PRONKIN on 'Factory of Stars': 'I'm afraid of being just a casting participant'

Who is PRONKIN and why did he come to 'Factory of Stars'

Vladyslav Pronkin, performing under the stage name PRONKIN, has become one of the participants of the new season of the Ukrainian vocal show 'Factory of Stars'. Before joining the project, the artist had already worked with Jerry Heil, Artem Pivovarov, and Masha Kondratenko, but he sees the television format primarily as a chance to look at himself from the outside: how organically he looks on camera and how his vocals are judged by professional industry coaches. In his words, the goal is to understand how interesting he is within the framework of a big television or streaming project.

Competitors: 'I look at almost everyone thinking they could beat me'

When asked about the strongest rival, PRONKIN answered that he has not yet been able to fully assess his competitors: there was little time at the castings, and he had not even heard half of the participants live, studying them in parallel while watching the episodes. At the same time, the artist noted the vibe and delivery of those he had already gotten to know — DISHA, LESAN, and Nana Solis — emphasizing that there is a lot to learn from many of the participants. He admitted that he looks at almost every opponent with the thought that they are capable of beating him, although he does not yet single out a specific favorite.

The second round and the original song 'Unochi'

The moment of confidence in his own abilities for the artist was the second round, shown on September 11. For the performance, he was given the original song 'Unochi' (At Night), which became a real challenge: PRONKIN mostly writes lyrics, while this composition has a completely different, dynamic dance motif. According to the artist, he was fully confident in this song and understood that, having worked with the mentors on the delivery, he could present himself very impressively.

Mentors: TAYANNA, Azhnov, and Makhov

Among the mentors who had seen him up close, PRONKIN named TAYANNA, Vitaliy Azhnov, and Ruslan Makhov. TAYANNA noted his directed, clean, and stable singing and the fact that the artist clearly understands who he is singing for, while Azhnov paid attention to his communicativeness during the preparation. PRONKIN himself managed to discuss the upcoming song and its delivery with Vitaliy and Yana Tsybulska, and right before the performance he polished the number together with Ruslan Makhov, emphasizing that he is proud of the performance regardless of the result.

Career benchmark — Maks Barskih

Talking about a career role model, the artist named the path of Maks Barskih, noting that the hardest thing after such a show is not just to flare up, but to keep the audience's attention and continue to develop. He separately expressed his admiration for Svitlana Tarabarovska and MamaRika, who performed under the name Erika, emphasizing that many 'Factory' alumni, 15 years later, continue to captivate listeners with new facets of their creativity.

Competition and friendship at the castings

PRONKIN does not yet feel direct competition at the castings: due to a lack of time, the focus shifts to how best to show himself off, rather than fighting for attention. At the same time, he admits that he catches himself thinking this way while admiring the strong sides of other participants. His main fear after the show ends, in his words, is to 'remain just a casting participant'.