock”, “Dolce Gabbana”.
In 2007, Verka Serduchka went to conquer the Eurovision Song Contest. The singer managed to reach the final, and this is above all praise, since the contenders for the victory turned out to be serious.
Childhood and youth of Andrei Danilko
Andrey Danilko was born on October 2, 1973 in Poltava. The young man grew up in a rather poor family. His father worked as an ordinary driver, and his mother was a house painter.
Andrei recalls that the situation worsened even more after his father passed away. Mom was forced to work in three shifts at once. During this period, little Andryusha was looked after by her older half-sister Galina Grishko.
As a child, Andrei showed a penchant for drawing and music. And although my mother was having a hard time financially, she decided to send her son to an art school. Danilko's talents also manifested themselves in other areas, for example, in the school studio-theater "Grotesk", he was a member of KVN.
On stage, Danilko seemed to reincarnate, but in real life he was a modest and shy young man. He was not an upstart and studied well enough at school, because he understood that in this life he could only rely on himself.
In 1991, he tried to enter a music school. However, the introductory commission considered that the young man did not look organic enough on stage.
Then Danilko was forced to apply to the Pedagogical University. But he did not pass to this higher educational institution because of a poor grade in literature.
The next attempt to enter the Kharkov Theater Institute was also unsuccessful. It's not the guy's ability, but the fact that he missed the train. Then Andrei had to apply to a vocational school. He received the specialty "Seller-cashier".
In 1995, Andrei again followed his dream. He successfully passed the documents to the variety and circus school of the capital of Ukraine. Danilko grew up and had his own opinion on everything. The young man often argued with teachers. Because of this, the study was quite difficult.
Danilko did not find a common language with the teachers. A year and a half after training, he was expelled for professional unsuitability.
Andrei was not at a loss and entered the Kiev National University of Art and Culture. In this case, Danilko graduated from an educational institution.
Music and creativity of Verka Serduchka
The character of Verka Serduchka Danilko created while still at school. The surname came from Andrey's classmate Anna Serduchka, who was beautiful and an excellent student. Danilko promised to glorify her name throughout the country and fulfilled his promise.
In 1992, Danilko presented to the public several debut miniatures "Dining Room" and "Conductor". Thanks to successful productions, Andrei was invited on tour in the Stavropol Territory.
For the first time in the image of Verka Serduchka, a young man appeared on stage in 1993 at the Humorina festival in his hometown. Andrei played a policeman, a soldier, a teacher and a ballerina, but the audience really liked the “Conductor” number, where Danilko portrayed the same Verochka.
The young man became the founder of the Danilko Theater. Together with his troupe, he began to tour the CIS countries. Already in the mid-1990s, Andrei was a recognizable person in his native country. In 1994, an article was published about Verka Serdyuchka in a prestigious Ukrainian publication.
On television, the young artist appeared thanks to the broadcast of the Kharkiv TV channel Privat TV. Participation in the Cheese program was Andrey Danilok's first step towards popular love. The image of Verka Serduchka is becoming more and more recognizable. Soon the artist appeared in an advertisement for PrivatBank.
The greatest popularity came to Andrey Danilko after the broadcast of the SV-show on the 1 + 1 TV channel. The debut issue took place in 1997.
The audience looked on their screens at an extravagant conductor named Verka Serduchka. In the carriage compartment, she had leisurely and entertaining conversations with Ukrainian stars.
The first guest of the "SV-show" was the journalist and TV presenter Nikolai Veresen. The entertainment program was a huge success with viewers. Then Andrei Danilko was in the background. He was replaced by the colorful Verka Serduchka.
In 1996, fate brought Danilko to the famous Ukrainian producer Yuri Nikitin. He was pleasantly surprised by the image of the artist. Nikitin offered to record the musical composition "Just Vera" to the showman. From that moment on, Danilko combined stage performances with musical numbers.
1998 became famous for the release of Verka Serduchka's debut album "I was born for love." In total, the album included 5 musical compositions. Each track became a real hit.
Thanks to the combination of plain lyrics and humor, the songs became very popular. All Ukraine sang musical compositions.
But fame as a Ukrainian singer came to the artist in 2001. It was this year that the second album "Pie" was presented.
The main hits of the disc were the songs "Gop-hop" and "Everything will be fine." Years passed, something was forgotten, but something remained eternal. And in 2001 and 2020. no holiday can be imagined without these hits.
Serduchka began touring the CIS. The interest of the audience was also increased by the fact that the artist appeared on stage exclusively in makeup and women's clothing. The audience is very interested in who is hiding behind the mask.
After 2001, Verka Serdyuchka released a new album almost every year. The “Golden Gramophone” award for the musical compositions “Chita-drita” and “I Wanted a Groom” was added to the treasury of awards. In 2003, Andriy Danilko was awarded the title of Honored Artist of Ukraine.
Soon the creative biography of Danilka was replenished with another significant event. In 2002, Verka Serduchka took part in the filming of the musical Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka. Both the film and the music from the film are very popular with the audience.
Then Andrei received a lot of proposals. He, in the image of Verka Serduchka, took part in the musicals Cinderella and The Snow Queen. The listed films were played annually on the central channels on New Year's Eve.
In 2007, Andrey Danilko wanted to represent his native country at the international Eurovision Song Contest 2007. The Ukrainians supported their favorite artist, and he went to Helsinki to represent the country with the musical composition Lasha Tumbai.
Verka Serduchka took an honorable second place. Europeans very warmly accepted the musical composition. The track has been at the top of the charts for a long time. The Guardian newspaper called the track "the best musical composition that did not win Eurovision".
In the future, for the most part, Serduchka starred in musicals and TV shows. In addition, the artist pleased the fans of his work with the release of new albums Doremi Doredo and The Best. For the track "Dolce Gabbana" the artist was awarded another Golden Gramophone award in 2011.
Since 2016, Andrey has become an honorary member of the jury of the international Eurovision Song Contest. In addition, the artist also appeared as a jury on the X-Factor show. Danilko also managed to please with new hits: “Cruel Love”, “New Year”, “Smiley”.
Andrey Danilko's personal life
Andrei Danilko does not like to talk about his personal life. He devotes all his time to creativity, so there is no strength or desire left to build a personal life. In this regard, Danilko relies solely on fate.
For some time there were rumors that Danilko had an affair with Inna Belokon, Verka Serduchka's partner, who played the role of mother. But Danilko hastened to disappoint the journalists, saying that there are only working and friendly relations between them.
Andrei says that he does not suffer from the absence of a family. With great love, he speaks of his nephew and niece. When there is a free minute, Danilko spends time with his family. It is known that he gave his nephews luxury real estate in the center of the capital.
Verka Serduchka now
Danilko continues his creative activity, however, not as actively as before. As part of the Eurovision Song Contest 2017, Serduchka presented a series of Verkavision video clips. In addition, the artist managed to take part in the final performance of the competition.
Andrey Danilko says that it's getting harder for him to be on stage. At the moment, Serduchka mostly performs at various holiday festivals and television programs. In 2020, on the 1 + 1 TV channel, Vera performed the hit I didn’t understand, beloved by millions.
Danilko says he is not going to leave the stage. However, over the years, the pace of life simply needs to be reduced.
