VAL is a Belarusian band comprising Valeria Gribusova and Vladislav Pashkevich.

History

In 2016, together with keyboardist and sound producer, Pashkevich, Gribusova founded a solo project called "VAL Music Project" which released the singles "Кто ты есть" (Who Are You) and "Ветер во сне" (Wind in a Dream) the same year. VAL would have represented

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

in the

Eurovision Song Contest 2020 The Eurovision Song Contest 2020 was planned to be the 65th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It would have taken place in Rotterdam, Netherlands, following the country's victory at the with the song " Arcade" by Duncan Laurence. This w ...

in Rotterdam with the song " Da vidna", after winning Belarus' national selection Natsionalniy Otbor 2020 on 28 February 2020; although it was canceled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. The pair openly supported the 2020 Belarusian protests. Because of that, in September 2020, the Belarusian state broadcaster said the duo was no longer willing to represent Belarus in the Eurovision Song Contest.

Members

Valeria Gribusova

Valeria Gribusova (;

Mogilev Mogilev (; , ), also transliterated as Mahilyow (, ), is a city in eastern Belarus. It is located on the Dnieper, Dnieper River, about from the Belarus–Russia border, border with Russia's Smolensk Oblast and from Bryansk Oblast. As of 2024, ...

, 12 February 1995) delivers most of the vocals for the duo and is a songwriter and a dancer. Gribusova participated in Ludmila Zukova's children's ensemble Yaritsa from the age of five. She later attended the Mogilev Gymnasium where she matriculated with honours in choral music and art in 2013. She went on to study in the Pop Art department of the Belarusian State University of Culture and Arts. Gribusova worked as a soloist with the National Symphony Orchestra of Belarus under Mikhail Finberg in 2015. Gribusova has won numerous accolades as a singer. In 2015, when just 20 years old, she won first prize in the Belarus Slavianski Bazaar Competition. In 2017, she participated in the Ukrainian version of '' The Voice'', joining

Jamala Susana Alimivna Jamaladinova. (born 27 August 1983), known professionally as Jamala,. is a Ukrainian singer. She represented and won the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with her song "1944 (song), 1944". In 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023 and 2024 ...

's team.

Vladislav Pashkevich

Vladislav Pashkevich () – alias Vlad Freimann (Влад Фрайманн) – is a music producer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and linguist. Pashkevich graduated at the

Minsk State Linguistic University Minsk State Linguistic University (MSLU; '', МДЛУ'') is a public university in Minsk, Belarus. It specializes in language education Language education refers to the processes and practices of teaching a second language, second or forei ...

, and speaks four languages fluently: German, English, Russian and Belarusian. Pashkevich is of

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

descent through his paternal grandfather Ernest Yefimovich Freimann. Pashkevich is one half of the producing duo ToneTwins. Pashkevich was one of the backing singers for

Naviband Naviband (stylised as NAVIBAND, until late 2016 also called NAVI) is a Belarusian indie folk band. The band was founded as a duo between singer/songwriter and guitar player Artsiom Lukyanenka and singer/songwriter Kseniya Zhuk (Lukyanenka), later ...

at the Belarusian national selection in 2017, but was not selected to be the group's backing singer at the

Eurovision Song Contest 2017 The Eurovision Song Contest 2017 was the 62nd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Kyiv, Ukraine, following the country's victory at the with the song " 1944" by Jamala. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) an ...

in Kyiv.

Discography

EPs

*2017: ''В моей комнате'' (on ToneTwins Records) *2021: ''Пауза''

Singles

*2016: "Кто ты есть" *2016: "Ветер во сне

*2019: "Тихая гавань" *2020: " Da vidna, Да відна" ("Da vidna") *2020: "Частницы счастья" *2020: "Навечна" *2021: "Пауза"

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:VAL Belarusian pop music groups Musical groups established in 2016 2016 establishments in Belarus Belarusian-language singers Eurovision Song Contest entrants