Julie King (born May 26, 1982), known as Yulianna, is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

singer-songwriter. She achieved popularity in the early 2000s by combining classical training with mainstream pop music, and her song "Don't Take Your Love Away" charted at number 1 on the Billboard Dance/Club Songs Chart in 2013. Yulianna has been credited with coining the term '' popra'' for the combination of pop and

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

Early life and training

Born in

Almaty, Kazakhstan Almaty, formerly Alma-Ata, is the largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population exceeding two million residents within its metropolitan area. Located in the foothills of the Trans-Ili Alatau mountains in southern Kazakhstan, near the border with ...

, in the former

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, King was trained as a vocalist and violinist. She grew up in

Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara (, meaning ) is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States excepting A ...

, and earned a master's degree at the

California Institute of the Arts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a Private university, private art school in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for ...

before moving to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

to pursue a career in entertainment. King's early career included vocal training with Russian opera singer

Vladimir Chernov Vladimir Nikolaïevitch Chernov (; born 22 September 1953) is a Russian baritone, particularly associated with the Russian and Italian opera repertories. Early life Vladimir Chernov was born in a small village near the town of Krasnodar in south ...

(now a music professor at the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

) and the composer

Daniel Catán Daniel Catán Porteny (April 3, 1949 – April 9, 2011) was a Mexican composer, writer and professor known particularly for his operas and his contribution of the Spanish language to the international repertory. With a compositional style ...

Career

In 2009, King met with music producer Robin Nixon, and the two went on to produce her first album, ''La-La-Land''. In 2012, she released her first single, "Race Car", with help from Nixon. "Race Car" was generally well received by critics, and the

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

, directed by Waleed Moursi, won Best Music Video at the 2012 Colorado Film Festival. King's first hit was "Forgiveness", a collaboration with

Walter Afanasieff Walter Afanasieff (born Vladimir Nikitich Afanasyev; February 10, 1958), formerly nicknamed Baby Love in the 1980s, is an American record producer and songwriter. He was a frequent collaborator of Mariah Carey on her first six studio albums. Af ...

. The song and video garnered over a million views on YouTube. It was submitted for Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist for the

55th Annual Grammy Awards The 55th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 10, 2013, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles honoring the best in music for the recording year beginning October 1, 2011 through September 30, 2012. The show was broadcast on CBS at 8 p.m. ...

in 2012. The video won several awards, including Best Music Video at the Naperville Film Festival and the Las Vegas Film Festival. In 2013, King released her first full-length dance album, ''Californ-i-a,'' written and produced with RAS and Spencer Nezey. ''Californ-i-a'' featuring The Game, was well received by critics and was distributed internationally. The single "Don't Take Your Love Away" remixed by DJ Lynwood, Excel Beats and Erik Mota reached the Top 50 ''Billboard'' chart. King's album, ''Popra Soldier'', released in 2014, featured piano player Ruslan Sirota.

References

{{authority control 1982 births Living people 20th-century American singer-songwriters 21st-century American singer-songwriters American women pop singers American women rock singers American women singer-songwriters American rock songwriters American film actresses American music industry executives California Institute of the Arts alumni Musicians from Almaty 20th-century American women singers 21st-century American women singers