Sonya Belousova (composer, pianist)

Sonya Belousova (born February 4, 1990) is a Russian-American composer, music producer, songwriter, and artist whose viral hit Toss A Coin To Your Witcher reached #1 on the Billboard charts. Based in Los Angeles, California, Belousova has composed music for some of the most commercially successful television franchises, including One Piece and The Witcher. Belousova composed the score and songs for Netflix's live-action adaptation of One Piece, which became a global hit. The soundtrack features the song My Sails Are Set, written and produced by Belousova and her scoring partner Giona Ostinelli, and performed by Aurora. The song has garnered over 20 million streams on Spotify, contributing to the album's overall success with more than 300 million streams worldwide. Polygon praised the "devilish duo" for their "freewheeling" score, which "swings from symphonic blockbuster cues to hip-hop licks to virtuosic flamenco guitar, jazz funk, big-band brass, and head-spinning circus music." ScreenRant lauded the soundtrack for its "next-level musical worldbuilding" and "unique character themes and instruments complementing each other perfectly." Belousova gained widespread recognition for her work on Netflix's hit fantasy series The Witcher. The soundtrack album, featuring songs and score composed and produced by Belousova and Ostinelli, achieved both commercial success and critical acclaim, amassing over half a billion streams worldwide. The single Toss a Coin to Your Witcher reached #1 on both Billboard Digital Rock Songs Sales and iTunes Top Soundtrack Songs, and broke into The Billboard 200. The song quickly became a viral sensation, garnering significant media attention. The New York Post called it "the breakout hit," Thrillist "the biggest banger of 2020", Entertainment Weekly "a viral hit", Esquire "the best part of Netflix's series", The Verge "the hit song of the season", while Forbes stated that "the viral earworm became just as famous as the show". The soundtrack album appeared on multiple Billboard charts, including Billboard Top Current Albums, Billboard Top Album Sales, and Billboard Top Soundtrack Albums. It debuted at #1 on iTunes Top Soundtracks and #4 on iTunes Top Albums, trailing only Eminem, Breaking Benjamin, and Chase Rice, and reached the top ten in every major territory worldwide. Belousova is recognized for her project Player Piano (first introduced as Cosplay Piano from the executive producer Stan Lee of Marvel Comics). She performed at the 2013 San Diego Comic-Con, introduced by Stan Lee, and at the 2014 Anime Expo with a 70-piece orchestra and 30-piece choir. Belousova was commissioned by Festival Ballet Providence to compose three original ballets with choreographer Viktor Plotnikov. Additionally, she is known for her collaboration with 27-time Grammy and 2-time Academy Award nominated producer and arranger Jorge Calandrelli. Belousova was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia. She began piano studies at age 5 and composition at 10 under composer Zhanna Metallidi. At 8, she made her debut at the Chamber Hall of Saint Petersburg Philharmonia. At 12, she received a special prize for her original compositions at the Sergei Slonimsky Piano And Composition Competition, and at 13, she won the International Valery Gavrilin Composition Competition. Belousova won the competition twice, in 2003 and 2004. Recognized as a child prodigy, Belousova received the Russian Ministry of Culture Award in 2003. In 2004, she won the International Anton Rubinstein Piano Competition Miniatures In Russian Music. Belousova continued her training in Moscow, where she was accepted to the Gnessin State Musical College at 15, earning a dual bachelor's degree in music composition and piano performance. At 17, she won the Rodion Shchedrin Piano And Composition Competition and performed at the Grand Hall of Moscow Conservatory. She later attended Berklee College of Music for film scoring and earned a master's degree from the University of California, Los Angeles. Sonya Belousova has composed and produced some of the most commercially successful television soundtracks in recent years, including One Piece and The Witcher, both of which are global hits on Netflix. She worked alongside her scoring partner, Giona Ostinelli, to create the music for these franchises, with their soundtracks amassing millions of streams and receiving widespread acclaim. Belousova is known for her collaborations with other artists, such as Norwegian art-pop singer Aurora on My Sails Are Set, a single Belousova composed and produced for her One Piece soundtrack. She also collaborated with acoustic guitar virtuoso Marcin and rap artist Flawless Real Talk on the same soundtrack. The One Piece soundtrack, featuring over 110 musicians, was praised for its rich stylistic variety, imaginative instrumentation, and complex musical world-building. Each character in One Piece has a unique musical theme with tailored instrumentation. Belousova described the score as "incredibly diverse, spanning a wide array of styles and genres from songs to virtuosic flamenco guitar, hip-hop to big band jazz funk fusion, folk to circus, rap to big epic swashbuckling orchestra." She emphasized that this musical and stylistic diversity was the main priority when approaching music world-building for One Piece. Luffy’s theme, which she described as the "main theme of our show," is a reversed version of Gold Roger’s theme and is led by a hurdy-gurdy. Zoro’s three-sword fighting style is portrayed using bansuri, frame drum, and duduk for his Wado Ichimonji sword, while Nami’s theme features a flute. Usopp's theme is performed by an ukulele, reflecting his ongoing quest for self-confidence, and Sanji’s suave flair is captured by a big band jazz-funk fusion ensemble. Belousova also created distinct themes for the villains. Buggy’s theme exudes a circus vibe, while Mihawk’s mastery is conveyed through flamenco guitar performed by Marcin. The soundtrack was recorded across various locations, involving artists from different cultural backgrounds, which contributed to the global flavor of the music and reflected the show's international appeal. The soundtrack was nominated for the International Film Music Critics Association Awards for Best Original Score for Television. Belousova gained widespread recognition for her work on The Witcher soundtrack. She also wrote and produced its hit single, Toss A Coin To Your Witcher. The song became a viral sensation immediately after its release. It has also been heavily used in the marketing of the series ever since. On Spotify and other streaming platforms, the song quickly gained millions of streams. Its commercial success cemented it as one of the standout tracks from the series, appealing to both fans of the show and general audiences alike. Toss A Coin reached #1 on both Billboard’s Digital Rock Songs Sales and iTunes’ Top Soundtrack Songs, while also breaking into The Billboard 200. The song also reached the top ten in every major territory worldwide, reflecting its international success. CNN described it as "the new year’s earworm," adding: "Just try and not get Toss a Coin to Your Witcher stuck in your head. The tune from the Netflix series The Witcher has gone viral." The song's impact extended far beyond streaming platforms. It became a cultural phenomenon, inspiring viral memes, countless TikTok videos, and YouTube covers and remixes, with notable orchestras and musicians creating covers of the song. Its wide appeal led to Toss A Coin being adapted into different musical genres and languages, with metal, folk, and orchestral renditions performed globally. Toss A Coin To Your Witcher was performed live at various events. Notably, Belousova headlined the Krakow Film Music Festival performing her own arrangement of the song featuring a 70-piece orchestra and 30-piece choir, which she later released under Sony Music as part of The Witcher Suite. Additionally, the soundtrack album,