Sergey Lazarev

Sergey Lazarev’s music career truly gained momentum in 2000 when he co-founded the Russian pop duo Smash!! with Vlad Topalov. The duo quickly achieved success with their first video, ‘Should Have Loved You More,’ in early 2002, and won the prestigious ‘New Wave’ contest in Yurmal in August 2002. Their debut single, ‘Belle,’ released in October 2002, topped MTV Russia’s charts for six months and was recognized among the top 20 clips of the past five years.

Smash!! continued its international reach, expanding to East Asian countries in 2004, and collaborating with Italian band Earphones on “Obsession,” which became a major summer hit. In 2004, Smash!! received an MTV Russian Music Award as Pop-Project of the Year.

The album produced the smash hit ‘Just Because You Walk Away,’ which peaked at number one for many weeks, staying on charts for over six months, and ranked second in the annual airplay chart in 2006. In 2007, he released his follow-up solo album, ‘TV Show,’ and showcased his versatility on television by winning ‘Circus of the Stars’ and achieving second place in the Russian version of ‘Dancing on Ice.’ Demonstrating his significant international appeal, Lazarev was selected to represent Russia in the highly competitive Eurovision Song Contest in 2016, securing an impressive third place finish. He was again chosen to represent his country at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2019, reiterating his standing as a leading artist on the global stage by once more achieving third place.