Biography
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Born
5 March 1986 (age 38)
Mika Newton (Мика Ньютон), born Oksana Stefanivna Grytsay (ukrainian: Окса́на Стефа́нівна Грица́й) on 5 March 1986, Burshtyn, Ukraine, is a Ukrainian singer who represents Ukraine in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 with her entry "Angel". Newton has been active since 2002. She leads a rock band whose other members are known as Uncle Fe, Snow, Andrew and "Loco" Vitalii. Their début album Anomaliya (Anomaly) was released in 2005.
Newton has been singing since the age of nine. Her music and her choice of clothes and accessories are strongly influenced by punk and gothic styles. She has been likened to the Canadian singer/songwriter Avril Lavigne.
Newton and her band emerged during a period in which international awareness of Ukrainian rock (and of the country itself) was assisted by the Orange Revolution of 2004 and the staging in Kiev in 2005 of the Eurovision Song Contest, a competition won the previous year by the Ukrainian entry, Ruslana's Wild Dances. Newton’s profile on the Internet was further enhanced by the coincidence in 2007 of the Lebanese-born singer Mika achieving a significant "hit" with his song, Grace Kelly. This meant that those searching for further information about Mika or his music were liable to stumble unwittingly on Newton’s own website or on other sites with material about her, such as that of the Kiev radio station, Europa FM.
During the second half of 2006 Newton was recording a second album in London.
Newton will represent Ukraine in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 in Germany during the second semifinal.
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