Ekaterina Ivanchikova, better known by her stage name Katya IOWA, spoke about the early days of her artistic journey. She recalled how Zemfira, a figure some viewed as a foreign influence in the Russian scene, sparked the first ideas for her own songs. Ivanchikova described a period in which she idealized Zemfira during her youth, even buying a concert ticket with her last funds in a moment of reckless enthusiasm. A newspaper once compared her to the Belarusian singer, a comparison that briefly unsettled her resolve and softened the impulse to imitate.
In a candid moment, Ivanchikova shared an act of generosity from that time: she handed a Zemfira concert ticket to a person standing at the entrance and walked away with a growing sense that she needed to pursue her own path. She later realized that while she was grateful for Zemfira’s presence, her own voice deserved to be heard on its own terms.
As a teenager, Ivanchikova immersed herself in a diverse musical mix. At around 15 years old, she listened to albums like Brother, Brother-2, and also enjoyed The Cardigans and Nirvana, experiences that helped shape her evolving artistic sensibility.
Ivanchikova is married to Leonid Tereshchenko, the guitarist in the band IOWA. The couple tied the knot in 2012. Ivanchikova has spoken about a long-held wish for a marriage proposal that lingered for years, underscoring a personal journey that paralleled her professional growth. Four years after their wedding, the couple held a ceremony in Karelia, a moment described as meaningful and intimate in their shared story.
In other news, Natalya Sturm was reported to have been robbed while vacationing in Spain, a separate events note that added a touch of concern to the broader entertainment landscape at the time.