Singer Nargiz Zakirova captivated the audience in the second season of the Voice show. She took second place, but many fans of her talent claimed that Nargiz was the true winner of the competition. She began her musical career and the path to success during the existence of the USSR, and then disappeared from the stage for many years.
The triumphant return of the singer to Russia took place in 2013. She became a participant in the show "The Voice" and, reaching the final, lost only to Sergei Volchkov, whose mentor was Alexander Gradsky.
early years
Nargiz (real name Nargiza Pulatovna Zakirova) was born in Uzbekistan, then still part of the Soviet Union, in the fall of 1970 in a creative family. All close relatives of the future singer were related to art.
Native grandfather Nargiz was a People's Artist of the Uzbek SSR, an opera singer. My grandmother was also a singer, she worked in the musical theater in Tashkent.
Uncle Nargiz was a famous singer and composer in Uzbekistan, who received the title of People's Artist of the Uzbek SSR. The second uncle, Batyr Zakirov, is no less famous musician, founder of the popular Yalla group. The third uncle is an honored artist of the Uzbek SSR, who worked on the theater stage, in films and on television.
My father was a musician and worked as a drummer in the Yalla ensemble. Mom is a popular pop singer who worked at the Music Hall.
Surrounded by such a musical and creative family, the girl from an early age was immersed in the atmosphere of art. The first performance on the stage at Nargiz took place at the age of four.
Mom often took her daughter to rehearsals and touring the country's cities. So in one of the performances a doll, the hippo Katya, was supposed to appear on the stage, performing a children's song. Then mom Nargiz suggested that Nargiz should sing the song. Everyone liked this idea. Soon the debut performance of the young singer took place. She sang beautifully and after the end of the performance, along with other actors, went on stage to be introduced to the audience.
Studying at school was given to Nargiz with great difficulty. She didn't like sitting at her desk and listening to what the teacher was saying. She had only one favorite subject - singing. But even here she managed to get bad grades, because for the teacher it was not so important whether the girl had a beautiful voice or not. The main thing is that the lyrics of the songs that were taught in the lessons, she knew by heart. And Nargiz refused to do this.
Soon the girl was sent to a music school, but even here she was among the lagging students. She didn't like sitting for hours at the instrument, learning notes and lyrics. She wanted to sing and develop her voice.
Creative way
In 1986, Nargiz Zakirova performed at a song contest in Jurmala. The only award she won was the Audience Award.
After leaving school, Nargiz joined the famous orchestra conducted by Anatoly Batkhin and began touring the country with them. She also entered the vocal department of the circus school.
Already in those years, Nargiz tried to perform in different styles and create her own images on stage. She changed her hair color, dressed in shocking clothes, tried to sing songs of famous rock musicians.
In the days of the USSR, this approach to the performing arts was not welcomed. The girl was constantly criticized, forbidden to perform at national group concerts and was called too licentious for the Soviet stage.
Nargiz met her first husband in the "Bayt" ensemble, organized by musicians in Uzbekistan. The famous rock group "Europe" served as an analogue of the creation of the collective.
Once Nargiz was at a rehearsal of the collective and almost immediately fell in love with their soloist - Ruslan Sharipov. An attempt to include a soloist in the ensemble led to disagreements between the participants. As a result, Ruslan left the team and began performing with Nargiz. They got married three months later. The couple had a daughter, Sabina. Ruslan began to tour alone, and soon Nargiz found out about his betrayal. They parted peacefully, without scandals, each went his own way.
A few years later, realizing that here she would not be able to achieve success and make a musical career, Nargiz decided to leave the country.
Life in the USA
In 1995, the singer emigrated to America with her daughter, who at that time was five years old, and her second husband, Yernur Kanaybekov.
Life in the USA for Nargiz began with difficulties. She did not know the language, it was almost impossible to find a suitable job. Finally, she managed to get a job in a salon selling videotapes, but the earnings there were so meager that it was barely enough for food. Nargiz was paid at the lowest rate and earned two and a half dollars an hour.
Already in America, Nargiz gave birth to her second child - the son of Auel. And two years later, a misfortune happened in the family. Nargiz's husband died in a car accident. She was left alone with two children.
A little time passed and Nargiz managed to establish some contacts with musicians and representatives of art. She was invited to perform at one of the restaurants, where she was finally able to start singing. There she met Philip Balzano, who became her third husband. In this marriage, a daughter, Leila, was born.
In 2001, Nargiz recorded her first music album in America. The circulation was quite large and sold out quickly. The audience liked the singer's style and voice. This was the first big success in Nargiz's career abroad.
Participation in the project "Voice"
In 2013, Nargiz decided to become a member of the famous American project "X Factor". After going through several stages of selection, she turned out to be an applicant for participation in the project and was waiting to be invited to the shooting. The wait dragged on, at that moment there was a proposal from the representatives of Russia to shoot in the show "Voice".
Nargiz agreed and for the first time after a long break returned to the Russian stage. The singer immediately captivated not only the audience, but also the mentors of the project, performing the song "Still loving you" at blind auditions.
As a result, the singer took only second place, losing to Sergei Volchkov, the representative of A. Gradsky's team. However, Nargiz herself stated that, despite the fact that she did not win the competition, she became the winner.
In 2016, Nargiz announced that she was divorcing Philip Balzano. It didn't work out peacefully. The husband demanded from the singer monetary compensation in the amount of forty thousand dollars and the repayment of all his debts. After lengthy proceedings, the divorce still took place.
Awards, concerts, ticket prices, royalties
Since 2013, Nargiz has won several music awards: RU. TV 2015, MusicBox 2015 and 2016, Golden Gramophone 2015, 2016, 2017.
After participating in the "Voice" project, Nargiz began touring the cities of Russia. The first concerts took place mainly in clubs. Ticket prices ranged from 1,000 to 3,500 rubles.
In 2014, Nargiz signed a contract with Max Fadeev and his production center MALFA. In 2016, the studio recorded a new album of the singer called "The Murmur of the Heart". One of the compositions - "Together" - Nargiz performed together with Fadeev.
According to some reports, today Nargiz earns about 10,000 euros for a concert. Sources also claim that 1.5 million rubles must be paid for the singer's participation in a corporate event.
Almost monthly, the singer performs on the stage of large concert halls and clubs. The price of tickets depends on the city and venue of the concert, it can vary from 1,500 rubles to 40,000 rubles.
