The Hardkiss

In 2011, at the age of 18, Julia Sanina interviewed the MTV Ukraine broadcast producer Valeriy Bebko for an article she was writing as an aspiring student journalist.

[6][5] Producers Volodymyr Syvokon and Stas Tiunov of the Firework Sound record label suggested that they sing in English instead and build up an audience in the West.

[9] In December 2011, the band released a music video for "Dance with Me", directed by Bebko, with Yurii Korol as the camera operator.

[24] In November 2019, the band's masked drummer, Kreechy, revealed his idendity as Dmytro Smotrov and announced his departure after five years with the group.

[25] In 2021, the band was slated to perform a ten-year anniversary show at the Olympic Stadium in Kyiv, but this was cancelled after a series of delays related to the COVID-19 pandemic and the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

[27] The war generated increased international interest in the band, who then embarked on charity tours in support of the armed forces of Ukraine and Ukrainian children.

Val Bebko and Julia Sanina at the 5th Odesa International Film Festival , in 2014