VAHA
Real name – Vakhtang Vakhtangishvili
Date of birth – June 29, 1988
Place of birth – Georgia
Language – Ukrainian, Georgian
Genre – pop
Becoming an artist
VAHA is the stage name of a Ukrainian singer, composer and poet of Georgian origin. Vakhtang Vakhtangishvili was born in Georgia to a family of a pharmacist and a mechanic. When the boy was six years old, due to Russian aggression, he and his parents were forced to leave their native places and move to Ukraine. The artist remembered the dramatic episodes of evacuation through active combat zones. They saw tanks on the way, went through aggressive searches. Vakhtang and his family managed to leave on time. Although the situation resembled the events that later occurred in Mariupol.
In Kyiv, the future star of the music industry graduated from specialized school No. 71. Later, he received higher education at the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, majoring in "Enterprise Economics". Since childhood, he has been professionally involved in football, becoming a graduate of the Valery Lobanovskyi Football Academy "Dynamo Kyiv". As part of the children's and youth teams, he repeatedly became a prize-winner and champion of Ukraine. He also has a world-class bronze award, won as part of the Ukrainian national team among representatives of show business and sports.
Despite the lack of musical education, Vakhtang began to think about engaging in creativity. This happened at the age of 22. An important role in the development of the artist was played by his grandparents. Both sang well. The musician's natural talent and charisma appeared after meeting famous representatives of Ukrainian musical culture. These were Vitaly Kurovsky and Ruslan Kvinta.
Creative path
In an effort to expand his popularity and gain recognition from a wide audience, the artist repeatedly tried to get on the stage of popular talent shows. He passed several castings for "The Voice of the Country" and tried himself on "The X Factor" three times. Despite the rejections at the auditions, he did not lose faith in himself and continued to persistently move towards the goal. Meanwhile, more and more fans paid attention to the bright timbre of the singer with a sophisticated style.
Realizing the need for musical development, VAHA independently began to master the guitar and keyboard instruments. He also took up vocal lessons. The artist's mentor was Irma Gviniashvili. The famous teacher of the Kiev Municipal Academy of Music named after Glier also worked with such stars as Dorofeeva, MamaRika, Alekseev, Maksym Borodin and others.
In 2016, VAHA founded the cover band Black Sugar Band. The group quickly gained recognition and won the hearts of thousands of fans. And in 2018, the group became one of the most successful cover bands in Ukraine. As part of the band, Vakhtang gave dozens of bright live shows. Later, Vaha made a difficult but conscious decision. The singer stopped working with the team, which was a source of stable income, and began a solo career.
Artist's style and development
After more than five years of trying, in 2020, VAHA finally overcame fierce competition and passed the selection for "The Voice of the Country-10". The singer ended up in the team of stars Potap and NK. Interestingly, the judges' chairs of MONATIK and Dan Balan also turned to the contestant. And later Vakhtang noted: his own choice seemed unnatural to him over time. After all, Dmitry Monatik and Dan Balan were closer to him in terms of music style and creative direction. Therefore, cooperation with the mentors could have been more harmonious.
During the VAHA project, he worked on his discographic debut. The album, which was later released, included seven songs. However, the main hit of the album was the composition “Same Ty”. It was this track that gave the name to the release. The song entered the charts of streaming platforms and radio stations, as well as the top 10 songs of the year according to Hit-FM and other Ukrainian radio stations. In 2021, a video clip for the title track of the album was presented. The main role in the work was played by Alina Lyashchuk, a finalist of the “Miss Ukraine” and “The Bachelor” contests. The clip was viewed by more than 8 million users.
In February 2022, Vaha wrote the song “Return the Living.” The composition was born under the influence of the turbulent emotions that the singer experienced at the beginning of the full-scale invasion. On February 25, the artist took his parents abroad and returned home to actively help his country. Vakhtang said that he had repeatedly had the opportunity to go to the USA or Europe. But the artist’s moral principles do not allow him to leave Ukraine in difficult times.
Social activity
Vaha says that he has never used charity for self-PR and does not intend to do so. However, during the war, at almost every concert and during tours, the singer and his creative group collect funds, which are transferred to various needs. The artist noted that in cooperation with the team they continue to hold auctions, organize fundraisers and purchase necessary equipment for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Moral support from civilian Ukrainians is also important. For fans of the performer's work, each meeting with their idol becomes a source of positivity and bright emotions.
Famous compositions of the artist:
- "Don't stop the music";
- "Stork";
- "My country";
- "Queen";
- "It's a blast with her" and others.
Continuing to create romantic and soulful songs, VAHA also experiments with creativity. So, in the spring of 2025, a video clip for the song "Borshch" was released on the singer's YouTube channel. In his new work, the artist tried himself in a new genre - light, cheerful, dance.
Interesting facts about the artist:
- What people value most in people are honesty and modesty;
- does not like excessive pathos and ignorance;
- The singer gained real fame with the hit "Same Ty", the video clip of which has already been viewed by over 9 million people;
- The artist's first priority is family and everything related to it.
