Prokhor Shalyapin on easy life and Kirkorov feud

Once a talk show hero and meme sensation, Prokhor Shalyapin has become an ambassador of the easy life. The Volgograd native returned to the spotlight after a major interview with Ksenia Sobchak, where he discussed life after «Factory of Stars» (Russian: Fabrika Zvyozd), escaping the «meme-filled internet», and why he fears workaholism more than being seen as a clown.

«Adult women are warmer, wiser, and more soulful»

Ksenia Sobchak began the conversation with a topic that has long intrigued the public—Shalyapin«s love life. For the interview, Ksenia even dressed up as an old woman. Prokhor appreciated the host»s humor and admitted that everything attributed to him is just an image.

— There were no old women in my life,— the artist laughs. — It«s an image I created unintentionally. I had older girlfriends, but I didn»t sleep with all of them. Adult women are warmer, wiser, more soulful. Although, from a dramatic perspective, having a romance with an 18-year-old is wonderful.

Recall that Prokhor Shalyapin called for more tolerance toward couples with a large age gap. The artist noted that no one but the lovers themselves should interfere in their relationship, and it would be better if everyone paid attention to a truly serious problem—the loneliness of those who want love.

«I didn»t go to rich houses«

Prokhor Shalyapin recalled how he started his path on «Factory of Stars»—without patrons or producer investments. The 23-year-old artist entered show business with the help of an acquaintance he calls Alla. Prokhor does not disclose her last name. It was she who introduced him to Viktor Drobysh, who helped the young singer break onto the «Factory of Stars» stage.

— In those days, money decided everything. I was foolish and didn«t understand how show business worked,— says Prokhor. — I had to humiliate myself, wait in oligarchs» reception rooms for 12 hours. No one told me that. I thought it was enough that I sang well. I had a high rating on «Factory of Stars». But I didn«t realize that slightly different principles applied there. No one pointed it out to me.

Viktor Drobysh is a well-known Russian composer and music producer, honored artist of Russia (2010). He gained wide recognition for his work with popular artists, participation in television music projects, and creation of numerous hits.

Producer Viktor Drobysh still recalls Prokhor Shalyapin in interviews not in the most positive light.

— He says I«m talentless, that he dug me up like a mummy,— Prokhor Shalyapin says with contempt. — My mom always says: »Don«t answer him», but I can«t.

Nevertheless, Prokhor held on until the end on the «Factory of Stars» project and reached the finale. There, he met Philip Kirkorov, with whom he soon had a permanent falling out over Yana Rudkovskaya.

— I didn«t understand what intrigues were back then. I heard Philip discussing Dima Bilan with Larisa Sinelshchikova. The king of the stage suggested squeezing money out of the young artist. But he told Yana Rudkovskaya the opposite,— recalls Prokhor Shalyapin. — I told Yana everything. She quarreled with Philip, but they made up after three days. And I became an enemy. I»m an idiot, of course. It was ugly on my part.

In 2007, Prokhor Shalyapin was «bought out» by the company of billionaire Igor Makarov. At that time, the team included Yevgeny Kobylyansky and Sergey Saidov—people who had worked with Grigory Leps.

— Yevgeny wrote one song—a miss,— the showman recounts. — We collaborated for a year, nothing happened, the contract ended. But I«m still grateful to them.

From «meme-filled internet» to VK awards

Andrey Malakhov«s talk show became Shalyapin»s ticket back to the screen—and simultaneously a trap.

— When we just started, everything was good-natured,— says Prokhor Shalyapin. — With Kopenkina, they filmed us like a warm series. It wasn«t destructive. But after Malakhov left, everything changed. With Borisov and Shepelev, a bacchanalia began. The instructions were »to crush and destroy«.

The love story that began the «series» on Channel One looked like a fairy tale: a young singer and an older, vibrant woman.

— It was a real love story. Larisa wasn«t a millionaire. I made that up to make the show work,— the artist boasts. — At first, we filmed for free—five episodes in a row. Then they started paying 50,000–100,000 rubles (approximately $500–$1,000 at current rates) per episode. That»s when other channels began poaching us.

After this love story ended, Prokhor Shalyapin met Vitalina Tsymbalyuk-Romanovskaya, the ex-wife of actor Armen Dzhigarkhanyan, in the dressing room.

— I felt sorry for her on a human level, despite her being a controversial figure,— says Prokhor Shalyapin. — Later, of course, she spoke badly about me. Still, some sympathy arose between us. For one episode, they paid us 100,000 rubles (approximately $1,000 at current rates). That«s peanuts.

Vitalina Tsymbalyuk-Romanovskaya is a well-known Ukrainian pianist who gained wide recognition in Russia as the third wife of People«s Artist of the USSR Armen Dzhigarkhanyan, and also due to high-profile scandals related to their divorce and property division.

Shalyapin«s last love was American Tatiana Davis. The couple met when she invited him to sing on a yacht.

— I thought she was a 70-year-old granny. But she turned out to be young, pleasant, only five years older than me,— says Prokhor Shalyapin. — We lived together in Los Angeles, got married in Las Vegas, signed a prenuptial agreement. It all ended in tragedy: in 2021, Tatiana died from COVID-19.

The path from talk show participant to advertising contracts and hosting the VK awards was long for Prokhor. The turning point was the project «Stars in Africa».

— On the first day, they paid 50,000 rubles (approximately $500 at current rates),— the artist recalls. — And now I pay 3–4 million rubles (approximately $30,000–$40,000 at current rates) in taxes per year. My income has grown 20 times. I«m now on VAT, everything is honest.

Social media spread Shalyapin«s quotes into short videos after a couple of episodes. The showman»s style pleased users so much that he was dubbed the ambassador of the easy life.

— I«m bathing in love,— Prokhor Shalyapin smiles. — I used to be perceived as an artist from the »meme-filled internet«. But I escaped from there. I came from hell.

«Let us live peacefully until retirement!»

Not everyone appreciates Prokhor Shalyapin«s lightheartedness. His critics, including the head of the anti-corruption project Vitaly Borodin, demand that the showman be removed from broadcasts.

«Prokhor Shalyapin needs to be urgently examined. I can»t even comment on the things he spreads to the masses. Promoting relaxation with grannies, unemployment, and gigolo behavior. He must be removed from the stage. Why do we need a sick person in the media? We have enough of those. Today he insulted a child, and tomorrow what will he do? He must be closely monitored and something must be done about it«,— statement by Vitaly Borodin.

— Where is the corruption and where is Prokhor Shalyapin with his girlfriends? Let us live peacefully until retirement!— the artist pleads. — I«m a sole proprietor, I pay taxes. Whether I live with old or young women—that»s my business. No one has seen me drunk, there are no complaints. I«m ready to sue for slander.

Another public figure, Elina Zhgutova, can«t sleep peacefully at night because of Prokhor Shalyapin. The artist came to the State Duma and recorded a humorous video proposing to reduce the workday to a minimum, or preferably, so that citizens never work and receive triple salaries.

— I«m for robotization, robots should work for us, and we should party, have fun, and sing folk songs. I think there are many professions where they pay pennies, I don»t know how to live on them,— Prokhor Shalyapin said in his video.

«I don»t want to grind away until old age«

Today, Prokhor Shalyapin says that was just hype. He calls it success with a stretch.

— I started earning, but I don«t know how long it will last. Maybe in a year, everything will end,— the showman reflects. — I»ve seen people rise and fall. I«m not a hard worker. I don»t have that.

He admits he«s tired of working nonstop. Two years ago, there was no money, but there were endless vacations. Now it»s the opposite: schedules, filming, concerts—everything is planned.

— They invite me to the Maldives, to the mountains, but I can«t carve out a week,— Prokhor Shalyapin laments. — I don»t want to grind away until old age. I save myself with magnesium and supplements instead of antidepressants. But I«m grateful that I could buy several apartments, even in the economy segment.

Brunette, designer, hysterical

When Sobchak asked about the ideal bride, Shalyapin answered with his signature humor.

— Brunette, gray eyes, designer,— Prokhor Shalyapin replies. — Not a gray mouse, and with imagination. A bit hysterical—it«s boring without that. The main thing is that she»s fertile and has a dowry.

By the way, speaking of fertility, Prokhor reminded that he donated his biological material three times at IVF clinics:

— I know that someone was born,— the artist says. — I«m not allowed to know who, the law prohibits it. But if I helped, then it wasn»t in vain.

«I left not just from poverty, but from horror»

In childhood, Shalyapin experienced what even an adult would find hard to endure.

— I had a drunkard father. He beat my mom,— Prokhor Shalyapin says with a lump in his throat. — The most terrible thing—when he hanged my cat and made me watch. And then, after prison, he killed the dog.

Prokhor Shalyapin«s father was imprisoned three times: first for a fight with a policeman, and then twice for beatings. He died in prison.

— The third time, I helped to have him imprisoned. He beat his grandmother, his own mother,— the artist recalls. — His own mother, who didn«t give him money. She had some, as old people say, for her funeral. And she brought him care packages, did everything for him.

Later, his mother married another man, and a new monstrous crime occurred in the house.

— I was a child. I come in—my stepfather«s mother and his sister are murdered. Everything is covered in blood. That»s what 12-year-old me saw,— Prokhor Shalyapin recalls. — So, when I left Volgograd at age 15, it was a happiness for me to move to Moscow. I left not just from poverty, but from horror. That childhood is with me forever. And when I feel bad, I remember that and understand: everything now is nonsense.

Prokhor Shalyapin says he long ago let go of the grievances, though he never could love his father. But he says he loved his grandmother and grandfather deeply, who worked their whole lives at the «Krasny Oktyabr» metallurgical plant.

— I visited, helped, put up a monument for my father. But I didn«t love him,— the showman says harshly. — Grandma blamed herself until the end: »We didn«t watch over him enough». She always said: «We»re guilty«. And I said: »Don«t blame yourselves. He was like that».

Earlier, Prokhor Shalyapin starred in the New Year«s film »The Mistress of the Neural Network«. The producers were Sofia Ernst and Alexey Kiselev, and the cast included internet stars, singers, and bloggers. The premiere is scheduled for December 30 and will take place on Channel One. The main role of »the mistress of the neural network« is played by singer Zivert.