A conversation with talented and inspiring Karina Belkina

“Today on our Hot Seat we have Karina Belkina, a singer from Ukraine. Let’s have a chat with her.

Twist Online : First of all tell us about the start of your professional career?
Karina Belkina : I don’t know what exact moment should be considered as a start of one’s professional career, but I guess it’s a moment when you’ve become good at something that you are doing and people notice it. I can’t tell you my moment, because in my personal story all edges are blurred.

Twist Online : Who or what inspired you to get into music industry?
Karina Belkina : I decided that I want to be a singer when I was 5 years old and it’s not even was a decision, I just had that feeling already, I just knew that. But of course along my long way I was and I am inspired by different artists, and more recently by Lana Del Rey, The Weeknd, Doris Day, Helen Horne, Brandi Carlile.

Twist Online : Tell us about your recent release “God Knows I Tried”?
Karina Belkina : It’s a cover of Lana Del Rey’s song “God knows I tried” from her album “The Honeymoon”.
For me this song is like a confession!
I really have opened my soul when I was doing that cover, and it feels really great when you can feel yourself and tell your story to the people, because it always was very hard for me to open up especially in the studio. When I’ve heard this song I was so into that, I knew that I definitely should do the cover and also I was regretting that it’s actually is not my own song because it’s so mine, it’s sounds absolutely like me.

Twist Online : What kind of response you have received from the release?
Karina Belkina : I’ve received very good feedback from musical journalists, they did a couple of articles and put it with my cover on their music blogs. One of them sad: “Personally, what I love about Karina’s rendition is that she brings a nostalgic vibe to the sounds, coupled with a nice vintage-inspired sound. Her sincere energy and charismatic vibe is something essential that is dearly missing in the industry today”. I am still receiving many messages, it is so great to read how people love it.

Twist Online : What attracts you more, performing on stage or working in studios?
Karina Belkina : Until this moment recording at the studio was a bit of a struggle for me, like I sad, it was hard to express myself on 100%. Of course for the artist more interesting and more rewarding is to perform on stage, when you can sense the mood of the audience and express yourself as a performer. Otherwise why are you being a singer at all?

Twist Online : What’s your favorite music genre?
Karina Belkina : Like we all know there is no more pure genres in music, so I can’t tell you exact genre, I like mixed things in music. I like, indie, electronic elements, jazz of 50’s. From the latest releases I am so obsessed with song “Call out my name” by Weeknd.

Twist Online : Have you set some target to achieve as a music artist?
Karina Belkina : Of course we all have big dreams, but now I understand that the most important thing besides your talent and that big desire is to have beautiful songs that would really inspire you and you will feel or see yourself in them. So my main target now is to find songwriters to collaborate with and to create a great product!

Twist Online : Are you currently working on any other project?
Karina Belkina : I am always on search for new inspirations, new songs, but it’s not ease for me to find that one that will fit me perfectly.
So now I am on search for something. And of course I keep honing my skills.