Favorites of "Slavianski Bazaar". Who is vying for the Grand Prix of the pop music competition

The international pop song performers' contest "Vitebsk-2015" has concluded at the Summer Amphitheatre, the main stage of "Slavianski Bazaar". Following two final rounds, a top five of leaders has been determined. They are a Kazakh, a Belarusian woman, a Bulgarian, a Ukrainian woman, and a Georgian woman. They are vying for awards – the Grand Prix and laureate prizes.

Recall that on Saturday, young talents from 15 countries performed a song in a Slavic language, accompanied by an orchestra conducted by Mikhail Finberg. On Sunday, they performed a world hit to a minus-one backing track.

On the first day, the list of leaders was topped by 21-year-old singer Dimash Kudaibergen from Kazakhstan and our compatriot, 20-year-old Valeria Gribusova from Mogilev. They scored 89 and 85 points, respectively. On the second day, they maintained their positions. Moreover, for their performance of the world hit, the jury awarded them identical scores – 86 points.

The main contender for the "Golden Lyre" statuette and the Grand Prix of the contest, worth $20,000, is Dimash Kudaibergen. He lives in Astana and studies at the National University of Arts, majoring in "Pop Art". He has been on stage since the age of two, playing a cameo role in a play, and began singing at five.

Experts say Dimash's voice is unique and has a wide range. His parents are Honored Artists of Kazakhstan, Kanat and Svetlana Aitbayev. They came to Vitebsk to support their son and, in front of the entire amphitheatre, wished him in Kazakh to represent their country with dignity. According to national tradition, Dimash bears the surname of his grandfather, Kudaibergen, rather than his father's.

On the young man's social media page, his friends and relatives write to Dimash that he is the "pride of Kazakhstan" and that everything is "keremet" (excellent). The young man is an absolute favorite of the Vitebsk audience: after his performances in the amphitheater, the applause did not subside for a long time.

Valeriya Gribusova is the soloist of the orchestra conducted by Mikhail Finberg. Yesterday she demonstrated her vocals by performing Freddie Mercury's song "Somebody to Love". The Kazakh, by the way, sang in French on Sunday - "Sos dun terien un detresse" ("Cry of help from a fellow countryman who has known despair"), and on Saturday - in Russian, the lyrical composition "Opyať metel" ("Again the blizzard").

The other contestants are trailing with a slight gap between them.

The scores based on the sum of points for two days are as follows: Dimash Kudaibergen (Kazakhstan) - 175 points; Valeriya Gribusova (Belarus) - 171; Nikolay Manolov (Bulgaria) - 163; Anna Tverdostup (Ukraine) - 160; Sophie (Georgia) - 158; Nade Talevska (Macedonia) and Sofya Muratova (Russia) - 155; Aydan (Azerbaijan) - 153; Majo Cornejo (Mexico) - 152; Jan Czechowski (Czech Republic) - 150.

The least lucky at the competition were Anna Poghosyan (Armenia) - 144 points; Valeria Pasha (Moldova) - 140; Martynas Kavaliauskas (Lithuania) - 139; Diana Brescan (Romania) - 136; Zule Guerra (Cuba) - 129.

During the breaks between performances, the contestants spoke with the audience in their native languages. Some was translated by themselves, some by the hosts, and some was understandable on its own.

Ukrainian Anna Tverdostup thanked all her compatriots and Belarusians who cheered for her, as well as her mother: "She endures the entire tough schedule of our rehearsals and concerts, she is always with me."

Romanian Diana Brescan admitted that she cried all night after the first round, but is still glad that she made it to the Vitebsk festival.

Mexican Majo Cornejo was so temperamental in her performance of "Besame Mucho" that the showman and host of the concert, Denis Dudinsky, promised: "I will get married, I swear, I will get married!"

Aydan confessed to the audience what resolution she set for herself before going on stage: "Whatever happens - even if a heel breaks, even if your voice disappears, even if you freeze - go out and sing like a true Azerbaijani!"

The competition intrigue remains. The names of the Grand Prix winner and prize laureates will be announced this evening at the closing concert of the "Slavianski Bazaar" festival. The President of Belarus is expected to attend.

It should be noted that the main award of the "Vitebsk" competition has not gone to artists from Central Asia. Last year, the Grand Prix was won by a Mexican. However, it has most often been won by representatives of Slavic states. These have mainly been Belarusians, Russians, and artists from the former Yugoslavia. Our compatriots have won four times: Alena Lanskaya (2011), Polina Smolova (2005), Pyotr Elfimov (2004), and Maksim Sapatkov (2003).

The performances of young artists in the competition are preceded and concluded each year by numbers from other artists. As a rule, jury members, who are already well-known performers, sing at the finale. Some of them began their creative journey at the Vitebsk vocal competition.