Julia Olegovna Samoilova ( rus, Ю́лия Оле́говна Само́йлова, , ˈjʉlʲɪjə ɐˈlʲeɡəvnə sɐˈmojləvə; born 7 April 1989), sometimes credited as Yulia Samoilova or Julia Samoylova, is a Russian singer-songwriter. In early 2017, she was selected to represent Russia in the 2017 edition of the

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international Music competition, song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster ...

with the song "

Flame Is Burning A flame () is the visible, gaseous part of a fire. It is caused by a highly exothermic chemical reaction made in a thin zone. When flames are hot enough to have ionized gaseous components of sufficient density, they are then considered plasma. ...

", but was subsequently banned from the contest's host country, Ukraine, due to violating Ukrainian law by entering

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

through Russia in 2015, shortly after the region was

annexed Annexation, in international law, is the forcible acquisition and assertion of legal title over one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. In current international law, it is generally held to ...

by Russia. In response to the ban, Russia ultimately withdrew from the contest. The following year, Samoylova was instead chosen to

represent Represent may refer to: * ''Represent'' (Compton's Most Wanted album) or the title song, 2000 * ''Represent'' (Fat Joe album), 1993 * ''Represent'', an album by DJ Magic Mike, 1994 * "Represent" (song), by Nas, 1994 * "Represent", a song by the ...

her country in the 2018 edition of the contest in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

. Performing "

I Won't Break Russia was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 with the song "I Won't Break" written by Netta Nimrodi, Leonid Gutkin and Arie Burshtein. The song was performed by Julia Samoylova, who was internally selected by the Russian broadcaste ...

", she placed 15th out of 18 contestants in the second semi-final, failing to qualify for the grand final. "I Won't Break" was the first Russian entry not to reach the final since the introduction of semi-finals in 2004.

Early life

Yuliya was born in

Ukhta Ukhta (; , ''Ukva'') is an important industrial town in the Komi Republic of Russia. Population: It was previously known as ''Chibyu'' (until 1939). History Oil springs along the Ukhta River were already known in the 17th century. In the mid- ...

Komi ASSR The Komi Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (; ), abbreviated as Komi ASSR (Komi and ), was an autonomous republic of the Russian SFSR within the Soviet Union, established in 1936 as successor of Komi-Zyryan Autonomous Oblast. In 1991, it b ...

, Russian SFSR, USSR. As a child, Samoylova began losing function of her legs due to

spinal muscular atrophy Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a rare neuromuscular disorder that results in the loss of motor neurons and progressive muscle wasting. It is usually diagnosed in infancy or early childhood and if left untreated it is the most common geneti ...

and has used a wheelchair since childhood.Eurovision in Ukraine: Controversy over Russian entry
,

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

(13 March 2017) The singer says that the manifestation of the hereditary disease could follow after an unsuccessful

poliomyelitis Poliomyelitis ( ), commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 75% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe ...

vaccination (Channel One and TASS also take this view), but specialists deny such a connection. Samoylova started her career performing for oil workers at a restaurant in her hometown of

. In 2008, she founded the band "TerraNova" which played heavy alternative music. TerraNova disintegrated in 2010.

Music career

2013–14: ''Faktor A'' and ''Winter Paralympics''

In 2013, Samoylova was the runner-up of season three of ''

Faktor A ''Faktor A'' (Russian: Фактор А) is the second Russian version of ''The X Factor'' television talent show franchise. Having broadcast on Rossiya 1 from 2011 to 2013, the show is named ''Faktor A'' (rather than ''Faktor X''), with the letter ...

'', the Russian version of ''

The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–200 ...

''. The following year, she also took part in the

opening ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly constructed location or the start of an event.

of the

2014 Winter Paralympics The 2014 Winter Paralympics (), the 11th Paralympic Winter Games, and also more generally known as the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games, were an international multi-sport event for athletes with disabilities governed by the International Par ...

2017–present: ''Eurovision Song Contest''

Samoylova was selected on 12 March 2017 to represent Russia in 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 ...

held in the capital of

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 ...

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, ...

, with the song "

". On 13 March, the

Security Service of Ukraine The Security Service of Ukraine ( ; abbreviated as SBU [] or SSU) is the main Internal security, internal security agency of the Government of Ukraine, Ukrainian government. Its main duties include counter-intelligence activity and combati ...

announced that they might ban her from entering Ukraine due to her 2015 visit to

– a region that was annexed by Russia in 2014.Ukraine investigates Russia's newly chosen Eurovision candidate
,

Deutsche Welle (; "German Wave"), commonly shortened to DW (), is a German state-funded television network, state-owned international broadcaster funded by the Federal Government of Germany. The service is available in 32 languages. DW's satellite tele ...

(13 March 2017) According to Ukrainian law entering Crimea via Russia is illegal. Samoylova has stated that she did perform in Crimea in 2015.Russia strikes provocative note for Eurovision in Ukraine
, ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' (13 March 2017) On 22 March, the Security Service of Ukraine banned Samoylova from entering Ukraine for three years for her violation of Ukrainian legislation State broadcaster Russia-1 announced on 13 April their withdrawal from the contest, which meant Samoylova would not participate in Eurovision 2017. It had been previously announced that, if Samoylova was unable to take part in 2017, she would be selected to represent Russia in 2018. Samoilova instead performed in

Sevastopol Sevastopol ( ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea and a major port on the Black Sea. Due to its strategic location and the navigability of the city's harbours, Sevastopol has been an important port and naval base th ...

, Crimea, on the day of the Eurovision semi-final. On 29 January 2018, it was confirmed by Channel 1 Russia that she would return to represent Russia at the

Eurovision Song Contest 2018 The Eurovision Song Contest 2018 was the 63rd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Lisbon, Portugal, following the country's victory at the with the song "" by Salvador Sobral. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (E ...

in Lisbon, Portugal. On 11 March, it was revealed that the song Yulia was to sing at the

would be "

" On 10 May, she performed in the second Semi-Final of the contest, but failed to qualify for the Grand Final. She is the first and only Russian entry to fail to qualify since the introduction of televised qualifying rounds in 2004.

Discography

Singles

References

External links

*
Yulia Samoylova

VKontakte (short for its original name ''VKontakte''; , meaning ''InContact'') is a Russian online social media and social networking service based in Saint Petersburg. VK is available in multiple languages but it is predominantly used by Russian speake ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Samoylova, Yulia 1989 births Living people Singers with disabilities People from Ukhta People with spinal muscular atrophy Russian pop singers Russian people with disabilities The X Factor contestants 21st-century Russian women singers Eurovision Song Contest entrants