Elena Petrova wrote a statement to the police against Sylvia Zolotova and Denis Kovalsky.

Aspiring singer Elena Petrova contacted the Moscow police with a statement that she was brutally beaten by the lead singer of the group “Brilliant” Silvia Zolotova, as well as famous composer Denis Kovalsky is the author of hits by Dima Bilan, Nikolai Baskov and Alla Pugacheva.

According to Petrova, the incident occurred the day before New Year's holidays, during one of the feasts. The girl recorded all the beatings inflicted on her by the young men in the photo.

On the night of December 12, I was at my man’s birthday close friend. Among the guests were composer Denis Kovalsky and his girlfriend, lead singer of the group “Brilliant” Sylvia Zolotova. They drank, and for some reason I began to provoke aggression in Denis. He began to be rude to me, citing the fact that I allegedly spoke in a bad manner to his girlfriend. Although the topic of our conversation was generally about Zhanna Friske, I could not speak badly about her, she is an angel. Kovalsky and Zolotova went out several times, maybe they took some drugs there, and this caused aggression? Denis jumped up to hit me. I stepped aside, saying that my boyfriend would come now and he would talk to him,” Petrova told Super.ru.

Elena called her boyfriend to help, who was afraid of Denis Kovalsky beating her.

40 minutes later, when my boyfriend arrived, I was going upstairs, the whole company was standing there. They started shouting all sorts of nasty things at me and calling me a skin. After that, Denis flew up to me and hit me in the head with his fist. When my young man approached, Kovalsky began to run away from him. At this time, Zolotova came up to me from behind and struck me several times in the face. My blood flowed in streams, and she continued to hit my head on the asphalt,” the brunette continued the story.

Elena and her young man had to contact law enforcement agencies, to calm down the couple who caused a scandal.

When we started calling the police, Sylvia hid in a taxi, and Denis hid in the birthday boy’s house. My boyfriend approached the taxi and tried to pull her out of the car, she broke free and ran into the house. Attempts to get into the house were in vain, the owner came out and began to distract us so that Denis and Sylvia had time to leave,” says Petrova.

Petrova said that she is still in shock and cannot forget about what happened. In addition, according to the aspiring singer, due to the beating she suffered a miscarriage - at the time of the incident the girl was in her third week of pregnancy.

The bruises were severe and then I was diagnosed with a concussion. After this beating, I started bleeding and lost my child. When they began to pull Sylvia away from me, she kicked me in the stomach. In addition, they ruined a lot of things for me - a sable fur coat, a personalized scarf and trousers,” the victim said.

Elena Petrova admitted that she repeatedly tried to contact Kovalsky and Zolotova to resolve the conflict, but they did not get in touch. As a result, Elena finally decided to contact the police. The girl said that her statement was accepted and all the beatings were recorded. Elena also spoke about her doubts that the case is being investigated.

Over the twenty-year history of the existence of the group "Brilliant", more than a dozen performers have passed through the kitchen of the group, many of whom have earned themselves a name and all-Russian fame. The story of “Brilliant” continues; in an interview with YarKub, the participants talked about plans for the future and shared memories of their school years.

The day before, on June 28, one of the first and most popular Russian female groups performed in Yaroslavl at.

in the photo: Kristina Illarionova, Marina Berezhnaya, Nadezhda Ruchka, Silvia Zolotova

Marina Berezhnaya: “I still remember the dress I wore to the prom, I remember my jitters. My biggest fear was that someone else would come wearing the same dress as mine. It would be a real tragedy. Two of my classmates came in identical dresses, it ended in tears, we all sympathized with them. I think this is the worst thing that can happen to a girl at prom. As for the holiday itself, graduation is like a sip fresh air. The exams are behind us, the fun is ahead. By the way, for me, final exams, and I took the Unified State Examination when they were just introduced, were a real test. Trial Unified State Exam I failed in mathematics and Russian language. In general, I had little understanding of this procedure, because in addition to answering questions, you had to fill out the form correctly, otherwise you would be given an error. It was a lot of stress for me. And at graduation you can breathe easy and forget about everything.”

Silvia Zolotova: “But this is the calm before the storm.”

Marina Berezhnaya: “I used to think it couldn’t be worse than at school.”

Silvia Zolotova: “Nothing has changed since then.”

Marina Berezhnaya: “The problems have changed. What seemed difficult then is simply perceived differently now.”

Nadezhda Ruchka: “I didn’t have a graduation at school at all; I went to Moscow in time to enter a university. After college, again, there was no.”

Kristina Illarionova:“I graduated from school last year and remember everything perfectly. Most of all I was worried about creative program, which the graduates and I staged for teachers and parents. I was its organizer."

Silvia Zolotova: “I had this story (by the way, also with a dress): I saw a stunning Beyonce poster in YES magazine, she was wearing a gorgeous beige dress with “rags”. I hung the poster above my bed and realized that I wanted to wear the same thing to the prom. And I sewed it to order. All the teachers complimented me. Now about the funny thing: I got our strictest teacher drunk, and when she sang “Khutoryanka,” she danced so hard, I’ll never forget it. It was a victory."

Marina Berezhnaya: “In general, we keep up with the times, but we do not forget about the group’s past.”

Now about creativity: after the single and video there should be an album, when can we expect it?

Marina Berezhnaya: “As our producers say, soon! But soon is an elastic concept...”

Nadezhda Ruchka: "Best the enemy of the good. The material is redesigned from time to time» .

- Each line-up of participants in the group “Brilliant” was unique, what is the “trick” of your line-up?

Marina Berezhnaya:"With the arrival of each new member The arrangements and sound change. Over the past few years, we have managed to experiment with club music, and we will perform one of these experiments, the song “Ball,” today. Yaroslavl residents will also hear a completely new song “Green Eyes”. In general, we keep up with the times, but do not forget about the group’s past.”

Nadezhda Ruchka:« Plus, old songs sound differently, for example “Clouds.”

- How to get away from pop stereotyping? Zhanna Friske did this very well.

Nadezhda Ruchka:“Every person is an individual, his nature is unique. It's simple: if you learn from other people, but don't try to copy them, then you can remain original. If you try to imitate someone, you will not be yourself, but someone else, like in an incubator.”

Marina Berezhnaya: “I noticed that now in Russian pop music a lot of “freshness” appeared, for example, IOWA with its unique timbre or Keti Topuria, her vocals also cannot be confused with anyone. Previously, everyone focused on trending performers and followed those who brought something that became popular. Dima Bilan used complex melismatics, everyone tried to imitate him, it’s about the same story with Alsou. Now this has become less. The main class, of course, is oriented towards the West, but we have cool guys who “shoot”, even on YouTube, when they show their true nature. The main thing is to believe in yourself."

Nadezhda Ruchka: “Yes, people are no longer afraid to go beyond limits.”

Behind last years, and in general, in the group “Brilliant” there is a strong rotation of participants. Nadezhda, you have been in the group for more than 10 years, is it difficult to work in conditions of changing performers?

Nadezhda Ruchka: “No, you’re rather worried about not losing what you’ve gained and accumulating as much interesting stuff as possible.”

Nadezhda Ruchka:« It's simple: if you learn from other people, but don't try to copy them, then you can remain original. If you try to imitate someone, you will not be yourself, but someone else, like in an incubator.”

How are creative issues resolved within the team with the arrival of new members (Silvia Zolotova and Kristina Illairionova, author’s note)?

Nadezhda Ruchka: “Now it has become easier and even more interesting. The work resembles a kind of creative ping-pong, all the participants are constantly throwing out something new.”

- And with former members Do you communicate with groups?

Nadezhda Ruchka: “No, except when there are joint events. With Marina (Berezhnaya, author's note) we for a long time We were friends and continue to be friends, we meet in free time, discussing different topics, including creative issues. We don’t have such connections with the girls who previously performed in the group.”

- Nadezhda, tell us about your book, which is published in the West, but remains unknown in Russia?

- This book, "The House of the soul" » (« House of the Soul") - mine big victory in life. I wrote it in Russian, but publishing the work in our language turned out to be problematic. They approached me from abroad, they liked the book, they offered me to publish it in English translation. In Russia, everything is complicated with book publishing; some kind of nepotism still flourishes here.

- What about sales abroad?

- I won’t give exact figures, but deductions are coming. The process there is as follows: first, the editors scatter obligations across different specialized sites, such as Amazon.com. How active your sales will be there (downloading a book in electronic format or ordering original version) and advertising, royalties depend. The second way: a large publishing house offers you a bid and “throws” the book into stores. The path of my book so far is to a greater extent electronic.

Currently, the group “Brilliant” includes:

Nadezhda Ruchka - since 2004;

Marina Berezhnaya - since 2009;

Kristina Illarionova - since 2015;

Silvia Zolotova - since 2015.

The updated lineup of the group was presented on October 16, 2015 during the filming of the video for the single “Brigade of Painters.” Currently, Blestyashchiye are working on recording a new album. IN last time the group spoiled listeners with a numbered album in 2005 (“ Oriental tales"). In 2008, a second collection of songs entitled “Odnoklassniki” was released.

The Russian version of the Spice Girls has been on stage for over twenty years. And all these years, not a single more or less significant party or big concert couldn’t do without “brilliant” girls. Getting into the group “Brilliant” was the dream of girls who knew how to move beautifully and understood notes. The popular girl group has established itself as one of the sexiest projects on the domestic stage.

Compound

The idea to create girl group came to the tandem of producers Andrei Grozny and Andrei Shlykov in 1995. The first lineup was a trio: her friends Polina Iodis and Varvara Koroleva. Two years later, the girls released their debut album. At the same time, the first changes occurred in the composition. Varvara, who was a professional athlete before “Brilliant,” returned to sports and took up rock climbing. She came to replace her.

The first composition of the group "Brilliant": Varvara Koroleva, Olga Orlova and Polina Iodis

In 2007, with a difference of several months, three soloists left the group at once: Anna Semenovich - in March, Ksenia Novikova - in May and Yulia Kovalchuk - in December. However, “Brilliant” managed to perform during the filming of a concert on Channel One. Natalya Asmolova joined the lineup, but lasted only seven months. All this time, the producers did not show the girl the contract and in the end they never signed it.

Asmolova was replaced by younger sister Zhanna. The girl didn’t last even a year in “Brilliant.” Officially, her departure was explained by her desire to continue her education. In fact, Andrei Shlykov admitted that Natalya did not want to “plow like Zhanna.”

Semenovich came to replace former soloist group "Strelki" and girlfriend of a famous tennis player. The premiere took place on radio in the fall new version the song “Like a Star”, recorded with the participation of Yulia Kovalchuk, Nadezhda Ruchka and Anastasia Osipova.

In 2008, following the results of a casting held with the support of LOVE Radio, new participants were selected - Anna Dubovitskaya and Nadezhda Kondratyeva. However, the latter never became a soloist. In June, Yulianna Lukasheva took the place of Natalia Friske. Yulianna took part in the filming of the video and recording of the Odnoklassniki album. At the end of 2008, the group shot the video “You Know, Darling.” Lukasheva left the team in 2009 at will. Dubovitskaya worked in the group until 2011.

At the Golden Gramophone in November 2009, “Brilliant” performed with the participation of Marina Berezhnaya. Marina got into the group by accident - she came along with a friend. With her arrival, the atmosphere in the group, previously clouded by frequent changes in composition, became kinder. The girls recorded such popular songs as “Green Eyes”, “Love”, “My Darling”.

In June 2011, Ksenia Novikova returned from maternity leave, and Anna Dubovitskaya went on the same leave in October. In the fall of 2012, Ksenia recorded the song “I Want to Forget You So Much,” making it clear that she wanted to get involved solo career.

In the summer of 2015, Anastasia Osipova left the group, but not for the sake of solo career, as usually happens. Nastya is the official representative of the NEAUVIA Organic cosmetic brand. Ksenia Novikova left “Brilliant” again, this time for good.

In June 2017, it was Nadezhda Ruchka’s turn to leave for maternity leave. The singer said that she does not intend to return to the group.

Music

There are many opinions in the assessment and criticism of the “Brilliant” group. As soon as they named the girls, their costumes, plastic movements, songs. But the girls made it easy dance music You can not only listen, but also “watch”.

The arranger of several songs was the musician of the group “Disco Accident”. The videos were shot by popular directors and video makers and Roman Prygunov, while the debut and only album of the first line-up, “There, Only There,” was recorded in the producer’s apartment.

Music and lyrics for “Brilliant” were written famous authors- Denis Kovalsky, Katya Rakova, Christian Ray. Actually, after Christian delved into the study of religion, the producer of his team “MF 3” Andrei Grozny decided to create women's group.

The song “And I kept flying” was used as a soundtrack to the film “ The night Watch». Musical critic and expert Alexey Mazhaev called it “a real, one hundred percent, impeccable hit.”

The 2000 album “About Love” is duplicated in a limited edition deluxe edition containing a CD in a slipcase and a booklet. The producers did the same with the album “Beyond the Four Seas,” released in 2002.

The cover of the 2003 album “Orange Paradise” features a photo of Zhanna Friske. For the artist, the album was the last as part of “Brilliant”, and some songs were recorded without her voice.

The video “Oriental Tales,” released in 2005, caused a wave of indignation among some followers of Islam. On the one hand, the video was called depraved. Other experts urged not to drag pop music into issues of religious morality.

In 2008, the album “Odnoklassniki” was released, which, according to some critics, is better to buy rather than download on the Internet. This collection contained the group's singles over 15 years, covered by 12 members.

In January 2010, the single “Ball” was released, for which a video was later shot. In November of the same year - new song"Morning". Over the next three years, the audience will be presented with the songs “From What,” “Birthday,” “To the Equator,” “Lose” and a video of the same name for the latter.

In February 2015, the premiere of the song “Don’t give me to anyone” took place; in October 2015, the video “Brigade of Painters” was presented. The audience saw new line-up“Brilliant” - Nadya Ruchka, Marina Berezhnaya, Silvia Zolotova and Kristina Illarionova.

The group "Brilliant" now

The former soloists of “Brilliant”, who left the group for a solo career, with the exception of Zhanna, did not achieve significant success comparable to the group. But they realized something else. Ksenia Novikova, who went through forced separation from her children, created charitable foundation"Our meaning of life." The Foundation promotes the protection of the rights and interests of the family, motherhood, fatherhood and childhood. Yulia Kovalchuk, Nastya Osipova and Nadya Ruchka are happy in their families and have become mothers. Olga Orlova became a TV presenter.

When asked why she would not return to the group, Ruchka replied that after 13 years she had become disillusioned with the project, the producers had no ideas, they had stopped making videos with cool cameramen and makeup artists.

By the way, the former makeup artist of “Brilliant” and friend of Zhanna Friske, Ksenia Stepanova, is credited with a close relationship with. According to Zhanna's father, Dmitry and Ksenia live under the same roof.

The group “Brilliant” continues to go on tour, participate in social events, and perform in clubs. Unfortunately, the band has not been nominated for music awards for 10 years. But girls are invited to perform with both new and old lineups at concerts.

In 2016, the composition “Ruchka – Berezhnaya – Zolotova – Illarionov” released the collection “Best – 20”. In 2017, the single and video “This is Love” were released. Nadezhda Ruchka was replaced by Natalya Asmolova.

Discography

• 1996 - “There, only there”
• 1997 - “There, only there (Remixes)”
• 1998 - “Just Dreams”
• 2000 - “About Love”
• 2002 - “Beyond the Four Seas”
• 2003 - “Orange Paradise”
• 2005 - “Oriental Tales”
• 2008 - “Odnoklassniki”
• 2016 - “Best – 20”

Clips

• 1996 - “There, only there”
• 1997 - “Flowers”
• 1998 - “Where are you, where?”
• 1999 - “Winter will come after autumn”
• 2000 - “Ciao, bambina!”
• 2002 - “Beyond the Four Seas”
• 2004 - " New Year's song»
• 2005 - “Oriental Tales”
• 2010 - “Ball”
• 2015 - “Brigade of Painters”
• 2017 - “This is love”

"Brilliant" is a female pop group. It was founded in 1995 by Andrei Shlykov and Andrei Grozny. This is one of the first girls' musical groups in Russia. Over two decades, its composition has undergone many changes. The group "Brilliant" will be discussed in our article.

Original line-up (1995-1998)

In 1995, the producer and composer of the group "MF 3" Andrey Grozny, together with his friend, Andrey Shlykov, decided to create a women's group. They found the first soloist right away. She turned out to be young. Later, the girl invited her old friend to the group - the third member of the group was Varvara Koroleva, a dancer. Then the group "Brilliant", whose composition was finally determined, recorded the first single. It was called "There, Only There". After the release of the album of the same name in 1996, “Brilliant” went on their first tour.

First changes (1999-2000)

Varvara was the first to leave the group. Irina Lukyanova took her place in March 1996. Some time later, Zhanna Friske appeared in the team. At first she was artistic director groups. Later, the producers decided to take a fourth soloist and offered this place to Zhanna. In May 1997, the girl starred with the rest of the group in the video "Flowers". She has since become a full member musical group. The girls themselves jokingly called the changes in the group “brilliant.” And they were right. Over the course of two years, they shot several bright videos (“Cha-cha-cha”, “Clouds”, “Where are you, where”) and achieved enormous popularity. However, this did not end the changes that the “Brilliant” group underwent. Its composition changed at the end of 1998, when Polina Iodis left to devote herself to her family.

New reshuffles (2001-2003)

In 1999, in August, the group appeared new soloist- Novikova Ksenia. Her arrival was marked by the appearance of new songs: “Ciao, bambina”, “Winter will come after autumn”. Later came out music album"About Love" and a collection of the most best compositions"White snow" In 2000, Olga Orlova left the team due to pregnancy. In her absence, Zhanna Friske became the leader of the group. This ambitious girl soon (in 2001) launched a solo project, but continued to work in the group. Soon the charming Yulia Kovalchuk joined the team. Another pretty blonde has joined the "Brilliant" group. Photos of the girls appeared on the pages of famous glossy publications.

In 2003, this team was recognized as one of the brightest Russian musical projects. However, Irina Lukyanova soon left the group. She worked as a soloist for seven years. The girl was replaced by former figure skater Anna Semenovich. The "Brilliant" group, whose lineup was replenished with a new bright member, recorded the song "Orange Song" and shot a video for it. In the summer of 2003, Zhanna Friske left the team. In December of the same year, the group “Brilliant” was photographed for FHM magazine. The photographs of the beautiful girls (Semenovich, Kovalchuk, Novikova and Friske) were very frank.

The further fate of the group (2004-2009)

Until the spring of 2004, Anna, Yulia and Ksenia worked together. Then they got a new colleague - Nadezhda Ruchka. The debut of this soloist took place in the video “New Year's Song”. With the updated lineup, the girls recorded several new singles and released them in 2006, in January, new album"Oriental Tales" and shot two bright videos. One of them (the song even displeased the chairman of the Islamic Committee of Russia, Heydar Jamal.

In 2007, in March, I embarked on solo swimming and Anya Semenovich left the group. She was replaced by a young girl. The group "Brilliant" re-recorded the single "Agent 007" with her. Team composition in this option didn't last long. After a couple of months, the girl left and was replaced by a new soloist, Natalya Friske. It was presented to the public in 2007, on October 4, at the prestigious music award. In the summer of the same year, another member appeared in the group - Natalia Asmolova. She lasted only three months due to disagreements with the producers of Brilliant. At the end of 2007, Yulia Kovalchuk’s contract with the group expired. The girl did not extend it.

At the beginning of 2008, to replace the departing Yulia Kovalchuk and Natalia Friske, the producers chose new soloists - Anna Dubovitskaya (dancer) and Nadezhda Kondratyeva (singer and model). However, Nadya did not work in a team. In June 2008, Yulianna Lukasheva took her place.

Latest changes (2009-2014)

In 2009, in mid-November, Yulianna Lukasheva announced her resignation. At the Golden Gramophone, the musical group presented an updated line-up with In 2010, in January, Blestyaschiye recorded the single “Ball”, and later shot a video for it. In November of the same year, the group presented the song "Morning". At the beginning of the summer of 2011, the legendary participant, Ksenia Novikova, returned to the team. "Brilliant" immediately recorded a new single, "Love". In October 2011 I left due to pregnancy. On November 11, 2014, the debut broadcast of the video for the song “Lose” took place on the RU.TV channel. On November 14, the group “Brilliant” held a presentation of this video at the Stakan restaurant. The composition of 2014 is Nadezhda Ruchka, Anastasia Osipova, Marina Berezhnaya, Ksenia Novikova.

As you can see, the members of the musical group often replaced each other. The lead singers of the group "Brilliant" are always sweet and charming. I would like to wish this project creative longevity and new popular songs.

Great time

- Since I took up dancing seriously from the age of thirteen, the question with future profession I decided on my own, I entered the Mari College of Culture and Arts named after S.I. Palantaya majored in Choreographic Creativity,” says Sylvia. – It was a wonderful time! Since I had no less love for singing, I tried, whenever possible, to combine it with my studies, performing at various venues in the republic and participating in city and interregional competitions. Fortunately, my choreography teachers Olga Petrovna Sergeeva, Natalya Vladimirovna Linke, Irina Vladimirovna Shaimardanova and Sergei Vitalievich Belov did not interfere with my passion. On the contrary, they supported my aspirations and successes, helping my competition numbers with choreography and good arrangements.

Young Britney Spears

The mother of the lead singer of “Brilliant” recalls that from the age of three the girl sang songs that she heard on the radio and television, often performed in kindergarten, and then at school. And from the age of 12, Sylvia was compared to Britney Spears due to some external similarity. In other words, she showed interest in art and the stage almost from the cradle. And the talent was probably inherited: there are many owners on both my mother’s and father’s sides good voice. Senior and youngest sons Nina Ivanovna also sang in the ensemble at one time, and she herself performed a lot in her youth. But, as mom says star daughter, Sylvia defeated them all.

Student life and first job

IN student years Sylvia became the winner of a number of competitions on a republican and interregional scale. In her third year, when she turned 18, the talented girl was hired at the Novotoryalsk Center for Culture and Leisure, where she became the head of the choreography department. Here she created her vocal group “Almaz”, dance group"Renaissance" and together with them actively participated in all kinds of creative competitions, taking away victory from competitors. At the same time, she continued to successfully combine her studies in college and her personal performances as part of vocal group"Echo".
In the Zolotovs’ house, in Sylvia’s room, portfolio folders with various certificates, diplomas, and thanks are kept.
- I save everything. She will have children, then grandchildren, I will show them,” says Nina Ivanovna, turning the pages.
Here is the diploma of the laureate of the interregional festival held in the Kilemar region, here is the winner in the “Solo Singing” nomination, here is the certificate for first place for the group “Echo”. As a first-year student in the choreographic creativity department, she also tried her hand at Star Factory-6. If you list all the achievements of the new “brilliant”, the list will be impressive.

Back to Moscow

- After graduation, I worked in my specialty for another year, and then decided to go back to Moscow. My mother tried to dissuade me in every possible way, since the apartment was sold in 2006, and in principle there was no one to go to. She was very worried, but in the end she reconciled herself and supported my desire and desire for self-development in big city. This is how I started a new one in 2010, independent life in Moscow,” says the girl.
In the capital, I got a job in my specialty - as a choreographer for children's dance groups.

Meeting with Kowalski

So two years passed. And one day, His Majesty Chance intervened in her seemingly “settled” rhythm of life.

Read about how Silvia Zolotova ended up in the popular group “Brilliant” in the newspaper “Mariskaya Pravda” No. 85 dated November 3.

"We're going to mom's New Year»

Now Sylvia needs to get used to the new crazy rhythm of work. It’s on stage that the viewer sees bright, smiling performers, rhythmically dancing and lighting up the hall with their charisma to the “Orange Song” or “Cha-Cha-Cha”. And behind all this there are daily rehearsals, which take a lot of work, skill and perseverance to endure.

But Sylvia is used to this active life. She still has time to go to the gym, swimming pool, cinema, travel and come home to her mother in New Toryal.

We have very warm and friendly relations in the family, they miss me very much,” says Sylvia. - We are on the phone all day long, and as soon as I have free days, I immediately go home. But, unfortunately, this happens about once every two to three months. Sometimes my mother comes to see me in Moscow. We try to see each other as often as possible. Also, my older brother Vitaly and his family live next to my mother, and my brothers Misha and Kolya live in Voronezh region. Our whole large family gathers at my mother’s house for the New Year and her birthday.

New friends and family

Working with Denis Kowalsky, Sylvia made new friends in the form of famous artists.
Nina Zolotova is very happy about her daughter’s success, although she is incredibly worried about her.
“I always wanted to see her on stage, to be proud of her, and I am very grateful to Sylvia for making it happen.
And Sylvia, in turn, appreciates the love of her mother and relatives and tries to live up to their hopes.
“I owe my success to my family, who always believed in me and supported me,” says “brilliant,” “and to the people who surround me today!” Seeing joy and pride in the eyes of my family is very valuable to me. This is worth working for, striving for and winning!