Karolina Myroslavivna Kuiek (born 27 September 1978), better known as Ani Lorak, is a Ukrainian-Russian singer. Having been awarded the title of People's Artist of Ukraine, she has been cited as one of the most influential and popular women in Ukraine, and has also been ranked as one of the most beautiful women from Eastern Europe. In 2014, she reported the highest income of all singers in Ukraine. After her performance of the song "Shady Lady" while representing Ukraine in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008, Lorak began gaining considerable fame outside of the former Soviet Union, coming in second place behind "Believe" by Russian singer Dima Bilan. In 2018, she received a ZD Award in the category for Best Singer of the Year. In October 2022, Lorak was sanctioned by the Ukrainian government due to the fact that she had continued to work and live in Russia after the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Among other restrictions, she was deprived of all Ukrainian state honours bestowed upon her and also prohibited from entering the country for five years. Lorak reportedly applied for Russian citizenship in early 2024.

Early life and family

Ani Lorak had a notably tough childhood, which she later claimed shaped her personality. Lorak was born in the provincial city of Kitsman, Chernivtsi Oblast in Western Ukraine. She lived in the same house as Hero of Ukraine, singer and composer Volodymyr Ivasyuk spent his childhood as Lorak's maternal grandfather had bought it from the Ivasyuks after they had decided to move away from Kitsman. Prior to her birth, her parents – a journalist and an announcer – had separated, however, her mother chose to still give Lorak her father's surname upon her birth. Lorak developed the desire to become a singer as early as the age of four. She often performed at various school vocal competitions. As a child, she listened a lot to Russian singers such as Alla Pugacheva and Larisa Dolina, which were popular at the time she was young. Speaking Ukrainian as her native language, Lorak was raised by a single mother. After having lived in Kitsman for several years, the family moved to Chernivtsi, where they lived in bitter poverty. From the age of six until seventh class, she and her brothers were placed in a foster home in Chernivtsi as her mother was unable to provide for her children full-time. When she was nine, her eldest brother Serhii died while in combat during the Soviet–Afghan War. Lorak's eldest brother had gone there to receive money to take Lorak and her two brothers out of the foster home. Serhii had also been the first one to recognise her musical potential. When the family was given an apartment in Chernivtsi after all, Lorak was subject to severe bullying in her new school due to her poor background.

Career

1992–1998: Early career in Ukraine and first albums

In 1992, at the age of 13, she took part in the Chernivtsi singing competition Pervotsvit, which she won. There, she met Yuriy Falyosa, who became her first producer. As a result, at the age of 15, she signed her first professional contract for the duration of ten years. In that timeframe, as part of her contract duties, she was not allowed to marry or give birth. Kuiek became known as Ani Lorak from March 1995 onwards after she took part in the popular children's music television programme Morning Star on Channel One Russia. Intending to perform there mononymously as Karolina, she was told that that was undesirable as there was another famous singer at the time in Russia who performed under that pseudonym. As a result, the stage name "Ani Lorak" was invented, which was the name "Karolina" read backwards. After participating in "Morning Star", Lorak's star started to rise in Ukraine. In the summer of 1995, Lorak was one of the laureates of the Chervona Ruta festival, that year held in Sevastopol and Simferopol, which led to her definite breakthrough in the Ukrainian show business. Ani Lorak moved to Kyiv later that year to start recording her first album. She was named "Discovery of the Year" at the popular Ukrainian festival Tavria Games in 1996. The same year she released her first Russian-language album, "Khochu letat" (I Want to Fly). Lorak continued recording new songs in 1997. Her two videos, "Manekenschitsa" and "Bozhe moy," were filmed and the latter became a soundtrack to the movie "The Right to Choose". In the spring of 1998, her new video, "Ya vernus," was shot and in December Lorak's second Russian-language album "Ya vernus" was released. The mastering of this album took place in New York. Simultaneously, her two music videos "O moya lyubov" and "Dozhdlivy gorod" were filmed to accompany her new album.

1999–2005: Honoured Artist of Ukraine, Ukrainian albums and first Eurovision attempt

At the outset of 1999, Lorak started her first extensive and international touring, performing in the United States, France, Germany, Hungary, and in every major city of Ukraine. In 1999, she earned the title of the Honoured Artist of Ukraine. That same year, she got acquainted with Igor Krutoy, who wrote the composition "Zerkala" for her, which brought her more initial fame in Russia. In 2000, she released her third album with Falyosa as the main producer, titled "www.anilorak.com," containing Russian, Ukrainian, and English compositions. She returned to singing completely in Ukrainian again a year later, releasing her fourth album, "Tam, de ty ye...". This was followed by a second album in Ukrainian, titled "Ani Lorak" in 2004, which mostly had the same songs as her 2000 album. In 2004-2005 Ani Lorak was a UN GoodWill Ambassador in Ukraine for HIV/AIDS. In 2005, Ani Lorak made her first attempt to perform at the Eurovision Song Contest and was virtually certain to sing the home country's entry in Kyiv, but ultimately failed to be selected. Her narrow defeat in the 2005 national pre-selection competition was particularly controversial, given that the winners – GreenJolly – were only added later and did not have to qualify for the final by winning one of the fifteen preliminary heats, unlike all other finalists. However, their song "Razom nas bahato", had a larger societal impact at the time, following the Orange Revolution. Lorak finished in second place in the Ukrainian national final with the song "A Little Shot Of Love". Afterwards, she released her first and only English-language album Smile.

2006–2012: Changes of producer, Eurovision 2008 and Solntse

In 2006, this was followed by "Rozkazhi," her ninth album, again fully in Ukrainian. Shortly after the album's release, Lorak ended her contract with Falyosa and started to work with producer Konstantin Meladze. That same year, Lorak released a duet with Meladze's brother Valery Meladze, which became Lorak's first radio hit in Russia. In 2007, she celebrated the fifteenth anniversary of her artistry with the album 15, fully in Russian bar one song in English. However, the collaboration with Meladze quickly fell through, leaving Lorak without a producer. In 2007, Lorak's friend and colleague Philipp Kirkorov successfully produced Belarus' Eurovision 2007 effort and opted to bring Lorak to Eurovision in Belgrade in 2008. In late 2007, it was announced that Ukrainian public broadcaster NTU had internally selected Lorak to represent the country at Eurovision in Belgrade, and that the public and a jury would choose the song. It was the third and last internal selection the country had before internally selecting Go A in 2021. On 23 February 2008, Lorak performed five potential entries in a special show. The song "Shady Lady", written by Karen Kavaleryan and Philipp Kirkorov won the show with a landslide victory. Shortly after, she recorded a Russian version of her Eurovision song "Shady Lady" with the title "S neba v nebo." Lorak, similar to Dmitry Koldun a year prior, held an extensive promo campaign and visited other countries to present her song, including Malta, Russia, Bulgaria, Spain and Germany. At the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest in Belgrade, she sang the song "Shady Lady" in the second semi-final on 23 May 2008, winning a place in the final. She took second place in the final after Dima Bilan, giving Ukraine its second runner-up position in a row and its third-best score of all-time. Italian designer Roberto Cavalli designed the ornate dress for Lorak's performance at the contest, which was made with Swarovski Diamonds. Greek choreographer Fokas Evangelinos designed her stage show, involving four dancers. Prior to performing in the final, Lorak had won the Artistic Award, voted the most popular entry among the former winners of the contest. After her second-place finish at Eurovision, Lorak returned to Ukraine in newfound stardom. For her result, she and Philipp Kirkorov were given the title People's Artist of Ukraine. In Chernivtsi, where her career had taken off in 1992, she received a star on the Star Alley in the centre of the city. In 2009, she released her tenth album, Solntse, which was produced by Yuliia Kyryliuk, who had previously produced her Eurovision effort. The album became her most successful effort until that moment. In October 2009, Lorak was ranked 41st in a top 100 of "most influential women in Ukraine" compiled by experts for the Ukrainian magazine Focus. In 2010, Lorak released a compilation album titled "The Best". At the time, she continued releasing, almost exclusively in Russian and performed in countries in the Russian-speaking world.

2013–2017: Criticism for performing in Russia, Razve ty lyubil... and tour show Karolina

In 2013, Lorak returned to Greece to produce her fourteenth "Zazhigay serdtse" together with Kontopoulos. Diana Golde and Ruslan Kvinta also wrote several songs for the album. From March to June 2014, Lorak was a coach on the fourth season "Holos Krainy". During this season, she coached singer Mykyta Aliekieiev, whom she also helped to start his career. In the wake of the annexation of Crimea and the war in the Donbas, Lorak continued performing in Russia. This led to severe criticism from several politicians and parts of the Ukrainian society. During several of her concerts in Odesa and Kyiv in 2014, protesters gathered in front of the concert venues. In November 2014, activists gathered to protest against her concert in the Palace of Ukraine. A concert in Odesa was subsequently cancelled as a result. Lorak's appearance in the New Year's programme on the television channel Inter was subject to severe criticism on social media. Her star on the Star Alley of Chernivtsi was first vandalised with the text "PTN GFY" and on the night of 29 to 30 January 2015, stolen. In May 2015, the Chernivtsi City Council decided to not reinstate a new star for Lorak. Meanwhile, Lorak scored large commercial success in Russia, performing several duets alongside singer Grigory Leps, which included "Ukhodi po-angliyski" and "Zerkala," which both fared well in the Russian radio charts. At the end of 2016, she released her next Russian-language album Razve ty lyubil?.... In 2017, she toured the region with the tour "Karolina."

2018–present: tour shows DIVA and The BEST

At the start of 2018, Lorak started her next tour, titled DIVA, which received positive reviews from music critics. A live album and recording of the tour were released in 2020. In Autumn 2018, Lorak became a coach at the seventh series of The Voice of Russia. In August 2019, she debuted her jubileum concert tour THE BEST. In late 2019, Lorak released her twelfth studio album Za mechtoy, for which she wrote the majority of the songs herself. In 2021, she starred in an episode of the Russia-1 television show Sud’ba cheloveka, in which she gave a rare account into her personal life and career history. In 2022, she opposed the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but was heavily criticised for her lukewarm and late response and continuation to sing in Russia.

Business ventures

In 2005, Ani Lorak and her fiancé Murat opened the Angel Lounge, a restaurant that specializes in Mediterranean cuisine in the center of Kyiv. In 2009, they opened a Ukrainian travel agency called "Holiday Travel", which is a sub-division of "Turtess Travel", a company Murat works for. In 2010, Lorak became an Oriflame advert. She participated in several catalogues and developed a new fragrance called Chiffon by Ani Lorak. In 2011, Lorak was announced the fifth richest singer in Ukraine, with her team's revenues amounting to $2.35 million that year. Her typical fee is $25,000 to $40,000 per concert.

Personal life

Lorak was married to Murat Nalçacıoğlu, a Turkish hotel manager and travel agent, from 2009 to 2019. On 9 June 2011, she gave birth to their daughter Sophia.

Sanctions

On 19 October 2022, Ani Lorak was added to Ukraine's sanctions list and is prohibited from entering the country until 2027.

Charity

Lorak spends a lot of time on charitable activities. Since 2004–2005, Lorak has been a UN Goodwill Ambassador on HIV/AIDS in Ukraine. UNICEF and UN in Ukraine have awarded a commendation to Lorak for assistance and help to HIV-positive citizens of Ukraine. In 2005, Lorak was conferred with the St. Stanislav Order of the 4th degree and the Officer's Cross "for strengthening the international authority of Ukraine, for the high professionalism, great creative achievements, charity and adherence to the ideals of chivalry."

Albums

Studio albums

Live albums

Compilation albums

Remix albums

Video albums

Songs

Singles

Promotional singles

Awards

1992

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018