Валерий Меладзе (Valery Meladze)

Valery Meladze is one of the most recognizable voices in Russian and post-Soviet pop music, born in Batumi, Georgia. He began his career fronting the band Dialog before launching a solo path in the early 1990s that turned him into a fixture of Russian-language pop for three decades. His warm baritone and melodic, radio-friendly songwriting made hits such as «Салют, Вера», «Иностранец» and «Небеса» into staples of post-Soviet popular culture, still played at weddings and on television specials today.

Much of his catalogue was written and produced in close partnership with his younger brother, composer Konstantin Meladze, whose melodic sensibility shaped the classic Meladze sound: lush orchestration, romantic lyrics, and an instantly hummable chorus. That partnership yielded a long run of chart-topping singles and made the Meladze brothers one of the defining songwriting duos of Russian pop.

Over his career Meladze has received multiple Golden Gramophone and Song of the Year awards, cementing his status as an elder statesman of the genre. Since 2022 he has lived in Israel, but continues to tour and perform across the CIS, remaining a beloved and active figure for audiences who grew up with his music.