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Mika Newton is making big leaps in her career after moving here to Los Angeles and just moments ago she released a superb-looking clip for "Don't Dumb Me Down." The video was shot here in L.A. and the song is from her sessions recorded at Henson studios, also in L.A. For those who don't know, Mika is a big name in Ukraine and has been making epic pop/rock songs for years. She also repped Ukraine at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2011 (and did very well). Now, she's been working with producer Randy Jackson of American Idol fame and "Don't Dumb Me Down" (which just got its first U.S. airplay in Virginia on a big station recently) offers a very nice taste of what's to come in 2012 for the sweet singer (met her last year twice and she deserves the world...a humble woman and a hard worker). Check out her latest below. A solid song and a slick-looking clip.

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I'm probably one of maybe three Americans actively following the career of Ukraine's Kamalia Zahoor. I find all of the following fascinating. The singer is really making a big push this month and next in England to try and get her music heard, and she has the money to at least get in the proverbial mix (her husband, Mohammad Zahoor, has an estimated worth of between $550 million and $1 billion dollars!). That's according to the Kiev Post, which he owns, naturally. Anyway, I've covered Kamaliya before on this blog and her latest video, released today, looks good. The problem remains that she can't fully pull off vocals and lacks in the charisma department. That said, she's contracted out credible producers (see London's Cahill) for this track and the clip was shot in Miami by Paul Boyd (Elton John, Celine Dion etc). Have a look at what a billion buys these days.

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Here we go. It's a brand new video from Kazaky. This act came out of nowhere in 2010 with a series of wild videos that set the 'net on fire, including their "In The Middle," which was featured by You Tube in America for weeks as one of their "featured" videos. Last year, the collective of dancers and singers again won over hundreds of thousands online with their throbbing electropop track, "Love." Now, Kazaky are back with a futuristic sounding offering called "Dance And Change." The video for raises the bar and pushes the envelope once again. Have a look below at the latest from an outfit that is innovative, surprising and entertaining (say what you will about Kazaky but they are never, ever dull). Directed by Alan Badoev.

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Ever wonder what happens to all the cheesy Europop girl acts from Russia and Ukraine once they grow up? Well here is one example. Former Grupa 69 singer Diana Merinova (Диана Меринова) is trying to shed her shallow image and has become a Mom (according to OK! Magazine, anyway) and she's also become a socially concious rapper. Not kidding. Her latest song/clip is "Luchik" which talks about the rather serious problem in Ukraine about homeless, neglected dogs, which are allegedly being killed...resulting in a lot of press lately in advance of Euro 2012. As she says in the info box below the clip, the song is "dedicated the fate of pets that were left on the street." Quite a change from her work with Grupa 69 (check out their wild video for "Ya Hochu Vsje" with an Austin Powers theme to see what she was like a few years ago).

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Today Ukrainan singer Liana Novak released her video for a song I've been hooked on for months, "Bali" (бали). The male character in the clip is Russian actor and model Sergey Nettle (Сергей Крапива), one of the "top 100 most beautiful people in Moscow," per Novak's website. He's also the boyfriend in real life of Ukrainian pop star Iryna Bilyk. Anyway, "Bali" is very catchy after repeated listens and I love how (of course) rich Russians and Ukrainians only travel to Bali via private jet in music videos. Who the hell flies commercial these days? So unseemly! I wrote about Novak last year and she's not a huge star yet in Ukraine, but she should be, in my opinion. Check out her latest below (directed by Іrina Vengrіn-Klimovich).

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