Batmönkhiin Sarantuyaa ( mn, Батмөнхийн Сарантуяа; born 20 April 1970), known mononymously as Sarantuya or simply Saraa, is a

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 millio ...

n mezzo-soprano singer who has been a major figure in the

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former describ ...

scene of the

Mongol people The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member o ...

since the late 1980s. She is still very popular among the Mongolian population, and is recognized as the queen of Mongolian pop music. She uses a falsetto technique when singing. Saraa is the highest-selling Mongolian artist of all time, with hits like "Torson Odriin Bayar", "Bi Jargaltai", "Argagui Amrag", and others. Saraa was born in

Ulaanbaatar Ulaanbaatar (; mn, Улаанбаатар, , "Red Hero"), previously anglicized as Ulan Bator, is the capital and most populous city of Mongolia. It is the coldest capital city in the world, on average. The municipality is located in north c ...

, and started off singing in a small band called "Mungun Harandaa" (translated as "Silver Pencil"). Her first solo live-concert, named "Setgeliin Khug", was in 1994 with 1325 fans in attendance. Throughout her career, she has released total of 15 studio albums.

Awards

Known as the "Pop Diva", Saraa was named "Singer of the Century" - an unprecedented honor for a Mongolian. She has also received numerous other awards, one of which is "Best Artist" from

Pentatonic A pentatonic scale is a musical scale with five notes per octave, in contrast to the heptatonic scale, which has seven notes per octave (such as the major scale and minor scale). Pentatonic scales were developed independently by many anci ...

, a mainstream music festival held annually.

Personal life

Saraa's mother is of Yakut descent. Saraa is divorced and has two children, a son and daughter. She was once married to Boldkhuyag, a

Golomt Bank Golomt Bank ( mn, Голомт банк) is one of the largest privately owned banks in Mongolia. Founded on March 6 of 1995, Golomt Bank grew into the leading commercial bank of Mongolia, producing ¼ of the Mongolian national GDP and constituting ...

executive.

Discography

References

1970 births 21st-century Mongolian women singers 20th-century Mongolian women singers Honored Artists of Mongolia Living people Mongolian people of Yakut descent Singers from Ulaanbaatar {{Mongolia-singer-stub