Anita Tsoy facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Anita Tsoy
Tsoy in 2021
Background information
Native name	Анита Цой
Birth name	Anna Sergeyevna Kim
Born	(1971-02-07) 7 February 1971 (age 54)
Origin	Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Died	Error: Need valid death date (first date): year, month, day
Genres	Pop, pop-rock, dance
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1997–present
Labels	Soyuz (1997) New Hollywood International (1998) Real Records (2003) Universal Music Russia (2005 – present)

Anna Sergeyevna "Anita" Tsoy (Russian: Анна Серге́евна "Анита" Цой; born Kim, Russian: Ким; 7 February 1971) is a Russian singer and songwriter. She is of Korean background. In 2021, she was named a People's Artist of Russia. This is a very high honor for artists in Russia.

Early life

Anita Tsoy's grandfather moved from Korea to the Russian Far East. He wanted to get a free education there. Later, in 1937, he and his family were forced to move to Central Asia. This happened during a time when many Koryo-saram (Koreans living in the Soviet Union) were relocated.

Anita's mother was born in 1944 in Tashkent, Uzbek SSR. She studied hard and became a chemistry doctor after graduating from Moscow State University.

Anita's mother wanted her daughter to learn many arts. Music became Anita's favorite. She started violin lessons when she was young. Later, she also learned to play the piano, flute, and guitar.

After finishing school, Anita went to a teacher training college. Then she studied law at Moscow State University. There, she met her future husband, Sergey Tsoy.

Career

After college, Anita decided to become a singer instead of a teacher or lawyer. She saved money to start her music career. Her husband began working for the mayor of Moscow in 1994.

Anita's first album, Polyot (which means Flight), came out in 1997. She kept it a secret from her husband until she had already signed the music contract!

In 1998, her second album, "Черный лебедь" ("The Black Swan"), was released. A big concert show called "Черный лебедь или храм любви" ("The Black Swan or a Love Palace") followed in 1999. This show was named "Best Show of the Year," and Anita won an "Ovation" award for it.

In 2003, she went to the United States to record an English-language album. She worked with Lee Holdridge, who writes music for movies. While there, she was offered a five-year job as a singer for Cirque du Soleil. This is a famous entertainment company. But Anita chose to return to Russia to be with her family.

She recorded her third Russian dance album, "1000000 минут" ("1000000 Minutes"), in 2003. In 2005, a huge concert called "ANITA" took place in Moscow. It used cool technology like large LCD screens and fountains on stage. This show was very successful in Russia. It was even released on DVD by Universal Music.

In 2007, Tsoy recorded her fourth album, "На восток" ("To The East"). She changed her look a lot, moving towards a manga-anime style. Later that year, she performed her "To The East" show for over ten thousand people. A DVD of this live concert was also released.

Both the "ANITA" and "To The East" shows are seen as some of the best live performances in Russia. Recordings of these concerts were shown on major Russian TV channels like Channel One and Muz-TV.

Anita has released 5 albums in total. She has won more than 10 major awards for her singing and her charity work. This is over her 13-year career as a solo artist. She also appeared in the fourth season of Ice Age, a TV show about ice skating.

Summary of music career

Anita Tsoy is known for often changing her music style and image. She started as a nearly rock artist in 1997. Later, she moved to dance music. After 2006, her songs included several music styles. These included Viktor Tsoi's rock, blues, R&B, and Eastern-style pop.

1997 – In memory of Viktor Tsoi

Her first album, "Полет" ('Flight'), was recorded in 1997. It was named after her first hit song, "Полет" ('Flight'). Most songs on this album are in a rock style. They are similar to the music of the Kino band, where the acoustic guitar is very important. Anita was a big fan of Kino when she was young. Another popular song, "Мама" ("Mother"), was written for children who had lost their parents.

"The Black Swan" of Russian pop

In 1998, Anita's second album, "The Black Swan" ("Черный лебедь"), was released. Important songs from this album include "Far Away" ("Далеко") and "Return" ("Возвращайтесь"). "Return" was remixed in 2009. It became a main song for her "To Remember so that Life Continues" ("Помнить, чтобы жизнь продолжалась") charity concert tour. On this album, you mostly hear guitar, electronic, and percussion instruments. Most songs are in a pop-rock style.

2003 – Switch to dance music

In 2003, Anita recorded her third Russian album, "1000000 Minutes" ("1000000 минут"). This album was very different from her first two. Almost all the songs are in a Dance style. This album had four hit songs that were very popular on radio stations. These were the title song "1000000 Minutes" ("Миллион минут"), "Only for You" ("Одному тебе"), "Is that Love?" ("Это ли любовь?"), and "Christmas Toys" ("Новогодние игрушки").

2007 – To The East

From 2003 to 2007, no new music was released. This was because of problems with illegal copies of music in Russia.

The album "To The East" ("На восток") was recorded in 2007 by Universal Music. It was full of hit songs. Seven out of eleven tracks were played on the radio. Two of them, the title song "To The East" ("На восток") and "The Sky" ("Небо"), became very popular with Russian people. Anita won two "Golden Gramophone" awards for these songs. One was in 2006 and the other in 2007. (The "To The East" song was written a year before the album came out).

The mix of guitar, percussion instruments, and electronic music made the songs on this album stand out. Anita and Universal Music announced that all the money from album sales would go to orphanages.

Charity

Besides singing, Anita Tsoy is known for her active work in charity. In 2001, she started a charity foundation called "Anita". This foundation has helped many children with disabilities from birth [1]. She also works with big charity groups like Save the Children and UNICEF.

In 2009, she organized a concert tour. All the money from these concerts went to families who had lost loved ones in difficult events. The concerts were held in cities like Grozny, Beslan, and Budyonnovsk. These cities are in the Caucasian and Siberian areas. The tour was called "To Remember so that Life Continues" ("Помнить, чтобы жизнь продолжалась").

Several months before, a big concert was held in Barvikha Hall, Moscow. Business people and famous people were invited. About €160,000 was raised. This money was given to more than 50 children who were affected by a tragic event in Beslan.

Current career

In 2004, South Korean president Roh Moo-hyun visited Russia. During his visit, Anita Tsoy was named an "Ambassador of Korean Culture and Tourism" between Russia and South Korea.

It was announced on her official website that a new album, "Глубина" ("Depth"), will be recorded. The release date has not been shared yet. Anita Tsoy is also expected to act in the French musical "Michael Strogoff" in 2010–2011.

Albums

• "Полет" ("Flight") – 1997
• "Черный лебедь" ("The Black Swan") – 1998
• "I'll remember you" (Recorded in the USA) – 2000
• "1000000 минут" ("1000000 minutes") – 2003
• "На восток" ("To The East") – 2007
• "Твоя А" ("Your A") – 2011

Live concerts

• "Полет к новым мирам" ("A Flight to New Worlds") – 1998
• "Черный лебедь или храм любви" ("The Black Swan or a Love Palace") – 1999, 2000 (symphonic version)
• "1000000 минут" ("1000000 Minutes") – 2003
• "ANITA" – 2005
• "На восток" ("To The East") – 2007
• "Помнить, чтобы жизнь продолжалась" ("To Remember so that Life Continues") – 2009 (Charity Concert Tour)
• "THE BEST" – 2010

Awards

• "Honoured Worker of Kuzbass" for active participation in charity, 2009
• "Golden Gramophone", 2007
• "Golden Gramophone", 2006
• A True Professional of Russia, 2005
• "Mezenat" for active participation in charity, 2004
• "Pillar" for the artist's talent, 2004
• "For Russia's renewal", 2004
• Meritorious Artist of Russia, 2003
• "Olympia" for active participation in charity, 2002
• National Musical Prize "Ovation" – Best Show of the Year, 1999
• National Musical Prize "Ovation" – A Discovery of the Year, 1998

See also

In Spanish: Anita Tsoy para niños