Mika Newton facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Mika Newton
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| Background information | |
| Native name |
Мiка Ньютон
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| Birth name | Oksana Stefanivna Hrytsai |
| Born | March 5, 1986 |
| Origin | Burshtyn, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union (now Ukraine) |
| Genres | Pop, soul, pop rock, Eurodance, Europop |
| Occupation(s) | |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | 1995–present |
Oksana Stefanivna Hrytsai (born March 5, 1986), known professionally as Mika Newton, is a talented singer from Ukraine. She was born and grew up in Ukraine. Today, she lives in Los Angeles, California, in the United States.
Contents
Early Life and Music Start
Oksana Hrytsai was born on March 5, 1986, in a city called Burshtyn, in Ukraine. Her stage name, Mika, comes from the first name of Mick Jagger, a famous singer from the band Rolling Stones. Newton is a short way of saying "new tone," which describes her unique voice.
Mika learned to sing by herself when she was very young. She would listen to artists on the radio and try to sing just like them. When she was only nine years old, she started joining local singing competitions.
Music Career Journey
When Mika was 16, she moved from her hometown of Burshtyn to Kyiv, the capital city of Ukraine. There, she went to the College of Circus and Variety Arts. She studied many things like singing, playing the piano, acting, dancing, and even pantomime.
Mika kept competing in talent shows, both in Ukraine and other countries. This helped her get noticed by people in the music business. At 16, she signed a contract with a record company in Kyiv called Falyosa Family Factory.
Representing Ukraine at Eurovision
In 2011, Mika Newton was chosen to represent Ukraine in the Eurovision Song Contest. This big music competition was held in Düsseldorf, Germany. She sang a song called "Angel."
The final show to pick Ukraine's singer for Eurovision was on television. There were 19 singers competing. The winner was chosen by votes from people sending SMS messages, online votes, and a jury of experts. Mika Newton got the most points and won!
At the Eurovision final on May 14, 2011, Mika Newton finished in fourth place. She earned 159 points. The winner was from Azerbaijan. During her performance, a sand artist named Kseniya Simonova joined her on stage. Kseniya had won Ukraine's Got Talent in 2009.
Moving to Los Angeles and New Music
Before Eurovision 2011, Mika had already released two albums. She also sang theme songs for Ukrainian and Russian movies and TV shows. Because of her success, a music company called JK Music Group invited her to Los Angeles. She spent two weeks there recording music with a famous songwriter named Walter Afanasieff. She also sang for producer Randy Jackson.
After Eurovision 2011, Mika signed a contract with JK Music Group and Randy Jackson's Friendship Collective. She moved to Los Angeles in June 2011. Her goal was to become a pop-rock singer in the United States.
On February 21, 2012, she released her first song in the U.S. called "Don't Dumb Me Down." The music video for this song was shown on MTV. In March 2012, Mika also appeared on a Chinese reality TV show called Maoren Queen.
More Singles in 2013
Mika released another new song called "Come Out and Play" in 2012. A famous DJ, Paul Oakenfold, made a special remix of it. Mika and Paul performed together at the Winter Music Conference in 2012 to share the new remix. In April 2013, Mika started performing acoustic shows in Los Angeles.
The music video for her song "Magnets" came out on May 20, 2013. Mika helped write this song with Rune Westerberg and Victoria Horn. Her second U.S. music video for "Come Out and Play" was shown in Las Vegas on August 31, 2013.
Personal Life
In December 2018, Mika Newton married her husband, Chris Saavedra, in the United States. Chris is a talent agent. Mika's sister, Liliya Hrytsai, is a soldier in the Ukrainian Army.
See also
In Spanish: Mika Newton para niños
