Childhood and youth
Jamala is a creative pseudonym (the initial letters of the singer’s surname), her real name is Susanna Jamaladinova. The future singer was born on August 27, 1983 in a small town in Kyrgyzstan. The singer's childhood and teenage years were spent in Malorechenskoye, not far from Alushta.
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Jamala in childhood
Jamala is a Crimean Tatar on her father’s side and an Armenian on her mother’s side. Jamala’s parents, like many residents of the resort village, were involved in the tourism business - they have a private boarding house near Alushta.
The girl studied at a music school and participated in many children's competitions. She won “Children’s Rain” and, as the winner, recorded an album, songs from which were often played on Crimean radio. At the age of 14, Jamala entered the music school in Simferopol. In class she studied classical and opera music, and then in the basement she played in her own jazz group, “Tutti.”
Jamala
She was born in Kyrgyzstan on August 27, 1983. Later the family moved to Crimea. I spent my childhood near Alushta in the village of Malorechenskoye. Her parents are musicians. Mom sings beautifully and works as a teacher at a music school, while dad once graduated from conducting. They started teaching their daughter music from early childhood. The name given to the girl from birth is Susana Jamaladinova. Susana and her sister received a strict Eastern upbringing. It was not customary for sisters to go anywhere, including discos. The girl's voice appeared when she was only three years old. It was the mother who noticed that her daughter’s voice had a special intonation. When Susana sang children's songs, everyone froze in amazement.
At the age of nine, the talented girl recorded an album of children's songs. To the amazement of the sound engineer, it only took her one hour. There were at least twelve songs, but the girl managed to perform them one after another, without making a single mistake. For this achievement, Susana's mother gave her a Barbie doll.
The girl went to the Alushta music school, where she studied piano. After school, she became a student at the Simferopol Music School. There the girl studied opera vocals. She continued her musical education in Kyiv. The future “star” studied at the National Academy of Music. During her studies, the future singer participated in festivals and competitions. So, at the “Crimean Spring” competition she won the third prize. Jamala was awarded the Dodge 2001 Special Award. Together with Alexander Novoselsky (a famous saxophonist), the girl took part in a concert held in Moscow. In addition, the singer participated in international music competitions, one of which was held in Italy, where Jamala became a laureate.
When she became a graduate, forty other ambitious young people left the academy with her, who did not know how their creative life would turn out. Many wanted to go to the theater. Jamala planned to eventually end up at the La Scala theater in order to work there as a soloist, devoting herself to classical music. But everything turned out differently in her life. This was influenced by the aspiring singer’s passion for oriental music, jazz and soul.
Elena Kolyadenko became a producer who was one of the first to notice the talented aspiring certified singer. They began to collaborate and quickly found a common language. In Kolyadenko’s musical called “Pa” she was a soloist. The premiere took place in 2007. This role played a great role in the singer’s work.
In 2006, the singer decided to become a participant in the New Wave competition. She successfully passed the qualifying rounds. During preparation for the competition, Jamala made many friends among musicians. The prestigious music competition brought the young singer victory. She shared first place with a performer from Indonesia. This victory gave the singer strength and she became more confident in her abilities. Her new goal is to win a Music Awards.
The victory made Jamala one of the top performers, she performed at venues in Russia and Europe, and gave a number of solo concerts in Kyiv. In 2009, the girl was invited to take part in a production of the opera “The Spanish Hour”, and in 2010 – in an opera production based on Bond. Inspired by her victory at the New Wave, Susana decided to try her hand at another equally popular Eurovision 2011 contest, but did not make it through the qualifying round.
In 2012, the singer became a participant in a show broadcast on one of the Ukrainian TV channels. Its title is “Stars at the Opera.” Her date was Vlad Pavlyuk. Together they won. “All or Nothing” is the title of Jamala’s second album, which was released in the spring of 2013. Her first album was released in 2011.
In 2012, the singer became a participant in a show broadcast on one of the Ukrainian TV channels. Its title is “Stars at the Opera.” Her date was Vlad Pavlyuk. Together they won. “All or Nothing” is the title of Jamala’s second album, which was released in the spring of 2013. Her first album was released in 2011.
Not long ago, the singer stopped collaborating with her producer Elena Kolyadenko. They had serious disagreements regarding the singer’s creative plans. According to Jamala, Elena sought to make her ward’s career rapid, for which it was necessary to perform songs exclusively in Russian, as well as record duets with the most popular artists in Russia. The singer does not intend to limit herself to pop music. She is interested in expressing herself in soul, jazz, classical, and blues. Susana wants to perform songs not only for citizens of Ukraine and Russia, but also for those who live outside of these two countries.
Jamala has many friends - both girls and boys. According to the singer, she is not amorous and has not yet experienced a great feeling in her life. Only once was there a young man, without whom Jamala, as she put it, felt very bad. The singer said that her mother more than once wondered when she would fall in love. The girl does not have any special criteria for the future candidate for her heart; the main thing is that the young man is sincere. Jamala is very economical, but by her character she can be called “flying in the clouds.” This is exactly how the singer herself described herself. It is important for her to have people like her mother or former producer Elena Kolyadenko nearby who could control her. The singer cannot say specifically what kind of music influenced her. However, she says that, most likely, everything that passed through her was deposited in the subconscious. She considers Rachel Ferol, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday and Jonny Mitchell to be significant musicians for her. The singer's clothes correspond to her attitude and her music. She believes that it is important to find harmony. Favorite colors are green and brown. Susana is interested in yoga and often listens to music. Jamala lives in Kyiv. The parents of the talented singer still live today in the village of Malorechenskoye near Alushta. They have a private boarding house. The singer's favorite holiday has always been her mother's birthday.
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The singer's debut on the big stage took place at the age of 15. Then there were performances at European, Russian and Ukrainian competitions. In mid-2009, Jamala was invited to the main role in the opera The Spanish Hour. The following winter, she sang in an opera play on a Bond theme, and then the English actor Jude Law was admired for her voice.
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Singer Jamala
In 2011, the singer released her debut album. On March 9, 2013, the second studio album “All or Nothing” was released. Two years later, she presented “Podikh,” the first album with a non-English title.
After 5 years, Jamala participated in the national selection for Eurovision from Ukraine. The singer says her father was rooting for her with all his heart. He specially went to his grandfather and said that Jamala had written a song that would definitely win. In one of her interviews, she said that the song “1944” is dedicated to the memory of her ancestors, her great-grandmother Nazylkhan, who was deported from Crimea in May 1944. The woman never returned to her native Crimea.
Eurovision 2016
Five years later, Jamala again participated in the national selection for Eurovision from Ukraine. The singer says her father was rooting for her with all his heart. He specially went to his grandfather and said that Jamala had written a song that would definitely win. The first semi-final of the Ukrainian casting took place on February 6, 2020, the second semi-final took place a week later - based on the results of these selections, five contestants qualified for the final.
In the final of the competition, the singer performed the song “1944” in English. In one of her interviews, she said that the song is dedicated to the memory of her ancestors, her great-grandmother Nazylkhan, who was deported from Crimea in May 1944. The woman never returned to her native Crimea.
The final took place on February 21, 2020, live on two Ukrainian TV channels. The jury members - Konstantin Meladze, Ruslana and Andrey Danilko - had to determine the winner. They gave points from 1 to 6 collectively. Jamala received 5 points, losing to The Hardkiss. But the audience, who cast their votes for Jamal, also had to vote.
The singer admitted that participating in the competition was not easy for her - it was easier to give several concerts. This time the final was open, so the contestants could follow the progress of the voting.
Jamala at Eurovision 2016
Jamala won Eurovision 2016, which took place in Sweden in May. According to the audience vote, Sergei Lazarev became the leader, but the outcome of the competition was decided by the jury, which rated the Russian singer’s performance low. As a result, Lazarev ended up only in 3rd place.
After winning the music competition, Jamala first released a mini-album, which included the song that brought the girl victory and four more compositions, and then a full-fledged fourth studio album with the same name. The album was released on June 10, 2020 in Europe, the album was released by the Universal Music Group label. The release in the United States took place on July 10 of the same year under the Republic Records label. In addition to the title track, the album includes 11 more songs in English.
Also in 2020, Jamala received the title of People's Artist of Ukraine.
Personal life
On April 26, 2020, Jamala got married. Her chosen one was Bekir Suleymanov, with whom the singer had maintained a relationship since 2014. The performer's fiancé is from Simferopol. In Kyiv he received a serious education in economics, and later studied medical radiophysics.
Bekir is 8 years younger than his wife, but this did not stop them from finding a common language. It was Suleymanov who convinced the singer to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest. According to the performer, he argued his arguments by drawing on a sheet of paper a diagram of the pros and cons of Jamala’s future performance.
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Jamala with her husband and son
Jamala’s wedding took place in Kiev according to Tatar traditions - the newlyweds underwent a nikah ceremony at the Islamic Cultural Center, which was performed by a mullah. On March 27, 2020, Jamala became a mother for the first time. The family had a son, who was named Emir-Rahman Seit-Bekir.
Today the singer does not hide her family happiness. Photos of Jamala with her husband and son regularly decorate her Instagram and appear in the media.
1944” - a hit that became history
Jamala won the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 in Sweden. In the person of the singer, Ukraine won Eurovision for the first time in a long period. She achieved one of the main goals of her life, which won the respect and love of Ukraine. After the music competition, Jamala presented a mini-album, which contained a new composition with which the girl won and four more songs. Then the singer released a full studio album under the same name. In addition, Jamala’s concert took place as the winner of an international competition. In the same year, the star was awarded the title of People's Artist.
Jamala performs the song “1944” at Eurovision 2016
On stage she is always very emotional and extravagant, but in life she is calm, restrained and punctual. Jamala does not comment on her personal life and almost always jokes that she simply doesn’t have enough time for it. Despite this, in April last year the singer married Bekir Suleymanov, with whom the relationship developed back in 2020. The couple's wedding took place in the capital, taking into account their nationality according to Tatar folk traditions. But this is her personal story, about which the singer was silent for so long.
Jamala now
In May 2020, the artist presented the track “Solo,” which was written especially for her by an international team of authors led by British composer Brian Todd. The song became an international hit: it took top positions in two British charts.
In the spring, Jamala took part in the 5th season of the singing show “The Voice. Children”, taking a place among the project mentors. The judges were also the duet “Time and Glass” and members of the pop group DZIDZIO. The singer’s ward Varvara Koshevaya took 2nd place in the final.
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Jamal in 2020 in the show “The Voice.
Children" Already in the summer, Jamala's repertoire was replenished with the hit "Krok", in the recording of which musician and sound producer Maxim Sikalenko, performing under the stage name Cape Cod, participated. According to the artist, in the song she conveyed the state of love, which inspires a person and fills his life with meaning. The premiere of the track was timed to coincide with the Atlas Weekend music festival, where the star performed.
Now Jamala is preparing for a tour. The performer's performances will take place in major cities of Ukraine. The program will be dedicated to the 10th anniversary of the creative activity of the stage star.
The beginning of creative activity
The brunette set herself the task of conquering Ukraine and other countries. She came up with a creative pseudonym for herself - Jamala. The singer became interested in oriental music and jazz.
The first person to notice the talented girl was producer Elena Koledenko. She invited Susana to her musical “Pa”. Our heroine began rehearsals. In 2007, the premiere took place with her participation.
Jamala decided to demonstrate her vocal abilities at the New Wave competition. This was in 2006. She managed to pass the qualifying rounds and become one of the participants. Jamala and the singer from Indonesia were awarded first place.
Between 2009 and 2010 the girl performed in the opera. She has participated in several productions (The Spanish Hour, an opera based on Bond and others).
In 2011, Jamala went to the Eurovision qualifying round. Hundreds of young and talented performers competed for the right to represent Ukraine at this competition. Unfortunately, Susana did not make it through the qualifying round.
Interesting facts and rumors
The singer was often compared to various artists, she even has a song “It's Me Jamala” (in English) the words of which say that she is not Lady Gaga or Emmy Winehouse.
As a child, classmates teased the future singer, asked why she came here and sent her to “their Tatarstan.” The girl had to explain more than once that she had nothing to do with the Kazan Tatars.
Knowing that she wanted to become a singer, Jamala still didn’t like the piano as a child, but her mother’s persistence helped her.
“99% of the repertoire are my own songs. And I feel freer and more confident as a composer thanks to my mother’s efforts.”
Jamal with mom
Although the singer is not conservative, she respects traditions and respect for elders; when she meets her grandfather, she kisses his hand, takes off her shoes at home, and sits at the table thanks God for water and food. If you are in the company of Muslim men, you cover your shoulders, backs and armpits.
When Jamala was still expecting a child, she complained about threats from fans of Melovin, the finalist of the National Selection for Eurovision 2020. She was bombarded with text messages with promises to “find and punish” if their idol did not win. Other jury members were outraged by this behavior of fans and asked Melovin if he felt responsible for their behavior. He said he no longer calls bad-behaving fans “melovinators.”
Jamal about Melovin fans
Also, 2 participants, finalists ANNA MARIA, found themselves in a not very pleasant situation during the Eurovision selection. They were asked questions about Crimea. The finalists’ mother received the Russian Federation medal “For the Return of Crimea,” but the artists say that they try not to touch upon politics when communicating with their parents and have nothing to do with their choice.
We made our choice, and our parents made theirs. We can't change it. If the question arose - to choose a competition or parents, we, like any normal person, chose parents. We, Ukrainian singers, were born in Crimea. We did not violate Ukrainian laws, we did not give concerts in Russia. We love Ukraine
Jamala told them how to treat Crimea:
I’m also crying, that’s why I chose my parents, because I can’t go to them, because they are in occupied territory. How can you say in an interview that “Crimea is our homeland?” You must say that Crimea is annexed, that Crimea is occupied, that we are at war. You need to admit it
Jamala responded to the duet ANNA MARIA
When Saltanat Ashirova performed with the Alicia Keys song “Fallin” during “Voice of the Country 7,” Potap and Jamala turned at the last moment, but Jamala refused to take her to the team after communication. She explains this by saying that the contestant did not perform a very important passage from the song.
I want to ask you: why didn't you do a very important move in this song that everyone was waiting for?
Saltanat then performed the required passage, but Jamala did not like her performance; she did not take the girl to her team, which she had no right to do after she turned around.
Her colleague, project trainer Tina Karol, also made it clear by the expression on her face that she condemns Jamala for such antics.
Saltanat Ashirova “Fallin'” - blind choice - Voice of the Country Season 7
Biography of Jamala
Jamala (Susanna Jamaladinova) is a Ukrainian singer who won Eurovision 2016 with the song “1944”. Her music combines the features of jazz, rhythm and blues and ethnic music, and her rich lyric-dramatic soprano makes each composition performed unique.
The real name of the singer Jamala is Susanna
Talented Jamala - talented in everything
As they say, a talented person is talented in everything and Jamala is a clear confirmation of this! 2020 gave her the chance to test herself in a new role. The singer tried herself as an actress and she succeeded. She played the maid of honor in the film “Polina”. In addition, Jamala became a cameo in the film called “Jamala’s Struggle” and in the documentary “Jamala.UA”.
Today, the singer diligently invests all the money Jamal earns in her creativity so that her music and videos are on par with the hits of world stars. If you are not yet familiar with her work, then hurry up to download and listen to at least one composition or watch a video. Believe me, the Ukrainian singer will not leave you indifferent.
Watch Jamala's winning performance at the Eurovision Song Contest 2016:
JAMALA – THE SUN OF TAVRIDA
Ukrainian singer of Crimean Tatar origin Jamala
considered an inconvenient performer. And all because she doesn’t shock the public with cheap scandals, doesn’t sing “sticky” songs and doesn’t promote her name with duets with popular colleagues. Her songs are filled with meaning and taken from the depths of the soul, and her unconventional five-octave vocals mesmerize the audience. And this is the only thing the Ukrainian winner wants to do for the rest of her life.
Musical family
From early childhood, the life of the future singer was not characterized by carelessness. Susana Jamaladinova was born
(this is Jamala's real name) in the Kyrgyz city of Osh in 1983. Her paternal ancestors were deported from Crimea to Kyrgyzstan in 1944. And my mother’s ancestors (Armenians by nationality) had to leave Nagorno-Karabakh after dispossession. Jamala's parents met at a music school, where Galina was a pianist, and Alim was the conductor of his ensemble, which performed Crimean Tatar music, as well as melodies of the peoples of Central Asia. The Jamaladinov family celebrated their daughter’s first birthday in Melitopol, Ukraine. Jamala’s father dreamed of returning to his historical homeland in Crimea, but in the 1980s there was an unspoken ban on the movement of Crimean Tatars to the peninsula and, moreover, the sale of housing to them. Then Jamala's parents decided to file a fictitious divorce. The father stayed with his two daughters to live in Melitopol, and the mother went to the village of Malorechenskoye (Kuchuk-Uzen) not far from Alushta, where she rented a room and began teaching music. After 4 years, she managed to buy a home and reunite with her family.
In love with jazz
From the age of three, Susana sang at all family holidays and friendly gatherings; she instantly fell into the image that she invented for herself, copied famous performers, and reproduced their vocal parts by ear. Dad Alim regularly brought home folk music - Crimean Tatar, Iranian, Azerbaijani... Therefore, he still considers his parents to be his first teachers and authorities in the world of music. Even before bed, my mother played a record for her daughter so that she would fall asleep peacefully. As soon as the music ended on one side, the girl woke up and started crying.
Susana was lucky enough to meet arranger Gennady Astsaturyan, who instilled in her a love for the art of jazz. At first, he forced the girl to listen to recordings of the great. Of course, such unchildish vocals were initially a burden for young Jamala. But Gennady did not deviate from the planned plan. One day he gave her a cassette with Ella’s songs and told her to memorize them for the next meeting. At that time, Susana did not know English, but this did not stop her teacher. The aspiring singer had to learn all the songs by ear, taking up the task with maximum responsibility. When she came to Astsaturyan to perform jazz compositions, he did not even listen, giving her a new cassette. He knew very well that the persistent Susana would teach her too. Thanks to this preparation, she entered the Simferopol Music School without any problems. During classes, the girl studied classics, and then hurried to the basement, where she played in her jazz group “Tutti”.
Looking for a teacher
The next stage in Jamala’s life path was the Kiev National Academy of Music, where she entered the opera vocal class. But there the girl had to face serious problems, because of which she wanted to quit studying several times. The fact is that due to the authoritarian pedagogical approach of one of the teachers, Susana’s cords often failed to close due to nervousness, and she lost her voice. The teacher allowed herself to insult the student, telling her that her voice was only suitable for shouting on the beach: “Barbecue!” As a result, the girl switched to another teacher - Natalya Gorbatenko. After that, she became the best student on the course and graduated from the academy with honors.
New wave of Jamala
They immediately made her an offer, which not every graduate receives. Susana was invited to work at the Swiss Opera House. But her boyfriend, her first and crazy love, did not want to let the girl go. He even invited her to marry him in order to keep her in Ukraine, but she did not want to start a family in such a situation. I dreamed of going on an internship at La Scala in Milan and devoting my life to opera. However, fate decreed otherwise.
Jamala has been participating in singing competitions since she was 15 years old. At the international show “Voices of the Future” in Nizhny Novgorod, she was awarded the Grand Prix. But the turning point in the singer’s creative life was 2009 and her victory in the “New Wave” competition in Jurmala. She presented to the audience and the jury a cover version of the song “History Repeating” by the British group Propellerheads, performed the Ukrainian folk song “Vershe, my vershe” and her own composition “Mama’s Son”.
First try
After such success, Jamala began to actively tour, participate in television shows and received the “Person of the Year” award in the “Idol of Ukrainians” category. She was invited to perform the main role in the opera The Spanish Hour. Then there was participation in an opera play on a Bond theme. Then the British actor Jude Law simply fell in love with her voice. And in 2011, Susana decided to participate in the all-Ukrainian selection for an international competition, for which she wrote her new song “Smile”. The singer reached the final, but after voting lost to Zlata Ognevich and Mika Newton, who became the winner of the internal selection. The voting results provoked a scandal and suspicions of fraud. The national television company decided to hold a repeat vote, but Zlata Ognevich also refused to participate in it.
All or nothing
In the spring of 2011, Jamala released her debut album “For Every Heart”. Most of the songs in the collection are Susana’s original compositions, one of which she performed in her native language. The singer’s second studio album, “All Or Nothing,” was not long in coming. Having such extraordinary vocals, he does not write instantly recognizable songs. She does not try to reach the maximum audience and win commercial laurels. Jamala does not strive for quick popularity, she tries to create only the music that is close to her, passes all the compositions through herself and always believes in what she sings about.
While she does not feel like a successful singer and believes that real fame comes over the years, like real wisdom, and the love of viewers and listeners, the favor of the public is tested by time. calls successful those artists whose music and thoughts they continue to return to after decades, whose work is necessary and relevant.
Acting debut
In 2014, Jamala decided to try herself in a new role and accepted the offer of the famous director Oles Sanin to star in the film “The Guide,” which takes place in 1933. After the premiere, the director called the leading actress a wonderful actress with a great future. It’s interesting that after the screen tests no one supported Oles Sanin’s choice, but he immediately recognized the acting talent in the modest oriental girl. By the way, during filming, the debutante was most worried about how she would play the kiss scene, which her father would later see. Impressed by her work in the film “The Guide”, she wrote the song “Why do my eyes ache?” At the same time, the performer began to actively participate in public events, speaking out in support of the unity of Ukraine after the outbreak of hostilities in the country.
