Eurovision 2007 - Number 21 - Serebro - "Song # 1"
This song is called Song #1. It's also the first performance of a band who would go on to become one of Russia's biggest pop exports over the next decade. Serebro were put together by Russian pop empresario Max Fadeev, the producer of the Russian version of Star Factory - Фабрика звёзд.
He was in particular in charge of the second season of the show, the season that produced Polina Gagarina and Yulia Savicheva, Russia's Eurovision representatives in 2015 and 2004 respectively. In 2007 was looking to put together and overtly sexualised girl group in the style of t.A.T.u - only ostensibly straighter. For this project he recruited the third place finisher in his big Star Factory year - Elena Temnikova (aka the one in the middle). She then suggested her friend Olga Seryabkina. Max also cast the lead singer of another girl group (Formula) Marina Lizorkina who was also a pianist, guitarist and xylophonist and Serebro came into being.
As Channel One in Russia had regained the Eurovision rights this year and as Star Factory was their show, it was almost inevitable that Max would use this opportunity to debut his project on the biggest stage possible. What an opportunity. Even though the channel short-listed five acts for internal selection, it can't have been too much of a surprise when Serebro emerged as the chosen ones for 2007.
Their song was written by Max himself with lyrics by one Daniil Babichev. It's an almost aggressively sexual song. On the face of it, the group is taking control of their image, their sexuality and themselves. Wearing schoolgirl-adjacent costumes, (just like t.A.T.u. did in their first music video, as well as Britney Spears), as much as this is a song about Serebro taking control, they're not in control. Max is. It's his band, his song and (if the rumours are right) he was rather more into the band in ways beside their ability to sing. It's a male-gaze sexual fantasy with a female empowerment spin.
On the other hand, it's a really good song. Performed convincingly well and nothing too different from what was in the charts at the time. This was the peak era of Girls Aloud and you can absolutely imagine them singing something like this at the start of their careers. It's possibly the most contemporary song and the most representative of pop and girl groups of the time.
At Eurovision, this didn't have to go through the huge semi-final as Russia had finished in the top ten in 2006. In the final they did very well, finishing in third place with 207 points including three twelve points. Serebro were under way.
Over the next ten years, they released several albums starting out with OpiumRoz - three of the four singles from this went to number one in Russia. In total they had five number one singles and ten top ten hits. Their music managed to chart all over Europe as well as in Mexico and Japan.
The fly in the ointment is that Serebro is a project. Band members came and went during this period. In total they've had fourteen members with the longest serving being, not Elena, but Olga. And that friendship is, let's say, fraught. There are lots and lots of rumours about what was happening behind the scenes including hidden pregnancies, inter-band relationships as well as the ever lurking presence of Max.
Elena has gone on to have solo success in Russia as a singer, while Olga too has a continued solo, albeit with slightly less success. Marina was the first to leave - both the band and the music industry. Instead she took up another creative pathway, and is now an artist, exhibiting oil painting across the world.
