Klava Koka's year of milestones and marriage
Today, one of Russia«s most popular pop stars from Yekaterinburg celebrates her birthday: on 23 July, Klava Koka turns 31.
Klava is arguably one of Russia«s most hardworking and successful singers. This year has been her most productive and eventful yet: she performed solo concerts and festival sets, shot fairytale-like and sultry music videos, traveled, and finally became a bride. E1.RU looked through Koka»s social media to show how far she has come in just one year.
Last year, after celebrating her 30th birthday, Klava Koka, along with Dima Maslennikov and her family, went to a Justin Timberlake concert.
In August, she went on vacation to Norway, a trip she had dreamed of for eight years. The singer recalled shooting her music video «Sorry» («Prosti») there, sleeping in tents between takes.
«It turns out happiness is not about expensive hotels or zeros in your bank account. Happiness is waking up to sun rays and seeing a rainbow. Drinking water from an icy waterfall and picking wild berries in the forest. Happiness is cooking breakfast in the morning in a cozy house with beloved friends, and at night roasting marshmallows by the fire together and watching the stars,» she wrote.
That same month, Klava released a steamy music video for her song «You Deserve It» («Ty dostoin»).
In October, Koka fueled rumors of a romance with blogger Dima Maslennikov when she appeared with him on stage at her anniversary concert. Together they performed a passionate dance number. When asked about the romance after the show, the singer only responded with a smile.
«Dima is a wonderful person—ship us even more!» Klava declared (shipping means imagining a romantic relationship between people. — Ed.).
In November, the singer won the country«s most prestigious music award—she took home the Golden Gramophone for her song »I Still Love« (»Yeshche lyublyu«).
«Guys, I got the Golden Gramophone! I»ve dreamed of this for so long. I«m 30, the Gramophone is 30—it»s a sign! A million emotions,« Klava shared.
In December, Klava released a music video for her hit «Gossip. Noise. Drama.» («Spletni. Shum. Luk»), featuring 60 stars from across the country—including Larisa Dolina (who appears on the line «I»ll pretend to be sweet and innocent«), Polina Gagarina, Sergei Lazarev, Dima Bilan, Basta, Nikolai Baskov, and many others.
On 8 December, it was revealed that Klava had left the Black Star label. Founder Pavel Kuryanov (Pashu) said that her ten-year contract had ended two days earlier. Koka chose not to renew it, wanting to pursue a solo career. According to the producer, the split was difficult for both sides.
«I saw her not just as an artist but as a very close person, like a daughter. And now I»m like a father who has to let his child go,« Pashu said.
At the end of December, Klava, now an independent artist, shot a music video on Lake Baikal. Fans accused her of using artificial intelligence: the video looked too fairytale-like.
However, Klava admitted that she herself was tired of neural networks, and for the shoot she actually traveled to the Far North, enlisted the help of Olkhon Buryats, and laid a carpet on the lake«s ice.
In February, Klava returned to her native Yekaterinburg to film a snippet for her song «A Hundred Steps Back» («Sto shagov nazad»). The artist told E1.RU that the idea to work with the local jazz choir came spontaneously.
As a child, Klava Koka spent almost all her childhood in the pop-jazz choir of the children«s philharmonic. As the singer herself admitted, thanks to her teacher Marina Yurievna Makarova, she fell even more in love with music.
During her visit to Yekaterinburg, Klava also stopped by the apartment where she spent her childhood. Inside, little remains of the singer«s past—the home now has a different owner.
On 3 April, Klava suddenly posted a photo of herself kissing her best friend Dima Maslennikov, and later announced they weren«t just dating—they were getting married! She dedicated a song to her future husband (and former friend) called »How I Love You« (»Kak ya lyublyu tebya«).
Fans were pleasantly shocked by the news. We covered what«s known about the singer»s chosen one in a separate article.
In early June, Klava announced she had bought a house for her parents.
«I»ve been working toward this for many, many years. Today, our whole family«s dream came true: I bought them a house!» the artist wrote.
Klava Koka also found time to respond to vicious haters. The singer was criticized on social media for her figure. Losing patience, she answered her detractors in a video.
«»Pig,« »fatso,« »big mama,« »about to pop,« »let herself go,« »go on a diet,« »body like a grandpa.« These are the comments I read about myself. It seems everyone»s forgotten what an ordinary female body looks like. Please, leave me alone. I«m not skinny and never aimed to be perfect. I love my body, and I don»t intend to please everyone. I«m a human being—if I want to, I lose weight; if I want to, I gain weight. It»s my business,« Klava said.
She also surprised a newlywed couple: she showed up at their wedding and performed her hit live. The bride had previously written to Klava on social media that her first dance would be to «How I Love You.» She didn«t expect the singer to accept the invitation.
In July, Klava posted photos with her fiancé. Online, fans speculated that the couple decided not to delay the wedding and secretly got engaged in Paris.
We covered how Klava lived before fame in this article. Also check out how her looks changed from 2015 to 2023 (some outfits drew strong reactions from our readers).
* Social network banned in the Russian Federation.
