Ukrainian singer and contestant on the show "Fabryka Zirok" (Factory of Stars) Valeriya Furman has become the subject of one of the most talked-about vocal experiments on social media. The young woman posted a video on Instagram in which her voice synchronously mimics and continues the intonation of an air raid siren. The effect of the sound was so hypnotic that viewers in the comments confessed it was impossible to tell where the human voice ended and the prolonged hum of the alarm began. It was precisely this "mismatch" of sounds that turned the clip into viral content, reaching far beyond the Ukrainian segment of the internet.
From Instagram to United24: How the Clip Went International
The first reactions to Furman's post appeared almost immediately: users began sharing the video with one another, noting the unusual melody and the "fairy-tale" quality of her voice. In the comments, the singer was several times compared to a "mermaid" — according to witnesses, this was the word that most often came up in the discussions. However, the clip truly gained wide resonance only after it was reposted by the official United24 account — a state media project of Ukraine aimed at a foreign audience. As a result, the footage was seen not only by Ukrainian but also by international users, turning a local post into an international media event.
The Siren as a Musical Instrument: A Song in Which the Alarm Became Part of the Arrangement
The viral popularity of the fragment did not remain a one-off episode. After the clip began spreading actively across the internet, Furman released a full song that incorporated the very siren hum that had gone viral. Moreover, the sound of the alarm in the track was not simply preserved as a documentary insert: it was woven into the musical composition and turned into a full-fledged element of the sound. For a Ukrainian audience, where the siren is an everyday backdrop to life, this decision carries additional emotional and semantic weight: a sound associated with threat is here transformed into an object of artistic expression.
"Fabryka Zirok": a Brilliant Performance and the Fight for the Twelfth Spot
Despite the resonance on social media, Furman's path on the TV project itself was not so linear. The 22-year-old singer did not make it into the main lineup of "Fabryka Zirok" finalists. However, as sources emphasize, her story on the show is not over: she is now taking part in an additional vote for the twelfth and final spot in the finale. It is the viewers who decide who receives this ticket, and while the project's fans cast their votes, Furman's name is being actively discussed online — no longer in the context of the TV broadcast, but thanks to the viral vocal experiment that has, in essence, become her calling card.
Context: Ukrainian Music in the Conditions of War
Furman's story is not just an entertainment case. It fits into a broader context of how Ukrainian artists work with the soundscape of war. The air raid siren has long ceased to be merely a utilitarian signal: it has become part of the cultural code, a symbol that artists, musicians, and directors increasingly use as material for reflection. Turning the hum of the alarm into a vocal and musical element is one way to reinterpret the everyday sound of war, to give it a new, creative function, without stripping it of its emotional charge.
