Ivanushki International
Ivanushki International is a Russian boy band founded in Moscow in 1995.
The group was conceived by record producer Igor Matviyenko, and initially consisted of Andrei Grigoriev-Apollonov, Kirill Andreev, and primary vocalist Igor Sorin. They performed under several names before settling on "Ivanushki International", a name meant to represent their intended blend of Russian and international musical influences, and itself written half in Cyrillic, half in the Latin alphabet, with the second word read as in English.
Their debut album, Конечно он, was released in 1996. It included three cover versions of songs from the 1980s – "Вселенная", originally performed by Alexander Ivanov, and "Рондо", "Этажи", and "Малина" by the group Class. However, it contained several original songs, including the hits "Тучи", "Колечко", "Где-то", and "Она". The album gained huge commercial success.
A remixed version of the album followed one year later, Konyechno on remixed. The remixes were created by Lubeh keyboardist Igor Polonsky, Moral Code X keyboardist Konstantin Smirnov, and DJ Maxim Milyutenko. Alongside the remixed versions, the album contained the new hit "Кукла" and a cover version of the Lubeh song "Дуся".
Ivanushki's second studio album, Твои письма, released later in 1997, repeated the existing formula of original material and covers of past hits. It also included an audio letter from the group.
Later that year, Igor Sorin left to pursue a solo career, and was replaced by Oleg Yakovlev, who had appeared in the music video for "Doll". Without Sorin, the group continued its string of successes, releasing its perhaps best known song "Тополиный пух", a number-one hit in the summer of 1998.
On September 1, 1998, Sorin committed suicide, jumping from the window of his high-rise apartment, and died three days later. The following year, the group released Фрагменты жизни, their tribute to him, which contained songs he had written prior to joining Ivanushki, as well as poems he had written, and a song dedicated to him, "Я тебя никогда не забуду".
Ivanushki released their first full album with Yakovlev as vocalist, Об этом я буду кричать всю ночь, in April 1999. Recorded from August to November the previous year, it also contained singles such as "Topoliny pukh" that had already been released. It was followed in 2000 by Подожди меня…, after which the group released their first compilation album, Ivanushki.Best.Ru.
Although not having any studio album since 2002, Ivanushki kept on releasing successful singles; last of them, "Tol'ko dlya ryuzhih" was released in 2018.
Discography
;Studio albumsTransliterated title | Original title | Translation | Year of release |
Konyechno on | Конечно он | Of Course It's Him | 1996 |
Konyechno on Remix | Конечно он Remix | Of Course It's Him Remix | 1997 |
Tvoi pisma | Твои письма | Your Letters | 1997 |
Ob etom ya budu krichat' vsyu noch' | Об этом я буду кричать всю ночь | I'll Shout All Night About That | 1999 |
Podoshdi menya... | Подожди меня… | Wait for Me... | 2000 |
Oleg Andrei Kirill | Олег Андрей Кирилл | Oleg Andrei Kirill | 2002 |
;Compilation albums
Transliterated title | Original title | Translation | Year of release |
Igor Sorin. Fragmenti iz zhizni | Игорь Сорин. Фрагменты из жизни | Igor Sorin. Fragments of Life | 1999 |
Ivanushki.Best.Ru | - | - | 2000 |
10 let vo vsyelennoi | 10 лет во вселенной | Ten Years in the Universe | 2005 |
Luschee v nashei zhizni | Лучшее в нашей жизни | Best In Our Life | 2015 |
;Live albums
Transliterated title | Original title | Translation | Year of release |
Ivanushki International v Moskve | Иванушки International в Москве | Ivanushki International In Moscow | 2001 |