Maxim Behar: "Runaway" Encourages Young People to Embrace Change
Maxim Behar speaks exclusively about his musical projects on the show "Over a Coffee" on NOVA television.
Host: After your debut single—the world's first song about the PR industry—"PR We Are" topped the charts on the American R&B radio Hot 21, you have now completed another music project— the video for the hit song "Runaway" is out. Tell us about it.
Maxim Behar: We made the next song with rapper Mihail Mihailov, "Misho Shamara," his son Mihail Mihailov - Junior, "Lil Sha," and we also included country singer Sarah Haralson from Nashville. The song is called "Runaway." The idea and lyrics are mine; Lil Sha created the beat, and we worked on the arrangement together. I called it "Runaway" because the Gen Z generation, aged between 18 and 25, is what I call the "easy generation." Thankfully, they've never faced problems or difficulties; everything has been given to them—education, housing, cars. Hopefully, every generation from now on will have it this way. But they take a long time to make decisions. I created the song "Runaway" to tell them: make a change in your life. Don't be afraid to escape your comfort zone. The song ends with that message: "Run away from your comfort zone." Yes, everything has a price. Yes, you may face difficulties, things may not go as planned, and you may have failures. But you have to try, and for that, you must run away—that's what "Runaway" is about—leaving your comfort zone and taking risks and responsibilities. It turned out to be a wonderful song. It, too, reached number one on Hot 21.
Host: After the success of these two musical projects, are you preparing a third?
Maxim: We recorded a third project this summer—just ten days ago. This is the song I've always aspired to create—to speak about Bulgaria through rap music. One of my biggest frustrations over these 30 years is that Bulgaria is not adequately branded abroad, especially across the ocean. Here, in Europe—France, Belgium, Germany, England—people know where Bulgaria is. In America, Bulgaria is somewhere in Europe, close to Russia, Greece, Turkey, or Serbia. So, we made this song dedicated solely to Bulgaria. I'll reveal the title for the first time—it's called "Viva Bulgaria," and you'll hear it very soon. This way, I want to contribute my part to making Bulgaria a bit more accessible, especially to listeners abroad. We initially launched the two songs in New York, so they played there for some time before coming to Europe.
Host: Do the best things in life happen by chance and unexpectedly?
Maxim: No, not only. Some good things are planned, but those that happen unexpectedly are the most beautiful because they are a good surprise. My formula is as follows: skills multiplied by effort, then multiplied by concentration. You need to have some skills, put in maximum effort to achieve what you want and concentrate to the fullest. And be careful—this is multiplication. If one of these factors is zero, the final result will also be zero. We all struggle with concentration, and I try to master it—that makes my life interesting, meaningful, and creative, which is crucial to me.
Watch the full interview here.