In the spring of 2021, a famous musician in Ukraine asked me: “What do you think of Jerry Heil?” He was thinking of doing a duet with her.
I replied: “She is a very talented girl. She is much more interesting and complex than many people think.” A famous Ukrainian producer was sitting next to us. He heard my words and made a sarcastic remark, with open contempt. I shrugged. The musician was left thinking.
I remembered this episode when I went to the Kyiv Palace of Sports for the premiere of Jerry Heilʼs show "Dzherelo". I had no doubt that I would see something special. Moreover, I had no idea what exactly. Because Yana Shemayeva — aka Jerry Heil — has taught me over the past ten years of her work that she is unpredictable.
Miracles happen. In a country where there is a war, the economy is limping, and the industry is in a state of survival every day, the young artist and her team were able to build a systemic success story. Without the strong protection of a production center, large investments, trading personal lives in the media and with minimal hype. First of all, thanks to strategic vision, perseverance, talent and a real, not invented love for music.
At 30, Jerry Heil stands on the stage of the capitalʼs Palace of Sports in front of a full audience, who sing her songs in chorus. I am sure that she has risen to this height for more than one year.
“I always wanted to create in a long timeline," she tells the audience. I have no reason not to believe her.
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With experience in music school behind her, Yana Shemayeva created a YouTube vlog in 2012, where she covered hits — “Okean Elzy” (OE), “Boombox”, “The HARDKISS”. She did it so brilliantly that Svyatoslav Vakarchuk advised listening to Yana’s cover on OE on Twitter. It was 2016.
At the same time, Jerry Heil began to create her own songs. She wrote for labels and producers. Fortunately, in 2017, Nata Zhyzhchenko (ONUKA) and Yevhen Filatov (The Maneken) were attentive enough to notice her talent and release her debut mini-album “Where is my home” on her own label “Vidlik Records”. Her sincere and deep indie pop was noticed by the specialized media, but it did not become a springboard to popular love. As was her participation in the TV show “X-Factor” in 2018, from where she quickly flew out.
The song “#ОХРАНА_ОТМЕНА” turned out to be a springboard in the spring of 2019. The song went viral and allegedly forced cashiers in supermarkets to simply shout only “Security”, not “Security to the front!”, so that buyers would not respond with “He called me Lena at night”.
On the wave of success, Jerry Heil released an entire album of similar meme songs. She came to her first national selection for Eurovision and failed miserably. An artist took to the stage, not really understanding what to do with herself and the audience.
Over the past six years, Jerry Heil has covered a distance that many people donʼt have time to cover in a lifetime.
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The directors of "Dzherelo" were Alan Badoyev and Ruslan Makhov. Their idea was evident from the very beginning, when the light ring descended onto the stage. This structure became based for all the numbers.
It was a pedestal, a screen for VJing, doors for guest artists to enter the stage, and a hanging chandelier.
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The transformations of the ring worked on the main idea — to show the diversity of music that Jerry Heil offers. In 2026, her repertoire is a wide palette, where classic pop ballads, dance action songs, R&B, and hip-hop intersect.
The presentation feels such a weight of academic music that in places "Dzerelo" looked like a crossover artistʼs show (an orchestra of 20+ musicians was on stage constantly). It is not surprising that Yana loves the composer Francis Poulenc, who knew how to combine simplicity, playfulness, and sacredness.
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The breadth of thinking allows Jerry Heil to be herself in collaboration with very different performers. MONATIK, alyona alyona, YARMAK, DANTES, Misha Pravylny, Eugene Khmara took to the stage with her. There were also two foreign guests, but weʼll talk more about them later.
The structure of people and instruments looked like a balanced pop machine, combining the grandeur of scale and the spirit of music. Jerry Heil shamelessly uses templates and twists them to her advantage.
She allows herself to say to ten thousand spectators twice an evening: “Letʼs make absolute silence.”
She gives out a block of lyrical songs for twenty minutes. Moreover, an air blower blows in her face and dancers carry her in their arms, like a pop diva of the last century.
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Jerry Heil can use anything, because music is her territory of freedom. It is noticeable that she has no stereotypes — how to sing or how to look on stage. She is not afraid to be anything, because she is free.
"Not being afraid is sexy," are the words from her latest song today.
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How did it happen that a girl with witty hype songs about everyday scenes grew into one of the key figures of Ukrainian musical pop culture? I hope Yana will write a book about it someday. But some things lie on the surface.
She knows how to and loves to learn. She took the best from all the professionals that Jerry Heil met on her way. From ONUKA and The Maneken she took the ability not to betray herself. From the “Secret Service Entertainment Agency” company (collaboration during the “#ОХРАНА_ОТМЕНА” period) and its founder Mykhailo Yasinsky she took the ability to make music a business. From the sound producer Morphom she took a keen attention to sound. From the teachers of the Berklee College of Music in Boston, where she studied film music, she took the scale of musical thinking. I am sure that this list is very long.
She uses her media weight wisely and in an adult way. Several Ukrainian performers failed the exam for the ability to play the long game after one hit or after performing in the “Eurovision” final. Jerry Heil, after third place in the 2024 contest, seemed to have grown wings.
Over the past year and a half, she has been creating diverse songs that only add to her authority and increase her audience. There are almost no tracks left on YouTube that have less than one million views. The standard indicator for her new songs is from five to 45 million.
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She skillfully mixes an entertaining vibe, problematic topics and civic activism. She sings for the military, with the military (“LOUD”), even a propagandistic track can be presented as a personal confession (“#MRIYA”).
This ability to be both light and serious was manifested yesterday at the Palace of Sports in how masterfully she, together with stand-up comedian Vasyl Baydak, sold lots worth almost UAH 700 000 in 20 minutes, during an auction for the Third Army Corps.
And, perhaps, the most important thing. She, a former resident of Vasylkiv, thinks on a scale larger than the borders of Ukraine. And is gradually moving towards international success. She uses and multiplies the bonuses that “Eurovision” gave her.
Over the past four years, she has released joint tracks with artists from Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Germany, the Netherlands and Romania. The last two songs are collaborations with the famous symphonic metal band “Within Temptation” and the Romanian top star Irina Rimes.
The latter, by the way, came to Kyiv to sing on the show "Dzherelo". How many European stars will come to Ukraine just to appear for five minutes on a solo show of a Ukrainian artist?
And that wasnʼt even the main surprise of yesterdayʼs concert. She performed with Nemo, the Swiss winners of Eurovision 2024.
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Jerry Heil is already a member of the American Grammy Academy in the USA. All this outlines a logical route. Unnoticed by many, this girl has become the main contender from Ukraine to build a successful international career.
At least in Europe. With a tour of 12-15 European capitals. With concerts not in clubs for fellow citizens-immigrants, but in the best halls, where during the performances the Ukrainian language will be almost not heard.
The famous musician I mentioned at the beginning did collaborate with Yana, only three years after that conversation.
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