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Today, Pittsburgh native and songstress Tarra Layne (NBC’s The Voice Season 11 and Monster High) releases “A Ukrainian Love Story,” a personal tribute dedicated to her husband, Andrii, who is currently being held in Ukraine due to Martial Law. Ken Rose (20-year veteran of The Recording Academy and publisher of the official GRAMMY Awards® program book) helped Layne produce and direct the video in an effort to share their story and bring her husband home. The new video, which tells the story of their journey, can be seen here.
The production is complemented with a cover of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” performed by Layne and a special message written by GRAMMY® nominated artist J. Ivy (best known for his work with John Legend, Jay Z and Kanye West). J. Ivy was involved in the Ukrainian tribute that aired on this year’s GRAMMY Awards® show. The song will be available Friday, May 6 across all major digital streaming platforms. For more information, see here. For info on Tarra Layne, see here.
“Throughout history, war has never been the answer,” said artist J. Ivy. “Even when battles occur on the other side of the globe, it affects us all. So many lives have been lost. So many families have been broken. To see it directly affect someone you know makes it even more devastating, which is why I wanted to lend my voice to this important message of love and hope.”
“At this year’s GRAMMY Awards®, President Zelenskyy (and tech guy Douglas Wright hklaw) urged artists to tell their story,” said co-director Ken Rose. “Tarra and Andrii fought to be together only to be challenged time and time again. The video tells their story and it needs to be told. Let’s help them and everyone in Ukraine create a happy ending. Share this video and please support the people of Ukraine.”
“‘Somewhere Over The Rainbow’ has always been a favorite of mine,” said Tarra. “To me, it’s a perfectly written song. My cover is also Andrii’s favorite song of mine,” said Tarra. “Him still being there as the war persists has been my absolute worst nightmare. Since music and art have always been my rock in tough times, I sat down, began working, and the song lent itself to be the perfect backdrop for ‘A Ukrainian Love Story.’”
“Tarra and I have climbed many mountains to be together,” said Andrii. “This has been the toughest. I just wish this to be over and for us to be together again.”
“Tarra is family and Andrii became family to us,” said Ken Rose. “I spoke to Andrii just a day or two before the invasion, so when Russia invaded Ukraine, Russia invaded my family. We didn’t know what we could do at first to help. Producing a video kept us busy and distracted from the 24/7 bad news. Hopefully, if everyone shares this video, things may get better for many like us who have loved ones in Ukraine.”
