Oleksandr Ponomaryov (born in Khmelnitsky in 1973) is one of the most famous singers of Ukraine. It is hard to imagine anyone in Ukraine's population of 48 million who does not know Oleksandr Ponomaryov, given that he has been voted the country’s "Singer of the Year" seven times!
One of Oleksandr's early passions was boxing and he could have had a brilliant career as a boxer. However, he was forbidden on medical advice to practise the sport when his eyesight started to deteriorate.
Olexandr then had to decide what he could do next. Whilst he had always enjoyed singing, he never thought that music could be his main occupation. Nevertheless, he applied to a music college where he encountered one drawback: Oleksandr could not read music. Even so, the professors, amazed by the strength and beauty of his voice, accepted him on the condition that he master the school’s seven-year curriculum in the space of one year – which he managed to do!
Since 1992, Oleksandr has taken part in dozens of Ukrainian and international festivals. He has given solo concerts throughout Ukraine, with all tickets selling out months ahead of his performances. In 1998, Ukraine’s government recognized Oleksandar by awarding him the title of “Honoured Artist of Ukraine”.
Oleksandr was the first artist ever to represent Ukraine in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2003. His performance contained not only himself but also a circus act with a contortionist and one of the Apollo program rockets being projected. Nevertheless he only finished 14th.
She made a guest appearance in the 2003 Song for Europe, during which she was charged with announcing the results of the Welsh televote, which handed top marks to the ill-fated Jemini.
Later in the year, she appeared in Eurovision preview and analysis programmes, in which among other things she performed an acoustic version of "Come Back", and took somewhat gratuitous delight in picking fault with the physical appearance of Ukraine's debut entrant Oleksandar.
The joke was on her, though, when she admitted that she couldn't actually tell whether, in espousing a universal philosophy for mankind, the colourful Austrian representative Alf Poier was being earnest or simply 'having a laugh'.
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