[citation needed] The performers were all conservatory graduates in good standing with pristine reputations and conservative looks; the same case fell also for the VIAs whose songs were also featured.

[citation needed] Over time as Soviet society became more liberal and in the 1980s during the era of perestroika, the festival began to include a broader range of musical styles, song lyrics, and performers.

[citation needed] In 1971 and 1972 it aired in black and white and via videotape; starting 1973, the program was prerecorded in color, and today is shot in digital video and high definition.

In the 1990s, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Pesnya goda festival was reborn in 1993 and became part of the new society's New Year's tradition, providing an escape from the harsh socioeconomic realities of life in Russia in the 1990s.

Other artists that have been perennial Pesnya goda winners include Iosif Kobzon (41 times), Valery Leontiev, Valentina Tolkunova, Edita Piekha, Laima Vaikule, Igor Nikolayev, Irina Allegrova and Alla Pugacheva.