Susana Alimivna Jamaladinova, ; rus, Суса́на Али́мовна Джамалади́нова, Susána Alímovna Dzhamaladínova, sʊˈsanə ɐˈlʲiməvnə dʐəməlɐˈdʲinəvə, links=yes. (born 27 August 1983), known professionally as Jamala,, ; rus, Джама́ла, , dʐɐˈmalə, links=no. is a Ukrainian singer. She represented and won the

Eurovision Song Contest 2016 The Eurovision Song Contest 2016 was the 61st edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Stockholm, Sweden, following the country's victory at the with the song "Heroes" by Måns Zelmerlöw. Organised by the European Broadcasting ...

in Stockholm, Sweden, with her song "

1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command French Army B, part of the Sixth United States Army Group in No ...

" about the

Deportation of the Crimean Tatars The deportation of the Crimean Tatars ( crh, Qırımtatar halqınıñ sürgünligi, Cyrillic: Къырымтатар халкъынынъ сюргюнлиги) or the Sürgünlik ('exile') was the ethnic cleansing and cultural genocide of at ...

. In 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2022 she served as a judge at ''

Vidbir ''Yevrobachennia. Natsionalnyi Vidbir'' ( uk, Євробачення. Національний відбір, ; meaning ''Eurovision: National Selection''), informally known as ''Vidbir'', is a Ukrainian musical competition originally organized b ...

'', the Ukrainian national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest.

Early life

Susana Dzhamaladinova was born in Osh,

Kirghiz SSR The Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic (Kirghiz SSR; ky, Кыргыз Советтик Социалисттик Республикасы, Kyrgyz Sovettik Sotsialisttik Respublikasy, ky, Кыргыз ССР, Kyrgyz SSR, russian: Киргизск ...

, to a Muslim Crimean Tatar father and an

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

mother. Her Crimean Tatar ancestors were forcibly resettled from Crimea to the central Asian republic under

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, although her own relatives fought on the Soviet side. In 1989 her family returned to

Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a p ...

. Her maternal ancestors are Armenians from

Nagorno-Karabakh Nagorno-Karabakh ( ) is a landlocked region in the South Caucasus, within the mountainous range of Karabakh, lying between Lower Karabakh and Syunik, and covering the southeastern range of the Lesser Caucasus mountains. The region is mos ...

region They were well-to-do peasants until her great-grandfather's land was confiscated and he was exiled to Osh where he changed his Armenian name to make it sound more Russian. Her parents divorced for about four years so that her mother could purchase a house in Crimea for the family under her maiden name. During this period, Soviet authorities did not allow ethnic

Crimean Tatars , flag = Flag of the Crimean Tatar people.svg , flag_caption = Flag of Crimean Tatars , image = Love, Peace, Traditions.jpg , caption = Crimean Tatars in traditional clothing in front of the Khan's Palace ...

, like her father, to purchase property in Crimea.

Career

2010–2015: Early work

Jamala has been fond of music since her early childhood. She made her first professional recording at the age of nine, singing 12 folk and children's Crimean Tatar songs. She entered the

Simferopol Simferopol () is the second-largest city in the Crimean Peninsula. The city, along with the rest of Crimea, is internationally recognised as part of Ukraine, and is considered the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. However, it is u ...

Music College and later graduated from Tchaikovsky National Music Academy of Ukraine as an opera singer, but preferred a career in pop music."When strangers are coming into your home (Russian)
by Alexander Zaitsev, lenta.ru Jamala IFF2012

On 14 February 2010, she released her first single "You Are Made of Love" from her debut studio album '' For Every Heart''. She released "It's Me, Jamala" as the second single on 18 October 2010. On 23 November 2010, she released "Smile" as the third single from the album. Early in 2011, she participated on the national selection show in an attempt to represent at the Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Smile". The song was a crowd favorite and Jamala herself managed to land a spot in the finals of the competition. However, she later decided to withdraw from the competition. On 12 April 2011, she released her debut studio album ''For Every Heart'' through

Moon Records Ukraine Moon Records Ukraine is a Ukrainian record label formed in 1997 and based in Kyiv, Ukraine. The label specializes in producing the music of Ukrainian and Russian musical artists and is currently the largest music publisher in Ukraine. Catalogue ...

. On 8 November 2012, she released "Ya Lyublyu Tebya" (russian: «Я Люблю́ Тебя́», en, "I Love You") as the lead single from her second studio album ''All or Nothing''. She released "Hurt" as the second single, and "Kaktus" ( uk, «Ка́ктус», en, "Cactus") was released on 6 March 2013, as the third and final single from the album. She released ''

All or Nothing All or Nothing may refer to: Film and television * ''All or Nothing'' (film), a 2002 film by Mike Leigh * ''All or Nothing'' (game show), a 2004–2005 Russian game show based on ''Deal or No Deal'' * ''All or Nothing'' (sports docuseries), ...

'' on 19 March 2013, through

. On 25 September 2014, she released "Zaplutalas" ( uk, «Заплу́талась», en, "Confused") as the lead single from her debut EP '' Thank You''. The EP was released on 1 October 2014, through Enjoy Records. On 26 March 2015, "Ochyma" was released as the lead single from her third studio album. "Shlyakh dodomu" ( uk, «Шлях додо́му», en, "The way home") was released as the second single on 18 May 2015. On 15 June 2015, "Podykh" ( uk, «По́дих», en, "Breath") was released as the third single. She released her album ''

Podykh ''Podykh'' (''Подих'') (''Breath'') is the third studio album by Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating ...

'' on 12 October 2015, through Enjoy Records.

2016–present: Eurovision Song Contest and subsequent projects

Jamala successfully represented in the

with the song "1944". The song is about the

deportation of the Crimean Tatars The deportation of the Crimean Tatars ( crh, Qırımtatar halqınıñ sürgünligi, Cyrillic: Къырымтатар халкъынынъ сюргюнлиги) or the Sürgünlik ('exile') was the ethnic cleansing and cultural genocide of at ...

in 1944 and particularly about her great-grandmother, who lost her daughter while being deported to

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes the former ...

. Jamala wrote the song's lyrics in 2014. In the second semi-final of the contest, Jamala performed 14th and was one of ten participants who qualified for the grand final. It was announced later that she placed second, scoring 287 points, and won the televoting with 152 points On 14 May 2016, Jamala won the competition with 534 points. Jamala's song was considered by Russian media and lawmakers to be critical of the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the " ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine" in Donbas. After her Eurovision Song Contest victory, she was awarded the title

People's Artist of Ukraine People's Artist of Ukraine is an honorary and the highest title awarding to outstanding performing artists whose merits are exceptional in the sphere of the development of the performing arts (theatre, music, dance, circus, cinema, etc.). Esta ...

by then-Ukrainian president

Petro Poroshenko Petro Oleksiyovych Poroshenko ( uk, Петро́ Олексі́йович Пороше́нко, ; born 26 September 1965) is a Ukrainian businessman and politician who served as the fifth president of Ukraine from 2014 to 2019. Poroshenko se ...

. She has then continued to release new music, including "I Believe in U", which she performed at the

Eurovision Song Contest 2017 The Eurovision Song Contest 2017 was the 62nd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Kyiv, Ukraine, following the country's victory at the with the song "1944" by Jamala. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and ...

as an interval act, along with "Zamanyly". On 17 May 2016, Poroshenko announced that the

Ukrainian Foreign Ministry The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine ( uk, Міністерство закордонних справ України) is the ministry of the Ukrainian government that oversees the foreign relations of Ukraine. The head of the ministry is t ...

would be nominating Jamala as a

UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador is an official postnominal honorific title, title of authority, legal status and job description assigned to those goodwill ambassadors and advocates who are designated by the United Nations. The United Nations In ...

. On 12 October 2018, Jamala released her fifth studio album, ''

Kryla ''Kryla'' (''Крила'') (''Wings'') is the fifth studio album by Ukrainian recording artist Jamala. It was released on 12 October 2018 in Ukraine through Enjoy! Records. The album includes the singles " I Believe in U", " Сумую" and " ...

''. The title track was released as the first single on 21 March 2018. She had previously performed the track as the interval act for the 2018 Ukrainian national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest, ''Vidbir''. In 2022, she joined polish TV show " Dancing with the Stars: Taniec z Gwiazdami (season 26)".

Personal life

On 26 April 2017, Jamala married Bekir Suleimanov. Their relationship became known in September 2016, when she appeared with him at the Manhattan Short Film Festival. The couple married in the Kyiv Islamic Cultural Center using the traditional wedding ceremony

Nikah In Islam, nikah is a contract between two people. Both the groom and the bride are to consent to the marriage of their own free wills. A formal, binding contract – verbal or on paper – is considered integral to a religiously valid Islami ...

. Suleimanov had recently graduated from the Physics and Mathematics Department of

Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv Kyiv University or Shevchenko University or officially the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv ( uk, Київський національний університет імені Тараса Шевченка), colloquially known as KNU ...

and is an activist of the Muslim Crimean Tatar community.Jamala married Seit-Bekir Suleymanov
, QHA (26 April 2017) In November 2017, Jamala announced that she and Suleimanov were expecting their first child together. On 27 March 2018 their son Emir-Rahman Seit-Bekir ogly Suleimanov was born. Jamala's mother tongue is Russian, and she is also fluent in

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * Som ...

which she learned as an adolescent. She has also written a few songs in Crimean Tatar. In February 2022, amidst the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, she and her two children left Ukraine and initially took refuge in Romania, before eventually landing in Turkey.

Discography

Studio albums

Live albums

Compilation albums

Remix albums

Extended plays

Singles

Filmography

Notes

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jamala Living people 1983 births English-language singers from Ukraine Russian-language singers People from Osh 21st-century Ukrainian women singers Kyrgyzstani women singers Ukrainian operatic sopranos Kyrgyzstani people of Crimean Tatar descent Ukrainian pop singers Ukrainian singer-songwriters Ukrainian sopranos Ukrainian people of Armenian descent Ukrainian people of Crimean Tatar descent Eurovision Song Contest entrants for Ukraine Ukrainian Muslims Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 2016 Eurovision Song Contest winners Recipients of the title of People's Artists of Ukraine Crimean Tatar musicians Kyrgyzstani people of Armenian descent New Wave winners Ukrainian refugees