Courtesy of Biletska

28-year-old Maryna Biletska—who you might know simply as the electronic artist Biletska—is taking on Nashville (though she shared with us that she hasn’t developed a love for country music since she moved there three years ago). When she’s not going on walks with her parrot Bobo, Biletska spends her days (and sometimes nights!) writing music like her latest single “Obstacles.” We caught up with Biletska to get an inside look at her journey as an artist, her new song, and what she’s working on now.

Born in Ukraine, Biletska has loved music from a young age. As a teen, she spent a lot of time participating in choirs, and she stayed busy from there. “I was looking for every possibility to sing since childhood. School choir, I’ll be there. Extracurricular music-related work, I’ll be there, and so on.” She would work on degrees in applied linguistics, music, and tour management. She even got accepted into Berklee College of Music! Unfortunately, he visa was denied, so she couldn’t go.

Correction: This article originally said that Biletska was unable to attend Berklee College of Music because she couldn’t afford to, but that is not the case. Her visa application was denied, and she was crushed and determined to find another way to get herself and her music to the United States.

“I never wanted to have a basic job,” Biletska told us. “I dreamed of being a singer/performer, to do the choreography for my shows and tour with a band, this always seemed like the best life possible.” She would get accepted on The Voice as well as receive an offer to tour Europe with guitar shredder and inventor of the double guitar Michael Angelo Batio. These opportunities changed Biletska’s life, building her confidence and leading her to a chance to move to the United States where she could get closer to the mainstream music scene.

Courtesy of Biletska

For Biletska, music was it. It was her dream, her end goal, everything. “I guess everything else was never an option,” she shared. “Music is the only thing that moves me at the end of the day. It’s what I can dedicate all my time and money [sic] without any regrets.”

The Voice happened in 2018, and Biletska remembers it as “a fun experience. All staged and fake, but still built around music.” It was also part of how she found her sound. When she was on The Voice, Biletska still wanted to make rock and roll music. “Now, I’m all about pop/electronic,” she told us. “Who would’ve thought so? I definitely wouldn’t believe it if someone told me this three years ago.”

Since then, Biletska has released multiple singles and started the pop duo Cosmo Santo with fellow Nashville artist Nick Andres (their most recent single “Chameleon” came out last summer). Biletska’s own recent track, “Obstacles” is about life’s challenges and people that take too much without reciprocating. She says these experiences “are made to overcome it [sic] and to write about it, right!?” She shared with us that she doesn’t try to hide much in her lyrics (it’s all about what comes naturally with the melody), but we love this look at turning obstacles into art.

Biletska’s “anthem for the languished” is a track with a full sound and moody vibes that remind us of artists like Lorde. Her favorite lines from the song include “But I’m still here for you. Even through the pain, you know I love you too.” She says these lyrics “describe me 100%.” Her other favorite is “After curtains down, I’ll be acting somewhere else,” but she’s not giving us any hints as to why! “I’ll leave this one for you to think of,” she said. We’ll definitely be thinking about this line for a while.

Though “Obstacles” only came out a few weeks ago, Biletska has more planned, and it’s coming soon! She’s been developing a solo project that we might get a taste of in the next few weeks. When we talked to Biletska, she teased that she was waiting on a music video and that we might see as early as the end of January. Her birthday is January 28. Why not celebrate with a song?

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Veronica Good has been with Showstopper Magazine since 2016. When she isn't keeping you updated on the latest trends, she is at home with her many pets or probably playing The Sims 4. Veronica has a BA in English and an MA in writing from Coastal Carolina University. She is also a writer of fiction and poetry, and her work can be found in Archarios, Tempo, and Scapegoat.