Jony (Russian Singer)

Jahid Afrail oglu Huseynli (; ; born 29 February 1996), known professionally as JONY, is an Azerbaijani singer and songwriter based in Moscow, Russia. He is the winner of the second season of the Russian reality singing show ''The Masked Singer'' (2021) on NTV.

Winner of the Golden Gramophone Award, Zhara Music Awards, Muz-TV and New Radio Awards. Winner of the 2023 30 Under 30 rating in the Music category.

In 2024, he became a coach on the eleventh season of ''The Voice Kids''.

Early life and education

Jahid was born on February 29, 1996, in Baku to Azerbaijani parents. At the age of 4, he moved with his family to Moscow. At the age of 6, he went to the 1925th gymnasium in Novokosino. In the first grade, he began to sing in the school choir and impressed his teachers with his vocals. In ninth grade, he realized that he wanted to seriously pursue music.

However, Jony's father did not support his decision, as he wanted him to follow in his footsteps and become a businessman. After graduating from school, Jony entered State University of Management at the Faculty of International Business without much enthusiasm.

After completing his Master's degree, Jony realized that he wanted to play music professionally and asked his father to give him a chance to try his hand at it.

"I was 22 years old when I asked my father to give me a chance to try my hand at something I love. Working for my father, who is the director of the company, is the easiest way, but he did not suit me and did not satisfy my ambitions.

I only added at the same time that if something doesn’t work out for me, I will return and admit that I am a fool. But in the depths of my soul I knew that I could not come to my father with my head bowed and admit my defeat - what kind of man am I after that?".

Career

While studying at university, Jony began recording various cover versions of popular songs and publishing them on his Instagram profile. Soon he met Ioann Zhani Kuznetsov (Andro), and then Elman Zeynalov (El'man). In 2018, together they created the music label RAAVA Music.

Later Jony began working on his own songs and released five singles: "Empty Glass", "Friend Zone", "Star", "Alley" and "I'm Not Me Without You" (together with HammAli & Navai). The video filmed for the song "Alley" received more than 100 million views on YouTube.

In September 2019, Jony released the song "Comet", which soon topped the Apple Music chart and became the singer's signature song.

In 2020, the album "Heavenly Roses" was released.

In 2021, he left RAAVA Music and decided to pursue a solo career.

In 2022, Jony released several hit singles, including "World of Green" (featuring Leonid Agutin) and "Moon Night" (featuring Emin). His song "How to Understand Your Love?" (together with Anna Asti) became one of the top-charting tracks of the year.

Artist nickname

As a child, Jahid liked the cartoon ''Johnny Bravo'', so his mother jokingly began to call him Jony. Later, the singer began to introduce himself this way at school, when classmates could not remember his name.

"I got used to the name "JONY", even my mother calls me that since I was three years old. Only my grandparents in Azerbaijan call me by my first name. But parents and friends - almost never. Most often "JONY", "Jo"."

''The Masked Singer''

In 2021, Jony took part in the second season of the Russian reality singing show ''The Masked Singer'', which aired on the NTV channel from February 14 to May 2. He was hiding under the image of "Crocodile" and won.

Throughout the show's season, he sang 13 songs:
* Lou Bega «Mambo No. 5»
* Luciano Pavarotti « Caruso»
* Monatik «Kruzhit»
* Vladimir Presnyakov «Strannik»
* Jamiroquai «Virtual Insanity»
* Nerves «Kofe moi drug»
* Leonid Agutin «Hop Hey Lala-Lei»
* James Brown « It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World»
* Adam Lambert «Whataya Want from Me»
* Muslim Magomaev «Blue Eternity»
* Hozier «Take Me to Church»
* Maxim Fadeev and Nargiz «Vdvoem»
* Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars «Uptown Funk»

The jury members ( Valeria, Philip Kirkorov, Regina Todorenko, Timur Rodriguez, Alexander Revva) highly praised his performance and could not determine which performer was hiding under the mask until the very end. Philipp Kirkorov noted that he had not experienced such creative ecstasy for 30 years and said that he could now retire peacefully. Jony, in turn, said that he had dreamed of becoming a participant in the show since the first season in order to demonstrate the facets of talent that he could not express in his traditional work.

Show "Voice. Children"

In 2024, he became a mentor of the 11th season of ''The Voice Kids'' TV project.

Discography

Solo tracks

Featured Tracks

Other Tracks

Music Videos

Filmography

Audiobooks

* 2023 — “ Ivan Tsarevich and the Gray Wolf” — audiobook performer

Reviews, Certifications and Awards

; Awards and nominations

Chart positions

Albums

Local charts

References

{{authority control

Azerbaijani singers
Russian male musicians
21st-century Russian male singers
Russian male singers
Living people
1996 births
21st-century Russian male musicians
Russian male singer-songwriters
Russian singer-songwriters
Russian people of Azerbaijani descent
Musicians from Baku
English-language singers from Azerbaijan
English-language singers from Russia
Russian-language singers of Azerbaijan
Masked Singer winners