MamaRika

• Real name – Anastasia Oleksandrivna Sereda
• Date of birth – April 13, 1989
• Place of birth – Chervonograd (Ukraine)
• Language – Ukrainian
• Activity – singer, songwriter
• Genre – pop, funk, pop-rock, alternative hip-hop

Becoming an artist

MamaRika is the stage name of Ukrainian singer and songwriter Anastasia Sereda (maiden name – Kochetova). The hometown of the star of the modern Ukrainian stage is Chervonograd. Nastya’s relatives were not connected with music and the creative industry. Anastasia’s abilities were first noticed by a teacher at a local music school. It was she who advised her parents to develop their daughter's vocal talent. So the girl began to take professional singing lessons and studied at the children's studio "Reverence".

At the age of 14, Anastasia became a laureate of the "Chervona Ruta" festival. And at 17, she joined Igor Kondratyuk's talent show "American Chance", where her performance was highly appreciated by such famous musicians as Stevie Wonder and Brian McKnight. The singer won the project, but after the filming was completed, the collaboration with her did not continue.

Later, Anastasia tried to get into the first season of "Star Factory". However, the jury refused. As the singer herself later explained, vocal data was not the main selection criterion. Appearance and the ability to present oneself were much more important. The contestants reported that she sang well, but was not suitable for participation in the project. At the same time, they did not provide any justification for this decision. Shocked by the refusal, the artist fell out of her creative rhythm for a while. However, she found the strength to return to music. She moved to Lviv and opened a music school. One of the students was unable to come to the casting of the “Star Factory” and suggested that Anastasia take advantage of this opportunity instead of him.

So in 2008, Anastasia Kochetova passed the selection for the third season of the popular talent show, where she performed under the stage name Erica. The performer reached the final and took sixth place. In 2010, she joined the project “Star Factory: Superfinal”, in which the most successful participants of previous seasons competed. There, Erica took second place, winning recognition and gaining popularity among a wide audience of music fans.

Creative path

Erika's bright charisma and talent attracted the attention of music producer Sergey Kuzin (founder and leader of the UMMG production center). A contract was signed with Kuzin until 2015.

In August 2011, Erica won the Crystal Microphone award in the nomination "Singer of the Year". And Focus magazine included the artist in the list of 30 most successful stars of Ukrainian sports and show business. The singer became the only graduate of the "Star Factory" who managed to stay in the rating for two years in a row.

According to the Focus editorial office, among the brightest moments of the year for Erica were the premiere of the video clip for the song "Smiley" and voicing the character of Perlinka in the animated film "Rio". In 2012, the singer made her discographic debut. The album was released under the title "Paparazzi".

Style and creative development of the performer

At the end of 2015, Anastasia Kochetova began a new stage in her creative life. The star left behind the stage name Erika, under which she performed for seven years. After the end of the contract with producer Sergey Kuzin, she decided not to continue the cooperation, because she did not see any development in it. The producer gave an ultimatum - either Anastasia buys out the pseudonym and the entire repertoire, or is left with nothing. The singer chose the latter: she did not want to drag the past with her, with which she no longer felt a connection.

The artist admitted that she did not see the point in investing in music that did not bring moral satisfaction. Since then, she has been performing under the new pseudonym MamaRika. The changes affected not only the name, but also the entire musical vector. Finally, there was an opportunity to sing songs that were always close to the singer herself at concerts. These are tracks that for a long time remained outside the “commercial” format and were inaccessible to the singer’s fans.

The artist admits that it is in the MamaRika project that she is real. Anastasia herself acts as the creative producer, her husband Serhiy Sereda is the executive. And Vanya Klymenko is responsible for the sound. They work as a single creative mechanism: the singer writes music, Vanya writes lyrics, and together they create arrangements. 90 percent of the original compositions were included in MamaRika’s debut album called “Kach”.

The singer’s new style immediately received positive reviews. The Ukrainian rap community awarded the singer an award in the “Best Clip” nomination for her work on “KhDD” at the Rap.ua Awards ceremony. Over time, the artist began to gradually return to a more lyrical sound. It was with the single Prolisky that elements of pop music reappeared in her repertoire. And today MamaRika's work is widely described in the media as sensual, frank and emotional.

Social activity

In 2014, after the start of the Russian-Ukrainian war, Erika went to give concerts in military units in Khersonies, which are located near the administrative border with Crimea. These performances became an important gesture of support. In the same year, the artist presented a joint song "East-West/East-West" with Ukrainian journalist Oleksandr Ilyinykh. The project was intended to emphasize the unity of the country. The singer then called the video clip for the composition the most important work in her career.

After the full-scale invasion in 2022, MamaRika, together with her husband, received permission from the Ministry of Culture to participate in charity concerts. At first, she performed at international venues. And later began a tour of the cities of Ukraine. The artist actively participated in gatherings in support of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as well as in actions to help sick children.

In the fall of 2022, a duet track with Yaktak "Leleka" was released. The song is dedicated to Ukrainians who were forced to leave their homes. And already in February 2023, in collaboration with KOLA, MamaRika presented the composition "People". The video for the song gained over 22 million views on YouTube and hit the top trends. The inspiration for creating a special work was the spirit of indomitability of Ukrainians, as well as the activities of philanthropists from around the world who help Ukraine.

On May 11 of the same year, MamaRika presented the song "Tears and Songs". This is a deep lyrical composition about women who write letters to their missing or captured lovers. The work became an emotional response to the numerous personal dramas caused by the war.

Discography of MamaRika:

• «MamaRika» (2016);
• «Kach» (2017).

Hits of the singer:

• Kava;
• «Syn»;
• «Khtos yde»;
• «Kolishnya»;
• «Mamytati»;
• «Zvyazok» and others.

Awards and distinctions:

• diploma of the festival «Chervona Ruta», 2003;
• «Singer of the Year» («Krystal Microphone» award, 2011);
• «Best clip» (for the song "ХХХДД") at Rap.ua Awards, 2017;
• "Radio Opening of the Year" (TopHit, 2019);
• YUNA Award nomination in the category "Best Duet/Collaboration" for the song "People" (together with KOLA) and others.

Interesting facts about the singer:

• the singer was the face of a designer collection from Ukrainian fashion designer Andre Tan. In addition, she starred for the covers of Story, Playboy, Viva! and Maxim magazines;
• the star studied at the Faculty of Foreign Languages of the Ivan Franko National University of Lviv and is a translator by education;
• at the age of 4, Nastya sang in the same choir with the famous Ukrainian singer Vitaly Kozlovsky.