Jerry Heil | |||||||
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Дже́ррі Гейл | |||||||
 Heil in 2022 | |||||||
| Born | Yana Oleksandrivna Shemaieva (1995-10-21)21 October 1995 (age 29) Vasylkiv,Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine | ||||||
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| Years active | 2017–present | ||||||
| Musical career | |||||||
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| Website | jerryheil.com | ||||||
Musical artist | |||||||
YouTube information | |||||||
| Channel | |||||||
| Years active | 2012–present | ||||||
| Subscribers | 427 hundred thousand[1] | ||||||
| Total views | 204.9 million[1] | ||||||
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Last updated: 28 April 2023 | |||||||
Yana Oleksandrivna Shemaieva (Ukrainian:Я́на Олекса́ндрівна Шема́єва; born 21 October 1995), known professionally asJerry Heil (Ukrainian:Дже́ррі Гейл[ˈdʒɛr⁽ʲ⁾ːiˈɦɛjl]), is a Ukrainian singer, songwriter andYouTuber. She began her career after launching her YouTube channel in 2012, publishingvlogs andmusical covers.
Heil began her professional music career in 2017, releasing her debutextended playDe mii dim (transl. Where's my home) with Vidlik Records. She later released the single "Okhrana otmiena" in 2019, which became a top five hit in Ukraine. Her debut studio albumYa yana (transl. I'm Yana) was later released in October 2019. Since starting her YouTube channel, Heil has accumulated more than 34.9 million views and 395 thousand subscribers. Sherepresented Ukraine in theEurovision Song Contest 2024 alongsideAlyona Alyona with the song "Teresa & Maria".
Yana Shemaieva was born inVasylkiv, a city just outside of the Ukrainian capitalKyiv.[2] Her rich parents both work as private traders. Heil attended music schools in Kyiv, attending theR. Glier Kyiv Institute of Music andKyiv Conservatory.[3][4]
Heil began using her alias at the age of 15. After registering for the Russian social media serviceVKontakte, she used the name Jerry Mouse, referencing thecartoon character of the same name. She then changed Mouse to Heil, claiming she went to a site with American surnames and chose the one she liked the most. She has described the backstory behind her stage name as "moronic".[5]
In 2012, Heil launched herYouTube channel, where she postedvlogs andcovers of songs made popular by Ukrainian and international musicians, such asTwenty One Pilots,Okean Elzy,The Hardkiss, andKodaline. Okean Elzy frontmanSviatoslav Vakarchuk frequently republished Heil's covers of songs by the band and cited his approval of her versions.[6][3][5][7][8]
In 2017, Heil signed a recording contract with Ukrainian record label Vidlik Records, known for its association with Ukrainian musical groupOnuka. She was introduced to the label and its founders Yevhen Filatov and Nata Zhyzhchenko – the leader singer of Onuka – after Heil began looking for producers to assist with her song "De mii dim" (transl. Where's my home). Heil then began working closely with the label, and recorded her debutextended playDe mii dim with them, which was later released in October 2017.[9][10]
In 2018, Heil auditioned for season nine ofX-Factor Ukraine. She advanced from the initial audition in front of the judges to the bootcamp phase of the competition, where she was eliminated.[11][12] After her elimination, Heil returned to music and released the singles "Kava" and "Postil"; the latter of the two releases featured her debutmusic video.[13]
In March 2019, Heil published a portion of her upcoming single "Okhrana, otmiena" onInstagram, which she had recorded with Ukrainian producer Morphom.[14] The track quickly gained momentum, when Ukrainian singers such asNK andVera Brezhneva complimented and further distributed the song's snippet.[15] Heil later released a full version of the song throughYouTube the following month, where its music video has received more than 14.8 million views; "Okhrana, otmiena" additionally became a top five hit in Ukraine.[16][17] Following the success of the song, Heil began pursuing songwriting, where she wrote songs for musicians including Brezhneva and the Kyiv-based band Cloudless, with Russian songwriter and producerKonstantin Meladze.[18][19]
In September 2019, Heil released her debut studio albumYa, Yana onto YouTube. The album included eight songs, and was commercially released the following month.[20][21] In January 2020, Heil was announced to be competing inVidbir 2020, the Ukrainian national selection for theEurovision Song Contest 2020 inRotterdam.[22] Her song "Vegan" qualified to the final, where it finished in sixth place.
Heil participated again inVidbir in December 2022 with her song "When God Shut the Door", competing to represent Ukraine in theEurovision Song Contest 2023. She finished in third place.
She andAlyona Alyona were selected among the finalists ofVidbir 2024 with the song "Teresa & Maria".[23] They went on to win the final on 4 February 2024, earning the right to represent Ukraine in theEurovision Song Contest 2024.[24] They qualified from the first semi-final on 7 May and placed 3rd in the Grand Final on 11 May with 453 points.
She isChristian andvegan.[25][26]
Heil is fluent inUkrainian andEnglish. Most of her songs are recorded in Ukrainian.[27]
In August 2018, publishing company Komp Music Publishing– the licensee ofUniversal Music Group in Ukraine – threatened a lawsuit against Heil for her unauthorized usage of the song "Believer" byImagine Dragons in one of her videos. The company then insisted that all Universal Music Group songs included on Heil's channel must be removed and demanded a fine of several thousandUkrainian hryvnias for violating copyright laws. The company launched two lawsuits against Heil, which resulted Heil's channel being removed from YouTube.[28]
AIR Music, a partner of Heil, took up the case. In a meeting between representatives from both companies, they negotiated a deal where Heil's fines were substantially lowered, and an agreement was reached regarding how many copyright infringements Heil had committed. Komp Music Publishing subsequently withdrew their lawsuits, and Heil's channel was restored.[29][28]
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Ya yana |
|
| Mandaryny i oleni |
|
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| De mii dim |
|
| Osobyste |
|
| Dai Boh (withAlyona Alyona) | |
| Maria |
|
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album or EP | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UKR [36] | FIN [37] | IRE [38] | LTU [39] | NLD [40] | SWE [41] | UK [42] | WW Excl. US [43] | |||
| "Okhrana otmiena" | 2019 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Ya yana |
| "Vilna kasa" | 69 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Vichnist'" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | |
| "Vegan" | 2020 | 186 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "Nebeibi" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Provinciia" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Bloher" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Bomba raketa pushka hranata" | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Aryfmetyka kokhannia" | 2021 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "Lullaby(Kolyskova)" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Osobyste | |
| "Plaksa" (withAnna Trincher [ru]) | 103 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | |
| "Tuk Tuk Tuk" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "ZDN" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Eksa v hivevei" (with Anna Trincher) | 54 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Oleni" (withTik) | 167 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Mandaryny i oleni | |
| "Poshta" | 2022 | 178 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles |
| "Moskal nekrasivyi" (featuringVerka Serduchka) | 15 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Razom do peremohy" (withOlya Polyakova andDorofeeva, featuring various artists) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "V pustii kimnati" (withYaktak) | 63 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Mriia" | 84 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Kokhaitesia chornobryvi" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Dushevna pa-damashniemu" (with Emdivity andLesia Nikitiuk) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Viter viie" (with Alyona Alyona andGedz [pl]) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Dai Boh | |
| "Dai Boh" (with Alyona Alyona andMonika Liu) | 190 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Zozulia" (with Alyona Alyona and Ginger Mane) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Nesestry" (with Mama) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | |
| "Tato" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Kozatskomu rodu" | 88 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Posmakuj" (with Alyona Alyona andTrill Pem [pl]) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "When God Shut the Door" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Ekzamen" (with Alyona Alyona) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Bronia" (withOchman) | 2023 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Testament |
| "Na nebi ni zori" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | |
| "Stiny" (withKalush) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Blahoslovenna zemlja" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Try polosy" | 54 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Shchedra nich" (with Alyona Alyona andKola) | 91 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Malanka" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Teresa & Maria" (with Alyona Alyona) | 2024 | 1 | 14 | 55 | 2 | 68 | 30 | 100 | 130 | Maria |
| "Podolyanochka (Get Up)" (with Alyona Alyona) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | |
| "Huby u hubakh" (withVolodymyr Dantes) | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "#AllEyesOnKids" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Wabi-sabi" (withJulia Sanina) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Snih" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Rozchynyayus'" (featuringEvgeny Khmara) | 2025 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "Vymolyv" (withMonatik featuring Evgeny Khmara) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | ||||||||||
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album or EP |
|---|---|---|---|
| UKR [36] | |||
| "Khvyli" (Kalush featuring Jerry Heil) | 2021 | 80 | Non-album singles |
| "Ridni moi" (Alyona Alyona featuring Jerry Heil) | 2022 | 7 | |
| "Chomu?" (Alyona Alyona featuring Jerry Heil) | 54 | ||
| "Kupala" (Alyona Alyona featuring Jerry Heil and ela.) | 14 | Dai Boh | |
| "Toy denʹ (OE30 Edition)" (Okean Elzy featuringYaktak,Kola,Shumei [uk], and Jerry Heil) | 2024 | 9 | Non-album single |
| Video | Year |
|---|---|
| "Ridni moi" | 2022 |
| "Mriia" | |
| "Chomu?" | |
| "Kupala" | |
| "Kokhaitesia chornobryvi" | |
| "Dai Boh" | |
| "Nesestry" | |
| "Tato" | |
| "Kozatskomu rodu" | |
| "Bronia" | 2023 |
| "Blahoslovenna zemlja" | |
| "Na nebi ni zori" | |
| "Blahoslovenna zemlja" | |
| "Bracia" | |
| "Try polosy" | |
| "Shchedra nich" | |
| "Malanka" | |
| "Teresa & Maria" | 2024 |
| "Podolyanochka (Get Up)" | |
| "Virgin Maria" | |
| "Ave Maria" | |
| "Huby u hubakh" | |
| "#AllEyesOnKids" |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | ChalkZone[citation needed] | Rudy Tabootie | Ukrainiandub |
| 2019 | The Addams Family | Bethany[44] | Ukrainiandub |
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Jager Music Awards | Single of the Year | "Okhrana, otmiena" | Won | [45] |
| Choice Viva! | Оpening Viva! | Won | [46] | ||
| 2020 | YUNA | Best Song | "Okhrana, otmiena" | Won | [47] |
| Best Female Performer | Nominated | ||||
| Discovery of the Year | Nominated | ||||
| 2021 | YUNA | Best Performer | Nominated | [48] | |
| 2023 | MME Awards | Public Choice award | Won | [49][50] | |
| 2024 | Eurovision Awards | Best Artistic Vision | Herself (withAlyona Alyona) | Won | [51] |
In 2020, she made it to the finals of Ukraine's selection to the Eurovision Song Contest with "Vegan," an English-language song about her life as one.
Варто зазначити, що сама зірка сироїд – це веган, який не вживає термічно обробленої їжі.
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Ukraine in the Eurovision Song Contest (withAlyona Alyona) 2024 | Succeeded by |
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