Yulia Sanina: Strong, authentic voice of The Hardkiss wins fans, shakes up music scene

Name: Yulia Sanina

Age: 26

Education: Taras Shevchenko National University, specialist in folklore

Profession: lead singer in The Hardkiss

Did you know? The Hardkiss began as a musical duo called “Val & Sanina.”

Yulia Sanina, 26, has taken the Ukrainian music stage by storm. With her husband, producer and guitarist Valeriy Bebko, she founded the English-language electronic rock band The Hardkiss in 2011, rebranding their Russian-language musical duo Val&Sanina that had existed for one year.  

The couple co-writes their songs. Sanina authors the lyrics and Bebko takes care of the music.  

Sanina’s training in a children’s school of jazz and pop vocal came handy in her career: Her powerful voice is the key component in the sound of The Hardkiss.

And thanks to her original costumes and style, created by Ukrainian stylists Slava Chaika and Vitaliy Datsyuk, Sanina has become a fashion icon in Ukraine and a muse of Ukrainian designers like Ivan Frolov and Masha Reva.

Her husband describes her as “the only girl in the world who has it all: gorgeous looks, strong intellect and talent.”

The couple first met more than six years ago, when Sanina, a young journalist, interviewed Bebko, then a producer of the MTV Ukraine.

After several hours of chatting they realized they belong together.

“We even had a recording of our first conversation, as it was an interview,” Sanina said in an interview to Viva magazine.

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The Hardkiss quickly gained popularity. In the band’s first year, The Hardkiss opened the Kyiv show of British synthpop duo Hurts.

Today, the band’s schedule is packed with shows, and their music videos have millions of views on YouTube.

The band took a short break in 2015 as Sanina and Bebko had their first child, a son they named Danylo. Soon after the birth, Sanina returned to the stage and joined the Ukrainian version of the “X-Factor” show as one of the judges.

Earlier in 2016 The Hardkiss took part in Ukraine’s national selection for Eurovision Song Contest and took the second place, losing to Jamala, who ended up winning the Eurovision.

Sanina has a personal channel on YouTube, where she publishes videos about the band’s daily life and shows. Her fans in the comment section compare The Hardkiss to iconic rock bands such as Within Temptation or Evanescence.  

In her lyrics, Sanina often addresses social problems. For instance, The Hardkiss song “Tell Me Brother” focuses on violence against women.

In her interview with Viva, Sanina said it is easy for her to write lyrics in English because for her, every song sounds “as if it is in bird language,” which she says sounds similar to English for her.