Katya Lel (singer)

катерина Николаевна Чупринина  (Yekaterina Nikolayevna Chuprinina In English) better known by her stage name: Катя Лель (Katya Lel in English) is a Russian pop singer and composer born on September 20th, 1974 in Nalchik, Kabardino-Balkar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (now the Kabardino-Balkaria Republic). In 1994, she attended the Russian Academy of Music's vocal department in Moscow, taught by Joseph Kobzon, who was acclaimed as the "official voice of the Soviet Union", and Lev Leshchenko, another renowned singer, who performed the closing theme at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. In 1998, she graduated from the academy with top honors and started her solo career which changed style in 2003 when she started working with producer Maxim Fadeev. She's most known for her song "My Marmalade" which was originally released in 2003, but resurfaced and went viral on Tik Tok in 2023. In response, she posted on her Instagram: “I thank each of you, my beloved, who are happy for Max and me, who support us! Life is unpredictable and amazing with its surprises.” She has really eaten up the attention, using the song in a lot of her social media posts even until recently as it's basically become a staple to her career now.

I, like many others, found her through My Marmalade on Tik Tok, but I don't think anyone really checked out her music outside of the trend which I highly suggest you do if you haven't. She specializes in pop, dance, and chanson music, with a lot of her hits coming from the 2000s. A lot of her music and fashion style at the time SCREAMED a very specific type of y2k that I can't quite put my finger on but it's so pretty and nostalgic and I love it. It almost reminds me of those photos and graphics you'd see at old hair salons and fashion magazines at the time if that makes sense??? Her and her work both old and new is just so fun, and colorful, and bouncy and makes you wanna bop your head. Her mannerisms in her videos too is so cute and fun. Everything about her and her music radiates such beautiful, joyful vibes and brings such a smile to face.

Here are some of my fav songs from her!

Also here's an English version she sung of My Marmalade :D. I've never heard her sing in English before and think her voice and accent is so adorable in this.

For more information and sources, check out her Wikipedia and her Website.