VAL
VAL is a Belarusian duo consisting of music producer Vlad Pashkevich and singer-songwriter Valerie Gribusova.Valerie Gribusova participated in The Voice Ukraine and won a vocal competition at the Slavic Bazaar festival. Vlad Pashkevich produced Belarus’ Eurovision 2017 entry Story Of My Life by Naviband and has collaborated with various global brands.
Experimenting with genres such as house, R&B, pop, hip-hop, and many other, VAL have been pushing the boundaries of their music and live performances since 2016. With influences of vogue and fashion, the duo consistently surprises fans with extravagant looks. Valerie and Vlad first met in 2015, with the little help of their friends. Their first single, Who Are You, was entirely written and produced by the duo. In May 2017, VAL released their first EP In My Room, which consisted of 5 tracks, mixing house with R&B, along with other electronic musical influences. It helped the duo begin their live performances, along with session drummer and keyboardist. Since then, VAL performed as an opening act for Cream Soda, Zivert, Beissoul & Einius and other famous artists.
In 2018, VAL was featured a ToneTwins’ track, where Valerie first experimented with folk vocal influences. On 14 September 2018, VAL released the single Aftermath, along with their first professional music video. The track became a radio hit in Belarus. Their creative path continued to unfold into 2019: VAL released the single Safe Haven, where Vlad sang lead vocals alongside Valerie for the first time.
Near the end of 2019, the duo decided to put themselves forward for the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 and, together with lyricist Mikita Naidzenau, wrote Da Vidna. The single was released in January, and one month later an acoustic version was released along with the music video, shot in one take. On 28 February, the song won the National Selection contest in Belarus and became the Belarusian entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2020.