Biography of Nargiz Zakirova
Nargiz Zakirova is a singer who has gone through a long and difficult path to fame. Before participating in the famous show project “The Voice,” Nargiz sang in New York restaurants where the Russian diaspora gathered, but she was not afraid of difficulties and one day decided to change her life by participating in the show “The Voice.” And she succeeded.
In the photo: Nargiz Zakirova
Nargiz is the winner of many music awards; from 2013 to 2020 she was awarded the Golden Gramophone award, the MUSICBOX award and the award from the “Sound Track” section, and has repeatedly become a laureate of the “Song of the Year” festival.
Biography
On October 6, 1970, a daughter, Nargiz Zakirova, was born into the family of Pulat Mordukhaev and Louise Zakirova, whose biography will become one of the unusually bright in the world of music. This is not surprising - the future participant of “The Voice” was born into a musical family - Nargiz’s grandfather, grandmother, uncles and parents were associated with music.
Nargiz toured with her mother, and after such an interesting life, she did not like the boring everyday life either in a regular school or in a music school. But nevertheless, she graduated with good grades.
Childhood and family
Nargiz Zakirova comes from a family of Uzbek musicians famous throughout the Soviet Union. The singer's grandfather, Karim Zakirov, People's Artist of the Uzbek SSR, was an opera singer, leading artist of the Uzbek Opera and Ballet Theater named after Navoi. Grandmother Nargiz was a Tashkent artist, singer and dancer.
Nargiz in childhood
The six children of Karim Zakirov and his wife Shoista Saidova, five sons and a daughter, inherited their parents’ love of music and chose creative professions, but only three were able to achieve significant success. Farrukh Zakirov became famous as the lead singer of the popular vocal group “Yalla”. Batyr became an artist and writer, but at the beginning of his career he acted in films and was a singer, and Louise performed in his ensemble.
In the photo: grandmother Nargiz and her uncle Batyr
Music introduced Louise Karimovna to her future husband. Pulat Mordukhaev, a Bukharian Jew by nationality, was accepted as a drummer into the team of her brother Batyr and soon after meeting her he married her. Nargiz - Remember me (1984) The daughter of Louise and Pulat was born on October 6, 1970. The parents wanted to name the newborn Camilla, but the grandfather insisted on a name that, several decades later, would thunder louder than the names of all the representatives of their glorious dynasty - Nargiz. “I was never afraid of difficulties, maybe that’s why my Nargiz grew up so strong and brave,” recalled Louise.
Parents of Nargiz Zakirova in her youth
According to Nargiz, her life from the very first years was permeated with music; already at the age of four she performed on stage for the first time. In 1974, director Mark Zakharov, together with Batyr Zakirov, staged the musical play “Sinbad the Sailor” on the stage of the Tashkent Music Hall, in which Louise Zakirova played the main character’s bride.
Uncle Nargiz and Mark Zakharov are one of the founders of the first Tashkent music hall
During rehearsals, Nargiz hid behind the scenes and sang along with the artists in a low voice. When the character Hippopotamus appeared in the production, who was supposed to sing the song “Smile,” it turned out that none of the singers could perform the song in a thin child’s voice. While the adults were deciding who would perform the song, Nargiz hovered around them, trying with all her might to attract attention, danced and sang, and, of course, received permission to sing the song for Katya the Hippo, whose role was played by an adult artist. The little singer performed the song “Smile” backstage, but at the end of the performance Nargiz came out to bow with other artists.
Nargiz in his school years and youth
At the festival of young performers “Jurmala-86” she performed the song “Remember Me” by her uncle Farrukh and poet Ilya Reznik. There were many worthy performers at the festival, for example, Muscovite Olga Kormukhina with the song “Height”. Compared to more experienced and bright performers, fifteen-year-old Nargiz, in her own words, looked modest and not bright enough and therefore was awarded only the Audience Award. Nargiz Zakirova - White Birds (1986) After graduating from school, Nargiz entered the pop vocal department at the Circus School. Two years after her performance at Jurmala, the young singer from Tashkent was invited to the popular television program for children and teenagers “Under 16 and older.” Up to 16 and older. Nargiz Zakirova (1988) Answering the presenter’s question, Nargiz admitted that she does not yet know musical notation and is learning songs by ear. Nargiz also shared her dream of one day organizing a competition for everyone who loves to sing. Many years will pass, and she will take part in the competition, which she accurately described in the Soviet program, and it will be called “The Voice”.
Personal life
She does not like to talk about her romantic relationships and in every possible way avoids questions from journalists on this topic. Like all artists, Nargiz Zakirova tries to protect her personal life from prying eyes and ears, which is why in her biography. It is only known that she was married three times: to rocker and musician Ruslan Sharipov, to the deceased Ernur Kanaybekov and to Italian vocalist Philippe Balzano.
Interesting! Over the course of three marriages, she gave birth to three children, whom she raised and raised without the help of their husbands - Sabina, Auel and Leila.
All children live and study in the States, while mother builds a career in Russia. Nargiz misses his family very much, which he constantly tells his fans about on social networks.
The eldest daughter recently turned 19 years old. She studies at a liberal arts college. The middle son, Auel, studies at a film university. Dreams of becoming a director. Actively performs in theatrical productions and often appears on stage.
The artist’s youngest daughter has not yet decided on her direction; she works at a local yacht club, sings and plays musical instruments. Perhaps in the future she will decide to follow in her mother’s footsteps and continue the family business.
It is curious that Nargiz actively supports her daughter’s aspirations, listens attentively to her singing, gives her private lessons, pays for classes at the best American art school, and soon wants to make a joint duet with her talented children and relatives.
Interesting! The eldest daughter recently gave birth to a son, Noah, whom grandmother Nargiz loves very much.
She tries to devote as much time as possible to her family and be present at all their important events, to know about every success and failure.
Now the artist is deciding the issue of preserving her name and the opportunity to give concerts. Previously, the singer stated that at the moment she is absorbed in music, recording new singles and releasing new videos in order to maintain her peak of popularity and remain recognizable.
Moving to the USA
In 1995, the singer’s parents emigrated to New York, where several members of the Zakirov dynasty already lived. 25-year-old Nargiz had a hard time in a foreign country; she did not know English at all, because she studied French at school. Her first place of work was a salon that sold video cassettes. She earned only two and a half dollars an hour, and this could have gone on forever if not for the intervention of fortune.
Young Nargiz Zakirova with long hair, without tattoos or piercings
In 1997, she and her husband met singer Philippe Balzano in a restaurant. Philip was a bright and unique artist; she performed a song with him in that New York restaurant, and after hearing their duet, the owner of the establishment offered her a permanent job.
Nargiz in his youth (pictured on the right)
In the early 2000s, Nargiz managed to record the album “Golden Cage,” but it was not a great success, since the singer did not have funds for advertising. Together with Philippe Balzano, she performed in restaurants and fashion clubs, and in 2013 she tried to become a participant in the show “The X-Factor”.
Having gone through three stages of qualifying tests and never receiving a call from the project organizers, she went to Russia, deciding to take part in the show “The Voice,” a vocal competition, the appearance of which she predicted in the TV show “Under 16 and Over.”
Career
The girl graduated from school well, her relationships with classmates and teachers were excellent. Nargiz applied to the circus school for the singing department. At this moment, her active touring activities begin. She really liked this life, but she didn’t want to be like everyone else. She wanted to sing in a new, unusual format.
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She often dressed in men's clothes, dyed her hair and tried to perform in rock style. Naturally, by the standards of Soviet society, it was unacceptable for a young girl and performer to behave this way. Therefore, in the personal life and biography of the future famous singer Nargiz Zakirova, everything was not going well; she received a lot of criticism.
In 1995, she left with her loved ones for America, where she lived until 2014. There she opens her own tattoo parlor, radically changes her image, tries to break into the American stage, even participates in the X Factor, but she is quickly forgotten.
In 2014, she learns about a Russian talent competition and decides to try her hand. From the first notes of her song she becomes recognizable, reaches the final and takes an honorable second place in Leonid Agutin’s team. Later she meets Maxim Faddeev and begins her career in Russia.
There are many interesting facts in the biography and personal life of singer Nargiz Zakirova. Today, the artist tours around Russia, performs at major venues, receives awards and gives her music to fans. They treat her work with special reverence. In fact, each song is poignant and emotional, which fans love.
Interesting! On July 10, 2020, it became known that she was breaking her contract with the production center of Maxim Fadeev.
Now she has no right to perform under her own name and perform songs written by a music producer. Therefore, soon it is possible that Nargiz will perform under a pseudonym and collaborate with other composers and producers, releasing new songs.
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Now the issue of concerts in many Russian cities is being resolved, since the situation with the continuation of the artist’s career is still unclear. We can only hope that the creative people will be able to come to an agreement, and Nargiz will retain his name and the right to sing Fadeev’s songs.
Show "The Voice"
Nargiz learned about the vocal show “The Voice” from a commercial on a Russian TV channel, which they often watched with the whole family. The competition interested her because for the participant neither appearance, nor nationality, nor merit, nor even education mattered at all. After Nargiz filled out the form on the project website, the organizers immediately called her back. The matter was decided. Nargiz did not wait for a call from “The X-Factor” and flew to Moscow. Voice, blind auditions. Nargiz – Still Loving You For the blind auditions, Zakirova chose the world hit “Still loving you” by the Scorpions group, and her performance of the famous song left neither the audience nor the mentors indifferent. The whole four turned to her, but Nargiz chose Leonid Agutin.
Nargiz and Leonid Agutin
Throughout the entire season of the show project, Nargiz amazed viewers with the depth of her voice and acting charm, and her extravagant appearance, hairstyle and tattoos, of course, also played an important role in conquering the Russian musical space. Nargiz Zakirova in the final of The Voice Despite the fact that Nargiz managed to win the hearts of Russians, first place in the project went to Sergei Volchkov. Nargiz was content with the second, which was probably for the best. Life shows that the winners of “The Voice” rarely make a spectacular career in show business, but participation in the competition helped Nargiz attract the attention of one of the most influential producers in Russia.
Nargiz and Fadeev
The artist who took second place does not consider it a defeat; after the completion of the project, she signed a contract with Maxim Fadeev. In 2014, Nargiz recorded the song “I’m not yours,” which was later included in the album “Sound of the Heart.” The rise of the new star was enthusiastically greeted by Russians, tired of long-familiar faces and, it seemed, forever registered in New Year's TV shows and holiday concerts of singers. Nargiz - I’m not yours During her collaboration with Maxim Alexandrovich, the singer released several videos, especially Russians and her fans from other countries loved the video clips for the songs “You are my tenderness”, “I don’t believe you” and “Together”. Nargiz's arrival was expected in all cities of Russia, and the singer also gave concerts in the countries of the former Soviet Union and in Europe.
Nargiz and Max Fadeev
In the summer of 2020, Russian media upset Nargiz’s fans with the news that their favorite and Max Fadeev had stopped collaborating. Rumors spread about the reasons for the conflict between Nargiz and Fadeev, and some sources even hinted at a love relationship that allegedly existed between the singer and her producer.
The collaboration between Nargiz and Fadeev ended in scandal
What exactly was the main reason for their separation and quarrel is not known exactly, but Maxim Alexandrovich, known for his adherence to principles, forbade Nargiz to perform the compositions he wrote. Thus, the songs “Together”, “You are my tenderness” and others were banned. Nargiz had to postpone her autumn tour and prepare a new program. Interview with Nargiz about the conflict with Fadeev In the interview that followed these events, Nargiz called the period of cooperation with Fadeev “five years of hell and slavery,” and Fadeev, in turn, said that he was never able to bring Nargiz from the level of a karaoke singer to more high.
In Alla Dovlatova’s author’s show, the famous producer commented on the current situation with the following words: A couple of months later, Fadeev suffered a heart attack, and the next day he terminated the contracts with all the artists of the Malfa label and gave them the rights to their songs. The only exceptions were Nargiz and Oleg Miami.
Personal life of Nargiz
The artist’s first husband and father of her first daughter was Ruslan Sharipov, a member of the Tashkent rock band “Bayt”, who performed music in the style of the Swedish group Europe, popular in the 80s and 90s.
Ruslan Sharipov, Nargiz's first husband
The wedding of Nargiz and Ruslan took place a month and a half after their first meeting. Soon after the birth of their daughter Sabina, the young couple realized that they were in a hurry. The turning point was Sharipov’s betrayal with a young Korean woman. Nargiz, a monogamous woman by nature, could not forgive the betrayal.
As Nargiz says, she parted with Sharipov easily. During the entire time that had passed since their divorce, her ex-husband called her only four times; he was not at all interested in the fate of his daughter.
Sabina, Nargiz's eldest daughter
The star’s second husband was Yernur Kanaibekov, whom she met shortly before leaving for the USA. When Nargiz emigrated, she was six months pregnant. She left without her husband, Ernur arrived later. There was no solemn family reunion: the meeting after a long separation was cold, the man showed more attention to his son than to his wife.
Nargiz with his son
Shortly before the divorce, in 1997, Yernur called Nargiz from a Russian restaurant: “An Italian singer is performing here, it’s just amazing, come quickly, you should hear it!” This is how Nargiz met Philip Balzano, her future third husband, and got her first job as a singer. Married to Philip Balzano, the singer gave birth to a daughter, Leila. The marriage of Nargiz and Philip lasted until 2020. According to some reports, the artists’ marriage did not stand the test of fame and distance.
Nargiz and Philip Balzano
In 2020, Philip also tried to conquer the Russians and became a participant in the seventh season of the show project “The Voice”. According to him, he was never able to come to terms with Nargiz’s departure and did not meet new love. A little later, the singer said that her husband put moral pressure on her and lived on his wife’s money. She fulfilled Philip’s every whim, but when he owed several hundred thousand dollars to dubious creditors, Nargiz could not stand it. After the breakup, her ex-husband threatened her and Auriel. Nargiz Zakirova with her husband in the “Smak” program (2015) After her parents’ divorce, Leila decided to stay with her father in the USA. “Mom, I love you madly, I’m on your side, but in this situation it’s better for you to stay together with grandma and Auel,” the girl said, deciding to protect her father from mistakes.
Leila, Nargiz's youngest daughter
The eldest daughter gave the singer a grandson, Noah. Sabina has not decided on her choice of life path; she is interested in Buddhism and esotericism. Auel tries himself in the acting profession, and the youngest daughter Leila dreams of becoming a meteorologist.
Nargiz and her grandson Noah
"It's my time!" Sharp turns in the life of Nargiz Zakirova
TASS/Salynskaya Anna
She could have gone with the flow since childhood, but instead she resisted it with all her might. Nargiz was born in Tashkent into a musical family: her grandfather was an opera singer, her uncle Farrukh Zakirov was the leader of the popular ensemble “Yalla,” her mother sang on the stage, and her father was a drummer in the musical group of the girl’s other uncle, Batyr Zakirov.
When 15-year-old Nargiz was selected to participate in the Jurmala-86 festival, the girl learned for the first time what human envy is. She was openly told that her family was protecting her and that she did not deserve to go on stage. But Nargiz did not give up: in Jurmala she won the audience award with the song “Remember Me” based on the verses of Ilya Reznik.
She categorically did not like this kind of music, which she did not fail to tell her parents - but they still had the decisive right to vote.
Love and emigration
After school, the young singer entered the vocal department at a circus school - but her performances were far from what the teachers taught.
She tries to sing rock, goes on stage in short shorts - and all this against the backdrop of growing national self-awareness, when more and more families in Uzbekistan returned to traditional values and reverence for religion.
It was in those years that they began to call her the “Uzbek Madonna” - Nargiz dyed her hair blonde, and her performances were accompanied by explicit dancing.
The idea of emigration had been discussed in their family since the late 80s. Nargiz’s personal life was also in full swing at this time.
Ruslan Sharipov was the leader of the rock group “Bayt”, wore long hair and leather pants, and Nargiz reached out to him with all her rebellious nature. He reciprocated: a month after they met, she received a marriage proposal, and soon after the wedding she became pregnant.
The birth of their daughter Sabina in 1990 took Ruslan and her lives in different directions: while Nargiz was caring for the child, he continued to give concerts and reciprocate the love of fans.
She could not forgive the betrayal - the couple divorced. In one of her last interviews, Nargiz admitted that Ruslan now has problems with alcohol - but she is sure that he will pull through.
Her second husband was Ernur Kanaibekov. As soon as she married him, Nargiz and her family emigrated to the United States - while she was six months pregnant. The husband was supposed to join them later.
In the States, a completely different life awaited the famous Uzbek singer.
Video rental, tattoo parlor and restaurants
America immediately charmed Nargiz with its freedom and limitless possibilities.
This was what she missed so much in her native Uzbekistan. But along with this, the singer also faced serious difficulties. In the first year after the move, her father could not find a job for a long time, constantly quarreled with her mother, and developed diabetes mellitus due to stress. As soon as she gave birth to her son Auel, Nargiz went in search of work - she simply walked from one place to another, asking if there were any vacancies.
Her English was weak, and the only thing she was entrusted with was a place in a Russian video rental store. She was happy about this too.
Life gradually returned to normal. Nargiz worked and was looking forward to Yernur’s arrival. But when her husband arrived, she did not recognize him.
“Either while he was living alone in his homeland, he fell in love, or there was some other reason, but a stranger arrived. I was really looking forward to him - my beloved man, support, support, but a cold stranger appeared on the threshold. “Show me your son,” he said instead of greeting,” she recalled.
Yernur became a good father for Auel, but a bad husband for his mother. Almost immediately after their divorce, the man died in a car accident. But before that, he introduced Nargiz to her third - and greatest - love.
Nargiz and her son Auel 2020 Working first in a video rental store, then in a tattoo parlor, Nargiz was very homesick for the stage. One evening Yernur called her and said that he was in a Russian restaurant, where some Italian was singing amazingly - they say, you should hear this.
Arriving at the place, Nargiz was truly amazed by the singer’s talent. And then she agreed to go on stage herself - and got her first job as a singer in America.
They soon married the Italian Philip Balzano. Her third marriage turned out to be much longer and happier than the previous ones.
Italian passions
Marrying a Sicilian and living with him for 20 years is quite in Nargiz’s character. They had similar temperaments and hobbies, they could fight furiously and then passionately make peace, but in this marriage the main thing was love.
Disagreements began when Nargiz’s son from Ernur, Auel, grew up. Quarrels began to flare up between him and Philip more and more often; for the time being, she played the role of a lightning rod, but then, like any mother, she took the side of the child.
“Philip did not want to accept Auel in any way, but at the same time he wanted to keep me. Situations reached the point of madness, we even had to call the police. His hatred for my son alienated me more and more,” said Nargiz.
It was not possible to disperse peacefully: Philip made huge financial claims against Nargiz (who by that time had successfully performed on the Russian stage), and the court took up the matter. The litigation lasted for several months, until Balzano finally backed down: Nargiz called and offered to settle the differences amicably.
Now the singer with a clear conscience calls herself a free woman: she raised children, became a successful wife and has the right to live the life she has always dreamed of. And she dreamed of only one thing - to sing.
Voice
She was already 42 years old when she decided to radically change the well-fed and quiet life of a restaurant singer. In the USA, Nargiz went to the casting of the musical project X-factor: she went through several tours and waited for a call from the producers. At the same time, I decided to try my luck in the Russian “Voice”.
Fortunately for the domestic stage, Nargiz never received a call from American producers. But in Moscow they noticed her and invited her to blind auditions. Well, then - the real American dream on Russian soil.
All the project mentors turned to Nargiz. She chose Leonid Agutin - and under his leadership she reached the finals.
“I didn’t win, I won,” she said after Sergei Volchkov took first place in the project.
And this is true: Nargiz’s career is now on an incredible rise. She tours extensively and successfully, recorded a solo album under the guidance of producer Max Fadeev and sang a duet with him.
“This is my time!” says the singer about her life.
Image
According to the artist, her image is not the result of passion for any religious or philosophical movement. In her youth, Nargiz had luxurious long hair, but one day she saw singer Anna Oksu performing at the Sanremo festival with her head shaved. The singer's third husband supported her desire to be original and even helped her shave her head.
How Nargiz changed
The first tattoo, the Omkara sign, appeared on Nargiz’s hand in the first year of emigration. The singer studied the art of tattooing in a salon, which was located not far from the house where she lived with Philip Balzano, and even gave her husband three tattoos.
Nargiz is the brightest singer on the Russian stage
Nargiz’s body is decorated with many drawings, however, according to her, she does not attach much importance to them, but simply finds them beautiful.
Nargiz voiced a gypsy in the cartoon “Three Heroes”
Nargiz Zakirova now
With a new program, in which there are no songs written by Maxim Fadeev, in the fall of 2020 the artist went on tour to Kirov, Perm, Krasnogorsk and several other Russian cities.
The media called Nargiz’s performance at the Ussuri House of Officers at the end of October 2020 “scandalous” and “drunk.” Video with an allegedly drunk Nargiz (Ussuriysk) Despite the fact that many spectators who were dissatisfied with the singer’s concert talk about her drunken antics and mention a bottle of whiskey from which she allegedly drank while on stage, in the video Nargiz looks as usual and behaves herself in her usual shocking and emotional style. There is no bottle in her hands. The singer claims that rumors about her drunkenness are being spread by her former producer, who unilaterally terminated the contract with her. This is not the first time that Fadeev tried to smear the name of his former ward. Thus, Nargiz suspects that it was the producer who ordered one “yellow” publication to write an article from a “witch” who explained the singer’s failures as an addiction to alcohol. The fact that rumors about Nargiz’s “alcoholism” appeared precisely after a quarrel with Fadeev makes one think.