Shaman
Shaman in 2022
Born
Yaroslav Yuryevich Dronov

(1991-11-22)November 22, 1991 (age 32)
Novomoskovsk, Tula Oblast, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Alma materGnessin State Musical College
Occupations
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • musician
  • record producer
Years active2013–present
Children1

Yaroslav Yuryevich Dronov (Russian: Ярослав Юрьевич Дронов; born November 22, 1991), better known by his stage name Shaman, is a Russian singer-songwriter and music producer. He is well known for writing and producing pop and rock music. His style mixes contemporary music, ethnic singing and unique vocal techniques.

Shaman was voted the second best Russian singer of 2022 in a poll by the state-owned Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VTsIOM).[1]

Career

He performed on Faktor A (the Russian version of The X Factor) in 2013 and the Russian version of The Voice in 2014.

Dronov took on the stage name Shaman in 2020.[2] The blonde-haired singer formerly wore his hair as dreadlocks,[3] which he described as a "Russian folk hairstyle, because they look like wheat stalks".[4]

On 23 February 2022, Shaman released "Rise Up" (Russian: Встанем; romanized: Vstanem) for Defender of the Fatherland Day, a song celebrating soldiers who died, which was also on the eve of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In an interview with Russia-1, he said that he held the belief that the song was "dictated to me from above."[2] His single amassed 46 million views on YouTube and was featured on the Russian state channel Russia-1.[5] The song was dedicated to Russian war heroes of the Great Patriotic War.[5]

Later in 2022, he released "I'm Russian" (Russian: Я русский, romanized: Ya russkiy).[6] The song became a pop-culture phenomenon in Russia as it has more than 42 million views but was ridiculed on Russian social media.[7] Music critic and journalist Otar Kushanashvili called the parody “I’m narrow” unfunny: “it’s useless and has no sense of humor”[8] Pavel Rudchenko noted that "the song encourages pride ourselve to be a Russian, to be a part of Russia", which explains the popularity of this composition.[9]

Shaman supported the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and was invited to speak and perform at government-organized events.[10] In November 2022, he was criticized by the head of the Russian Media Group for not performing in occupied territories in Ukraine, and in January 2023 he played for Russian soldiers in Luhansk and Mariupol.[2]

In July 2023, Shaman released a clip from his song "My Fight" (Russian: Мой бой, romanized: Moy boy); the clip received over a million views in its first 24 hours. While it was praised by Russian news outlets, it was criticized on Russian social media by many, including journalist Artemy Troitsky, for its perceived references to Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf.[11]

In December 2023, Shaman was included in the list of proxies approved by the Central Election Commission that would campaign for incumbent president Vladimir Putin in the 2024 Russian presidential election for his fifth term as president.[12]

References

  1. ↑ Россияне назвали лучших певцов и актеров 2022 года // ТАСС, 1 ноября 2022
  2. 1 2 3 Hopkins, Valerie; Birger, Georgy (9 March 2023). "Changing His Tune for Mother Russia". The New York Times.
  3. ↑ Caprio, Stefano (22 April 2023). "Singing Russia's identity". www.asianews.it.
  4. ↑ "Певец SHAMAN назвал свои дреды "русской народной прической"". Moskovskij Komsomolets (in Russian). 12 August 2022.
  5. 1 2 «Встанем». Новая песня, обращенная в историю // Вести.ру, 27 июня 2022
  6. ↑ "Клип "Я русский" певца SHAMAN набрал больше двух миллионов просмотров за пару дней (показываем)" [Music video "I'm Russian" by singer SHAMAN got more than two million views in a couple of days]. Maxim.
  7. ↑ ""Я узкий". Как в Госдуме и на YouTube отреагировали на пародию Гудкова" ["I'm narrow". How Gosduma and YouTube reacted to Gudkov's parody]. RBC.
  8. ↑ «Ублюдок он, лишенный вкуса»: Кушанашвили оценил пародию Гудкова «Я узкий» Archived 2022-09-11 at the Wayback Machine // teleprogramma.pro, 8 сентября 2022
  9. ↑ «Мощь»: критик Рудченко объяснил взрывной успех клипа SHAMAN «Я русский» // Пятый канал, 25 июля 2022
  10. ↑ "Власти пытаются приучить россиян гордиться войной". Meduza (in Russian). 25 December 2022.
  11. ↑ "Шаман выпустил клип на песню "Мой бой" с кадрами из Донбасса. Зрители посмотрели его с немецкими субтитрами — и увидели отсылку к манифесту Гитлера" [Shaman released a clip for his song "My Fight" with scenes from Donbass. Viewers watched it with German subtitles - and noticed references to Hitler's manifesto]. Meduza (in Russian). 21 July 2023. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
  12. ↑ "Shaman and Military Bloggers Will Campaign for Putin in 2024". The Moscow Times. 28 December 2023.
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