Max Barskih

Mykola Mykolaiovych Bortnyk (, born 8 March 1990), better known by his stage name Max Barskih and alter-ego Mickolai, is a Ukrainian singer and songwriter.

He has released seven studio albums, one compilation album and two extended plays.

Early life Max Barskih was born on 8 March 1990 in Kherson, Ukraine. He was raised in his birthplace, and moved to Kyiv after graduation. He is the youngest of three children and has an older brother and a sister. During his childhood, his parents were often away on business trips. According to Barskih, his family was rather poor as a result of to his father's actions; he preferred socializing with friends to raising his children. Barskih has stated that he has negative childhood memories connected to his father's alcoholism and physical violence. His mother and older brother often fought with his father when he would attempt to carry out "discipline" after a night of drinking.

When Barskih was 11, his father left the family, and his mother continued to raise him and his siblings alone. Barskih did not see or communicate with his father again until he was 27, when the two unsuccessfully attempted to reconnect.

Career

Max Barskih rose to fame in Ukraine and post-Soviet countries in 2008 as a participant of the Ukrainian talent show "Fabryka Zirok 2" (Star Factory 2).

In 2010, Max Barskih was awarded "Best Ukrainian Act" at the MTV Europe Music Awards, marking his first major award win. but narrowly lost to Gaitana who represented Ukraine in Baku with her song "Be My Guest".

Max Barskih has won numerous awards, including "Singer of the Year" Awards at the Baltic Music Awards 2011, the M1 Music Awards 2017, and at the Top Hit Music Awards 2020. and has also directed most of his music videos. Barskih's videos have gained popularity in the Commonwealth of Independent States. The director likes to use a variety of visual effects for many of his videos, such as in the music videos for "Теряю тебя" ("Lost in Love") which was released in 3D format in the CIS nations.

Barskih composes the music Most of his songs are in Russian, but he has also sung in Ukrainian (e.g. "Небо" and "Двоє") and in English (e.g. "Z.Dance" (partly in English) and "Silence" (entirely in English)).

During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Barskih joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

In summer 2023, he started a world tour in support of Ukraine from Lisbon.

Discography

Studio albums

1:MAX BARSKIH (2009) Z.Dance (2012) По Фрейду (By Freud, 2014) Туманы (Mists, 2016) 7 (2019) 1990 (2020) Зорепад (2023)

Compilation albums

Words (2015)

EPs

Mickolai – EP (2015) Місто дощів (2025)

Singles

2009: S.L. (Suka Lyubov') [Love is a bitch] 2009: Пусто (Pusto) [Empty] 2009: DVD (with Natalia Mogilevskaya) 2010: Агония (Agoniya) [Agony] 2010: Сердце бьётся (Serdtse Byotsya) [Heart is Beating] (with Svetlana Loboda) 2010: Студент (Student) 2011: Lost in Love | Теряю тебя (Terayu Tebya) [Losing you] 2011: Белый ворон (Beliy Voron) [White Raven] 2011: Atoms | Глаза-убийцы (Glaza-ubiytsi) [Eyes of a Killer] 2011: Downtown 2011: Dance 2013: Какой была твоя любовь? (What was your love?) 2013: Hero_in 2013: Небо (Sky) 2014: Всё серьёзно (Everything's Serious) 2015: Хочу танцевать (I Want To Dance) 2015: Подруга – Ночь (Night is my friend) 2016: Займёмся Любовью (Let's Make Love) 2016: Последний летний день (Last Day of Summer) 2018: Берега (Shores) 2019: Лей, не жалей (Pour, Have No Regrets) 2020: Небо льёт дождем (Sky is Raining) 2020: Silence 2021: Bestseller (feat. Zivert) 2021: Tequila Sunrise

Other ventures

Songwriting Barskih writes his songs himself and occasionally also works as a songwriter for other artists. Appearances on TV showsYearEnglish titleOriginal titleProduction typeRoleRemarks2008"Star Factory" Ukraine (Season 2) Singing talent showParticipantFinished on 6th place (was disqualified after a scandal) Singing talent showMember of the "Ukrainian National Team"Special season of the show in which the best graduates of the Russian and Ukrainian versions of "Star Factory" competed against each other in "national teams"2017"Dancing with the Stars" Ukraine (Season 5), Final Celebrity dancing showGuest appearanceGuest appearance in the 5th Season's Final 2019X-Factor Ukraine (Season 10), Final Singing talent showGuest performance Guest performance in the 10th Season's Final; Performed his songs «Февраль» (in a duet with the show's finalist Maria Stopnyk) and «Лей, не жалей»

Awards and nominations