Marteen (Russian singer)

{{Short description|Russian singer (born 2003)}}

{{BLP sources|date=April 2022}}

{{Infobox musical artist

| name = Mikhail Smirnov

| image = Концерт мартина в Secret Gallery A54 (231126) (5).jpg

| image_size =

| landscape =

| alt =

| caption = Smirnov in 2023

| birth_name = Mikhail Alekseevich Smirnov

| native_name = Михаил Смирнов

| native_name_lang = rus

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|2003|04|30|df=yes}}

| birth_place = Moscow, Russia

| genre = Pop, hip-hop, alternative

| occupation = {{hlist|Singer|record producer}}

| instrument = Vocals, Ukulele, Electric Guitar

| years_active = 2013–present

| label = Zion Music, Lotus Music

| website = http://mishasmirnov.ru

}}

Mikhail Alekseevich (Misha) Smirnov ({{langx|ru|Михаи́л Алексе́евич (Ми́ша) Смирно́в}}; born 30 April 2003), known professionally as Marteen ({{langx|ru|Мартин|links=no}}) and previously as Misha Smirnov, is a Russian singer and record producer.

He represented Russia in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2015 with the song "Mechta" ({{langx|ru|Мечта}}, {{langx|en|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

= Early beginnings =

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).{{cite news|title=Россию на "Детском Евровидении 2015" представит Михаил Смирнов|url=http://www.vesti.ru/doc.html?id=2668467|publisher=vesti.ru|date=September 26, 2015|language=ru|access-date=September 26, 2015}}

= Junior Eurovision 2015 and latter part of his career =

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.{{cite web|url=http://wiwibloggs.com/2015/09/25/mechta-mikhail-smirnov-english-lyrics/103244/|title=Russia: Mikhail Smirnov "Mechta" To Junior Eurovision 2015|author=William Lee Adams|publisher=wiwibloggs.com|date=September 26, 2015|access-date=September 26, 2015}}

Following his Junior Eurovision appearance, Smirnov hosted Goryachaya Desyatochka (Top 10) on Karusel from around 2015 to its cancellation in 2018.{{cite web|url=http://www.karusel-tv.ru/announce/13879|title=Горячая десяточка - Телеканал Карусель|publisher=karusel.ru|date=June 1, 2016|language=ru|access-date=December 29, 2017}}

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.{{cite news|title=15-летний кумир подростков Михаил Смирнов выпустил альбом авторских песен|url=https://dni24.ru/15-letnij-kumir-podrostkov-misha-smirnov-vypustil-albom-avtorskix-pesen/|access-date=2018-05-26|work=dni24.ru|date=2018-05-25}}

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.{{Cite web |title=семечки от мартина in семечки от мартина Chat |url=https://t.me/semechkimartinachat/190391 |access-date=2024-07-22 |website=Telegram}}

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 =

File:Миша Смирнов и Вероника Устимова (Баллада о маленьком сердце).jpg

File:Лис и Маленький принц в шоу Маленький принц.jpg

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).{{cite web|url=http://www.peacefond.ru/news/?id=613|title="Мы одной крови!" рок-мюзикл|publisher=Russia Peace Foundation|language=ru|access-date=December 29, 2017}}

In December 2015, the new musical Баллада о маленьком сердце (The Ballad of a Heart) premiered with Smirnov in the role of Alyoshka.{{cite web|url=http://www.m-vt.ru/mvt_3.pdf|title=Восходящие звезды, интервью журналу "Москва в теме"|language=ru|access-date=December 29, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150525013519/http://www.m-vt.ru/mvt_3.pdf|archive-date=May 25, 2015|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=http://www.mk.ru/culture/2015/12/18/ballada-o-malenkom-serdce.html|title="Баллада о маленьком сердце". Симфония любви и надежды, звучащая в каждом из нас|date=18 December 2015 |publisher=mk.ru|language=ru|access-date=December 29, 2017}}{{cite web|url=https://www.mk.ru/culture/2015/12/18/ballada-o-malenkom-serdce.html|title=Баллада о маленьком сердце|language=Russian|date=December 12, 2015|publisher=Mk.ru|access-date=May 17, 2020}}

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).{{cite news|title=В Цирке Чудес с огромным успехом прошла премьера шоу "Волшебный подарок Деда Мороза"|url=http://argumenti.ru/gorodm/n569/515943|language=Russian|publisher=Аргументы Недели|date=2016-12-15|access-date=May 17, 2020}}

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.{{cite news|last=Кузьмина|first=Ольга|title="Маленький принц". Чудесная сказка под куполом цирка|url=http://vm.ru/news/418923.html|language=Russian|work=Вечерняя Москва|date=2017-09-25|access-date=May 17, 2020}}

= Music making and producing career =

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|date=September 2022}} 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

= Albums/EPs =

  • 15 / DREAMERBØY (2018)
  • Silence (2018)
  • Height (2019)
  • Rhythm of Guitar (2019)
  • Party Without Internet (2021)
  • One More Day (2024)

= Singles =

class="wikitable"

!Year

!Original Title

!English Title

!Release Date

!Album

2015

Мечта» (Mechta)

|"Dream"

|13 September 2015

| rowspan="2" |Non-album single

2016

Наш дом» (Nash dom) (feat. Vyacheslav Mertsalov)

|"Our Home"

|29 April 2016

rowspan="10" |2017

Парашют» (Parashyut)

|"Parachute"

|12 March 2017

| rowspan="14" |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

rowspan="6" |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

rowspan="2" |2019

Что скажут другие» (Chto skazhut drugiye)

|"What Others Will Say"

|29 March 2019

| rowspan="2" |Height/Rhythm of Guitar

«Под твоим окном» (Pod tvoim oknom)

|"Under Your Window"

|24 October 2019

rowspan="6" |2020

Холод» (Kholod)

|"Cold"

|14 February 2020

|Non-album single

«Розы» (Rozy) (feat. Katya Adushkina)

|"Roses"

|13 March 2020

| rowspan="13" |Non-album single

«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

rowspan="2" |2022

плачь» (plach)

|"Cry"

|2 December 2022

«снегопадом» (snegopadom)

|"Snowfall"

|23 December 2022

rowspan="9" |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

«наверное невозможно» (navernoye nevozmozhno) (feat. mina)

|"Probably Impossible"

|20 October 2023

|Popolam (Пополам)– mina EP

«город» (gorod)

|"City"

|14 November 2023

| rowspan="10" |Non-album single

«зачеркни меня на память» (zacherkni menya na pamyat)

|"Cross Me Out In Memory"

|12 December 2023

rowspan="8" |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

«словно в париже» (slovno v parizhe)

|"Like in Paris"

|13 August 2024

«в который раз» (v kotoryy raz)

|"Once More"

|27 September 2024

Personal life

Smirnov writes poetry, plays football and composes music during his free time.[http://pressorg24.com/society/4907-misha-smirnov-luchshii-otdykh-dlya-menya-napisanie-khip-khop-bitov Миша Смирнов: «Лучший отдых для меня – написание хип-хоп-битов»] (in Russian)[https://www.intermedia.ru/news/341666 Рецензия: Миша Смирнов - «Разбитая гитара»] (in Russian)

In 2019, he dated fellow The Voice Kids (Голос дети) contestant Arina Danilova, with whom he released the single "Not Enough" in 2017.{{Cite web |title=Миша Смирнов и Арина Данилова расстались, в каких они отношениях? |url=https://www.bolshoyvopros.ru/questions/3338791-misha-smirnov-i-arina-danilova-rasstalis-v-kakih-oni-otnoshenijah.html |access-date=2024-07-29 |website=www.bolshoyvopros.ru}}

In early 2024, he began dating Russian TikToker Karine Azatova.

Awards and nominations

class="wikitable"
Year

! Award

! Category

! Result

!{{abbr|Ref(s)|Reference(s)}}

2020

| Kids Choice Awards

| Favorite Music Blogger (Russia)

| {{won}}

|{{cite web|url=https://tricolortvmag.ru/article/canals/2020-05-18-nickelodeon-rossiya-obyavil-pobediteley-premii-kids-choice-awards-2020/|title=Имена любимых блогеров: Nickelodeon Россия объявил победителей премии Kids' Choice Awards 2020|language=Russian|date=May 18, 2020|access-date=May 19, 2020}}

References

{{reflist}}