Arsen Mirzoyan: When the war began, older artists stepped up to help, while younger ones focused on promoting themselves.

In an interview with RBC-Ukraine, singer and honored artist Arsen Mirzoyan spoke about trips to the front, his relationship with Tonya Matviyenko, booking stars, young artists who gained popularity amidst the war, fundraising through concerts, and his desire to join the military.

Arsen Mirzoyan is 46 years old and began his journey to fame on "The Voice of Ukraine," where he met Tonya Matviyenko, who later became his wife and mother of his daughter. Since 2014, Arsen has focused on supporting the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and during the full-scale war, he has intensified his efforts for the military.

RBC-Ukraine asked Mirzoyan about his relationship with his wife, the late Nina Matviyenko, parenting, and why he considers some TikTok artists to be volunteers.

– How has the full-scale war affected your relationship with Antonina?

– It has become stronger. We didn't see each other for six months after the full-scale invasion, and we realized, through our own experience, how foolish people can be when they argue over trivial matters. We understood how quickly everything can come to an end.

– How do you respond to divorce rumors?

– We laugh. Tonya’s publicist says it's funny – we do nothing, yet there's always something being said about us. First of all, no journalists have approached us to confirm or deny anything. And that's it. People talk – and that's fine.

– How do two artists manage to live together and build a relationship? Do you compete as creative individuals?

– First of all, we are artists of different genres. Our philosophies are different as well. Right now, we are trying to find something common in our creativity. But nobody is rushing anywhere or chasing anything. I was taught (I won't say by whom) that you shouldn’t think about success. You should always focus on meaning, not money. That is creativity; I live that way. It's the meaning of life, and we have nothing to compete about. Why?

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Mirzoyan addressed the rumors about his divorce from Matviyenko (photo from the singer's personal archive)

– Are awards and prizes important for artists? What about you in particular?

– People in the industry are doing something. They are certainly doing well. My story is different; my market is different. Some write songs adhering to formats, fighting for something. For TOP positions, first places, and so on. All of this is, of course, interesting. Statues, awards at music festivals. But they are actually of no use. Sometimes, the shelves are filled with trophies, but there's no work. So, I think the main measure is whether people want to hear you. If you live for music, then you live it everywhere.

You don’t chase templates, prize positions, or awards. Right now, I have many performances for the military. And concerts don’t last just an hour. I sing all night, for as many hours as needed. Sometimes, I sing for six hours, I can cook borscht or fry cutlets between songs. We can travel to positions. When I started, director Kadym Tarasov told me: "Mirzoyan, do everything so that you can be put on a shelf". But I can’t do that. I can't be categorized as a rock musician or a pop musician. I don't fit into any nomination except "author-performer."

– Speaking of first places, recently, Tonya's song "Kulbabi" unexpectedly surged in trends. Why do you think this happened now?

– Some artists invest a lot of money into tracks to ensure they "take off." Then it's a predictable result, hitting the trends. But here, everything happened naturally. We are happy about it.

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Mirzoyan spoke about communicating with the military (photo provided by the singer)

– Let's talk about Nina Matviyenko. How did your family cope with the loss, and how should one support a partner who has to bury a loved one?

– I really don’t know. It's so hard when no one has experience, and you don’t know how to behave. You try not to remind them or cause more pain, but that can be perceived completely differently. Tonya could say that I am inattentive or uncaring. But I didn’t want to remind her unnecessarily. The presence of friends is important, very often and in large numbers, just to come and sit. Because every friend brings a new perspective. Now Tonya has moved on.

– Recently, your wife admitted that her mother was against her relationship with you. Did you feel that from Nina Mitrofanovna?

– In principle, it was predictable. Everything started as a friendship that no one opposed. But when it turned into dating, maybe I was against it myself. At first, we were just friends. And I understood that I needed to keep my distance. In the end, we couldn’t hold back.

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Mirzoyan shared how he raises his children (photo provided by the singer)

– Did you quickly establish contact with Nina Mitrofanovna once you became Antonina's chosen one?

– Yes. She is a wise woman. And life is life.

– Name a random memory of Nina Matviyenko that no one knows about.

– I have many different funny and sad memories. Once, a rocket hit at night, we lost water and electricity, and we started running around the yard looking for something. Thank God it was snowing outside! Once, Nina Mitrofanovna's friend gifted her many plastic vases. And we started collecting snow in those vases (laughs). I said, "Well, we will live." She was filling them up and laughing.

– Please tell us about your daughter. How do you raise her with Antonina? Do you impose any prohibitions?

– Nina goes to school, where she interacts with peers, and that’s a form of upbringing in itself. It’s great; she has friends and socialization. She doesn't spend much time on TikTok; sometimes, she plays online games. She runs around in some game in real-time, talking with different friends simultaneously. But we monitor her screen time to ensure she doesn’t spend too much time with gadgets. The best upbringing is personal example, in my opinion.

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Mirzoyan's daughter (photo from the singer's personal archive)

– Do you communicate with your children from your first marriage?

– With the younger one less, with the older one more. The older one is in Zaporizhzhia. He is currently taking driving lessons – I insisted he enroll in a course. He is a student and studying. I support him in every way.

– Last year, you mentioned that your older son lived with you. Why did he move out?

– He has friends, buddies, girls, and studies there. In short, it's about social life. That’s very important.

– And your younger son is in Germany?

– Yes, yes. He is studying. He has already learned German; he "shprechts" it.

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Mirzoyan candidly spoke about family relationships (photo provided by the singer)

– In your opinion, how has our show business changed over the years of full-scale war? Because we see that new artists are getting more chances and opportunities.

– Society was searching for something new. When the full-scale war began, older artists jumped in to help the military, forgetting about show business, putting it on hold. We are not talking about those who fled or panicked, but most began to support the Defense Forces. There was no time for singing... Meanwhile, young artists started promoting themselves. So, young ones broke through while the older ones were silent. There was a huge pause, and the space needed to be filled. And everything happened naturally.

– Did this upset you greatly?

– Well, you look at it from the outside and remember. No one knew how long Kyiv would hold out. It was all or nothing. And everyone acted in their own way. We, along with Polozhynskyi, pooled money to buy bags of vegetables every morning, delivered them to volunteers, who cooked and distributed food to hospitals. We filled jerrycans with