Anita Tsoi abruptly changed her image for the sake of “her little man”

The track “Tsoikin’s recipes” in a somersault between K-pop and chanson

Perhaps, for someone especially refined ear and spirit, this will sound like unheard-of blasphemy and uniform mockery, but especially the latest works of Zemfira and Anita Tsoi, a review of which, by chance, adjoins today in ZD, found in places a discouraging similarity. And not only because both ladies are full-fledged authors of their own opuses and at the same time lovers of collaborations with talented creatives. The main thing that suddenly fell on the ear was a certain vocal-timbral similarity of voices, which, on the one hand, is funny, on the other, it even frightens.

With these voices, the artists convey, of course, radically opposite meanings (one is apocalyptic anxiety and hopelessness, the other is unbridled fun, even when everything around is blazing with blue flames), but theoretically Anita is quite tough to sing to zero not only her beloved Tina Turner with Simply the Best, but also Zemu with the same “My friend”; and Zyoma, respectively, if she wanted to, could easily rattle “Tsoikin’s recipes” so that no one would even raise an eyebrow. But of course they won’t. At least at the current stage of the musical-historical process…

After the release in September of the next, fourth part of her multi-volume anniversary program “5Ocean” – the mini-album “Ocean of Love”, which is dedicated to the singer’s experimental journey into the fashionable world of R’n’B in the early 2000s with the hits “To the East”, ” Pink World”, “I would like you…”, etc., – restless Anita without a break turned to things a little more applied and prosaic: to her passion for cooking and gastronomy. I decided to sing a banal hobby in a musical and poetic form.

Stars, friends and colleagues who have visited Anita at least once, breathlessly talk about the incredible culinary talents of the singer. Homemade friendly dinners with a change of dishes prepared by the hostess, her impressive stock of homemade preparations and preserves, especially the famous pickled cucumbers, have become a culinary legend.

Anita wouldn’t be herself, with her quick-witted Korean entrepreneurial genes, if she let things take their course and just aimlessly gratified the gluttony of visiting guests. Busily rolling up her sleeves, she capitalized the gift of nature into a profitable business by starting a popular social media column #zoikinrecipes. Now fans all over the country and abroad practice dishes from Anita: they salt lard, prepare national Korean kimchi, bake charlottes, make jams and, of course, spin strategic stocks of cucumbers for the winter …

The indefatigable singer, however, decided that a good deed deserves a separate song, and launched the track “Tsoikin Recipes” for days. There were no surprises. For the first time in her 50s, she went from a sizzling Korean brunette to an equally sizzling Korean blonde, thus acquiring the appearance of a so-called shaped star. kpop. K-Pop (Korean pop) is a self-sufficient phenomenon of the world show industry, which has not only strict musical, but also image limits. One of them is the miraculous transformation of naturally resinous hair into a shock of dazzling blondness. There are also strict parameters for the eyes, noses and teeth, but this is a separate issue …

Anita recently once again visited her fans in South Korea and, apparently, realized that it was time for her too – otherwise no one would recognize her as a Korean. Having brought out the innate black hair in the bud, the singer did not calm down on this, but also decided to break through a new musical wall, which she had previously tried to bypass. But here, instead of K-pop, she turned to homemade stash. “Tsoikin Recipes” is recorded in the raucous style of poppy chanson, although it is seasoned for spice with intricate electronic loops. Chanting of canned food, tomatoes and cucumbers alternates with piquancy like “I painted my lips with red lipstick, whipped whites … where did you stay, my little man, what highway are you on?” …

The famous zoikin recipes are more of an excuse and a prelude: “I’m cooking love for dinner tonight.” The singer herself admits: “This song is not only about food. It is primarily about love, about how to keep “your little man” for many years. At the same time, she adds that her family well-being of 30-odd years is largely due to her culinary recipes and caring for her beloved husband. And if you also turn into a blonde for the night looking and gasp a glass of rose under a chanson …

Published in the newspaper “Moskovsky Komsomolets” No. 28888 dated October 12, 2022

Newspaper headline:
In a somersault between K-pop and chanson