Biography
The name Manizha means “tender”, and the surname Sangin means “stone”. In an interview, the young performer Manizha calls herself a “gentle stone” with a smile. And indeed, the girl’s character harmoniously combines both principles - fragile, creative and strong, which helps to achieve high results.
Singer Manizha
With her own example, the singer refutes the stereotype that an artist needs the patronage of a label or producer. Manizha gathered her vast audience thanks to her personal qualities - talent, charisma and amazing sincerity.
Biography of Manizha
Singer Manizha (full name - Manizha Dalerovna Khamraeva) is a popular DIY singer of Tajik origin, performing compositions in soul and ethno style.
She managed to be remembered by Internet users for her short, colorful videos on Instagram, which became her real calling card and resulted in the world’s first musical Instagram album, Manuscript, and in May 2017, Manizha formed the Ice Sports Club. She didn’t need producers or millions in subsidies to achieve success, and that’s impressive. Tajik singer Manizha Dalerovna Khamraeva
Childhood and youth
Manizha Sangin (Khamraeva), better known by her stage name Manizha, was born on July 8, 1991 in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. The singer willingly talks about her relatives in interviews. Her grandfather Taji Usmon is known in his country as a writer and journalist. In the city of Khujand, a street bears his name, and a monument was erected there in honor of the writer. Manizhi’s great-grandmother went down in the history of Central Asia as one of the first women who decided to take off her burqa and start working on an equal basis with men.
Manizha (Manizha Sangin)
The girl’s mother, Nadzhiba Usmanova, received a diploma in psychology. She, according to her daughter, is a creative person: in her youth she was fond of singing, but then lost her voice. Her father, a doctor by training, is also a music lover, so since childhood Manizha listened to the same things as her parents - Queen, Pink Floyd, Viktor Tsoi. In total, there were five children in the family, the future singer was the middle of them. In 1994, when the Civil War began in Tajikistan, the family had to leave their native country and settle in Moscow.
The grandmother saw musical abilities in the girl. At the age of 5, Manizha began learning to play the piano, but a year later she left this activity. At the choir audition, she was assigned to the group of second voices, and the future star, who did not yet know what it was, was upset and left.
Manizha
In an interview, the singer recalls how once in elementary school she performed “My heart will go one” in front of teachers and classmates. Manizha interpreted the tears of the touched audience differently - she decided that her terrible singing was to blame. After this, the girl was embarrassed to perform in front of an audience, but at the age of 11 she returned to music again and began composing her own songs.
Despite the obvious craving for creativity, after graduating from school, Manizha entered the Russian State University for the Humanities. Her choice fell on the Faculty of Psychology. According to the singer, for a long time her classmates did not even suspect that she was studying music. The girl appeared within the walls of her alma mater infrequently, and singing helped her pass tests and exams. For example, Manizha took a foreign language test by performing songs in English for the department’s teachers.
Music
Manizhi has extensive experience in participating in music competitions and festivals: “Rainbow Stars” (2003), “Kaunas Talent” (2004), “Time to Light the Stars” (2006), “Navoi Dil” (2007) and others. At the same time, the girl invariably took first place. A new turn in the singer’s creative biography occurred in 2007, when she began performing under the pseudonym Ru.Kola. The first single “Nebregayu”, released in February, entered the top ten songs of the “Russian Radio” hit parade.
Rukola's song "I neglect"
In September 2007, the girl took part in the III All-Russian competition of pop song performers “Five Stars” (Sochi). Ru.Kola was among the finalists, but the main prizes went to other contestants. Nevertheless, the young singer, who performed “London Sky” by Zemfira, “Caravan of Love” by Sofia Rotaru and her own song “Hurry,” was remembered by the audience.
The release of Ru.Kola’s debut album “I Neglect” took place in the spring of 2008. The album included 11 compositions, clips for some of them (“On Fire”, “You Say”) were broadcast on Russian and Ukrainian TV channels. Despite the success, Manizha soon left the project - she did not want to remain in the eyes of the public as just another commercial product.
Rukola's song "On Fire"
For a while, the singer moved to London, where she worked with music producer Michael Spencer. However, she eventually refused to cooperate with the British label, deciding to maintain creative independence. After returning to Russia, the girl searched for herself, performed and recorded songs with the groups “Assai”, “Krip De Shin”, with musicians Mikhail Mishchenko and Escome.
The singer began posting short music videos on her Instagram back in 2013. The 15-second video format, according to Manizhi, is not at all a disadvantage, as it seems at first glance. A tiny excerpt conveys much more to the viewer than a full-fledged clip or film.
Singer Manizha on stage
For the video, the girl chose not the most obvious material - she covered songs by David Bowie, Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson and other legendary performers.
“In a genre like cover performance, it’s very boring to look at girls who cover Adele or Nina Simone,” Manizha explained her choice.
Later, the young performer began sharing her own creativity with subscribers. In December 2020, Manizha released her debut Instagram album “Manuscript”. The unusual release took place in interaction with the audience: the album title appeared during a competition, and the tracks were released every week on specially created art accounts. In February 2017, the singer’s debut creation appeared on iTunes and quickly reached the top of the Russian chart.
Song Manizha “Chandelier”
Manizha dedicated the full-length video for the song “Sometimes” to her mother, who supported the girl throughout her entire creative journey. By the way, Nadzhiba Usmanova became a designer; she has her own company, Modardesigns. The singer completely entrusted her clothing style to her mother; the girl also resorts to her advice when creating videos.
Another video, “Chandelier,” was shot using a KUKA robotic arm; a professional film camera was replaced by an iPhone. The clip turned out stylish, with many unusual and effective angles.
Personal life
Manizha prefers not to talk about her personal life. In an interview, the singer says that now all her time, all her thoughts are occupied by music. Of course, in the future the girl plans to start a family, but she cannot say exactly when this will happen.
Manizha
Manizha would like to find herself a worthy husband and have children, but, according to her, she still feels small. In order to realize herself in this area of life, the girl still needs time.
Singer Manizha: “My father was ashamed of me because of my profession”
Manizha // Photo: Personal archive
Singer Manizha filmed super popular videos using a mop and forced strangers to sing on the streets. The 25-year-old artist loves to surprise the audience. Apparently, thanks to this, her army of fans is growing by leaps and bounds. The performer's music is liked by Vera Brezhneva, Polina Gagarina and many other Russian pop stars. The girl began recording and posting her first 15-second videos with songs on Instagram out of despair, being depressed. As a result, she created the world’s first full-fledged Instagram album, “Manuscript,” and on May 20, Manizha will give a big concert on the stage of the Ice Palace. The singer told StarHit why she had not communicated with her father for 10 years and why she is still ashamed of her mother.
— You became famous thanks to Instagram. What unusual things did you have to do for the sake of popularity?
Every video is hard labor and pleasure. I remembered two videos - one filmed in Moscow, the other in New York, when I asked passers-by to sing with me. For several days I walked the streets like crazy with a phone, a tripod, a sound recording device, approached everyone and said: “Hello, my name is Manizha, let’s sing together!” I wanted to show that you don’t have to have a musical education to appear in a cool video. It is enough to agree and surrender to childish spontaneity. I managed to meet different people: some immediately refused, but there were also those who, completely missing the notes, had such a blast!
— Did you consciously strive to become a network star?
To be honest, I started making videos out of despair. I participated in an international project, worked in England, recorded at Michael Spencer’s studio, he worked with Kylie Minogue, I had a contract for one album. I did a great job, devoting four years of my life to this. And all this came to nothing. Due to the financial crisis, which hit everyone, the project was closed. Being depressed, I returned to Moscow. I literally went crazy. And I came up with a game: post a video once a week to brighten up your Monday. I asked: “People, what song do you want to hear?” Then I chose the one that I also liked, did a cover, oh, that one - my friends, and further along the chain. A month of such work brought 10 thousand subscribers. Instagram became my springboard, and there I also met part of my team with whom I now work. I want to be an example for those who are hesitant. Prove that from Instagram you can stand on the stage of Ledovoy. No radio stations or steam locomotives are needed...
Manizha was able to take her creativity to a new level // Photo: Personal archive
— Do you communicate closely with fans?
They are the basis of my existence. I try to answer everyone: in private messages, by mail, everywhere. True, this is becoming increasingly difficult to do, because there are now many of them. For me, this is a way to understand what to do next.
— Did you change anything after the critical comments?
I had a precedent. On May 9, 2020, I made a video for the song “Dark Night”. There was a huge discussion and I received a lot of criticism. She answered all the spiteful critics: “Thank you very much. It’s probably true that we shouldn’t have done this.” And the surprising thing is that they immediately changed their minds. People just wanted attention, they didn’t expect me to respond to them.
—Are there any famous people among your fans?
I have a good relationship with Vera Brezhneva. Once she reposted my video – and it was incredibly nice! Polina Gagarina, Timur Rodriguez, Anfisa Chekhova also wrote that they like what I do. Rapper L'One came to the concert - and didn't even ask for an invitation, but simply bought tickets - for himself, his wife, and his child. I am glad that there are fellow musicians among my listeners.
— Which modern star do you look up to?
I really love Alla Borisovna Pugacheva - especially her early records. I just love Zemfira too! Vanya Dorn is cool. Now there are a lot of interesting artists who make cool music.
Vera Brezhneva and Polina Gagarina listen to Manizha // Photo: Personal archive
— Who do you like from foreign countries? As far as I know, you even stood on the same stage with Lana Del Rey?
It was three years ago, I sang as her opening act in the same “Ice”. We sent the recording to the casting. And Lana’s management invited us. It was funny when later during our performance her assistant ran up to the sound engineer and asked me to turn it down, saying it was too cool to warm up. But it didn’t work out that way. After the concert, Lana came to my dressing room. She said that she liked it, saying that I’m cool, I should continue in the same spirit. She and I chatted for half an hour, hugged and congratulated each other on a successful performance. I also worked with musicians Jamiroquai, Robbie Williams: all very modest and kind guys.
— You managed to live in London and Moscow, but finally settled in St. Petersburg. Why?
Let me start with the fact that I was born in Tajikistan. When I was one year old, there was military action there, and my mother moved me to Moscow. So my whole life has been and remains here. And I came to St. Petersburg five years ago, looking for myself. I became friends with the musicians with whom we later created a band. Many people generally think that I am from the Northern capital. I can’t say that this is the only city where I manage to create. But there are places where I feel freer, where there is less running around, worries, and I can concentrate better. For me, St. Petersburg is the most delicious city. There are amazing cafes there. I am a coffee lover and love to have breakfast - it is a certain ritual for me. If I don’t have breakfast, my day is ruined.
— How did your mother react to your constant moving to different countries and cities? Are you ashamed of something in front of your mother?
She took it all hard and tried to dissuade me. But she had no choice - she realized that she needed to let go. I didn’t tell her many things later: how difficult it was for me there, lonely. There was a very funny story when I was a child. Do you remember the series “Wild Angel”? There Milagres always drank wine and talked with Jesus. And she asked him for something good. One day, as a small child, I drank wine at home: for my family, for the health of my loved ones, thinking that this was some kind of connection with the Almighty. How my mother scolded me then! And I was so offended that she didn’t understand - after all, I did it for her!
Manizha and Lana Del Rey had a fun chat after the concert // Photo: Personal archive
— After moving to St. Petersburg, did you support yourself?
My mother still helps me financially, although this is no longer required. Now I earn money, I don’t beg. But I always find my mother’s “gifts” in my passport. Sometimes I say: “Mom, I need such and such an amount of money.” And she always tries to send more! And so on all the time. When I moved, I had a goal: to grow up, to stop being a child. I must say that I have always been under the care of my elders. She started earning money from music at the age of 12. At 16, she was already giving concerts, participating in a pop project - it was a real school. And at 18 I started writing songs. But I wanted to get a higher education...
— And you went to study as a psychologist?
Yes. I didn't want to go into music. There seemed to be a lot of injustice there. I studied at a music school and thought that was enough. Then I looked at my friends who had graduated and thought: “Why should I go to pop-jazz vocals? I can do this at home, with vocal teachers.” One of my teachers was Tatyana Antsiferova. I decided that I needed an education that would develop me as a person. I settled on psychology, since my mother and grandmother also worked in this field. Studied at the Russian State University for the Humanities. It's been an amazing five years.
Manizha with her mother // Photo: Personal archive
— I know that your father did not immediately accept your passion for music. Are you talking now?
For Muslim men, such a profession is shame, disgrace and prostitution. Dad didn't support me. Only this year he began to show concern. We haven't communicated for almost 10 years. But exactly a year ago he came to my concert in Moscow, although I did not invite him. Then he called and said that he finally understood everything. He admitted that he was wrong when he said that music is not mine. He kept convincing me that you need to be a decent girl, otherwise no one will marry you.
- Do you want to? Do you still have time for your personal life?
Music has been my personal life for the last few years. I really want a child, but I understand that I am still small. I still need time, I don’t know how much yet.
Manizha now
In 2020, the singer’s discography was replenished with another album, “ЯIAM”. According to Manizhi's plan, the record consists of two parts, differing not only in the language of performance, but also in mood. The first, Russian-language part is characterized by a colder, electronic sound.
Manizha in 2018
The second, “warm,” is an anthology of English-language songs that inspire the performer. The video for one of the songs of the first part, “Emerald,” turned into a real art project: the images shown in the video refer the viewer to the works of Michelangelo, Sandro Botticelli, Frida Kahlo.
Manizha's song "Emerald"
The artist actively appears at music events, participates in concerts and promotional campaigns. Thus, in the fall of 2018, Manizha starred in an ad for Adidas Russia. True, the singer admits that recently she has increasingly refused invitations to such projects. The main thing for her is not to deceive the viewer. In addition, the performer continues to maintain pages on social networks, sharing new photos and videos with subscribers.
Project Manizha
The girl spent about four years in London. She even had a contract to record an album, but due to the financial crisis the deal was unsuccessful. Out of hopelessness, she returned to Moscow. In order to somehow smooth out the depressive moments of her life, every Monday she began to select her favorite song, record her video cover of it and post it on Instagram. Thus, over time, the idea of a new project, Manizha, was born.
Manizha is the singer’s real name
It was important for her to remain an independent artist, capable of conveying her own creativity to the public, and not remain a pawn of a prestigious label, always ready to fulfill any whims of the producers. This is what’s good about social networks - by posting original fifteen-second videos on Instagram, Manizha aroused keen interest among the public. The number of her subscribers began to grow rapidly and by mid-2020 exceeded 300 thousand. There were not only covers, but also videos that Manizha filmed herself, simply running through the streets with her phone and inviting passers-by to sing with her.
Now the famous film producer Alexey Alekseev works with her on a team, who provides invaluable assistance with ideas for videos and their implementation. At the beginning of 2020, Manizha pleased fans with the new album “Manuscript”, which immediately took the top positions in Russian iTunes. A video clip was shot for the song “Chandelier”, and viewers of Channel One were able to appreciate the live performance of this composition on the air of the “Evening Urgant” program.
