Maybe Forever, Maybe Never - The Songs That Stick with You for Years

🌟 Hello everyone! 🌟

I've got a major case of nostalgia today. You know, I'm one of those people who loves listening to old music rather than the latest hits. I just can't help it – there's something about the songs from my childhood and teenage years that I'll always cherish. I think music from the 90s and early 2000s will always be relevant, even for today's youth. Many of them know the hits by 'Ruki Vverh', 'Kraski', 'Faktor-2', and other bands. Maybe they're also familiar with Svetlana's music. Even if not all of it, they'll surely recognize the line 'A maybe not, maybe yes, maybe it's all just words.'

If you're subscribed to my reviews, you probably know that I'm a huge fan of Maxim's music. However, Svetlana's songs have been around for much longer and have a special place in my heart. In fact, I listen to her music more often than Marina's. Why's that? Because Svetlana's songs are lighter, catchier, and more danceable, even though the lyrics aren't always upbeat. Take her popular tracks 'You're Not Mine' and 'Where to Find Love?' for example. The song is about unrequited love, a cold night, and tears, but you don't want to cry when you listen to it – you want to dance and sing along.

"You'll take me home, And the city will quietly dissolve into the twilight of my sorrow. You're not mine, not yet mine. Just a little while longer, and my sky will cry for me. Take me home, And the city will quietly dissolve into the twilight of my sorrow. You're not mine, not yet mine. Just a little while longer, I'll cry..."

Svetlana Koltunova was born on May 28, 1980.

She's been involved in music since childhood (she attended two music schools and later studied at a university of arts) and released her first album at just 18 years old! It was called 'Love'. You might remember songs like 'Farewell at the Airport', 'You Can't Do That Anymore', 'Golden Dawn', and 'We'll Meet Again'.

Svetlana quickly gained popularity due to her light and easy-to-understand songs with a catchy rhythm. You couldn't attend any disco without hearing her tracks. She performed at various concerts, and at her solo show in her hometown of Rostov-on-Don in the fall of 2001, there weren't enough seats for everyone who wanted to attend!

Here's a young Svetlana starting her career.

It's crazy to think that back in 2001, Svetlana Vokálová released her second album "Drugaya", and for the next five years, she dropped a new album every year. Then, there was a bit of a hiatus: she put out re-releases, singles, and collaborations. It wasn't until 2009 that she released "Serdce moyo".

Fast forward a few years from the start of her career, Svetlana's image underwent a change. I'm not sure if she's naturally light-skinned or dark-skinned, but the brunette look suits her way better. She's stuck with it ever since.

Svetlana's a genius. She writes her own music and lyrics. That's why she won the "Zolotoy gramofon" award – and sometimes, she even plays the piano live on stage.

However, I noticed something peculiar: I watched her live performances, and I was surprised to see her looking really nervous. She'd often lower her head, slouch, and not show much emotion, except for occasionally swaying to the beat with the backup dancers... Was she intimidated by the massive crowd and her sudden rise to fame at such a young age?

I'm not sure exactly when I first heard Svetlana's music. It was just one summer when my cousin brought over a cassette with her album "Gde naiti lyubov". We listened to it nonstop, memorizing every track! I think I was around 11 or 12 years old back then... That's the time when girls start to experience their first crushes, dream about midnight strolls, and secret kisses. Svetlana's music became a huge part of my life, but the associations I have with it are always: summer vacations, evening walks, and a rural disco. Who among us didn't dance to "Khvatit, dovol'no!" or "Chto mne delat'" back in the 90s?

But you could also find tracks to cry and wallow in heartbreak, like "Segodnya ya ego ne videla!". For example, songs like "Kak chuzhie", "Skazhi", "Ty gde-to nazdalek", "Moi slzy", and "Ne obizhai menya" really tug at your heartstrings.

"Pust' stiknet moia pechal', Vzhmahnet svoim krylom, Ya uzhe ne vernus' V serdce tvoe i v tvoy dom. Tol'ko ne nado l'gat', Bol'she ne nuzhno l'zi. Esli ustaneesh zhdat', Tak prostoy i skazhi.."

Ah, but then there's the super romantic and even slightly erotic song "In the Car". As a teenager, I was even a bit uncomfortable listening to it (especially with someone from my family around), but at night, I'd often put it on repeat in my player and dream about... the perfect prince, of course, and our epic, timeless love.

We kiss in the car, Before each meeting, we're always nervous. We'll undress with you, and get all cozy, We'll never get tired of each other..."

However, Svetlana has more hit singles than that.

I think it was around 14 or 15 when I found an MP3 disc in a store that had all of Svetlana's albums and singles up to that point. That was amazing! Too bad that most of my childhood treasures – magazines, posters, CDs, and cassettes – got lost during our family's big move (I still get emotional thinking about it).

By the way, I remember this funny story: my friend and I would take turns locking ourselves in a room, playing Svetlana's songs on a DVD player, and singing along into a tape recorder. It was hilarious – even Svetlana's own backing vocals on the tracks couldn't save us from sounding terrible! But we quickly realized that we weren't cut out for singing careers

Despite my love for Svetlana's music and still listening to her today, I do have some minor complaints. In some songs, you can hear that Svetlana struggles with hitting the high notes ("Beauty" is one of those songs that still hurts my ears). I think Svetlana has a relatively weak voice, and a lot of it depends on the production. Some people might even find her voice "tinny". Nevertheless, Svetlana made a huge splash when she burst onto the scene in 1998 and is still considered a star of the 2000s.

And oh, those outfits!

By the way, I remember Svetlana performing at a youth day concert in the town of Staritsa in Tver Oblast, probably in the summer of 2003 or 2004. Unfortunately, we didn't have smartphones with decent cameras back then, so we didn't record any footage. However, we did manage to catch a snippet of her song "Blue-Eyed Dolphins" (and a few other tracks, but that one's stuck in my head). After the concert, there was a lot of debate about whether it was really Svetlana performing for free in a small town or just an imposter. I couldn't say for sure, as we were too far from the stage, and with my wonky eyesight, I could only tell by her voice who was performing

I've got to say, Svetlana's style is pretty standard: she's a petite girl with understated makeup, a slightly upturned nose, thin eyebrows, and short hair. Sometimes her backup dancers looked more striking than she did. But back in the 90s and 2000s, beauty wasn't really a big thing yet (no contouring, no huge lips, no perfect features). I mean, take Aku, Demo, or Oksana Koval'skaya - they were just regular girls from the street.

By the way, I found an old photo of myself that looks a bit like Svetlana. What do you think?

However, in the music video for "Maybe Yes", I really like Svetlana's look: her hair is shiny and perfectly straight, her makeup is neat, and she just looks like a little kitty! And that mole above her upper lip is so cute! I can see a bit of a resemblance to Natalia Oreiro, don't you agree?)

And, since I brought up music videos, I just have to complain a bit more. Svetlana's got an embarrassingly small collection of them, considering her extensive discography! Unfortunately, most of them are of low quality (they're old), although I did find a couple of music videos from her newer songs - I've never even heard those songs before. Unfortunately, there's no real storyline in the music videos, although you could make a mini-movie for each song. Take "You're Not Mine", for example: why did Svetlana need to change her image/hairstyle, why wasn't the guy she's singing about in the video, and why is she just standing next to a car? You could have made a video where she's being driven home by a guy, she's looking out the window at him, and then she's remembering their walk together... That's just my two cents. I wouldn't watch any of the music videos again, except to admire the performer herself (oh, I loved her red wig in "You're Not Mine" and her white dress and jeans combo!).

Music videos for her newer songs also have no storyline (at least not one related to the song), but the visuals are finally decent, and Svetlana's style is more elegant and feminine. The music video for "It's Never Too Late" is basically a behind-the-scenes clip from a photoshoot, where Svetlana tries on different outfits, but each one is great: nice clothes, good hair, and professional makeup. Svetlana looks really stylish, and overall, she looks great: she's slender, has a nice face, and a pleasant expression.

I've never been interested in her, to be honest, and I'm not sure why. I mean, I don't think I've ever seen her on the covers of magazines like "Molotok" or "Bravo". They always seemed to focus on Western artists and newbies. I didn't have any Svetlana posters or merchandise back in the day - no t-shirts, stickers, or notebooks. That's just weird...

But then I found out she's got three ex-husbands and four kids! And she's still managed to pursue a career like that. And she's got a degree in psychology, too! I'm just impressed, you know? I mean, what can I say? Svetlana's a smart cookie!

Svetlana's got an embarrassingly small collection of them, considering her extensive discography! Unfortunately, most of them are of low quality (they're old), although I did find a couple of music videos from her newer songs - I've never even heard those songs before. Unfortunately, there's no real storyline in the music videos, although you could make a mini-movie for each song. Take "You're Not Mine", for example: why did Svetlana need to change her image/hairstyle, why wasn't the guy she's singing about in the video, and why is she just standing next to a car? You could have made a video where she's being driven home by a guy, she's looking out the window at him, and then she's remembering their walk together... That's just my two cents. I wouldn't watch any of the music videos again, except to admire the performer herself (oh, I loved her red wig in "You're Not Mine" and her white dress and jeans combo!).

Music videos for her newer songs also have no storyline (at least not one related to the song), but the visuals are finally decent, and Svetlana's style is more elegant and feminine. The music video for "It's Never Too Late" is basically a behind-the-scenes clip from a photoshoot, where Svetlana tries on different outfits, but each one is great: nice clothes, good hair, and professional makeup. Svetlana looks really stylish, and overall, she looks great: she's slender, has a nice face, and a pleasant expression.

Music videos for her newer songs also have no storyline (at least not one related to the song), but the visuals are finally decent, and Svetlana's style is more elegant and feminine. The music video for "It's Never Too Late" is basically a behind-the-scenes clip from a photoshoot, where Svetlana tries on different outfits, but each one is great: nice clothes, good hair, and professional makeup. Svetlana looks really stylish, and overall, she looks great: she's slender, has a nice face, and a pleasant expression.

I've never been interested in her, to be honest, and I'm not sure why. I mean, I don't think I've ever seen her on the covers of magazines like "Molotok" or "Bravo". They always seemed to focus on Western artists and newbies. I didn't have any Svetlana posters or merchandise back in the day - no t-shirts, stickers, or notebooks. That's just weird...

But then I found out she's got three ex-husbands and four kids! And she's still managed to pursue a career like that. And she's got a degree in psychology, too! I'm just impressed, you know? I mean, what can I say? Svetlana's a smart cookie!

In 2017, I'm pretty sure everyone heard (and still hears) her revamped hit "The Road to the Airport" with Timati's rap verses. And she's been keeping busy on social media, attending festivals like "Super Disco 90s", and even dropping by radio stations (I actually enjoyed her set on "Avtoradio")! And just last April, she performed a solo concert in Moscow (and other cities like St. Petersburg and Yaroslavl, too). I'm not sure if I'd attend one of her concerts, but I'd totally go to a disco night where they play her tracks! Too bad those aren't a thing anymore... Where's that time machine when you need it? Just for one Friday night, please!

Svetlana's performance on "Avtoradio" in 2023

Despite my occasional grumble, I wouldn't give her less than five stars. Her songs are etched in my memory, and they're still stuck in my head. I'm sure I'm not the only one who's got fond memories of her music. So why not give her a listen again? "Come Back to Me", "Your Eyes", "My Life", "On the Highway", "Someone Else", and more...

I highly recommend her!

Thanks for reading my review, guys! ❤️

"Twilight will give way to night. You'll fly away in my eyes! What can I do to help? How can I hate this fear? You're far away. Further than your country. I get angry, But only at myself..."

I've checked out other artists' reviews too - you can read them here.