Ukrainian pop icon Olya Polyakova is beginning a new international chapter with My Future Ex, the first single from her forthcoming debut English-language album.
Already one of Ukraine’s biggest pop stars, Olya Polyakova has built a career spanning chart-topping releases, major awards and arena performances, while also becoming a familiar television personality through her work as a mentor and coach on The Voice. She previously appeared alongside Volodymyr Zelensky in comedy sketches before his political career.
Olya Polyakova
Her musical journey took an unexpected turn following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Having initially believed that her career might be over, Polyakova gradually returned to performing and found a new purpose in music that could acknowledge the reality of wartime life while also providing audiences with moments of escape.
That experience has shaped an extraordinary new phase in her career, with Polyakova becoming a prominent wartime performer in Ukraine. She has performed for Ukrainian military brigades and appeared at major events, including a Kyiv performance attended by 130,000 people, while also travelling to Kharkiv, despite the city being repeatedly targeted by Russian attacks.
Her music during the war has moved between deeply personal material and deliberately escapist pop. In Your Arms addresses the experience of women waiting for their soldier husbands to return home, while Warrior embraces a more defiant and uplifting approach.
Polyakova has spoken about the emotional role her performances have come to play during the conflict, describing the transformation she has witnessed in audiences as shows progress. “Part of my job is to help people forget about the war even for an hour,” she says.
That role has extended well beyond music. Following Russian shelling that destroyed a school in Shybene, Polyakova made a significant donation towards its reconstruction and attended the reopening. She has also worked extensively with the Childhood Without War project, helping provide Ukrainian children with safe accommodation, education and medical support.
Her international work has also included performing the Ukrainian national anthem before FC Shakhtar matches across Europe, including at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Proceeds from the club’s Shakhtar Global Tour for Peace matches were directed towards humanitarian aid for Ukrainians affected by the war.
Now, Polyakova is turning her attention towards a global pop audience. My Future Ex combines contemporary pop energy with the four-on-the-floor pulse and extravagant choruses of classic 1980s hi-NRG. The result is a track that brings together modern production and nostalgic dancefloor influences, providing a natural showcase for Polyakova’s powerful vocal range.
Her performance moves between soaring high notes and more sensual, restrained passages, matching the song’s playful take on a relationship that is already destined to become part of the past. “Sometimes you fall in love with someone and you know it’s going to end with fights, or tears, or both,” says Polyakova. “I wrote this song for everyone who has been there and done it anyway. It’s kind of like a dance workout for a broken heart.”
Polyakova co-writes My Future Ex with production team Red Triangle, whose credits include work with Sabrina Carpenter, Halsey and David Guetta. Mixing comes from GRAMMY® Award-winning engineer Guy Massey, whose credits include The Beatles and Kylie Minogue. An accompanying video directed by James Slater, known for his work with Sam Fender and CMAT, is also set to follow.
The move into English-language music represents a significant new step for Polyakova. After Russia invaded Ukraine, she initially fled with her family to France, while her children subsequently settled in the UK for school and university. Despite that upheaval, she eventually felt compelled to return home, where her music began connecting with audiences in ways she had not anticipated.
That experience transformed her relationship with performing. Concerts became spaces where audiences could confront the emotions of wartime life before finding release through music and dance.
With My Future Ex, Olya Polyakova now takes that ability to connect with an audience beyond Ukraine. The single is the first glimpse of an English-language album currently in development, marking the beginning of her international push while retaining the larger-than-life pop identity that has made her a major figure at home.
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