Biography
Suzanne Abdullah is a young artist who gained popularity thanks to television vocal shows, first in her native Ukraine, and then in Russia. The singer with an exotic appearance and a bright voice managed to maintain her individuality and, as part of the Malbec group, is today considered the main face of the new Russian pop music. And thanks to her provocative photo shoots, Suzanne gained fame as an icon of Russian feminism.
Childhood and youth
Suzanna Abdullah was born on June 8, 1994 in Voronezh. She was a child when the family and children moved to the pearl of Crimea - the city of Kerch. Suzanne's mother Olga Pishchik, a teacher by profession, raised her daughters alone. Both the eldest Sabrina (in 2011 participated in the Ukrainian “Star Factory - 3”) and the youngest Suzanne grew up passionate about music and dancing.
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Suzanne Abdullah in childhood
The sisters' blood mixed genes of several nationalities. The girl owes her unusual surname Abdullah and exotic appearance to her father, a representative of the Arab and African nationalities.
At the age of 9, Suzanne began taking vocal classes, determined to be a singer. And at the age of 16, luck smiled at her. In 2010, an analogue of the popular British vocal show “The X Factor” was launched in Ukraine; performers from all over the country were invited to the casting in Dnepropetrovsk.
Biography[ | ]
Her mother, Pat Vega, a computer systems analyst, was of German-Swedish descent. Father, Richard Pack, is a Swedish-English-Irish graphic designer. Stepfather, Ed Vega, is a writer from Puerto Rico [1].
Suzanne Vega was born on July 11, 1959 in Santa Monica, California, at seven months old, weighing just over a kilogram, and immediately fell into a pressure chamber. Suzanne's parents separated even before her birth, and in 1960 the girl had a new father, whom she considered family for many years. Puerto Rican writer Ed Vega took his family to New York. They settled in the Spanish quarter. Since childhood, Suzanne spoke Spanish as well as English. At age 9, she discovered that her father was white. Her sense of identity as Puerto Rican was shattered. For many years she lost her self-identity. In 1988, Suzanne hired a detective to track down her real father in California, where he earned money by drawing architectural designs from blueprints.
In addition to Suzanne, there were three more children in the family. Parents often sang (including Ed Vega's own songs) and encouraged their children to be musically creative. Suzanne picked up the guitar at age 11. By 12, she discovered her gift for poetry. Her father recommended that she avoid cliches and be as sincere as possible in her self-expression. Ed and Suzanne's mother were Buddhists, which their daughter said helped shape her personality.
She was inspired by Bob Dylan and modern ballet, which she studied at the School of the Arts in Manhattan. The dance was difficult for her. Other students were relaxed and expressive, but she was known as a complete introvert. Suzanne learned to establish relationships with others without unnecessary words or actions. She dressed in loose sweaters and heavy boots. She didn’t want to look sexy, she believed that everything could be achieved with the mind. Much later, Vega realized that her failures in the dance field were due to asthma and general health. But then she was overwhelmed by complexes and unspoken desires.
Suzanne went to Barnard College in New York. The dancer's career was forgotten; the girl was interested in singing her own songs. She performed in West Side coffee houses and at folk festivals. For a long time, Suzanne could not stand the attention of the public; the looks irritated her.
Since 1978, Vega sang in the clubs of Greenwich Village in the company of folk song lovers. Her sense of self returned to order, especially when she heard kind reviews and applause. “I knew from early childhood that I would become famous. I spent hours jumping around in the hallway, imagining myself on stage, or inviting other children over to play shows with them or sing in front of them.” In Greenwich Village, Suzanne found the audience she had always dreamed of.
In 1979, Vega attended a Lou Reed concert. The impressions were amazing - Suzanne realized that she could sing about daily impressions, about the life of the streets, tell thousands of small stories of the crippled, sick, abandoned, without pronouncing the plot to the end. This is how her signature move was born[ clarify
].
After graduating from college in 1982, she got a job: she worked as a receptionist during the day and sang in clubs at night. She had already been written about in newspapers, but studios rejected her demos.
Two years after her first unsuccessful attempt to interest a record company, she was found by two producers who had just opened their own business. A couple of years ago, Vega's recording came into their area of interest. The demo tape recorded with their help was liked by the A&M record company, which had already rejected it twice. In 1983 she signed a contract, and in 1985 her first album was released, on which she worked with Lenny Kaye, Patti Smith's former guitarist. The owners hoped to sell 30 thousand copies, but sold 250 thousand in the States and 500 thousand abroad. Rolling Stone magazine included Suzanne Vega in the top 100 albums of the 80s.
Two months after the album's release, Suzanne gave her first big concert with the group and has since performed at such prestigious venues as the Royal Albert Hall in London, Carnegie Hall and Radio City Music Hall in New York.
In 1986, Vega wrote two lyrics for Philip Glass's orchestral album Songs for Liquid Days and later collaborated with him on several occasions. All Suzanne's timidity disappeared. Now she knew her characteristics well. For example, she was never able to successfully sing a long phrase - the consequences of asthma affected her. But it doesn’t matter, Suzanne’s poems consist of abrupt short statements, philosophical and extremely effective. The best example of such a poem is the standard “Luka,” which thundered across the charts around the world and won her the love of foundations for the protection of children from violence.
On Suzanne’s second disc, “State of Loneliness” (1987), in addition to “Luka,” there is another world hit, “Tom’s Diner,” which was later remixed by British rappers DNA. The producers were shocked, but Suzanne herself was delighted: “Black children began to listen to my songs.” Having heard the remix, she changed her attitude towards sound - this was reflected in her subsequent recordings, the sound of which critics find incomparably denser and even difficult to perceive (“Days of Open Hand”, 1990).
99.9 °F
, recorded two years later, was poorly received. Suzanne was expected to continue, but she changed her style again. The next album, Nine Objects of Desire (Suzanne's daughter Ruby, producer husband Mitchell Froom, Lolita, Death, three men, one woman and a plum) was popular.
Release Tried & True: The Best of Suzanne Vega
, 1998) is a collection of singles, two songs not included on the official albums ("Left of Center" and "Tom's Diner" on the DNA version) and two new songs ("Book & Cover" and "Rosemary").
Susan Vega and Duncan Sheik wrote the play Carson McCullers Talks About Love
[1] (directed by Kay Metshula) about the life of the American writer Carson McCullers, whose work Susan has been passionate about since she was 15[2].
The premiere took place in 2011. In 2020, the musical material of the play was released on Vega’s ninth numbered album, Lover, Beloved: Songs from an Evening with Carson McCullers.
Music and television
Suzanna went to the audition and, after standing for many hours, passed the selection, becoming a participant in the 1st season of the show on the STB channel. The young singer impressed the judges and spectators with her luxurious rendition of Beyoncé’s song “Halo” and advanced to the next round. Viewers noticed that the contestant looked “terribly” like Jessica Alba. The only difference is in height: Suzanne is taller (177 cm and weighs 58 kg).
Personal life
In early interviews, the girl was reluctant to talk about her personal life, arguing that “some things should not be made public.” In 2011, information spread that Suzanne was dating the son of the famous Ukrainian singer Taisiya Povaliy, Denis. But the singer herself later denied these speculations, calling the young man her faithful friend.
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Suzanna Abdullah and her husband Roman Varnin
Suzanna and her husband Roman Varnin met on the Internet. He was fond of photography and posted his works on VKontakte. The singer wrote a positive comment, and a conversation began. Then Suzanne and Roma from Malbec met once in Kyiv, and then in Moscow. The relationship developed quickly: soon after they met, the young people got married. The wife took her husband’s last name and began introducing herself as Suzanna Varnina.
In the summer of 2020, Suzanne shocked fans with an extravagant stunt. The singer posted photos on Instagram showing hair-covered armpits, stomach and groin. Followers “threw stones” at the singer because the girl does not shave her armpits, does not take care of her body, and appears in front of the camera without makeup.
“Hairy abomination”: the Ukrainian singer was ridiculed for being too natural
Ukrainian singer Suzanna Abdulla amazes the public not only with her singing talent, but also with candid photographs that show her hairiness, NUR.KZ reports.
Suzanna Varnina. Photo: instagram.com/siuzannavarnina
Suzanne Abdullah gained wide popularity after participating in the Ukrainian X-Factor show. At that time the girl was 16 years old. She performed the musical composition by American singer Beyonce Halo.
The jury immediately reacted positively to Suzanne's performance, and all because of her unusual appearance and beautiful voice.
Now the girl performs in the Russian group “Malbec” together with her husband Roma Varnin. By the way, Suzanne took his last name.
The performer posts candid photographs on her Instagram page, in which the girl demonstrates her hair in full.
True, the singer’s subscribers are not delighted with such pictures, believing that this is too much.
Many Internet users react quite sharply to publications that demonstrate excessive naturalness.
So some of them said that unshaven armpits are disgusting, and Suzanne is a “hairy abomination.”
Another part of the singer’s fans noted that it was simply unhygienic. They also wrote that an adequate girl will not allow herself to walk around the streets of the city, showing off her hair.
Some other Internet users began to insult Suzanne for such inappropriate behavior.
But there were also defenders of the singer who were not against the fact that the girl did not shave.
“I don’t understand what’s wrong with this, she’s not ashamed of her body... Many people simply envy her because she’s not afraid of the opinions of others. She is the most gorgeous girl who appreciates and accepts herself for who she is,” wrote one of the subscribers.
Suzanne herself considers herself beautiful, regardless of what her ill-wishers say.
“Words cannot break me!” said the singer.
The girl also often publishes pictures of other women who were not afraid of their naturalness. So, for example, in the singer’s account you can see a photo of the Italian actress and singer Sophia Loren.
Suzanne simply adores the Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, who, by the way, was also not shy about her body, face, and even more so about her hair.
Apparently, the singer liked the fact that Frida was not afraid of herself, openly showing the public her whole life. At the same time, the artist did not live an ordinary life.
She openly declared her bisexuality and love for alcoholic drinks and cigarettes.
