ZØYA

ZØYA is an independent recording artist, singer-songwriter, musician and storyteller based in Los Angeles, CA. Her raspy, pure, emotional vocals along with unique and spunky presence on stage will wake you up if you're asleep and surely will grab your attention right away. The largest part of her music is about struggles that she was going through in her life, especially during her teenage years. Her songs are for those who need encouragement or a positive vibe throughout their day. Though mistreated by others in the past, ZØYA now imbues her music with the kind of soul somebody only gets by aligning an inner fire with a greater power. ZØYA believes that music heals and she wants to reach out to those folks who struggle with the same issues as she did, so that way they could open up and acknowledge their struggle, understand that they're not alone in this world, and that there is always a hope, a new beginning, and that way their wounds will quickly heal.
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ZØYA (also known as Zoya Naumchik) was born in Pinsk, Belarus on September 4, 1993. She grew up in Columbus, Ohio after immigrating to the United States at the age of 11. She was raised in a Christian household. She grew up listening to inspirational, worship, gospel, and jazz music cassettes and CDs. ZØYA began writing songs and poems at the age 6. She trained at the Columbus International Children’s Choir Academy. ZØYA was also classically trained on the piano. At 13, she recorded her worship music album called Shalom at her local church. She also wrote her first ballad at 13. At 15, she recorded her second album, Gratitude, in the Columbus Musicol Studio. Both albums are covers of Russian worship songs but injected with ZØYA’s authentic performance and delivery. Her cover of the Russian song 'Mama, Milaya Mama' has reached over 165,000 organic views on YouTube. ZØYA is also a songwriter and composer. To this day, ZØYA has written over 50 songs, which include the music and lyrics. ZØYA has played for fans in Ohio, California, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Florida, and Washington D.C. She also performed in Canada and Belarus. In 2014, ZØYA traveled to Minsk, Belarus to record and perform her new music. She also recorded singles such as "No Need to Worry" and "God is God" at the Studio Nerv-Records while she was there. Both singles were released independently in mid-August the same year on iTunes, Spotify, Jango Radio, CD Baby and other digital music stores. In November 2014, 'No Need to Worry' was heard by thousands in Ufa, Russia since it was played on the radio inside of the city’s luxurious coffee shops. Her second Russian power ballad single 'God is God' took over the Russian Christian social media right after its release.

On April 7, 2017, ZØYA released her debut EP called 'Veracious Heart', which includes the songs “I Still Believe” and “Chaos in My Head”. She wrote the lyrics and music for the songs on the EP, as well as co-produced it. ZØYA wrote many of her songs about the struggles that she went through while she was a teenager. “I Still Believe” highlights the importance of faith and encourages everyone to keep their faith through every circumstance in life. She managed to kick off the 'Veracious Heart Tour' independently in May same year in the support of her new EP.

Her single "I Still Believe" was streamed on 300+ college radio stations in United States as well as local radio stations in US, UK and Russia. In addition, "I Still Believe" was placed as a Semi-Finalist in the 2016 "Unsigned Only" Music Competition (Vocal Performance category). Her headlining tour in the support of her EP consisted of multiple Los Angeles shows as well as a few festivals in Columbus, Ohio such as Fashion Meets Music Festival (which saw around 150,000 attendees in previous years) alongside with DNCE, Third Eye Blind, Tegan & Sara and Fetty Wap.

ZØYA directed two music videos, which were released in the spring of 2018 for her singles “I Still Believe” and “Chaos in My Head”.

In 2019, ZØYA's single “So Far Away” got picked up by TikTok. To this day, it has more than 100K organic video creates on TikTok, more than 5K video reels published on Instagram. It was also licensed and used by the major beauty brands like Dove and Benefit Cosmetics. “So Far Away" has been used on their various advertisements, marketing projects and TV commercials.

In 2020, she released her second EP ‘Journey’ independently, receiving thousands of organic plays on Spotify and YouTube. The remix to her single "Outrageous” received support from R3HAB and other electronic & pop artists.

In addition, ZØYA is also passionate and outspoken about social issues such as immigration, human trafficking, education, poverty and children. She also volunteered for the non-profits such as Fight For Children Foundation, Bonner Scholars Program and City of Athens, WV and interned at the U.S. House of Representatives for the Speaker of the House. ZØYA is a practicing Christian. Faith plays an important part in her singing and songwriting, though she does not consider herself a part of the Christian music genre. Her main goal is to, "share my story with Everyone, give encouragement through music and dynamic live shows, and most importantly, spread the message of love, hope and self-empowerment."