Main points
- Victoria Kornikova is a Ukrainian singer and founder of the folk jazz band LELÉKA, which she created in 2016 in Berlin.
- The artist is participating in the National Selection for Eurovision 2026 with the song Ridnym.
LELÉKA / Collage of Channel 24
This Saturday, February 7, the final of the National Selection for Eurovision 2026 will take place. 10 artists, including LELÉKA (Viktoria Kornikova), will compete for the right to represent Ukraine at the international song contest.
- 1 Who is Victoria Kornikova (LELÉKA)?
- 2 When and why did you found the band LELÉKA?
- 3 Participation in the National Selection for Eurovision 2026
- 4 Return to Ukraine
LELÉKA will perform the song Ridnym, which tells about hope, inner strength and the path to renewal, when a person begins to accept changes and faces their own fears. 24 Channel will tell you what is known about the artist.
Who is Victoria Kornikova (LELÉKA)?
Viktoriya Kornikova is a Ukrainian singer, composer, and arranger who was born on November 10, 1990 in the city of Pershotravensk (now Shakhtarske), Donetsk region. In an interview with TyKyiv, she admitted that “since childhood, I dreamed of healing people's souls with my singing.”
The girl studied at the Ivan Karpenko-Kary Kyiv National University of Theater, Cinema and Television (received a bachelor's degree in performing arts/acting).
From the beginning, I dreamed of being a singer and doing music. But I only had one option: studying in Kharkiv, at the faculty of folk vocals. But I didn't like the way they accepted my documents there so much that I told my parents that I wouldn't even enter there,
– said the singer.
Yes, her father suggested that Victoria enter the acting faculty, and she agreed. Interestingly, while studying with Karpenko-Kary, the girl met actress Antonina Khyzhnyak.
Victoria Kornikova / Photographer Groza Elena
During her student years, Kornikova worked at the Young Theater, although she received small roles. In particular, she played in the plays “Horovod lyubov” and “Svatannya na Goncharivka”.
She also graduated from the Dresden Carl Maria von Weber School of Music (with a bachelor's degree in jazz vocals and a master's degree in composition). It should be noted that Victoria entered three German conservatories, but chose this one. The artist does not regret her decision, although studying in Berlin is more prestigious.
In Dresden, there was a professor who I really wanted to get to, because the teachers there revealed each vocalist in their own way, very authentically. I liked that,
– Kornikova explained her choice.
When and why did you found the band LELÉKA?
In 2016, Viktoriya Kornikova founded the folk jazz band LELÉKA in Berlin. In addition to her, the original members include pianist Robert Winreder, double bassist Thomas Kolyarchik, and drummer Jakob Hegner.
The emergence of the band was preceded by my desire to do something for my friends in Ukraine, who after the Revolution of Dignity traveled to the ATO zone and held workshops for children, important volunteer projects,
– the artist explained.
The girl admitted that in the first years of her life in Berlin she constantly experienced a feeling of guilt. Victoria moved to Germany in 2014, but she wanted to be near her friends and travel with them to Eastern Ukraine. So, the artist decided that she would give charity concerts and sing Ukrainian folk songs.
Interesting! The team wrote and produced the music for the Ukrainian drama series “And There Will Be People”, which aired on STB in 2020. It is based on the novel of the same name by Anatoly Dimarov.
LELÉKA band / Photo from Wikipedia
Participation in the National Selection for Eurovision 2026
Last fall, Suspilny managers began inviting Victoria Kornikova to take part in the National Selection for Eurovision 2026. At first, the artist thought about it, and then agreed. The motivation was Jamala's words that there were no strong applications for the song contest.
In an interview with Suspilne Kultura, LELÉKA shared that the impetus for creating the song Ridnym was the mass protests in Berlin in January 2022, when people demanded that Russia stop drawing troops to the Ukrainian borders.
The artist applied for participation in the National Selection quite spontaneously, so she chose the composition from the sketches she had. Victoria remembered the song “Ridnym”, but at that time it sounded in the Ukrainian version.
I felt that it could become a competition song. It had a sincere message to embrace, protect all your loved ones and give yourself and all of us a sense of inner strength, hope that we will cope with everything. And when I felt that this message was still relevant, I decided to start refining this song,
– she said in an interview with “TyKyiv”.
LELÉKA – Ridnym: listen to the song online
Return to Ukraine
By the way, LELÉKA wants to return to Ukraine, but she doesn't have the opportunity to earn money from music here yet, because all her professional connections are abroad. Victoria was last in her hometown in 2021.
“And, probably, I could go there again. But it hurts me to think about it. There is no forced evacuation there yet, but my military friends who are based there advise me to go anyway. Therefore, I don't know yet when I will dare to visit my hometown next time,” the artist said.