“Not only Lolita and Kirkorov were removed”: the famous singer explained the sudden disappearance from TV screens

Sergei Belikov: “I became a stranger”

In Soviet times, Sergei Belikov was considered one of the most sought-after and popular performers. His hits – “I Dream of a Village”, “Trouble Has Green Eyes”, “Spring” – sounded from everywhere. In the early 90s, Belikov suddenly disappeared from television screens. He was not removed as loudly as Lolita and Kirkorov. Sergei openly spoke to MK correspondents about why television stopped favoring him.

“I haven’t been to major festivals and concerts for twenty years now,” says Sergei. – At one time, show business representatives made it clear to me that I was a downed pilot and a waste material. I grieved and grieved, and then it turned out that my creative and concert life went on as usual, despite the difficulties. In the 90s, I managed to withstand the blow that I received from the newly formed show business. And the years have shown that I have a sufficient target audience to continue my performances and sufficient demand for me as an artist. For myself, I decided to just step aside. I have withdrawn myself from communication with those who have been in charge of all these processes all these years: “Gramophones”, “Song of the Year”, rotations on the radio. I, as a person directly involved in my own affairs, was convinced how intertwined everything was there. It is very naive to believe that radio is separate, television is separate, and the concert industry is separate. No, this is the deepest misconception!

– It turns out that you were canceled deliberately…

“In those years, a corporation of our own and everyone else became intertwined. I have many blatant examples that say that I was on some kind of stop list then. And your phrase that I was canceled by someone, in principle, is not without truth.

— They probably didn’t want to pay for the broadcasts?

– There is some truth in this too. Indeed, due to my convictions, I did not pay for broadcasts. There is an important point here: by the beginning of the 90s, I had already worked for about 15 years. I was a successful artist of the Soviet era – this is a considerable period of time to form my worldview on the process that makes up success, promoting a song or project. But the 90s brought a completely different picture. I did not accept this new philosophy for a long time. Those who rushed into show business in those years, the so-called freshmen, they immediately accepted the rules of the game.

– Why, do you think?

– Because they had no experience of anything else. They only knew how to do things now to advance. And I knew how it was before. My career ran into the problem that I became a stranger to them. And they were basically strangers to me. In those years I heard so-called behind-the-scenes conversations, judgments… Their new philosophy caused me amazement and indignation. But these were new realities.

— Now you have quite a lot of concerts, despite the fact that you are not on the screen. How did you manage to survive?

— Thank God and glory to me, as a performer and creative person. In fact, life played a lot back in my favor. But I never returned there. Someone might think and say that over the years it was possible to somehow replay everything and build bridges. We, one way or another, have been in contact all these years. But I always understood that they did not consider me one of their own. I felt that we were people of different mentalities. Like in modern TV series: there are vampires, there are werewolves. And everyone has their own world. Yes, it would be easier if I had a sponsor who would tell me: “Seryozha, I love your work so much. Here’s a million dollars for you, go and distribute the money to the editorial offices. pay for all rotations.” But in my understanding it looks like such a bastard!