Jerry Heil
Ukrainian singer (born 1995)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Yana Oleksandrivna Shemaieva (sheh-MAH-ye-va; Ukrainian: Яна Олександрівна Шемаєва; born 21 October 1995), known professionally as Jerry Heil (JER-ree HAY-el, Ukrainian: Дже́ррі Гейл [ˈdʒɛr⁽ʲ⁾ːi ˈɦɛjl]), is a Ukrainian singer, songwriter and YouTuber. She began her career after launching her YouTube channel in 2012, publishing vlogs and musical covers.
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21 October 1995
- Singer
- songwriter
- YouTuber
Jerry Heil | |
|---|---|
Джеррі Гейл | |
Heil in 2024 | |
| Born | Yana Oleksandrivna Shemaieva 21 October 1995 Vasylkiv, Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 2017–present |
| Musical career | |
| Genres | |
| Instrument |
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| Labels |
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| YouTube information | |
| Channel | |
| Years active | 2012–present |
| Subscribers | 556 thousand |
| Views | 441.5 million |
| Last updated: 20 January 2026 | |
Heil began her professional music career in 2017, releasing her debut extended play De mii dim (transl. Where's my home) with Vidlik Records. She later released the single "Okhrana otmiena" in 2019, which became a top five hit in Ukraine. Her debut studio album Ya yana (transl. I'm Yana) was later released in October 2019. Since starting her YouTube channel, Heil has accumulated more than 34.9 million views and 395 thousand subscribers. She represented Ukraine in the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 alongside Alyona Alyona with the song "Teresa & Maria".
Early life
Yana Shemaieva was born in Vasylkiv, a city just outside of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv.[1] Her parents both work as private traders. Heil attended music schools in Kyiv, attending the R. Glier Kyiv Institute of Music and Kyiv Conservatory.[2][3]
Career
Early career
Heil began using her alias at the age of 15. After registering for the Russian social media service VKontakte, she used the name Jerry Mouse, referencing the cartoon character of the same name. She then changed Mouse to Heil, claiming she went to a site with American surnames and chose the one she liked the most. She has described the backstory behind her stage name as "moronic".[4]
In 2012, Heil launched her YouTube channel, where she posted vlogs and covers of songs made popular by Ukrainian and international musicians, such as Twenty One Pilots, Okean Elzy, The Hardkiss, and Kodaline. Okean Elzy frontman Sviatoslav Vakarchuk frequently republished Heil's covers of songs by the band and cited his approval of her versions.[5][2][4][6][7]
2017–2018: Professional breakthrough and De mii dim
In 2017, Heil signed a recording contract with Ukrainian record label Vidlik Records, known for its association with Ukrainian musical group Onuka. She was introduced to the label and its founders Yevhen Filatov and Nata Zhyzhchenko – the leader singer of Onuka – after Heil began looking for producers to assist with her song "De mii dim" (transl. Where's my home). Heil then began working closely with the label, and recorded her debut extended play De mii dim with them, which was later released in October 2017.[8]
In 2018, Heil auditioned for season nine of X-Factor Ukraine. She advanced from the initial audition in front of the judges to the bootcamp phase of the competition, where she was eliminated.[9][10] After her elimination, Heil returned to music and released the singles "Kava" and "Postil"; the latter of the two releases featured her debut music video.[11]
2019–present: "Okhrana, otmiena", Ya, Yana and Eurovision
In March 2019, Heil published a portion of her upcoming single "Okhrana, otmiena" on Instagram, which she had recorded with Ukrainian producer Morphom.[12] The track quickly gained momentum, when Ukrainian singers such as NK and Vera Brezhneva complimented and further distributed the song's snippet.[13] Heil later released a full version of the song through YouTube the following month, where its music video has received more than 14.8 million views; "Okhrana, otmiena" additionally became a top five hit in Ukraine.[14] Following the success of the song, Heil began pursuing songwriting, where she wrote songs for musicians including Brezhneva and the Kyiv-based band Cloudless, with Russian songwriter and producer Konstantin Meladze.[15][16]
In September 2019, Heil released her debut studio album Ya, Yana onto YouTube. The album included eight songs, and was commercially released the following month.[17][18] In January 2020, Heil was announced to be competing in Vidbir 2020, the Ukrainian national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 in Rotterdam.[19] Her song "Vegan" qualified to the final, where it finished in sixth place.
Heil participated again in Vidbir in December 2022 with her song "When God Shut the Door", competing to represent Ukraine in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023. She finished in third place.
She and Alyona Alyona were selected among the finalists of Vidbir 2024 with the song "Teresa & Maria".[20] They went on to win the final on 4 February 2024, earning the right to represent Ukraine in the Eurovision Song Contest 2024.[21] They qualified from the first semi-final on 7 May and placed 3rd in the Grand Final on 11 May with 453 points. Heil on May 2, 2025, released a new album called "АРХЕТИПИ" (ARCHETYPES), featuring 16 songs, with "З якого ти поверху неба?" (Which Floor of Heaven Are You From?) with Yarmak being the most popular song of the album, having 4.5 million plays on Spotify and 10 million views for the lyric video on YouTube.[22][23] On May 16, 2025, together with the band Within Temptation, they released a joint song “Sing Like A Siren”.[24][25]
Personal life
She is Christian and vegan.[26][27]
Heil is fluent in Ukrainian and English. Most of her songs are recorded in Ukrainian.[28]
Copyright infringement
In August 2018, publishing company Komp Music Publishing– the licensee of Universal Music Group in Ukraine – threatened a lawsuit against Heil for her unauthorized usage of the song "Believer" by Imagine Dragons in one of her videos. The company then insisted that all Universal Music Group songs included on Heil's channel must be removed and demanded a fine of several thousand Ukrainian hryvnias for violating copyright laws. The company launched two lawsuits against Heil, which resulted Heil's channel being removed from YouTube.[29]
AIR Music, a partner of Heil, took up the case. In a meeting between representatives from both companies, they negotiated a deal where Heil's fines were substantially lowered, and an agreement was reached regarding how many copyright infringements Heil had committed. Komp Music Publishing subsequently withdrew their lawsuits, and Heil's channel was restored.[30][29]
Discography
Studio albums
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Ya yana |
|
| Mandaryny i oleni |
|
| Arkhetypy |
|
Extended plays
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| De mii dim |
|
| Osobyste |
|
| Dai Boh (with Alyona Alyona) |
|
| Maria |
|
Singles
As lead artist
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album or EP | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UKR Air. [38] |
FIN [39] |
IRE [40] |
LTU [41] |
NLD [42] |
SWE [43] |
UK [44] |
WW Excl. US [45] | |||
| "Okhrana otmiena" | 2019 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Ya yana |
| "Vilna kasa" | 69 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Vichnist'" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | |
| "Vegan" | 2020 | 186 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "Nebeibi" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Provinciia" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Bloher" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Bomba raketa pushka hranata" | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Aryfmetyka kokhannia" | 2021 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "Lullaby (Kolyskova)" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Osobyste | |
| "Plaksa" (with Anna Trincher) |
103 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | |
| "Tuk Tuk Tuk" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "ZDN" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Eksa v hivevei" (with Anna Trincher) |
54 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Oleni" (with Tik) |
167 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Mandaryny i oleni | |
| "Poshta" | 2022 | 178 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles |
| "Moskal nekrasivyi" (featuring Verka Serduchka) |
15 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Razom do peremohy" (with Olya Polyakova and Dorofeeva, featuring various artists) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "V pustii kimnati" (with Yaktak) |
63 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Mriia" | 84 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Kokhaitesia chornobryvi" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Dushevna pa-damashniemu" (with Emdivity and Lesia Nikitiuk) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Viter viie" (with Alyona Alyona and Gedz) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Dai Boh | |
| "Dai Boh" (with Alyona Alyona and Monika Liu) |
190 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Zozulia" (with Alyona Alyona and Ginger Mane) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Nesestry" (with Mama) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | |
| "Tato" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Kozatskomu rodu" | 88 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Posmakuj" (with Alyona Alyona and Trill Pem) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "When God Shut the Door" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Ekzamen" (with Alyona Alyona) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Bronia" (with Ochman) |
2023 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Testament |
| "Na nebi ni zori" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | |
| "Stiny" (with Kalush) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Blahoslovenna zemlja" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Try polosy" | 54 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Shchedra nich" (with Alyona Alyona and Kola) |
91 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Malanka" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Teresa & Maria" (with Alyona Alyona) |
2024 | 1 | 14 | 55 | 2 | 68 | 30 | 100 | 130 | Maria |
| "Podolyanochka (Get Up)" (with Alyona Alyona) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | |
| "Huby u hubakh" (with Volodymyr Dantes) |
14 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "#AllEyesOnKids" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Wabi-Sabi" (with Julia Sanina) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Snih" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Arkhetypy | |
| "Rozchynyayus'" (featuring Evgeny Khmara) |
2025 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "Vymolyv" (with Monatik featuring Evgeny Khmara) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Doday huchnosti (12 Points)" | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | |
| "Earth (Dradada)" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Hora" (with Irina Rimes) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Catharticus (Prayer)" | 2026 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | ||||||||||
As featured artist
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album or EP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UKR [38] | ||||
| "Khvyli" (Kalush featuring Jerry Heil) |
2021 | 80 | Non-album singles | |
| "Ridni moi" (Alyona Alyona featuring Jerry Heil) |
2022 | 7 | ||
| "Chomu?" (Alyona Alyona featuring Jerry Heil) |
54 | |||
| "Kupala" (Alyona Alyona featuring Jerry Heil and ela.) |
14 | Dai Boh | ||
| "Toy denʹ (OE30 Edition)" (Okean Elzy featuring Yaktak, Kola, Shumei, and Jerry Heil) |
2024 | 9 | Non-album singles | |
| "Sing Like a Siren" (Within Temptation featuring Jerry Heil) |
2025 | — | ||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | ||||
Music videos
| Video | Year |
|---|---|
| "Vilna kasa" | 2019 |
| "Bomba raketa pushka hranata" | 2020 |
| "Tuk Tuk Tuk" | 2021 |
| "ZDN" | |
| "Ridni moi" | 2022 |
| "Mriia" | |
| "Chomu?" | |
| "Kupala" | |
| "Kokhaitesia chornobryvi" | |
| "Dai Boh" | |
| "Nesestry" | |
| "Tato" | |
| "Posmakuj" | |
| "Kozatskomu rodu" | |
| "Ekzamen" | |
| "Bronia" | 2023 |
| "Na nebi ni zori" | |
| "Stiny" | |
| "Blahoslovenna zemlja" | |
| "Bracia" | |
| "Try polosy" | |
| "Shchedra nich" | |
| "Malanka" | |
| "Teresa & Maria" | 2024 |
| "Podolyanochka (Get Up)" | |
| "Virgin Maria" | |
| "Ave Maria" | |
| "Huby u hubakh" | |
| "#AllEyesOnKids" | |
| "Wabi-Sabi" | |
| "Snih" | |
| "Rozchynyayus" | 2025 |
| "Vymolyv" | |
| "Sing Like a Siren" | |
| "Love Me Hard" | |
| "Z yakoho ty poverkhu neba?" | |
| "Doday huchnosti (12 Points)" | |
| "Earth (Dradada)" |
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | ChalkZone[citation needed] | Rudy Tabootie | Ukrainian dub |
| 2019 | The Addams Family | Bethany[46] | Ukrainian dub |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Jager Music Awards | Single of the Year | "Okhrana, otmiena" | Won | [47] |
| Choice Viva! | Оpening Viva! | Won | [48] | ||
| 2020 | YUNA | Best Song | "Okhrana, otmiena" | Won | [49] |
| Best Female Performer | Nominated | ||||
| Discovery of the Year | Nominated | ||||
| 2021 | YUNA | Best Performer | Nominated | [50] | |
| 2023 | MME Awards | Public Choice award | Won | [51][52] | |
| 2024 | Eurovision Awards | Best Artistic Vision | Herself (with Alyona Alyona) |
Won | [53] |