Fabryka Zirok ( – ''Star Factory''), is a Ukrainian televised talent show, which began in 2007 that features a group of young male and female candidates, aged 16 or older, across the country. The show became a huge success and a must-watch event for its fans. It is the Ukrainian adaptation of the

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

television show ''

Star Academy ''Star Academy'' is a Dutch-developed reality television talent show format that first aired in the Netherlands as '':nl:Starmaker (televisieprogramma), Star Maker''. Format There are many versions of the show, each country having its own sl ...

'', which is produced by

Endemol Endemol B.V. (stylized in all lowercase) was a Dutch-based media company that produced and distributed multiplatform entertainment content. The company annually produced more than 15,000 hours of programming across scripted and non-scripted gen ...

. ''Fabryka Zirok'' is produced by

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

company

and Ukrainian

Novyi Kanal Novyi Kanal ( , ) is a Ukrainian television channel. The channel is a part of the Starlight Media broadcasting group, created by Viktor Pinchuk. History The channel was launched on July 15, 1998. At first, it was broadcast only in Kyiv, but ...

. The show is based on the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

format called

Operación Triunfo ''Star Academy'' is a Dutch-developed reality television talent show format that first aired in the Netherlands as ''Star Maker''. Format There are many versions of the show, each country having its own slight variations, but the basic conce ...

. The show basically revolves over 16 contestants that go live in an isolated

penthouse apartment A penthouse is an apartment or unit traditionally on the highest floor of an apartment building, condominium, hotel, or tower. Penthouses are typically differentiated from other apartments by luxury features. The term 'penthouse' originally re ...

, with one of the contestants getting eliminated every week. The contestants get to showcase their talents in a weekly concert in which the contestants get to perform on stage with various designs, dancers, solo performances, a cappella on piano and sharing the stage with the most popular singers in

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

and the CIS. The contestants were required to be aged 16 or older at the time of the contest.

Teachers

* Vocals: Olena Grebenyok * Choreography: Olena Kolyadenko * Acting Instructor: Roman Viktyok * Fitness: Lilya Podkopayeva * Stylist: Angela Litsiya, Volodimir Tarasyok * Psychiatrist: Vadim Kolesnikov

Series overview

File:M1 Music Awards 2019 Оля Цибульська (cropped).jpg, Olga Tsybulska (1st season) File:Володимир Дантес M1 Music Awards 2019 (cropped).jpg, Volodymyr Dantes (2nd season) File:Олійник Вадим Анатолійович.jpg, Vadim Oleynik (2nd season) File:Стас Шурінс.jpg, Stas Shurin (3rd season)

Seasons & Contestants

Fabryka Zirok 1 (2007-2008)

Source: * Olga Tsibulska ''Winner'' * Katya Velaskes * Sasha Ilchyshyn * Vitaliy Yarouviy * Elizabeth Anum-Dorkhuso * Christina Kim * Jeka Milkovskiy * Yulia Borza * Vitaliy Bondarenko *

Dasha Astafieva Daria Dasha" Viktorivna Astafieva (; born 4 August 1985) is a Ukraine, Ukrainian model, singer, and actress. Formerly of the Ukrainian pop duo NikitA, Dasha Astafieva was the 2007 Playmate of the Year for Ukrainian ''Playboy'' and the 55th Annive ...

* Arina Domsky * Taras Chernyenko * Dima Kadnay * Evgen Tolochniy * Oleksander Bodyanckiy * Dasha Kolomiets

Fabryka Zirok 2 (2008)

Sources: * Duet Vladimir Dantes - Vadim Oleynik ''Winner'' * Anastasia Vostokova * Kira Shaytanova * Regina Todorenko * Alisa Tarabarova * Mark Savin * Ganna Mukhina * Lina Mytsuky * Olena Vinogradova * Boris Aprel * Kara Kay * Denis Dekanin * Vlad Darvin *

Max Barskih Mykola Mykolaiovych Bortnyk (, born 8 March 1990), better known by his stage name Max Barskih () and alter-ego Mickolai, is a Ukrainian singer and songwriter. He was raised in Kherson, Ukraine, and moved to Kyiv after his graduation. He has re ...

* Gurgen

Fabryka Zirok 3 (2009)

# Stas Shurins # Oleksiy Matias # # # Eva Bushmina # Erika # Sabrina Abdullah # Iryna Kristinina # Tetyana Vorzheva # Vasil Nahirnyak # # Anastasia Plis # Vitaliy Chirva #

Santa Dimopulos Santa Igorivna Dimopulos (; born 21 May 1987), better known as Santa Dimopulos, is a Ukrainian singer of Assyrian-Greek descent. The champion of the 2011 WBPF World Championship in the category "World Women Model Physique 165 cm+." The winne ...

# Andriy Philipov # # Pavlo Lee #

Fabryka Superfinal (2010)

Source: Selected contestants from the past 3 seasons compete to become the top superstar: * Oleksiy Matias ''Winner'' * Maxim Barskikh * Olga Tsibulska *

Mykola Serga Mykola (, ) is a Slavic variant, more specifically a Ukrainian and Belarusian variant, of the masculine name "Nicholas", meaning "victory of the people". It may refer to: People *Mykola Arkas (1853–1909), Ukrainian composer, writer, historia ...

* Vitaliy Bondarenko * Vadim Oleynik * Stas Shurin * Vladimir Dantes * Elizabeth Anum-Dorkhuso * Eva Bushmina * Boris Aprel *

Borisenko Brothers Borysenko or Borisenko is a Ukrainian-language surname derived from the first name Boris. It may refer to: *Andrei Borisenko *Georgy Borisenko *Pavlo Borysenko *Valentina Borisenko *Vladimir Borisenko *Vyacheslav Borysenko Vyacheslav Vadymovy ...

* Dima Kadnay * Erika * Regina * Alisa Trabarova

Fabryka Zirok 4 (2011)

Sources: Producer *

Sergei Kuzin Sergius is a male given name of Ancient Roman origin after the name of the Latin ''gens'' Sergia or Sergii of regal and republican ages. It is a common Christian name, in honour of Saint Sergius, or in Kyivan Rus', of Sergius of the Holy Caves ...

Jury *

Masha Efrosinina Maria Oleksandrivna Efrosynina (; born 25 May 1979), professionally known as Masha Efrosynina (), is a Ukrainian television host and media personality. Along with Pavlo Shylko, she hosted the 50th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. In ...

Iryna Bilyk Iryna Mykolayivna Bilyk (, born 6 April 1970 in Kyiv) is a Ukrainian singer-songwriter and People's Artist of Ukraine. Bilyk is often called the "Ukrainian Madonna" due to many of her songs becoming hits in the 1990s, frequent style changes and ...

Alyona Mozgovaya Alyona () or Aliona is a Russian female given name derived from the Ancient Greek name , ''Helenē'' (dialectal variant: , ''Helena''). See "Helen (given name), Helen" for its history. For a long time it was considered to be a colloquial variant of ...

Vitaliy Drozdov Vitali, Vitalii, Vitaly, Vitaliy and may refer to: People Given name * Vitaly Borker (born 1975 or 1976), Ukrainian American Internet fraudster and cyberbully * Vitaly Churkin (1952–2017), Russian politician * Vitaliy Dyrdyra (1938–2024), Ukr ...

Contestants * Anna Voloshina * Pavel Voronets * Snezhana Firsova * Sonya * Denis Lyubimov * Anton Klimik * Misha Sokolovskiy * Paulina * Sergey Klimentyev * Kseniya Lanova * Dasha Doris * Yuriy Klyuchnik * Yulia Rudnyeva ''Winner'' * Yevgeniy Belozerov * Masha Goya * Dima Kaminskiy

Criticism, incidents and scandals

The

( Ukrainian: Новий Канал) TV channel and

Konstantin Meladze Konstantin Shotayevich Meladze (; ka, კონსტანტინე მელაძე; born 11 May 1963) is a Georgian-born Ukrainian-Russian composer and producer. He is the older brother of singer Valery Meladze and co-founder and co-pro ...

consider the appearance of a foreign performer at the Star Factory to be a miracle, and have appropriated the artist who miraculously appeared from

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

at the casting in

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

. Despite the resonance of the case, none of the organisers and producers of the Ukrainian Star Factory project confirmed the theft of Stas Shurin from the global

talent agency A talent agency is a company that represents actors, authors, musicians, model (person), models, professional athlete, athletes, writers, dancers, and other professionals in various industries. Talent agencies specialize, either by creating dep ...

TUARON TUARON is a global Talent agent, talent, Model (person), model and sports scouting corporation, as well as a record label and publisher, headquartered in Latvia. Originally established in Ukraine in 1999, TUARON has grown into an influential play ...

and its Swedish talent manager

Anton Sova Anton Carl Gustaf von Essen (born June 26, 1981), known professionally as Anton Sova, is a Swedes, Swedish talent manager, music entrepreneur, film producer, business manager, artist developer, and Artists and repertoire, A&R executive. Biograp ...

. According to the Ukrainian music publication Muzvar, the case of the artist and the manager was included in the TOP-5 most famous cases of breakdowns in the Ukrainian music industry. Acknowledging that the artist had a manager would have meant that the artist would have lost his place in the contest and would have had legal consequences for all parties. The artist himself denied any business relationship with the Swedish talent manager

and the global

in order to keep his place in the "Star Factory-3" competition, which he eventually won.

Notes

External links

Fabryka Zirok 1Fabryka Zirok 2Fabryka Zirok 3Fabrika SuperfinalFabryka Zirok 4Novyi Kanal Official site
{{Star Academy Star Academy Ukrainian reality television series Novyi Kanal original programming