Mikhail Alekseevich (Misha) Smirnov (Russian: Михаи́л Алексе́евич (Ми́ша) Смирно́в; born 30 April 2003), known professionally as Marteen (Russian: Мартин), is a Russian singer and record producer.

Mikhail Smirnov
Михаил Смирнов
Smirnov in 2023
Background information
Birth nameMikhail Alekseevich Smirnov
Born (2003-04-30) 30 April 2003 (age 21)
Moscow, Russia
GenresPop, hip-hop, alternative
Occupation(s)
  • Singer
  • record producer
Instrument(s)Vocals, Ukulele, Electric Guitar
Years active2013–present
LabelsDNK Records, Lotus Music
Websitehttp://mishasmirnov.ru

He represented Russia in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2015 with the song "Mechta" (Russian: Мечта, English: Dream), where he placed sixth. Smirnov was a finalist of the second season of The Voice Kids in Russia, an actor in the musical Ivanhoe, and a multiple grand prize winner of many Russian and international vocal competitions.

Early life and career

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Smirnov announcing points during Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2016

Early beginnings

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Smirnov was born on 30 April 2003 in Moscow into a family of mathematicians. When he was three years old, Smirnov suddenly began to stutter and his parents sent him to singing lessons as a therapy.

Smirnov has a huge number of Grand Prix wins at various Russian and international vocal competitions. He says that his major achievement is reaching the final of the TV show The Voice Kids (Голос. Дети).[1]

Junior Eurovision 2015 and latter part of his career

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In the Russian national final, Smirnov had to battle a series of strong female vocalists, many of whom rode the EDM trend with upbeat, danceable songs. However, he won and represented Russia at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2015, finishing sixth overall with 80 points.[2]

Following his Junior Eurovision appearance, Smirnov hosted Goryachaya Desyatochka (Top 10) on Karusel from around 2015 to its cancellation in 2018.[3]

After Junior Eurovision, Smirnov produced some songs on his own. In September 2017, he wrote the song "I Would Like To Know Everything" for Veronika Ustimova, with which she took second place in the Russian national selection for Junior Eurovision 2017.

On May 19, 2018, his debut album 15, consisting of previously released singles, was released. The album was named for the number of tracks included in it, and also for having taken 15 months to write the songs. In addition to solo songs, several tracks on it were recorded with colleagues on the season 4 of The Voice Kids, such as Arina Danilova, Alisa Kozhikina, and Kirill Skripnik. The original album was supposed to be called "Dreamerboy". "Dreamerboy is me, a boy who dreams of big concerts and a new elegant music," Smirnov explained about the name. However, due to the peculiarities of placement on digital distribution sites, the name was changed.[4]

In 2021, he released his breakthrough EP Party Without Internet that features his most ambient musical style by producing himself.

In late 2022, he took the stage name "Marteen" and began releasing music again after a long hiatus. Smirnov explained the name choice in his Telegram channel, saying that his parents had wanted to name him after Depeche Mode songwriter Martin Gore. "I thought it was fate that they wanted to name me after a man who wrote songs all his life, and I decided that this name would be an ideal continuation of my solo work," he wrote.[5]

On November 26, 2023, Smirnov held his first solo concert under the new stage name at a small club in Moscow, featuring acoustic versions of many of his songs. Tickets were in such high demand that the event organizers held a second concert on the same day.

On April 30, 2024, Smirnov held a second small concert in Moscow, celebrating his 21st birthday and performing in front of a sold-out crowd of fans.

Acting

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Smirnov and Ustimova on The Ballad of the Heart (2015)
 
Smirnov in The Circus of Miracles (2018)

In 2012, Smirnov performed at the Moscow International House of Music in the role of Mowgli in the musical Мы Одной Крови (We Have One Blood).[6]

In December 2015, the new musical Баллада о маленьком сердце (The Ballad of a Heart) premiered with Smirnov in the role of Alyoshka.[7][8][9]

In 2016–17, he played Nikita in The Circus of Miracles at the Ivanhoe Theater presented the New Year show Волшебный подарок Деда Мороза (The Magic Gift of Santa Claus).[10]

On September 30, 2017, he took on Цирке чудес (Circus of Miracles), the premiere of another show, in which he played the main role, the Little Prince. He appeared with Irina Ukhanova and Evgeny Egorov.[11]

Music making and producing career

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Aside from becoming a singer, Smirnov had been an ambient music producer during his free time and worked on a full-time professional scale since 2022.[citation needed] He also designed upbeat and lo-fi arrangements of tracks for other artists, bloggers and TikTokers such as HARU, NKI, Nikita Zlatoust, Mimimizhka, Sonya SLEEPY, Tyoma Waterfork, KIRILL FELIX, Liza Didkovskaya, Dasha Volosevich, Vika Korobkova, Sasha Filin, Eva Barats and Ivena Rabotova. He also makes musical scoring for film, television and short videos.

Discography

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Albums/EPs

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  • 15 / DREAMERBØY (2018)
  • Silence (2018)
  • Height (2019)
  • Rhythm of Guitar (2019)
  • Party Without Internet (2021)

Singles

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Year Original Title English Title Release Date Album
2015 «Мечта» (Mechta) "Dream" 13 September 2015 Non-album single
2016 «Наш дом» (Nash dom) (feat. Vyacheslav Mertsalov) "Our Home" 29 April 2016
2017 «Парашют» (Parashyut) "Parachute" 12 March 2017 15/DREAMERBØY
«Виражи» (Virazhi) "Bends" 23 April 2017
«Ночной изгой» (Nochnoy izgoy) "Night Outcast" 13 May 2017
«Не хватает» (Ne khvatayet) (feat. Arina Danilova) "Not Enough" 29 May 2017
«Описать тебя» (Opisat tebya) "Describing You" 24 June 2017
«Прости» (Prosti) "I'm Sorry" 15 July 2017
«Вечность» (Vechnost) "Eternity" 5 August 2017
«03» "03" 28 October 2017
«Убегай» (Ubegay) "Run Away" 25 November 2017
«Были счастливы» (Byli schastlivy) "We Were Happy" 30 December 2017
2018 «Твоё имя» (Tvoyo imya) "Your Name" 3 February 2018
«Одному не пройти» (Odnomu ne proyti) (feat. Kirill Skripnik) "One Cannot Pass Through" 23 February 2018
«Луна» (Luna) "Moon" 8 March 2018
«Ты далеко» (Ty daleko) (feat. Alisa Kozhikina) "You Are Far" 29 April 2018
«Новые раны» (Novye rany) "New Wounds" 23 September 2018 Silence
«Не до меня» (Ne do menya) "Not To Me" 30 December 2018 Height
2019 «Что скажут другие» (Chto skazhut drugiye) "What Others Will Say" 29 March 2019 Height/Rhythm of Guitar
«Под твоим окном» (Pod tvoim oknom) "Under Your Window" 24 October 2019
2020 «Холод» (Kholod) "Cold" 14 February 2020 Non-album single
«Розы» (Rozy) (feat. Katya Adushkina) "Roses" 13 March 2020
«Твоих друзей» (Tvoikh druzyei) "Your Friends" 29 May 2020
«Память» (Pamyat) "Memory" 26 June 2020
«Оставила» (Ostavila) "Left" 10 July 2020
«Плакала» (Plakala) "Crying" 20 October 2020
2022 «плачь» (plach) "Cry" 2 December 2022
«снегопадом» (snegopadom) "Snowfall" 23 December 2022
2023 «аморе» (amore) "Amore" 31 March 2023
«тает» (tayet) (feat. ALLA) "Melts" 27 June 2023
«целый мир» (tselyy mir) "Whole World" 21 July 2023
«позову звёзды смотреть на тебя» (pozovu zvyozdy smotret na tebya) "I Call The Stars To Look At You" 15 August 2023
«одинокие квартиры» (odinokiye kvartiry) (feat. Nelly Mes) "Lonely Apartments" 22 September 2023
«зеркала» (zerkala) "Mirrors" 17 October 2023
«город» (gorod) "City" 14 November 2023
«зачеркни меня на память» (zacherkni menya na pamyat) "Cross Me Out In Memory" 12 December 2023
2024 «выдыхаю в потолок свои мысли» (vydykhayu v potolok svoi mysli) "Exhaling My Thoughts Into The Ceiling" 6 February 2024
«холодом по спине» (kholodom po spinye) (feat. LOVV66) "Coldness Down The Back" 16 February 2024
«ведь никто не ждёт домой» (ved nikto ne zhdyot domoy) "After All, No One Is Waiting At Home" 12 March 2024
«тебя вспоминать» (tebya vspominat) "Remember You" 23 April 2024
«моя любовь» (moya lyubov) "My Love" 31 May 2024
«салют» (salyut) "Fireworks" 5 July 2024

Personal life

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Smirnov writes poetry, plays football and composes music during his free time.[12][13]

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Result Ref(s)
2020 Kids Choice Awards Favorite Music Blogger (Russia) Won [14]

References

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  1. ^ "Россию на "Детском Евровидении 2015" представит Михаил Смирнов" (in Russian). vesti.ru. September 26, 2015. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
  2. ^ William Lee Adams (September 26, 2015). "Russia: Mikhail Smirnov "Mechta" To Junior Eurovision 2015". wiwibloggs.com. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
  3. ^ "Горячая десяточка - Телеканал Карусель" (in Russian). karusel.ru. June 1, 2016. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
  4. ^ "15-летний кумир подростков Михаил Смирнов выпустил альбом авторских песен". dni24.ru. 2018-05-25. Retrieved 2018-05-26.
  5. ^ "семечки от мартина in семечки от мартина Chat". Telegram. Retrieved 2024-07-22.
  6. ^ ""Мы одной крови!" рок-мюзикл" (in Russian). Russia Peace Foundation. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
  7. ^ "Восходящие звезды, интервью журналу "Москва в теме"" (PDF) (in Russian). Archived from the original (PDF) on May 25, 2015. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
  8. ^ ""Баллада о маленьком сердце". Симфония любви и надежды, звучащая в каждом из нас" (in Russian). mk.ru. 18 December 2015. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
  9. ^ "Баллада о маленьком сердце" (in Russian). Mk.ru. December 12, 2015. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  10. ^ "В Цирке Чудес с огромным успехом прошла премьера шоу "Волшебный подарок Деда Мороза"" (in Russian). Аргументы Недели. 2016-12-15. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  11. ^ Кузьмина, Ольга (2017-09-25). ""Маленький принц". Чудесная сказка под куполом цирка". Вечерняя Москва (in Russian). Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  12. ^ Миша Смирнов: «Лучший отдых для меня – написание хип-хоп-битов»
  13. ^ Рецензия: Миша Смирнов - «Разбитая гитара»
  14. ^ "Имена любимых блогеров: Nickelodeon Россия объявил победителей премии Kids' Choice Awards 2020" (in Russian). May 18, 2020. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
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Awards and achievements
Preceded by Russia in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest
2015
Succeeded by
Water of Life Project
with "Water of Life"