"Pop music is like alcohol," says Vladimir Dantes, discussing success, appearance, his switch to Ukrainian, and TCK.

On Appearance and the Dictate of Beauty

I accepted that I am beautiful six years ago when I was 30. As a child, I was small and chubby, and in the 10th grade, I was almost the last in physical education. However, because I sang and hung out with older students, that was my advantage; I was fashionable. But I wouldn’t say I had any success on the romantic front.

Older girls, back when I was in the 8th-9th grades and they were in the 10th-11th, would say: “Oh, Vova is going to grow up, God, the girls are in trouble.” They said this all the time, while I looked at myself in the mirror every day and thought: “Are you just joking about me? Why can’t I see it?”

I feel that there should be something unconventional about appearance. For instance, I have a big nose. There should be something off: a chipped tooth, hair, provocative clothing. Something against the norms. It’s interesting to look at a person if something is not quite right.

On Music

I think something new and alternative should emerge. Pop music is certainly great. It makes things easier; you get distracted. It’s probably similar to some kind of alcohol or drugs. But it’s quick dopamine; it doesn’t give you a great feeling for long. But something alternative...

I recently saw an American who is doing a whole style reminiscent of the 1960s, a-la Elvis Presley. And people are crazy about him. Because it’s something forgotten. Is it beautiful? Yes, it is. For me, that’s underground now, an alternative to what’s around.

About Artists Who Transitioned from Russian to Ukrainian

I am a Russified person. I changed my position and started studying history. Late? Yes, it is.

There are people who try to hold onto their Russian-speaking audience. I don’t understand why. When you sit between two chairs, you simply fall into a chasm; it sucks you in. From a financial standpoint, it might be cool. Although in the last three years, Ukrainian-language streaming has really soared, and there’s noticeably more money now.

Sometimes someone wants us to constantly apologize, to feel guilty. I want to apologize to everyone, especially those who write in Russian: “Why doesn’t he talk about switching sides?” I want to apologize for making music in Russian and speaking in Russian. My grandmother taught Russian language and literature for 40 years. I lived in that. But I have transitioned.

If it hurts you that we once did something in Russian and now do it in Ukrainian—please forgive us. We won't do that anymore (switching sides — editor). I definitely won’t.

On the Military Recruitment Center and Medical Commission

I was at the military enlistment office twice. And I filmed it. I even got comments criticizing me for supporting the Military Recruitment Center.

I went to the enlistment office, stood in line for 8 hours just to get a paper and go through the medical commission. It took me a month and a half to pass the medical commission. Yes, sometimes I was let through without waiting. That’s a bonus, of course. But I understood why I did it. I would be scared if it turned out that someone negotiated for me. That’s unbearable.

I am registered. I did it. I have all the documents. There was no exemption, nothing at all.

But when I saw someone being brought in... Of course, I really dislike the workers at the Military Recruitment Center who pack people and break them. But not all of them are like that.

There are Military Recruitment Centers that are completely out of control and take everyone without allowing any exceptions. I dislike when they come from the Military Recruitment Center after a concert of “Okean Elzy.” I am against that. Are you fulfilling some kind of plan to terrorize people? To what end? So that people stop going to concerts? Who did you help? You took two unfortunate souls who didn’t update their information and are scared. But on the other hand, they didn’t update it—so it came to them.

It’s hard for me to live in fear. I was scared to go to the enlistment office; I overcame that fear twice and went, and I’m fine. Now I’ll get comments: “But my other friend went and got taken.” Yes, but I’m telling my story.

About Badstreet Boys and Collaboration with Yushchenko

Somewhere, Anton Tymoshenko mentioned that it was his idea. I remember that Vasya (Baidak — editor) called me, or we met at some shoot, and he said there’s an idea: we want to create a group to gather donations. And we want to invite you because you’re not a disgrace and you sing. I said: overall, based on the criteria, thank you for choosing me.

We created a chat, brainstormed songs. And we shot the video on the first incredible adrenaline rush. The goal was to raise a lot of money. And we understood that if we pooled all our resources, we would definitely collect it.

Was it easy for Yushchenko to agree to collaborate? No. It took six months or almost a year. First, we searched for his contacts for a long time. Then we coordinated the text. We wrote around 203 thousand variations of the text, went to meet him at his museum (which is a really cool Ukrainian museum, by the way), and he liked the idea.

He consulted with his family (the opinions of his daughters and wife were very important), and they gave their approval. And that really impressed me. You can be the president of a country, but you still consult with your family. And that’s amazing; it’s very human.

Glamour and Mischief: What is the Real Dantes Like?

I do not exist in the world of glamour. It’s a remnant of the life I lived before 2022.

I have been in show business my whole life. I did what would please people. At first, I really enjoyed being liked by people. In 2019, I started writing tracks to appeal to listeners. How to mathematically construct the lyrics.

Then I worked through this with a psychologist to understand what kind of music I wanted to create. I have loved Britpop and rock since childhood. I adore doing that. But I don’t do it. And that really tore me apart; I had these two personalities within me.

Now I can allow myself, what will I lose? If a listener turns away from me—okay, but another listener will come back to me. I take inspiration from the guys from Badstreet Boys. They say what they want to say. I couldn’t allow myself that before. Now—I don’t care at all. I say everything I want. Maybe I’ve matured, but I didn’t do that before.

On My Personal Transition to Ukrainian

For me, it started a bit earlier than for everyone else. There was a public Ukrainization in 2019-2020 due to quotas. Like many others, I resisted it strongly. Because when you hear yourself speaking Ukrainian out loud, it’s just awful. Because you don’t know how to do it.

But then I remembered that in Kharkiv, I played in some theaters during my childhood, and all the performances were in Ukrainian. It was mandatory and normal.

And I know exactly when it went wrong; I even posted it in my stories. 2004. In my report card, there are: Ukrainian language, Ukrainian literature, native language, foreign literature. I think that’s exactly when things started going off track for me.

I needed it for a show, and I said: I will speak. I started learning Ukrainian with a teacher, Yulia Zaremba. The most important task was to read aloud. And to do simultaneous translation from Russian to Ukrainian. It’s very difficult; your brain has to work hard.

But reading aloud is something else. I also recorded audio and then listened to myself, and it was just a mess. I didn't like that I wasn’t good at something.

But there was a big problem: on the show, I spoke Ukrainian, but in life, I spoke Russian. In 2022, I started, it seems, from March, managing social media in Ukrainian. And in the summer, I realized that it was hypocrisy if I managed social media in Ukrainian, spoke Ukrainian in interviews, and spoke Russian in life.

So, I fully transitioned to Ukrainian in daily life. My girlfriend Dasha also completely switched to Ukrainian; we speak Ukrainian at home. At first, it was very strange; I missed words and everything else. But then, at some point, it just clicked—and that was it. I can’t quickly say something in Russian now; when I remember some jokes or memes, I can’t reproduce them. And I like that