Olya Polyakova has spent years at the top of the Ukrainian pop scene. An arena-headlining, award-winning and chart-topping star, she has also appeared alongside Volodymyr Zelensky in comedy sketches during his career as an entertainer, and served as a mentor and coach on The Voice.

When Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, however, Polyakova thought her music career might be over.

Instead, she found herself entering a completely unexpected new chapter.

As the war continued, Polyakova gradually realised that people needed music that acknowledged what they were living through, but they also needed songs that could offer optimism, release and the possibility of a brighter future. She began performing again, including for Ukrainian troops, and emerged as something she had never planned to become: a wartime singer.

Now, Polyakova is looking beyond Ukraine with the launch of her new single, My Future Ex, the first step in an international push that will see her develop her first English-language album.

Listen to My Future Ex HERE. Watch the lyric video HERE.

The track introduces international audiences to the larger-than-life personality that has made Polyakova such a major star at home. Musically, it occupies an unusual space, combining the charisma and pulse of contemporary pop with the four-on-the-floor drive, huge choruses and nostalgic hi-NRG energy of 1980s dance music.

It is a combination that suits Polyakova's voice. She moves effortlessly between soaring, full-power high notes and more sultry, intimate passages, giving the track both theatrical scale and playful attitude.

"Sometimes you fall in love with someone and you know it's going to end with fights, or tears, or both," Polyakova says. "I wrote this song for everyone who has been there and done it anyway. It's kind of like a dance workout for a broken heart."

Polyakova co-wrote the song with its producers, Red Triangle, whose credits include Sabrina Carpenter, Halsey and David Guetta. The track was mixed by Grammy-winning engineer Guy Massey, whose credits include The Beatles and Kylie Minogue. An accompanying video, directed by James Slater, known for his work with Sam Fender and CMAT, is due to follow.

But My Future Ex arrives after a remarkable period in Polyakova's career, one in which music took on a very different purpose.

Since returning to Ukraine after the outbreak of war, she has performed for multiple Ukrainian military brigades and appeared in cities including Kharkiv, which has repeatedly been targeted by Russian attacks. She has also played to an audience of 130,000 people in Kyiv.

Her wartime repertoire has ranged from songs about women waiting for their soldier husbands to return home, including In Your Arms, to more defiant and escapist pop such as Warrior.

The response to those performances changed her understanding of what her role as an artist could be.

Audiences could arrive in tears, only to be dancing by the end of the show. Polyakova has described the experience as a form of emotional release, saying: "Part of my job is to help people forget about the war even for an hour."

Her support for Ukraine has also extended far beyond the stage.

After Russian shelling destroyed a school in Shybene, Polyakova made a significant donation toward the reconstruction of the building and attended its reopening. She has also worked extensively with the Childhood Without War project, helping provide Ukrainian children with safe accommodation, education and medical support.

She has performed the Ukrainian national anthem before FC Shakhtar matches across Europe, including at Tottenham Hotspur. Proceeds from Shakhtar's Global Tour for Peace matches were directed towards humanitarian aid for Ukrainians affected by the war.

When the invasion began, Polyakova initially fled Ukraine with her family for France. Her children later settled into school and university in the UK, but Polyakova eventually felt compelled to return home.

Her decision coincided with a growing realisation that her songs could serve a purpose beyond entertainment. In a country living through extraordinary circumstances, music could provide a temporary escape without ignoring the reality outside the venue.

That dual role has now become central to Polyakova's artistic identity.

The woman who once wondered whether war had brought her pop career to an end instead found herself connecting with audiences in a way she had never anticipated. Her music became a source of catharsis, solidarity and, at times, simple joy.

Now she is taking that experience onto a bigger stage.

With My Future Ex, Polyakova is beginning her first major international chapter, bringing together the theatricality of Ukrainian pop, the energy of contemporary dance music and the nostalgia of classic 1980s hi-NRG.

Her first English-language album is now in development.

The international audience is about to meet an artist who has already spent the past four years discovering just how much a song can mean when the world around it has changed.

Author: Andrew Braithwaite

Andrew is the founder and chief editor of Music Talkers. He's also a keen music enthusiast and plays the guitar.