Ilshat Yapparov and Guzel Akhmetova biography, family and wife of the singer, songs and concerts

Biography

Singer Guzel Urazova is a decoration of the Tatarstan stage and a People's Artist of the Republic. The woman is marked with many regalia, but the main achievement is public recognition. For many years, Guzel has been performing popular and classical songs in the Tatar language, both solo and in a duet with her husband Ildar Khakimov. The couple not only sing about love, they know exactly what it is: their strong family union inspires fans no less than their singing talent.

Childhood and youth

The future singer was born in 1982 into a family of Tatar nationality. The girl’s homeland was the Perm village of Barda, where barely 10 thousand people lived. However, life in a remote provincial village did not stop Guzel from believing in the dream of becoming a singer. The daughter received the constant support of her parents - Fira Zarifovna and Askar Marcelovich, who raised three children.

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A post shared by Guzel Urazova (@guzelurazova) on Nov 25, 2018 at 12:05am PST

Guzel Urazova and her mother
Since childhood, she studied diligently and with pleasure at the gymnasium, and was successful not only in music, but also in languages, computer science, geography and physical education. Lessons at the educational institution were held in the Tatar language. Playing sports took a lot of time; it’s not for nothing that Urazova twice won regional tennis competitions. At the same time, the schoolgirl collaborates with the regional newspaper and writes articles about sports, cultural events, and school life.

My main hobbies were music and piano school. The vocal teacher saw talent in the girl and devoted a lot of attention to her. Perhaps that’s why at a visiting competition in Ufa, the young singer took first prize and became the owner of the title “Star of Bashkortostan.” The first victory inspired the student not to stop and continue to be creative.

The choice of her future path in life turned out to be connected with singing: after graduating from school, Guzel went to Tatarstan, where she became a student in the vocal department of the Kazan State Academy of Culture and Arts. The girl studied with People's Artist of the Republic Aidar Faizrakhmanov. Having received her diploma, the graduate continued her studies, becoming a certified economist at the University of Moscow. The singer received her third higher education in Tatarstan, at the Institute for the Training of Presidential Personnel.

Urazova admits that one dream did not come true: it turns out that in her youth she wanted to become a journalist and even entered the journalism department of Kazan State University, but, having passed 2 stages of the competition, she stumbled at the final one.

Where was you born and how did you spend your childhood?

Singer Dusya is from St. Petersburg by birth. It is the city of St. Petersburg that she considers home, her friends live there. Although lately her work has forced her to spend more time in Moscow.

Present Dusi – Elina Shchapova. She was not born and raised in an ordinary family, her grandfather is a considerable figure in the Russian music industry - Vladimir Kiselev. Vladimir Kiselev’s wife, Elena Sever, and her sons, known as Vladimir and YurKiss, are also involved in popular music. That is, Elina became the third generation of singing Kiselevs. The girl’s mother, the producer’s eldest daughter, Zoya, is also involved in music and even sang on stage at one time.

Elina spent a lot of time at her grandfather’s house with her uncles Yuri and Vladimir. She always noted that she loved her grandfather very much. When the program “While Everyone is Home” about the Kiselev family was broadcast in 2014, Elina was the only one of all the children and grandchildren of Kiselev who was present on the program. She said that her grandfather is always interested in her plans for life. He wants to know her aspirations, desires, even what she ate, what her grades were in school, and so on.

Apparently, Elina is a beloved granddaughter if she had the honor of being present at the filming of the program without being one of the owners of this house. As a child, she listened to music performed by Basta, the groups “Casta” and “BandEros”. And little by little I wrote my own lyrics in hip-hop style.

Personal life

Without a stretch, Guzel Urazova and Ildar Khakimov can be called the most popular couple of the Tatar stage. This creative and family union has been around for many years. Families go to the couple’s concerts – from kids to elderly elders. The singer herself is grateful to the public for their love and recognition, but notes that the main thing in her life remains family.

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A post shared by Guzel Urazova (@guzelurazova) on Apr 14, 2019 at 10:23pm PDT

Guzel Urazova and Ildar Khakimov with children
Husband Ildar is not only a partner in the theater of the song “Guzel-Eldar”, but also a music producer. The couple has three children: daughters Ellari and Camilla and son Samir. The singer is open to fans and does not hide her personal life from them, posting photos and videos of children on a specially created account on Instagram. Urazova's eldest girl, inspired by the example of her parents, followed in their footsteps and sometimes goes on stage with them.

On the artist’s personal website, the news section is constantly updated and information about the tour schedule is updated. In the “Interactive” section, the woman willingly answers questions from fans. Guzel avoided answering about her height and weight, however, according to Internet sources, with a height of 165 cm, she weighs 63 kg.

Interesting facts and stories

Guzelem is an extraordinary person, in whose life there are many funny moments and juicy facts. For example, these:

When the Minnikhanovs were in Egypt in 2013, combining relaxation with creativity, the pleasant impressions of the trip were almost overshadowed by some events. First - the revolution and the unrest that followed. Then, during the filming of the video, when Salavat had to rush down the street, he was almost detained by the police.
Guzelem strictly observes national traditions, following to the smallest detail the established rules in clothing and behavior. Therefore, the young woman not only wears a headscarf herself, but also advises her subscribers to do so.
The artist manages to combine touring, performing with Salavat (he is a famous singer in Tatarstan) with running a business. In Kazan she has a store selling scarves. There is also an Internet platform.
Not everyone knows that Minnikhanova is an experienced dancer. In 2020, she participated in the “Stars over the Parquet” project.
Salavat created a kind of advertisement for his wife when, in a program about the secrets of Tatar cuisine, he mentioned how delicious Guzelem cooks.
The couple is often invited to corporate events, memorable celebrations, and weddings. In Tatarstan, everyone knows about the creative duet Minnikhanovs. Many positive reviews and pleasant words on social networks confirm the high professional level of the artists.
Most recently, Guzelem and Salavat received a high honor and were invited to an official reception in the government of Tatarstan, where the president of the republic was present.
When colleagues and subscribers of the artist are interested in the secret of her concentration, her ability to keep up with everything, Guzel laughs it off. She says that it’s about the harmony that reigns in the family and the support from her husband.
The couple had long planned to have a child, but the busy schedule and workload of the artists prevented this. When Guzelem began to prepare for motherhood and became pregnant, her joy knew no bounds. The baby was born healthy and beautiful.

Music

The girl began her musical career while still a student and recorded her first songs at the age of 19. The debut album “Minem Serem” was released in 2002 in huge numbers, and the young performer, singing about the search for love, became a star of the Republic of Tatarstan.

The record was produced by the Bars-Media center, and the collaboration with Urazova turned out to be long and fruitful. Guzel considers the main composition from this record to be “Timesen tik kuzleren” (“Let them not jinx you”), which seems to be addressed to the future husband, the union with whom will determine the future creative path.

Guzel Urazova - “Yshanam”

In 2003, Urazova and Khakimov formed a duet in the Guzel-Ildar song theater. They decided to call themselves a theater because the performances of the artists are accompanied by mass productions and costumed performances. Up to 150 people can participate in one show at the same time. The singer admits that she no longer wants to perform separately from her husband, and the viewer is dissatisfied when he sees the performers separately.

The musicians give more than 100 concerts a year, successfully touring throughout the country and abroad, gathering thousands of Tatar audiences who miss their native word. Over the years of work, the couple has produced dozens of discs. Among the singer’s hits are such compositions as “Romashkalar”, “Bal Zhimeshem”, “Mehabbat st shundy...”, “Yshanam”.

You rarely hear songs performed by Guzel in foreign languages and even in Russian; the woman sees her mission as popularizing Tatar. In the song “Beautiful/Good”, performed in a duet with Alvin Gray (Radik Yulyakshin), the lyrics are written in two languages.

Guzel Urazova now

Now Guzel continues to actively tour, record songs and blog on Instagram and YouTube. On the video hosting site, the artist posts not only new songs and videos, but also sketches from family life. Fans watch the singer bake cookies, make dumplings with children, or celebrate her birthday.

Guzel Urazova and Alvin Gray - “Beautiful/Good”

On March 30, 2020, a significant event took place in Urazova’s creative biography: her duet with her husband gave a big concert at the State Kremlin Palace in Moscow. The performance was timed to coincide with the 15th anniversary of his creative activity and turned into a big show with mass backup dancers and lighting effects. Dina Garipova, Vitas, Sogdiana, Alvin Gray, Aidar Galimov came on stage to congratulate and support their friends. Alla Dukhova’s show ballet “Todes” and the Dagestan dance ensemble “Lezginka” were responsible for the choreographic component.

Way to success

After graduating from school in 1999, Guzel left her native village and entered the vocal department of the Kazan Academy of Culture. One of her teachers was Aidar Faizrakhmanov, Honored Artist of Tatarstan, who trained a whole constellation of famous performers. He taught the young student to masterfully control her unique voice, with the help of which she manages to convey all the originality and depth of both classical traditional melodies and works of modern authors.

Guzel Urazova is a popular singer from the Republic of Tatarstan

The repertoire of the Uraz song includes such famous Tatar composers as Firzar Murtazin, Zufar Khairetdinov, Oscar Usmanov, Ilgiz Zakirov and many other outstanding luminaries of national culture. Now her tour schedule is scheduled for many months in advance, and, despite her young age, the singer is well known both in Russia and abroad. Each performance of Guzel is held at the highest level and is distinguished not only by professionally installed sound and light, but also by the original stage design using the latest special effects.

Guzel Urazova and Alvin Gray at the Tatar song festival “Tatar Khyry”

At the same time, the girl managed to fulfill another of her youthful dreams and become a top-level manager. She graduated from the Moscow Economic University (MGUESI), and then studied municipal management at the Institute for Personnel Training under the President of Tatarstan.

In 2020, the singer performed a duet with the popular Bashkir singer Alvin Gray the song “Beautiful / Good”, which was recognized as the best song of the year at the Tatar song festival “Tatar Khyry”.