Leonid Agutin interview. Leonid Agutin: “My wife is the only person on earth who has power over me

December 7, 2013, 22:06

Interviewed by Andrey Konyaev.

“I have the tastes of fellow citizens on my ears”

Leonid Agutin told Lente.ru about compromises, music for the people and Voice

Sunday, December 8, at Crocus City Hall there will be a concert Leonid Agutin, dedicated to his 45th birthday. A couple of weeks before that, the singer released new album“The Secret of the Glued Pages”, therefore, in addition to old songs, completely new songs will be performed at the concert. However, now Agutin's pop popularity has been overshadowed by television success - the singer, as one of the mentors, participates in the vocal show of the First Channel "Voice". "Lenta.ru" talked with Leonid Agutin and found out why people in Russia do not like major and why the domestic listener is indifferent to the songs of Whitney Houston performed by Russian singers.

In an interview with Lente.ru, Leonid Agutin spoke about how he composes and records his music. At the same time, according to the singer, the tastes of Russians often force him to compromise - to simplify own compositions to an "edible" form. Agutin also explained why it is difficult for a domestic performer to enter the Western music market - it turned out that the artist's own vanity is far from the last obstacle on this path. Finally, Agutin told where talented winners of various kinds go vocal competitions and why The Voice is a kind of musical Olympics.

Leonid Agutin: He was on the first day in iTunes was in second position. And now I don’t even know, I didn’t ask.

Do you have in Lately there are a lot of discs out. It seems like there are only three this year?

Well, I haven't had a break in more than three years before. But here it seems to have broken. I actually did a lot this year.

Tell me more?

I had an anniversary concert in Jurmala, thirty-two numbers - I had to prepare everything, write new versions for each song, gather forty artists and rehearse with them. In my opinion, a significant event turned out: a three-hour live broadcast on central television, an absolutely live concert. And it went without overlays, just amazing! A big live concert is not only a rarity for us, but it rarely happens in the West either, because those concerts that we watch on DVD are live concerts, they are still edited, mixed, sometimes even rewritten.

And besides the concert, there was also a record recording, preparation for another anniversary concert, already in Crocus City Hall. There, too, many numbers need to be prepared. "Voice" takes a lot of time.

Where was the album written? Where did they take it?

They recorded in Tver, where most of my records are, in the SALAM studio. I have been working there since 1991, that is, 22 years already. Before I came to them, I only recorded two records - although what records, cassettes - I recorded. But I couldn’t find any sound comrades-in-arms so that they could create with me, and not just work off the time. In general, I found such guys who are without you good stuff will not be released, in Tver.

Now I can often record some separate tracks in Moscow - you don’t run into Tver all the time. Or we can mix in the States. But the beginning of the process, the creation of the arrangement still takes place in Tver, because I'm used to it. There the walls are dear, there I lock myself up for two or three days and give them out.

So, did you have any references?

Naturally. Any musician has a set of techniques, familiar modes, chips. As a basis, I took Latin, country and blues techniques. All this was put on its own melodic texture, a symbiosis was obtained. But in the end, it was still impossible to make it look like anyone in particular, because pop music is the most difficult genre. It's good if there is a guitarist who is almost like Paco de Lucia, but at the same time does not copy him completely, but does something of his own. I was lucky to find such a musician. This is Sasha Oltsman, who played all the guitars on the first record. He used to work in the Singing Hearts group, in which my dad was the director and tour manager. Sasha still remembered me when I was little, and then I met him by chance and asked him to help. And he says: “You can’t imagine, I spent three years in a Spanish tavern and got my hands on flamenco, I’ll definitely help you!” I was delighted, but, I confess, I did not expect such a level as he showed. He's just a genius. And at the same time, he plays flamenco, but in a completely our way, in Russian.

When you say that, I imagine Am-F-C-E played in a flamenco rhythm.

Well, not to that extent in our opinion ( laughs). So that you understand what level he is a musician, I will tell a story. In 1994, we were filming the clip “Togo, whom [we should not have waited for]” in Spain. We had a free day (it was in Barcelona) and we went to eat in the old town. Found there a typical tourist place. A guitarist is sitting there playing, dancing flamenco.

The guitarist played very well and I asked if he could play with our guitarist. They explained to us that this was impossible, that he had a professional instrument, in general, nothing. We sat, began to get ready, and in the wardrobe we ran into this guitarist. His work day is also over. And somehow Sasha asked him to just try the guitar. And then we sat in this wardrobe for two hours, playing. The guitarist was simply stunned: a man from Moscow, but he plays flamenco like that ...

Fine. And how do you perceive your work in the context of the world?

It is very difficult for me to perceive my work in a global context. I'm still a man of continuous compromises. I was brought up on formats, on Russian radio. I have the tastes of fellow citizens on my ears. That is, sometimes I have to feel sorry for the audience somewhere, to conclude in four quarters something that could be done in five. Or simplify some things. Step back a bit into the complex bridge, and then back to the edible chorus. Just to remember.

I've had attempts, even quite successful for the kind of music I've been making, to enter the international market. Cosmopolitan Life and I once sold very well in Germany. Very good. But I made the mistake of following the lead of a German producer who offered to distribute the CD all over the world. As a result, large funds were spent on promoting the disc in different countries. It was stupidity. It was necessary to grab hold of the country in which it is doing well and put pressure on it, but we did not do it. But we decided that this is still normal, and we need to conquer Italy, Eastern Europe, America.

Vanity played a role?

Yes, vanity played a bad role. And it was necessary to become, say, guest performers of one single European country. And then think about what to do next. Until the release of the next record.

But what was, was. It is impossible to enter this river a second time. In general, it was difficult for us with that album: for intellectuals it is pop music, but for pop music lovers it is too difficult. It was not clear through what to promote. Not MTV and not jazz festivals, that's what it is? Mexican music is usually broadcast on radio stations that play the usual village Latino. That is, completely in a genre where you can’t get into it in any way, because you have an accent, because you don’t do it exactly like theirs, but you need to do it just like theirs.

When I listen to some Mexican radio, I understand that I, guys, are just Beethoven compared to you, or rather Mozart, any of my songs will be at least something new for you. The song "Island" should be your super hit, because none of you even approximately came up with such a song. You are so predictable, everything is terrible, you are even afraid to deviate left and right. But they are what they are, they don't need a "different" song, they need their own, so that the 180th would be similar to the 179th song. And that's what they like, and that's what they enjoy.

But what about digital ways distribution?

You still have to start from scratch. I have many offers now, in particular from the States. Of course, now you don't have to be a young man, which Sony takes on a big budget. Now no matter how old you are, no matter what you play, you will find your consumer. Now, they say, you will sell twenty thousand records and you already have gold, because it's very cool. But I say, "I'm too old for this."

You are only 45 years old, why suddenly “I’m already old for this”?

Yes, but I'm too lazy to start proving again. All those tutors again, singing in English. I'm constantly proving something here - the music is not easy, I suffer that it's hard to do something massive. But still they know me here. There are a lot of artists in the States who are seventy and they are popular, but they used to be popular in their twenties. Nobody starts from scratch. And I would like to produce someone myself.

Well, you yourself complained about the compromises. And they could try something new. Do not limit yourself to the opinion of the listeners.

This is almost word for word the arguments of those who persuade me to leave. They say that there you can, without thinking about the format, do whatever you want. Like, you have a lot of Russian fans, they will understand. I explain to them that Russians are arranged differently. The Russians don't need a record in English. You know, when Marc Anthony recorded a rather average, gray record (with electronic pipes), he performed with it in Madison Square Garden. So, he packed two full Madison Square Gardens. 90 percent of them were Latin Americans, who didn’t care that they didn’t play live! A man sings in Spanish in America, he’s ours, we’ll come, we’ll say “Viva Cuba! Viva Argentina!

Russians are a little different: “Oh, you might think, you might think, well, I don’t know, now you will be a star in America!” There is no such thing as: “Ours, here we are for him now!” Ours must know its place. Sing in Russian, do not start this show off. For an American, your accent will be funny, cute, but for a Russian, it will be your own, Russian, they don’t like it. You don’t need this, you come on, do what you do and don’t show off, please.

It seems to me that all the time! ( laughs). I am constantly thinking about the project. It's not even about how much time it takes to rehearse, but that the head is constantly in the process. It is quite difficult to compose all these programs so that the numbers are interesting, and each person from my team is presented in a favorable light.

Do you set yourself such a goal - to represent everyone?

Yes, sure. It is very important for me that the guys get the most out of this project. It should be an event for each of them. Well, as I said, I want to work with some later. I won’t name names now, otherwise geniuses themselves may not even want to.

Is the attention paid to you by foreigners somehow connected with your participation in Golos?

Yes, this is a global network, a corporation. If you participate in this project, then it is considered that you are a recognized person in your country, and this is cool. It must be understood that judges in different countries always sit in approximately the same order. That is, Gradsky is sitting in the place where Tom Jones is sitting, Dima Bilan is sitting in the place where someone from R&B or rap music is sitting. There is always one woman on the jury, and I sit in the place of a pro about my age, that is, about 40 years old. This is mandatory, regardless of the country, the leftmost seat.

Recently I was in Miami, at the Criteria Hit Factory studio (I helped my daughter record an album, she has a group Without Gravity). Everyone there knows me well. And so, when we were recording, the head of the studio came running and said: “Voice, you are great, I saw everything.” They don't care, and in Iran, too, Voice, no matter where. In this office just do not take, as it were considered.

I came up with a number, "Barefoot Boy" will be in such a slow samba. There will be a huge extended bridge in Portuguese, which will be sung by my whole team in chorus. It takes at least twelve people to make it sound. Better - more. This is how their participation will be, thank God, no one refused.

There are several other famous guests, without whom it is impossible. I can’t sing “Airports”, I can sing in concerts, but on TV I can’t sing it without Volodya ( Presnyakov - approx. "Tapes.ru"), just not good, ugly, and boring.

Did you know that this song is quite popular in karaoke? Like “A glass of vodka” by Leps or “Without you” by Mikhailov.

Yes, yes, I know. There was a whole story with this song - we whole year worn on radio stations. Radio stations said: “What are you doing? Dark forest! What are you, rock? It's complicated". There's a major, then a chorus in a minor.

To push this song forward, Volodya and I went with her for almost a year to all the shootings in Ostankino, to all these Days of the worker National economy, combined hodgepodges under plywood. We showed the video, my director wore the song on the radio for six months. As a result, it is due to television and untwisted. Then they took her to the radio and bam - "Golden Gramophone"!

And then a couple of years pass, I carry new song- "Time the last romantics". And what do they tell me? Right. That it is difficult, no, it is not necessary.

You mentioned Major. We have folk music either sad or very sad. Look, even funny children's songs - "They teach at school", "Blue Wagon", about a wizard and Gena's birthday - all in a minor key.

We have a very strange attitude towards the major in our country. It's branded, it's musical, it's modern - to make sad ballads in a major. "Airport", in principle, also tends to major. But there is a minor chorus. If there is no minor chorus - that's it, nothing will work. But I have songs - “The Time of the Last Romantics”, “Toys”, so there is a full major. Clean, signature major: blues moves, lowered steps, gravitation towards some extended chords. But for some reason, this kind of music did not take root in our country ...

How do you feel about online piracy?

How can I feel about piracy? No way. Yes, I shouldn't care. This is outside my area of ​​expertise.

That is, if you see your song on the wall of someone on Vkontakte, you, unlike Sergey Lazarev, do not experience horror?

No, I can experience this horror if I have already agreed with the release company, and the song appeared even before the release of the album. This, of course, is wrong - they will still think that I did it, leaked it. And I have a contract. And everything else is not my concern, but the concern of the issuing company, let them worry.

And, to be honest, I didn’t notice that people listened to a lot of music on Facebook. Mostly looking at pictures. The poem may be appreciated. And in other social networks I am not.

I don't know, but I don't want to. There must be another person who will do everything in a new way. I'm afraid to get bored, but I did, in principle, what I could. Did a good job. Someone has to change me.

Yes, and it's hard for me morally - every six months. I prepared the first half of the year for Jurmala, the second - I am engaged in "Voice". And when to live?

How do you like the second season?

Good, successful and stronger than the first. This is a competition for professionals, but what's the catch then? This is not a "Star Factory", they don't teach you to sing here. Here, in the first round, only those who can sing are selected. And who can sing? Who has experience.

When people were chosen in the blind round, was it easier? Have you imagined who you will pair up with?

No, I didn't. I have no principle: I took the backbone, and then it was thrown away. This is not good, in my opinion. I typed all of them absolutely meaningfully. Then it's very hard to part, but there's nothing to be done. I spend a lot of time on psychological trainings so that they understand that we are doing a concert, we are doing a show. The main thing is to be a part of something very good. This is more important than being the best at home, within four walls. That even once or twice to perform with the best is already very cool.

Here is the singer Nyusha, who won "STS lights a superstar." She didn’t disappear at corporate parties and even seems to sing. But she sings at 10 percent of the possibilities - after all, she can do the blues, and in general. And what will happen next, in your opinion, with the participants of the "Voice"?

Blues, jazz, soul, funk, rnb and very strong, powerful voices - this is the same for us as sports competition. This is only accepted as part of the competition. While the competition is going on, it is very important who will sing Whitney Houston better. And everyone who loves chanson, who loves Russian rock, who loves Russian pop music, gathers during this Olympics, the Russian Voice Championship - they are interested, they like it. But once the competition ends, no one needs Whitney Houston anymore.

It is very strange. We have quite a lot of foreign music.

So I talked about it. They can, ours can't. Simply Red come and collect the Olympic. Simply Red. Melodic but difficult. But pretty easy for me. For me, it's elementary. I can just do it like this. ( snaps fingers). But I can't do it. Don't, thanks man, that's what Simply Red is for.

And what's the reason?

This is a question that I cannot answer. I only know that it is. And at the same time they constantly say: we can’t do that. But how can we do this if you, the listeners, do not allow us to do this, you do not want to hear it from us? The radio does not take this from us. We want to do something more complicated - let the same three chords, but taken differently, pressed in a different rhythm, made in a different harmony. But you want to listen to what you are used to. How can we become stars without doing what you are used to? We can not. With our intelligence and talent, sit at home and shout "I'm an unrecognized genius!" we refuse guys. And if you want to listen to it, then we use our techniques that we know, more or less interspersing them with yours, but without humiliating yourself so much that you can understand.

Let's say you're an engineer. You will be asked: are you a good engineer? And you are like this in response: they say, they just didn’t understand me yet, so I didn’t build anything. How? So you are a bad engineer. The more you get, the better you do your job. So it has to be done this way.

It's a vicious circle. As for cultural acquisitions, everything is gradual, little by little: this song is a hit, but this one is not. You didn't spend anything on this one, which was a hit, it just went off, and on this one you spent eighty thousand dollars on a video. They showed her for two weeks and that's it. But she is in my life. This is my work, and there are those five percent of the listeners who paid attention to this - they were not so sad, those who understand. Still, we have something like that, something sacred yet. The artist has it, you know. I am obliged to pamper these people, unpaid, although it costs me money. But I pay for it with some other things. That's all. A song about a driver, for example.

Here you are 45. Where do you see yourself in another 25 years?

Don't know. The main thing is not in a coffin.

Well, for example, where will you live? Here? You have a daughter in America. Will it be to mom and dad, like in a village, to come to Russia?

A very difficult question. Life is changing fast. I just want my children to live without global upheavals that can turn them forever for the worse. And that's the main thing I want.

Are you going to bring it back to Russia?

No. I just do not want now, at this stage, to take and change everything in it. Thank God, she does not forget Russian, this is the only thing I ask her now. Otherwise, life goes on, if she herself wants to come at the age of twenty, she will come. I will not touch it on principle, so that no shocks. Including political ones.

She is there with her grandparents. Are you worried about her?

Of course I'm worried. I don't want someone to hurt her, someone to break her heart. Any father, I think, worries about the child.

I remember myself at the age of 15, I was sure that I was smarter than my parents. Like, help me here, and then I myself. She is exactly the same. You know, I wanted a son so much, but I got a daughter, with all the abilities that I would like to see in a son. And maybe it's better than if a son was born, but with a different temperament, mind, and so on. At the same time, I am very worried about her, because I see in her all the same complexes, some dangerous reefs that she can run into in her life. Her openness, her cordiality, her attitude towards people, vulnerability, constant creative state, state of life in a fictional world.

All this is difficult and dangerous, and even more dangerous for a girl than it was for me, for a boy. Where all this will lead, I don’t know, I don’t know who she will become, what career she will choose. Maybe she won't be a musician at all. She has a very powerful literary ability. The fact that she writes lyrics is one thing. But she still writes prose, her teachers even specially called me to school, they said that she should study literature more closely. She has a talent, she can start writing seriously soon. Again, in English. It's hard to bear it. I'm a man myself, working with the word and well knowledgeable in literature and history. She cannot understand the subtleties of what I am doing, and I cannot understand the subtleties of what she is doing. It's not very...

Do you listen to modern music?

No, I don’t follow, I listen to what turns up. Mostly near-jazz music and, to be honest, more junk.

Do you follow politics and economics? Do you read news?

Well, yes, I'm an adult. For example, Ukraine is a very important country for me. Of course, I'm scared about what's going on there. But politics is a very long and serious conversation. Even more, perhaps, than we have spoken. They just call me, I have to go.

Leonid Agutin and Anzhelika Varum went through fire, water and copper pipes. The stars have been bred more than once, but, in spite of everything, they have been together for 20 years. Today, May 26, Leonid will have a reason to Once again to confess his love to his wife - Angelica has a birthday. The day before, the musician shared with StarHit that he still considers himself unworthy of Varum, and also told why his daughter Lisa is not interested in communicating with him and at what moments she “feels like a grandmother.”

Eternal tenderness

Leonid, how do you and Angelica manage to stay afloat for so many years?

Your romance developed mysteriously. Why didn't you cross the line for a long time?

He probably thought he was unworthy. Too frivolous for her. And I still think so, by the way. Then we started going to concerts together. And when he returned, he felt empty. He began to find reasons to see her, to hear her. Called for appointments, phoned. In fact courted, but did not think it was for real. We kind of talked. She had a boyfriend, a decent man. I treated him well. I did not realize that I was actually beating off the girl. It seems like he didn't intend to. I missed her like air. But people find what they are looking for. This is the law. Once a void is formed, it is filled whether you like it or not.

The wedding with Angelica was not your first marriage ...

I went through both marriage and romance. I had a big, devastating experience of stellar permissiveness. And then he met a woman with whom he did not expect a meeting.

How did you win it?

Later, when we were together, she admitted that she expected active actions from me, and not going to a billiard club, where she did not understand anything, or a restaurant where she did not like it. Rumors about us have already spread. But we pretended - as if not together. We were photographed, but we were still apart. And it was not a deception of journalists. Only later did I realize that playing that game was terribly interesting. And when they started living together, they hid from everyone.

"Starfarer" performances

By the way, about children. Your 18 year old daughter Lisa plays hard rock. How did it happen?

At her age, I also listened to similar music. Hard Rock- it's kind of cool, a kind of environment. Her boyfriend is also an orthodox rocker - hairy, walks in bell-bottoms. I went to concerts with Lisa - it's scary! I almost got trampled. Four little girls come out in front of the crowd and sing rock. At the same time, Lisa has a beautiful timbre of her voice, but when she screams, the whole color disappears. Now she has moved from the guitar to the keys, began to use complex chords, began to sing closer to Amy Winehouse or Adele. I felt people go crazy when she sang the lyrics.

In what areas does she turn to you for advice?

When to buy something. For her birthday, we were supposed to get her an electric guitar combo amp. Let's go choose. Tried to poke a $700 combo, Marshall, it's good! But no, they took the biggest Orange for $3500. They just brought it. Her friends were precipitated with envy.

Does the eldest daughter Polina - from her marriage to the ballerina Maria Vorobyova - differ from Lisa?

Lisa is difficult. She is a bohemian-creative warehouse. Takes pictures, shoots mini-films, draws. She has a special vision, a humanitarian mind. Everything should be talented and not pop. And Fields in this sense is simpler - without creative quirks. He plays the guitar, but without pretensions. Her main talent is intelligence. The whole mind goes into science and study. Fluent in five languages. Switches in a minute. Now he is learning Japanese. I think he'll get his way.

What is her education?

She studies law at the Sorbonne. She entered the philological, but there it seemed to her too easy. It was re-profiled, and in such a way that only four were selected from their stream, including Polya. In general, we have her - Sofia Kovalevskaya. I look at both and do not understand: where do the talents come from? Why smart, kind - it is clear. But why so? From whom did it pass? Mystery...

Do they communicate?

Seen extremely rarely. Still, Polya lives with her mother and stepfather in France, Lisa lives with Angelica's relatives in the USA: we bought an apartment in Miami. But in absentia, girls communicate constantly - they write off, talk. Several times in the summer they all went to France together. Fields organized. This is another one of her talents. This year we are thinking about a trip to London. Children dream, dad is puzzled.

Is the period of growing up for your daughters not easy for you?

The further, the harder. Everyone is smart and emotional. Lisa will always outsmart us. She doesn't really like to explain things, she just dodges things that are uncomfortable. As I! Parents sometimes annoy with "old-fashioned" ideas about life. But I love them. Crazy. And then I scold myself: “Well, how so? Go, stay with mom and dad. They are waiting". So is Lisa: she is not very interested in communicating with me, while she loves me. I'd rather spend time with a guy. However, dad called - so we need to meet. “Okay,” she probably thinks, “I’ll sit with my father in a cafe. Now everything will have to be told again, to read poetry. And I feel like a grandmother: "Come on, daughter, show me what you wrote." Lisa takes out her phone and opens the poem. I read and admire ... My wife says: “You, most importantly, praise her!” And that's how I do it. But someone has to criticize.

The singer revealed very juicy details from his personal life. So, Agutin admitted that the best sex they had with Angelica Varum happened only a year after the wedding, and also shared that he and his wife love to experiment intimately.

The frank confession of the 49-year-old artist was not to everyone's liking. If almost all the media immediately parsed the interview into quotes, then many netizens noted that Leonid did not fit into the format of the program and it was not clear why Dud's choice fell on him. Agutin, after a day of heated discussions, decided to comment on his appearance in a popular Internet show.

“I was with Yura Dudya for an interview. Very popular on the Internet and, what can I say, a talented young journalist. Already an iconic figure of the present time. Went not quite on his field. I'm not a dissident, I'm not rock, I'm not rap, and I'm not a desperate swindler. In general, there is nothing honest about me.)) I confess - I agreed, due to the fact that the program is very popular. Of course, it was not without provocations, slippery topics and political issues, which I hate to discuss. As a result, he received a lot of negativity, although Yura himself is a polite and well-mannered person. Simply, it is impossible to be good for everyone. To be completely honest, I really wanted to see how it happens. Once you feel it for yourself, when 3,000,000 people watch the program with your participation in a day and put 70,000 likes. True, even 10,000 dislikes. But these people also enjoyed it. Because not to love, to get annoyed and consider yourself smarter is also an emotion. The main thing is that I had to sing such a thing so that so many people would watch me on you tube in a day?! I don’t have such outrageous songs))),” the musician wrote in his microblog on Instagram (the spelling and punctuation of the author are given unchanged. - Note. ed.).

Leonid Agutin and Angelica Varum

Leonid Agutin became a guest of Yuri Dudya

Recall that earlier great interview Yuri Dudya was given by Alexei Serebryakov, known for his roles in such controversial projects as "Penal Battalion", " Cargo 200 and Leviathan. In particular, the actor spoke for the first time about why he decided to adopt two boys from an orphanage and spoke about meeting his wife. But close attention the public was attracted by other words of the artist, who rarely communicates with journalists.

So, Alexei Serebryakov called "strength, arrogance and rudeness" the main components of the national idea of ​​Russia. “I think if you drive 30-50-70 kilometers from Moscow, you will see many elements of the 90s. One way or another, neither knowledge, nor ingenuity, nor enterprise, nor dignity are the prerogative of the national idea. national idea are strength, arrogance and rudeness, ”said Serebryakov.

The piquancy of Serebryakov's statement was added by the fact that the actor has been living in Canada for several years. He moved to Toronto in 2012 with his family. According to him, in order to raise children in a different ideology, in Russia he was not satisfied with the unfavorable social situation and the growth of intolerance. The actor does not hide the fact that "no one needs him" in Canada, and therefore often accepts job offers from domestic filmmakers. The number of those, however, threatens to decrease in the very near future: both users of social networks and eminent colleagues of Alexei were outraged by the words of Serebryakov.

Alexey Serebryakov

And for many years in a row they celebrate the holiday on the stage. And a few days later they fly to America, where their daughter lives. The fact that in the Agutin-Varum family it is customary to give each other, how to raise a child at a distance and what is the secret long marriage, TN questioned the artists while visiting them at their new home in Miami.

Are there any American traditions for celebrating the New Year?

Angelica:New Year they are practically never met here, only the Russian diaspora gathers in restaurants and celebrates for ten days in a row.

Leonid: New Year's Eve is scary. There are many acquaintances in the city, it should be noted with everyone - there is some kind of continuous struggle for survival. (Laughs.) You can heal later normal life: play tennis, swim in the sea.

And, of course, happy moments when you manage to hang out with Lisa. She usually spends time with friends, as a 14-year-old should. Only if I say: “Daughter, you are having lunch with me today,” she will stay at home.

- For many years in a row you celebrate the New Year on stage. I wonder when you exchange gifts? Do you leave them at home under the tree?

Angelica: Not every gift will fit under the tree. (Laughs) I don't like surprises - I like to choose gifts for myself on my own and in advance. And I myself always ask what to buy for whom, so that later no one has to portray polite delight. In our family, everyone prefers to order gifts. We can exchange them at least on January 4, at least on the 26th - this is unprincipled.

Leonid: I prefer to give rather than receive. Such a pleasure to find something cool, something that native person will gladly wear it. If the wife says: “I saw an amazing ring ...”, I will gladly go and buy, because Mani (as Leonid calls his wife. - Approx. “TN”) has no ridiculous manners, she never asks for something for the sake of a stupid whim.

- Leonid, it seems that for the last New Year you gave your wife an apartment?

Angelica: I chose it myself, tired of the smell of the old house and the neighbor's cats. When I started a conversation with my husband that it would be nice to move, he supported.

- IN new apartment Have you already put up a Christmas tree or does it make no sense, since in the first days of January you will still fly away for a long time?

Angelica: We decorate the Christmas tree as early as possible. In the old apartment, the Christmas tree "lived" with us for 10 years. I always dressed her up with delight, she was so beautiful. I remember when I saw it in the window, I really wanted to buy it. They tell me: "The Christmas tree is not for sale - this is decoration." I had to leave my coordinates: what if they decide? And I was very happy when they called back from the store and said: "Take it."

Do you remember how you celebrated the New Year as a child?

Leonid: For some reason, I don’t remember very well ... At the same time, I had a happy childhood, everything is fine. When I look at my childhood photos, I am amazed: I don’t smile in any, not in one ... The only son in the family, everyone around me was always shaking, my mother praised more than scolded. The father, if he made comments, then on the merits. Agree - ideal conditions, but at the same time I grew up such a gloomy boy. He was plump, strong, gloomy ... And he constantly bludgeoned his classmates. Of course, it seemed to the parents that something was wrong with the child ... But everything was the same with me. Do you know how in that joke? When the boy did not speak until four years old, then he said: "The porridge is burnt." “Why were you silent before?” - “There was no precedent - I never burned ...” (Laughs.)

Angelica: When I was little, we had a budgerigar Petrusha. Manual, affectionate, we even ate with him from the same plate. I was upset that he didn't want to talk. Petrusha loved the pre-holiday turmoil, and when my mother and I brought the Christmas tree home and began to hang toys, he sat on my shoulder and watched. Once upon a time there was such a story. We decorate the Christmas tree, and my mother, a pedant to the point of impossibility, hangs toys from branch to branch in order to achieve complete symmetry - a row of balls, a row of icicles. It seems that everything was already perfect, but, stepping aside, she said every time: “Something is not right, something is not right ...” And suddenly Petrusha fluttered, hovered over the ball and shouted: “Something is not right ... O!" A couple of months later, he already reproduced some incredible number of words: “Petrusha wants to have dinner. Give Petrusha a guitar… Put on some pajamas for Petrusha.”

I also loved to decorate the Christmas tree with my grandparents. They kept old toys, each a real work of art. Balls of incredible shades, glass dolls of impossible beauty. The ceilings were three and a half meters high, and grandfather always bought a huge Christmas tree. He stood on a stepladder, and my grandmother and I carefully handed him toys. Then he would come down, take out of the box Santa Claus and the Snow Maiden wrapped in tissue paper, who were about a hundred years old, and let me put them under the Christmas tree.

Nothing of all this splendor is left. I took only a few toys with me to Moscow, but lost them in my nomadic life. Saying "sorry" is an understatement. Because toys evoked a sea of ​​emotions. Incredible gifts were always waiting for me under the Christmas tree on January 1 - mostly things: their relatives sent them from abroad. In the sixth grade, I became the first owner of Velcro sneakers in the city. You have no idea what it is! They looked at me like I was an alien. High school students followed on their heels, trying to figure out how to put on these “molded shoes without laces” at all ?!

- Can your daughter be pleased with a trendy new thing?

Angelica: No, Lisa is indifferent to girlish joys, she dresses informally and conservatively. She would like a new guitar, a microphone and a comfortable microphone stand. This is what you can please our daughter in her 14 years.

- Liza has been living in America since birth and does not read Russian at all. Have you ever regretted that you made the decision to leave her to be raised by Angelica's dad?

Leonid: That's how the circumstances came about. There is no point in regretting. But now we have to think about what to do with it. It's hard for me personally. I have been working with the word all my life, I have read bookcases and know a lot of things. I would like to pass it on to my daughter, but the language barrier prevents her. Yes, and I can not fully appreciate her wonderful literary abilities. English language for me non-native, although I have a good command of it. Lizin, a teacher of literature, praises her, she writes really good mature texts. There is another reason for my worries. Due to the fact that Lisa grows up in a different culture, my successes are invisible to her. Whether I'm a world weightlifting champion or a composer writing for American artists is another matter. And my music or poetry is not very close to her.

Angelica: The fact that Lisa lives thousands of kilometers away from us, of course, has its minuses, but there are more pluses. First, Miami has a great climate. Secondly, in my opinion, separation from stellar parents is useful for a child. Liza is an adult girl, she roughly represents the scale of our popularity. This year we brought her to Moscow to get her passport. I saw that she was burdened by the close attention of strangers, although she steadfastly endured everything. And she clearly does not want to be "Agutin - Varum + 1". I like her pride.

- In February, Lisa will turn 15. Do you perceive her as a child or as a girl?

Angelica: As an adult, of course. She already has a boyfriend (I hope my daughter will not be offended that I gave this secret away). I know that it is important for her that a person is smart and has a good sense of humor. And in this sense, she was lucky with Stone. He is two years older and, in my opinion, a good musician.

Leonid: I'm afraid for Lisa. With my mind, I understand that everything is all right with her. She created a rock band, composes songs. We have a talented and smart daughter beyond her years, very emotional, sensitive ... I am so afraid of everything that lies ahead for her: both first love and broken heart, and experiences. Her buddy Stone is naturally a guitarist and naturally hairy. He drives a dead 1967 Mercedes that starts by hand. How not to worry about your girl? Although when I was her age, my life was full of rock and roll. Poor mother! (Laughs.)

Angelica: Recently, our grandmother alarmed everyone. She called: “Oh, Lisa has something wrong with Stone. I do not know what to do. Call her". I would have to wait, fly in, take a closer look, and only then try to talk, but I could not stand it, called and heard: “Mom, calm down. You're scaring me. Don't talk to me about it - I'll figure it out myself."

- Can your daughter be rude to you?

Angelica: Never and none of us. But she perfectly knows how to manipulate dad. And he does it so subtly that he does not even notice and reacts to his daughter like a rabbit to a boa constrictor.

- And which of you is preparing a daughter for adulthood? Who is talking about the relationship between a man and a woman? Or let her figure it out?

Angelica: Everyone controls her: both grandmother and grandfather, and Lenya and I. When Lisa fell in love for the first time, she told me this: “Mom, I'm tired of endless thoughts about him, I want to live as before.” To which I replied: “Believe me that the music and poems that you write during this period will be the brightest. When there is emptiness in the heart, there is nothing to sing and write about. And this conversation has been enough for now.

How often do you visit your daughter?

Angelica: Five or six times a year. A month and a half in the winter, and then on short trips. I watch her all the time: she is sociable, uploads photos, songs, videos to the Web. When she feels bad or something doesn’t add up, and I feel it, I approach quietly, like a cat to a patient, start conversations on extraneous topics, and she gradually enters an important conversation for her.

- Often, after all, how: parents monitor only the grades and whether the child ate or not. There is absolutely no time for heart-to-heart talk.

Angelica: It's in best case. And at worst: clean the bedside table, do laundry, go to the store ... I remember feeling like Cinderella as a child. We lived in Lvov, where hot water was provided twice a day, and while my mother was at work, I had to wash all the dishes, do laundry, stand in line for six hours for butter. I was terribly offended, it seemed to me that my childhood had been taken away from me.

It ended with the fact that from the age of 16 and almost until the birth of Lisa, my mother and I had a rather cool relationship. Now I am ready to cry burning tears, having understood my mother, her difficult life situation. I did not have enough brains, experience and time to support her. But she's amazing to me. I build our communication with Lisa based on my own negative childhood experience, but I still have to insist on some things about the household.

- Has Lisa's teenage self-expression already passed? You said that she dyed her luxurious blond hair either cherry or crow's wing.

Angelica: It's gone, fortunately. But when it started, I was horrified. Liza has plump lips, like Lenka's, and when she painted them with red lipstick, put on a short skirt, torn tights and over the knee boots, I got scared. Can you imagine: the child is only 13 years old!

I understood that it was useless to fight, you can’t solve the issue with violence, you need to survive this hormonal explosion. Besides, what is the basis of my indignation? If you look, it's just embarrassment in front of society. But putting pressure on your daughter for your own peace of mind is a crime.

When Lisa flew to Moscow, I still had to say: “If possible, don’t paint your lips, because our audience will not understand this. This is how we paint only girls of easy virtue. She said, “OK, mom, no problem.” Now the story with war paint, thank God, is over. She still likes the aggressive rock style, but she practically does not use make-up. And we also left the terrible beet shade of hair. Luckily, I managed to get Liz to talk, “Let's try changing the hair color. If you don’t like it, don’t: no, there’s no trial. ” My hairdresser Diana somehow found with her mutual language, and to my surprise, Lisa easily agreed to switch to a soft natural color. Although before that it sounded categorical no.

What did the father say to his daughter?

Angelica: Dad resented her ruining her gorgeous curly blond hair. From dad, she wants to hear only good things - an exceptionally enthusiastic “wow”.

Leonid: Lisa has wonderful taste, but she, like any person who is in search, is sometimes mistaken. When she wore red hair, it seemed to her that it was such rock and roll. I understood what she wanted to say, but from the outside I saw: there is no chip in her appearance - it’s just ugly. She messed up her hair and didn't look good, nothing else. I had to fight. He said this: “Do not paint, but until you start playing the guitar cool, nothing will help you stand out from the crowd. And even if you kill me, but the light natural color suits you, but this one doesn’t!”

Such is the father's tediousness, but what to do, it's not always the same to give sweets. She replied: "Well, that's understandable, dad." She was offended, probably, but who will tell her the truth, except me?

Angelica: Liza has my character, so there can be no criticism of her. Lenya did not understand this immediately. I always tried to support Lisa, to find something positive in her experiments. She draws well and talentedly did her smoky eyes makeup. "Lisa, great! The eyes are beautiful today,” I said, suppressing my protest. In the end, the most important thing is to avoid serious bad habits.

- For Russia, this topic is extremely topical. Angelica, you can't stand alcohol at all. And how do you react if your husband drinks?

Angelica: When we met, Lenya was already an accomplished man with his bad and good habits, and not a 15-year-old boy.

Until a man drinks his sea, he cannot be stopped. Everything must come to naught. But we have resolved this issue. Lenya, when he wants to have a snack, goes to the studio in Tver, where he arranges sessions with the musicians. Lyonka does not know how to walk a little, but he has an e-ge-gay - for two or three days. Returning home, of course, half a person. (Laughs.) I will resuscitate him, and then this is again my beloved husband.

But if there are some spontaneous things: birthdays of friends, weddings, then I prefer to keep a distance with him - I practically never go to companies where they drink.

Angelica: Yes, all the talk is about that. I'm even a little jealous, because usually it's about joint creative plans at home.

Of course, this project is absolutely amazing, amazing. But I decided to watch the second season on the Internet when the winner is already known. So that without nerves, calmly enjoy the spectacle. I got so sick in the first season! By nature, I am very passionate. I remember when Lena had to part with Artem Kacharyan, she sobbed for 40 minutes.

- Leonid said that you set a condition for him: he would expel the participant Anna Rizman, nicknamed Pompom, from the project - do not let him go home. But Anna - a bright, charismatic girl - was nevertheless expelled ... So they let her husband go home?

- By the way, after Pompom, I told Lenka that I still feed borscht, but I don’t watch the project yet. If it was called "Charisma", then there would be other finalists. Still, they remember the sensational story with Sevara. Lenya was then pecked.

— Leonid, why was Sevara removed?

Leonid: I'll tell you one thing: what does an artist need? Be popular. Right? Sevara is the most popular person on the project. Now think what I did wrong. In my opinion, everything is so.

Leonid: There are no idiots among my acquaintances, thank God. Sometimes girls write on Facebook: “I want to participate in the Voice. I answer: "Participate." I had Elina Chaga in my team, and I accidentally saw her photo with a microphone on Facebook and thought to myself: I wonder if she is a singer or just sings under karaoke? It would be nice if the singer is so interesting. Two weeks later, at the audition, I turn around and see that it is her. I was very surprised.

- Why didn't you recognize your backing vocalist Angelina Sergeeva by her voice?

Leonid: I have never heard her sing solo. Especially since she sang Spanish and Cuban songs with me, and then she came out with a Soviet one. I suspect that she just wanted to get to Gradsky and definitely chose a song that I wouldn’t turn to one hundred percent, but Gradsky would react. The calculation is correct.

- Angelica, would you agree, if you were called, to become the mentor of the "Voice"?

Angelica: I think no. I could create a bright team, but I would not have enough self-control - I worry with my heart about everything that happens. Recently starred in four programs " Fashion sentence”, and not once have I been able to stay within the format and remain in the role of a beautiful-hearted defender.

- From Nadezhda Babkina, women also get it. It's even more interesting to watch.

Angelica: Babkina is always positive, but it can be difficult for me to hide my indignation. For example, I have a difficult relationship with female victims. I can’t understand how you can live for decades in the status of an unloved woman, endure the bullying and humiliation of an unloved husband.

- Maybe it's a matter of square meters or money?

Angelica: Sacrificing your health and self-respect for the sake of some meters is idiocy. You can go to work, rent a room, be independent and enjoy life. In a word, I could not restrain myself at the “Sentence”, I lost my image, I don’t know what will come of it on the air. I understand that it is absurd to react so emotionally, but the explosive nature sometimes bothers me.

- From the side you can’t tell ... You seem so peaceful.

Angelica: It's very funny when they perceive me as such a calm cat. So, the years of work on yourself were not in vain. I honestly worked out this half-asleep phlegmatic image for ten years!

- For what? To look more advantageous in a pair with her husband?

Angelica: I intuitively felt that Lenka was tired of my leadership.

- And when did it end?

Angelica: It has not ended - I disguise it. When we started quarrels, I went to my room and sorted out the situation. And each time I realized that it was difficult to live with a character like me. Of course, I didn’t stop arguing and insisting on my own, but the degree became lower.

“So this is the secret of your lasting union!” This year you celebrated 13 years of marriage.

Angelica: Lenya remembers all our dates better. I only know that we have been together for 17 years, and got married when Lisa was a year old.

Why not earlier?

Angelica: I didn't want to get married at all. And Lenya was not considered as a husband. When I realized that I was expecting a child, Lenya said: “We will get married. What, my child will grow up without a father? No, that's not good enough." I resisted for a long time, and suddenly Lenya fell silent on this topic. It even bothered me. “Laziness, why don’t you say anything about the wedding?” I ask. He replies: "I'm waiting." Then I agreed: "Well, let's go."

- You were awarded the orders "Service to Art" of the first degree with the wording: "For the strength of the union that promotes family values". If family happiness knead like dough, what ingredients can you do without?

Angelica: About the order is very touching! Should have read the wording before getting them. If I start talking about family happiness, it will turn out trite. Nevertheless, friendship is at the forefront. Not love, not passion, but friendship. And now everything else is inside her: both mutual understanding and the ability to forgive.

- Leonid, what is important for you in the union?

Leonid: Everyone finds what they are looking for. It happens that a man falls in love with a woman, he likes everything about her: figure, hair, eyes, manner of speaking, smell. But when the passion ends, he already lacks something, he doesn’t want to go home, live with this woman. And he understands that it was necessary not to nest with her, but simply to meet at the hotel. I personally feel very comfortable in our house with Manya. I feel like a baby in warm water. We have long been like brother and sister, relatives and friends, a single organism. But we are also lovers. It's so good to lie down on the sofa in the evening, intertwine your tails, watch a movie ...

So, seriously, when you don’t talk for days, we swore twice in our lives. Little things don't count. For some reason, I clearly remember all those situations when my wife fought for her rights, changed me and the rules of our life. She said: “It’s impossible to go on like this, it’s already the limit, it’s hard for me.” At the same time, the question was not posed point-blank - for example, either your friends, or me, or some other nonsense. But she could say so that I understood that she really couldn't take it anymore. And the so-called friends, and a huge amount of work that I clutched at, and addictions ... But this woman is everything to me! So dude, you need to change. In response, of course, like any man, I resisted: like steppe wolves They don't just give up their territory. (Laughs.)

What do your fights look like?

Angelica: There are no quarrels. Demonstrative insults - yes. Shut up, pout.

- For what? To make a person feel remorse?

Angelica: Certainly. And for what else? Basically that's what I do. Lenka less often. He screams better. But I'm always right. And then he gets tired of being offended, comes up: okay, let's talk. We sit down and explain to each other why we are offended. This is very useful, in silence we rest from each other, and in conversation we find out that being together is more comfortable than apart.

If we talk about quarrels over trifles, then each of our shooting ends with a passionate showdown. (Laughs.) Lenya tries to put on his favorite jeans and somehow amuse himself, but my persistence prevents him. I am very pleased that I managed to pull him out of the “Cossacks” and bright shirts and change into more traditional costumes. Although he is groaning, he believes that he has become like a clerk.

Leonid: I always went to the "Cossacks" - in summer, in winter, like a real cowboy. They are comfortable! But Manya says: "It's impossible - you look like a Pithecanthropus." In fact, I always go to the shooting myself, but sometimes I ask myself: “How are you?” If you do not ask, the wife will remain silent. But since you asked the question, put up with a creepy stupid conversation: “To be honest, this doesn’t fit with this.” And such words make me angry, and the conflict slowly unwinds. “If you want, I won’t say anything at all, you ask yourself,” the wife is offended. But even if she is right, I must, just in case, quarrel, because my dignity is offended. How so? What am I, some kind of bastard? By the way, at one time I was the standard of style, the whole country dressed the way I did: bell-bottoms, bright shirts. I was one of those who brought the hippie style back into fashion. I did a lot of things without prompting. Not to say that I have bad taste.

In general, you know, in my life there was no person with the same influence as my wife. Neither the school principal, nor my mother, nor the head of the frontier post - no one could cope with me. Manya is the only person on earth who has such power.

— Crises family life are manifested in the fact that the spouses feel alienated, although they continue to love each other. Does this happen to you?

Angelica: Alienation - no. First of all, because we are friends in the same business.

In difficult times, work has always saved us. Quarreled or not, but you still need to go on stage and sing a duet, eye to eye ...

When an episode of Jurmala happened in our life (Lenya calls it “my most popular video”) - you probably know what I'm talking about - I refused to perform duet songs for a month. It was one of the most serious crises. We did not go on stage together, although we had joint concerts.

- In his interview on this topic, Leonid said that after the incident you spoke out very emotionally, went to your mother ...

Angelica: Let him think that to his mother. (Laughs.) Emotionally, of course, I spoke out, but quite delicately. There were no screams, no insults and women's tantrums. Only fear that this is the end. I didn’t understand what to do: I can’t stay - my pride doesn’t allow me to lose my family either. I took a break to figure out what I want and how I can live with it. But, despite the strong resentment, she quickly came to her senses. I talked to my mom and dad. We are very close to our parents. And all these conversations helped a lot. Mom said: “Calm down, what are you talking about, what just doesn’t happen!” And dad too: “Well, Marusya, what are you making a tragedy out of? The man was drunk and himself was horrified by the publicity of the scandal. Lenya is an intelligent person ... "

And I realized that the story in which pride wins over common sense is not mine. I am independent and independent person. And she always built her life so as not to be afraid of anything. For me, fear equals death.

— Angelica, in difficult times life situations Do you often turn to your parents for help?

Angelica: No, this episode was an exception. I am a fighter by nature. As a rule, I do not need advice, I am used to understanding all my affairs myself. And so far there has not been a situation that would drive me into a dead end and a state of despair.

- I wonder what wish you will make under the chiming clock?

Angelica: From year to year we have a set of the same desires, and they all concern the family. We write on a piece of paper, burn it, drown the ashes in champagne and drink. We ask the intangible: why disturb fortune once again? We ask that the relatives be healthy and happy and remain close to us. We don't want to change anything in our lives.

The interview of musician Leonid Agutin to video blogger Yuri Dudyu made a lot of noise. The artist poured out revelations - he told how, after a hellish booze, he got into a fight in an American strip club, recalled sex games with his wife. “I decided that I needed to experiment in the bathroom, and I almost drowned my wife. That was funny. I barely pumped it out, really. There is something to remember,” for example, the artist admitted. In a word, the interview caused a great resonance. And how does the singer himself evaluate him?

ON THIS TOPIC

“Very popular on the Internet and, what can I say, a talented young journalist,” Leonid shared his impression of the meeting. “Already an iconic figure of the present time. In general, there is nothing honest about me. I confess: I agreed because the program is very popular. Of course, it was not without provocations, slippery topics and political issues, which I hate to discuss. As a result, I received a lot of negativity, although I myself Yura is a polite and well-mannered person. It’s just impossible to be good for everyone.”

"To be completely honest, I really wanted to see how it happens. Once you feel it for yourself, when 3,000,000 people watch a program with your participation in a day and put 70,000 likes. True, there are also 10,000 dislikes. But these people enjoyed it. Because not to love, to get annoyed and consider yourself smarter is also an emotion. The main thing is that I had to sing this so that so many people watched me on YouTube in a day?! I don’t have such outrageous songs, "summed up the artist .