“So that they don’t stink”: What Dorn said in a scandalous interview with a Russian journalist
Singer Ivan Dorn screenshot
The network called Ivan Dorn’s recent interview with a Russian journalist “zrada.” In it, he talks about the friendship between Russia and Ukraine, that he did not help the army and how they demanded that he recognize the Russian Federation as the aggressor. the site tells what exactly Dorn said and why the patriots were offended by him
Ukrainian singer Ivan Dorn is in trouble. This happened because of his scandalous interview for the Russian YouTube channel “vDud”. Dorn recently returned from America, where he was recording his new album, and he was invited to an interview by the author of the channel, Russian journalist Yuri Dud. They talked a lot about music, about Dorn's new style, and did not go without discussing Ukrainian-Russian relations. However, the answers to the Russian journalist’s questions caused a wave of indignation on social networks.
What did Dorn say? He was asked what is the reason for the sharp rise in Ukrainian music recently. The singer replied that this happened against the backdrop of a “quarrel” between Ukraine and Russia. Even the Russian journalist was surprised.
- When there was a quarrel between two brothers, all the younger brothers said “no” to everything from the older brother, we want everything for ourselves. We will have our own, and the music will also be our own, respectively, when interest in everything Ukrainian began to grow, it was really strong, against the backdrop of patriotism, naturally.
The Internet has not forgiven him for calling the war with the Russian Federation a “quarrel.” This was the singer’s first “mess,” as some users write.
Then there were questions about sponsorship of the ATO, and the singer disowned assistance from the Ukrainian army. By the way, two years ago he was actively reproached by the Russian media for allegedly giving money to help the Armed Forces of Ukraine, earned in the Russian Federation.
Presenter's question: Many still believe that Dorn sponsored the ATO. This is true?
- No! Money was given to the victims in Mariupol when the shelling occurred... But one of the volunteers, the one who actually wrote this post, decided to use this money differently. He publicly thanked me for this. I said, listen, let’s do something somehow, because it turned out to be an uncomfortable situation. There's too much stench about this. Let's somehow delete the post or tell us how it all happened.
Dorn said that after that he helped charities, but not related to the ATO.
Here it is worth recalling the biography of Ivan Dorn. He was born in Chelyabinsk, Russia, and moved to Slavutich at the age of two because his father worked at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. He received a musical education in piano and became a laureate and winner of numerous music competitions. Many people remember Dorn from the duet “Pair of Normals”, created in 2007.
Three years later he left the group and began a solo career. At the same time, he worked as a presenter on a music channel, and in recent years he was a judge in such projects as “X-Factor” and “Voice of the Country.”
In 2014, Dorn took part in the New Wave festival in Jurmala, where he sang the song of the Skryabin group “Penguin Dance”. He came on stage wearing a sweater with a picture of a Ukrainian trident. His action received many approving reviews, although in the Russian Federation they even proposed banning the singer’s performances.
But in his interview, he admitted that he decided to wear the trident “so that no one would make a fuss about the suit.”
Presenter's question: Explain what kind of performance this was?
- The performance is called “not getting into trouble”... In 2014 I agreed, then I was still an unestablished artist... We went there with the “penguin dance”. Then the question became a little more acute, because a stink began to rise about the fact that our participant from Ukraine was wearing some kind of tricolor…. Something had to be decided, so I thought that I should go with a Ukrainian song, firstly, to carry culture, since this is the case. And secondly, I thought that I should go out with a trident so that no one would make a fuss about the suit. There I didn’t tell anyone that I would come out with a suit.
The singer says that at that moment he did not want to quarrel with Igor Krutoy, the organizer of the New Wave.
Dorn says he understands that he is performing in the Russian Federation and what this may entail. According to him, at some point he realized that music is more important for people, and in this sense there is no hostility.
Not everyone in Ukraine understands you on this matter.
- Yes, we even had two concerts cancelled. Ivano-Frankivsk and Ternopil.
Is this the farthest west? Under what pretext was it cancelled?
- They didn’t cancel it, they just started demanding, they say, recognize Russia as an aggressor, say it, write about it and prove that you are a patriot.
- Soon, the thaw is already starting.Do you know why this is all?Because we look at what happened here,and how everything happens, what series of changes took place, how much was promised and how much was fulfilled... Initially, in a revolution there is one person to blame - it’s someone else. And after a while you begin to understand that defending yourself all the time with a revolution, with the fact that everything is bad with us, we are at war, and nothing happens for us because of this, is somehow strange.
Are Russians and Ukrainians brothers?
- I like to think so, yes.
Dorn's answers simply outraged the Ukrainian segment of social networks. Many began to write that Dorn finally chose the country for himself - Russia. Users even started writing “R.I.P. Dorn” in posts, saying that for them such a Ukrainian singer no longer exists.
For the first time in life, I’ll worry about money spent on iTunes.
And cover it, because it’s a good word.
but now Vanya Dorn can walk through the forest.
Let's start the conversation with the latest news. There is a video filmed in Africa, a film about your trip there is about to be released. First of all, why did you need to go so far?
It all started like this: I was driving along the Vyshgorod dam, and Bicholla Tetradze sent me an audio message of the following nature: “Dude, I just saw your video for “Africa.” I know how to remove it!” It turned out that he was watching the Instagram channel @masakakidsafricana, and at this time the track “Afrika” was playing. And he sees how they coincide! Then Bicholla edited “Africa” and dance moves from Instagram and sent it to me. I was like: yeah, I got it! I realized that this was a great idea. What do you need to go and shoot? And not just somewhere in Africa, but specifically to these children.
The premiere of the film "Power of Africa" took place last night on the Complex website
- Is it difficult to get there? What is the route anyway?
I flew to Dubai, where we met with the rest of the team. Then we flew together to Entebbe, an airport in Uganda. A local producer named Bill was waiting for us there. He immediately said: “Guys, let’s go to the pharmacy and buy pills just in case!” Because most people in Uganda die from malaria. Plus, this is a country with a very large number of HIV-infected people.
From Entebbe we went to Masaka - in fact, to the region where the children are. On the way we crossed the equator. We arrived at a big, big village. But with good roads - they were built by the Chinese.
Guys, let's go to the pharmacy and buy some pills just in case!
We woke up in the morning bitten by mosquitoes. And they were terribly worried. We were told that 30% of all mosquitoes are malaria mosquitoes. Before we went there, we had, I think, seven vaccinations. But malaria vaccinations are not given. You just take pills if you feel bad.
Bill also said that there are witches in Uganda, and there are especially many of them in the Masaka region. They are running around with backpacks, some kind of fire is burning in the backpacks. They run very fast because they are fueled with some kind of powder - associations of some kind of cocaine are immediately drawn. Bill said that witches bewitch men and force them to work on their plots of land. In general, right from the first day we were bombarded with this kind of mystical information.
- How do the children from this dance group live?
This is a huge family of two parents and artistic directors who gather children around them and teach them to dance. Children are either from poor families who cannot provide for them on their own, or without parents. My husband's name is Hasan. His wife cooks all the time. And all the time the same food: a small cornmeal bun and beans. Basically, it's delicious. For one time. And when you sit down with them for the second time, the beans are already a little boring. And the third time you somehow don’t want to eat them. Therefore, the gastronomic holiday began when we arrived and brought lunchboxes from the hotel.
We started training. They just train in the yard. I showed my movements, they showed theirs, so that it was truly a joint dance, and not just children dancing in a video. They all dance very cool individually. But when we started putting together some fundamentally important synchronizations, they turned out to be completely out of sync. I had to work for a very long time to make everything beautiful and synchronized.
- What language did you speak?
In English. But such African English.
And this is what the “Afrika” video actually looks like, the filming of which required a trip to Uganda
- What else was strange there?
It's strange that they treat the earth like a big garbage chute. They drink Fanta or chew gum and simply throw it on the ground. We come to photograph some beautiful view and - damn it, guys! So beautiful, stop littering! At the same time, Uganda is one of the most developing African countries. As the locals told us, poor Uganda is being shown by some European donors or guys who make documentaries. In order to simply raise more money for this. In Uganda they say: “We are not so poor, we are developing.”
- What will the donations you make be used for?
I'll tell you how it turned out. On the first day, we went with the children to get water. We reached a large deep puddle, which most likely forms after rain. They filled water into gasoline cans. Nearby there was an area where they grow some kind of vegetation. And they said: we grow vegetation here, but we are planning to build a school here soon. So that we can all study, dance, and train together here. And they, apparently, have already launched some kind of crowdfunding campaign, but not very successfully. And when I was talking to them, standing in this place, a thought appeared - what if? They are raising funds for a dance school. They have a plan, they have a project ready, they need 30 thousand dollars for construction.
I want to help these children. They are very loving and warm. It was clear that for them we were long-awaited newcomers. Who came, roughly speaking, to turn their lives in a more positive direction. We wanted it to truly be a fusion of cultures. And so that it is realized in dance. We were worried that in the video I was the only white person in the frame. And on this basis they can pick something up: he went, he used the children. Therefore, the documentary will show what the relationship really was. What mutual understanding there was, what enthusiasm and how much fun we had.
- What is happening in your work now?
There are a lot of plans. Now we have made a collaboration with an American DJ, widely known in narrow circles.
Not. Not with . We met with him at the studio of , who was also there, and we had a great rap! These guys are so cool - [damn it]! I felt in seventh heaven with happiness. You know, get together and just chat about... Well, their musical philosophy. Listen, delve into, talk about your own, share your joys and sorrows.
- And the first DJ, who was discussed at first, is...
This is another DJ, I don’t want to disclose his name yet. So without expectations, you know. I flew there and made four tracks with him. We will present it this summer. And then there will be a hip-hop album. We start working on it in mid-May. Finally! That's it, we sit down to write it. There’s a little bit left - we’re bringing furniture [to the new studio]. We will sit in the “Workshop” and take her virginity - in a creative sense.
We have festivals in the summer. At the same time, a tour of Europe took place. Small - Poland, Germany, Holland. We will touch the foreign audience through OTD. I'm preparing one single for the summer. Cover. I won’t say which group. But she is respected and loved by everyone. In Russian.
Dorn traveled to Europe, of course, with the English-language OTD program. And it’s also on YouTube - a recording of last year’s concert in Moscow was released on Ivan’s channel a month ago.
- There are a lot of questions at once. Firstly, a rap album: are you writing it in Kyiv? There was a plan to do this in New York.
No no! This will be an album in Russian.
When you started talking about a rap album a couple of years ago, it seemed very bold: a leading pop star was going into rap. But today everyone reads rap, even Timur Rodriguez. Did you miss the moment?
No. You know, this even makes me happy. Because when we come out with the album, hip-hop in the musical climate will already...
- Will it merge?
First of all, it will be different. Now everyone is moving away - thanks to Mushrooms for this trend. And gradually rap will move into this form. And our hip-hop will be more classic.
It’s even more interesting for me to break into this genre when its current popularity has already passed. Of course, we could do this now and be absolutely in the moment. And from a pragmatic point of view, this would be the most correct approach. But this is precisely what we are afraid of.
It's cool to come out with a hip-hop album when hip-hop is already too obvious. When it already starts to be so popular that it’s even repulsive. That's when it gets really interesting! Because then people will pay attention to how hip-hop it really is. How meaningful and contextual it is. And not to what extent it is in the market situation and in the trend.
- Are you satisfied with the current context of hip-hop?
I like deeper artists like, obviously, Kendrick [Lamar]. Of course, this is Oddisee, this is . These are new people like Schoolboy Q, but also Talib Kweli, Mos Def - the old guys that I really love, that I grew up with. I also avoid places where I don’t see depth, but see only quality.
- So this is the top now: all these young people from Lil Pump to Lil Zan.
I really don't know them. I don't follow these guys at all. Because I get lost in them very easily. For me there is no musical difference in them - they are all like carbon copies. When a movement becomes so widespread, I start to shy away from it. And look for an alternative. Which I find in the names I listed.
The “Collaba” video no longer has 50 percent of dislikes, as Ivan says, but it still has a lot - 44 thousand versus 74 thousand likes
- Do you continue to knock on the doors of American show business?
Moreover, I am already opening the doors a little through publications that agree to publish... And not only do they agree, but, for example, they ask for some kind of material. And at the same time I am focusing on European show business. I want to go to festivals. Therefore, we are now knocking on the push lists of festival agents.
But all this needs to be done slowly, consistently and correctly. And we also took some wrong steps. There were the wrong people we worked with. There were a lot of talkers who say what you want to hear. They say that they know everyone, they will solve everything, just let’s work with them. You work, you expect something. Then they say: “Well, it’s very difficult to predict here, you understand.” Therefore, by trial and error, without knowing anything about the show business there, we are trying to understand how to act in it correctly. And over this year we dug some kind of ditch for ourselves.
I had the feeling that you wrote the first album for the listener, the second - for yourself, and the third - as if somewhere in space.
The motto “Write for yourself” - I, of course, promoted it. And to some extent, I buried myself musically. But when we released the album “OTD”, I knew for sure that I liked this album, that there would be an audience who would understand it. If not immediately, then later.
It’s fun to watch how the perception of this album changes, how it opens up for people and help it open up with the help of additional content, videos, something else. It's like a board game, like a strategy, but very long in time. The same thing happened with [the previous album] “Randorn”: not everyone accepted it, but over time the attitude changed. Only faster - because the album itself was probably less contrasting.
I was clearly aware that there would be non-perception. And it is there. 50% dislikes for the “Collaba” video on YouTube. They made fun of me for saying I won a Grammy. In fact, this excites me!
I find the story of the recording of the American album very attractive in an artistic sense. But it doesn't describe you as a rational music businessman. Because you lost a lot of money on concerts you didn't finish. You could obviously perform more with Russian material. What do you think about this?
Definitely. But, honestly, I set myself a goal - to add foreign ones to our Russian-speaking audience. This means we need to abandon some plans and strategies in the CIS countries. Just to find time and achieve something there. Essentially, you're starting over. Having, however, experience, a Russian-speaking audience and some kind of self-confidence. But it's still anew. And to do it again requires a lot of time and patience. The “OTD” album, naturally, was more designed for some kind of jump out there, you know? Why, guys, look how I can sing in English. Therefore, I was clearly aware that there would be non-perception. And it is there. 50% dislikes for the “Collaba” video on YouTube. They made fun of me for saying I won a Grammy. In fact, this excites me! This is a serious pain in the ass. Which I set for myself on purpose.
Nowadays in music everyone cares about success. If the artist doesn’t have it, then there is no topic for conversation. One of the signs of the moment is the popularity of the word “coming”. When the music starts, it means everything has happened. If you don’t come in, it doesn’t matter whether it’s high-quality, advanced, or innovative. Are you comfortable living in such a world?
No. Not good. This is a fucking digital industry, which with its information flow breaks the usual musical realities. Perception of music. The music industry as a whole. People don't have time to sit down, close their eyes, listen to music and imagine something. The music works more as a background. Hence all these measurements: it went in - it didn’t go in, it pumps - it doesn’t pump, punch - not punch. Anything that doesn’t catch your attention right away is kind of bad. Listen to it several times, think, find the right atmosphere - there is no time for this. So, of course, I am partly in a risky position. And of course, I am uncomfortable in such a world. But there are no options. Either you keep up with the times, or everyone moves on, and you remain in place. We still have to fight to bring some value to this art. Fight for the thought, for the message, for the context. By any means. Yes, to adapt - but to adapt while standing on some ground. That's what I'm trying to do.
The upcoming concert of Ivan Dorn is in a secret place - ticket buyers will know it directly on the day of the performance.
Ukrainian singer Ivan Dorn, who recently gave an interview to Russian blogger Yuri Duda, outraged Ukrainians with his talk about brotherhood with Russia.
In addition to the singer’s conversations with the blogger about his work and personal life, Yuri Dud tried to ask as many provocative questions as possible in the context of the Ukraine-Russia conflict.
It all started when Dorn was asked what was causing such a dramatic rise in Ukrainian music. Dorn argued this as a quarrel between “two brothers.”
The Russian blogger also asked about the reaction of Ukrainians to the tour of Russia in 2016. Dorn responded that there were two festivals he had decided to attend and that such festivals were completely "harmless".
Yuri Dud recalled the fact that when other countries remember Ivan Dorn, he is remembered as the person who sponsors the ATO. To which the singer responded quite categorically.
“Money was given to the victims in Mariupol when the shelling broke out, and the volunteer who managed my money publicly thanked me for this online. There was too much stink about this, and I told him to delete that post. I don’t help volunteers related to the ATO,” the singer replied.
The young performer also commented on the situation with one of his concerts in Moscow, when from the stage, together with the Russian public, he said hello to Kyiv and said that there is no enmity between the countries.
Politicians don’t really like this, because the very fact that I speak in Russia is outrageous. And for those who are ardent Russophobes, they also don’t like my position. Other people, to be honest, don’t give a damn, it seems to me. My music is more important to them
– Dorn added.
What surprised the Russian blogger was that Dorn’s concerts after his Russian tour were blocked in Ivano-Frankivsk and Ternopil, but not in Lvov.
In a scandalous interview, the blogger also recalled an incident from a concert in Jurmala in 2014, when Dorn went on stage to perform “Penguin Dance” in a sweatshirt with a Ukrainian trident. The singer commented on this situation by saying that at that time he was collaborating with Russian producer Igor Krutoy and did not want to let him down with his performance.
Cool allowed me to do the performance the way I wanted. And when the question of clothes arose, a stink arose about the fact that our participant from Ukraine was still wearing the tricolor, questions arose about why she was going to Jurmala, why she was adapting to the Russians, etc. That’s why I thought to go with a Ukrainian song, to carry Ukrainian culture in this case, and that I need to go out with a trident so that no one “stinks” about the costume,” said the performer.
Ivan Dorn admitted that he was worried about his bold performance because he was afraid of quarreling with Igor Krutoy.
In response to Yuri’s final questions, Dorn joked with phrases from the latest popular song in the CIS region by the Ukrainian group “Mushrooms,” “The Ice Is Melting.” Dorn said that Ukraine and Russia will soon make peace, because the thaw has already begun.
And the question that Ivan would like to ask Vladimir Putin is:
“Listen, do you also have some kind of uncertainty in Libra (zodiac sign) all the time? Constantly depending on the opinions of others, when everyone says that everything is good, it means that everything is good, and when everything is bad, then everything is bad. This is typical just me or all Libra?” – Ivan answered.
Dorn also casually mentioned in the interview that as part of the group “Pair of Normals” he performed at propaganda concerts of the “Party of Regions”.
And when asked about Jamala’s victory at Eurovision in 2016 with her song, the singer emphasized that first of all, the song should win, not politics.
“From a musical point of view, I really liked it. But it’s not politics that should win, despite the “sorrowful” history, but music should win. We played as if for some kind of pity, but the music is really cool,” Dorn noted.
A scandal surrounding Ivan Dorn’s interview with one of the popular Russian bloggers is gaining momentum on the Internet. In particular, the 28-year-old singer spoke about his attitude towards Russia and commented on the information about the transfer of money to help ATO participants in the Donbass.
As it turned out, Ivan Dorn never equipped Ukrainian soldiers, but gave money to help people in Mariupol.
Money was given to the victims in Mariupol. After the shelling. Then volunteers distributed money for this. But one of the volunteers decided to use this money differently and thanked me for it
Dorn explained.
Ivan also said that he wore a T-shirt with a trident during the New Wave 2014 song contest in Jurmala “so as not to stink,” and called Ukrainians and Russians brothers who would soon make peace.
We went there with Penguin Dance. Then the question became a little more acute, because a stink began to arise that our participant from Ukraine was wearing a suit with a tricolor. How can it be that we have such problems, such a quarrel, and she walks around in this tracksuit... Something had to be solved. Therefore, I thought that I should go with a Ukrainian song, firstly, to carry culture, since this is such a thing. And secondly, I thought, I need to go out with a trident so that no one stinks about the suit
The singer said.
Such statements by Ivan Dorn caused outrage among Ukrainian celebrities. On their pages on social networks, some write angry posts, while others try to justify the musician, calling what is happening bullying.
Dorn was at least honest. He said what he thought. And I'll tell you. Perhaps I will repeat myself (for those who love examples of Klavdia Shulzhenko, who would never have fought in the war in Berlin). Sometimes it seems to me that the war in the country is for soldiers and artists, the rest live as in peacetime, and politicians are even better. None of you go to a tank factory or a medical unit in the morning for a 12-hour shift, as was the case during Shulzhenko’s time. You all enjoy a peaceful life and only sometimes write your angry posts about artists, saying that there is no war for them. Is there one for you? - Ukrainian producer Oleg Bodnarchuk writes in his blog.
You know, Vanka... I never had any illusions about you before. Well, my dear, having explained to us fools that this is just a “quarrel”, that you gave money to... but to me, in principle, to... where you gave them. P.p.s. Who nourishes a lot, why did I write so tolerantly... So, please, I try to control my emotions.. and so be... you yourself know what I said, it’s not internal censorship
Producer Alena Mozgovaya shares her opinion.
Well, okay, show business figures who are trashing Ivan now. It is explainable. At first they had a hard time surviving when he, then still... from the mountain, raised his performance fee to 40,000 euros within 2 years. This generally violated all laws of subordination. And then, successfully maneuvering between countries, he continued to tour in Russia, while also giving concerts in Ukraine, at a time when many who had prospects of capturing the Russian music market publicly refused to tour in the Russian Federation. It’s clear that one can only hate something like that. And now, without irony, I would hate him myself if we were in the same competitive environment. Therefore, I have no questions about our show business. Everything is clear here. Hello to everyone who sucked Vanka on their page,” writes TV presenter Andrei Shabanov.
Unsuitable for me(((So naive and believed better. 1. After this quarrel happened... 2. The younger brothers told the older brother... 3. He didn’t give money for the ATO. 4. He put on a trident so that they wouldn’t stink about the suit
TV presenter Solomiya Vitvitskaya wrote on her Facebook.
Ukrainian singer Ivan Dorn, popular in Russia, gave an interview to Russian journalist Yuri Dudu. The conversation, during which the topic of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict was touched upon, aroused harsh criticism from the Ukrainians, who felt that Ivan was trying too hard to please the Russian reporter and was afraid to say too much.
Let us remember that Ivan has repeatedly helped volunteers in Donbass, a region that is fighting for independence from Ukraine. According to the musician, he did this solely out of good intentions and wanted to help the victims. As a result, the money he gave went to buy weapons, and Ivan was considered a supporter of Ukraine in its conflict with Russia. Later, the press began to write that Dorn was sponsoring fighters of the “anti-terrorist operation,” as the Ukrainian authorities described their actions.
The journalist touched on this topic during an interview. So, Ivan convinced him that he did not and does not intend to sponsor the war in Donbass: “Money was given for the victims in Mariupol when the shelling occurred. But one of the volunteers decided to use the money in his own way and bought an optical sight.”
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Ivan also justified himself for going on stage in Jurmala in 2014 wearing a T-shirt with the state emblem of Ukraine in the form of a trident. “I thought that I should go out with a trident so that no one would make a fuss about the suit,” explained Ivan, who considers Russians and Ukrainians brothers.
Such words caused severe criticism from Ukrainians. They believed that by doing so, Ivan took the side of Russia: “We’ll find someone else - more talented, more attractive and patriotic!” “Such interviews make me feel nauseous. It seems that an accomplished Ukrainian artist, popular, recorded an English-language album to conquer the United States, but still this “little brother” complex does not let go,” “Unfortunately, you can’t sit on two chairs with one ass. And you won’t make all the money. Sorry for Ivan. With this interview you chose your stool. Don’t put on the coat of arms again and don’t disturb Kuzma’s memory.”
