Sopho Nizharadze
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Sopho "Sofia" Nizharadze ( ka, სოფო ნიჟარაძე, ) is a Georgian singer, actress, and songwriter who represented Georgia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 with the song " Shine". Nizharadze was a judge on the TV shows '' Georgia's Got Talent'', ''Only Georgian'' and ''The X Factor Georgia''.


Early life

Born in
Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...
, Georgia in 1985, Nizharadze started singing at a very early age. She graduated with honors from the Musical Academy under the
Tbilisi State Conservatory Tbilisi State Conservatoire ( ka, თბილისის სახელმწიფო კონსერვატორია, ''Tbilisis Saxelmc̣ipo Ḳonservaṭoria'') is the State Conservatoire of Georgia (country), Georgia, located in t ...
, where she studied piano and vocals. She later continued her studies at the Academy of Theatre and Arts in Russia (GITIS) and graduated with honors from the
Gnessin State Musical College The Gnessin State College of Music () and Gnessin Russian Academy of Music () comprise a music school in Moscow.Moisenko, Rena. (1949) ''Realist Music: 25 Soviet Composers,'' London: Meridian Book, Ltd. History Originally known as the Gnessi ...
in Moscow. Through her singing she has brought international attention to Georgia. Nizharadze's great-grandmother, Dürye, was of Turkish origin who immigrated to Tsarist Russia during the Ottoman Empire. She married the son of a Georgian-born professor and then settled in Georgia. In 2010, Nizharadze was reunited with her Turkish relatives on the '' Beyaz Show'' during her
Eurovision The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster submits an origina ...
tour in
Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
.


Music career

Nizharadze's vocal range is
light lyric soprano A lyric soprano is a type of operatic soprano voice that has a warm quality with a bright, full timbre that can be heard over an orchestra. The lyric soprano voice generally has a higher tessitura than a soubrette and usually plays ingenues and ot ...
. At the age of three, Nizharadze started performin and found a very positive reception. At the age of seven she was invited by
Jansug Kakhidze Jansug Ivanes dze Kakhidze (26 May 19357 March 2002) was a Georgian musician, composer, singer and conductor nicknamed "the Georgian Karajan". Kakhidze was music director of the Georgian State Symphony Orchestra for two decades beginning in 1 ...
, a prominent Georgian conductor and author of famous sound tracks for Georgian cinema, to join a children's music studio where she took the lead as a vocalist for various shows and TV projects. At age 11, she performed " Sous le ciel de Paris" at the French Embassy, where she was noticed by journalist
Bernard Pivot Bernard Pivot (; 5 May 1935 – 6 May 2024) was a French journalist, interviewer and host of cultural television programmes. He was chairman of the Académie Goncourt from 2014 to 2020. Biography Pivot was born in Lyon on 5 May 1935, the son o ...
, who invited her to his program on TV5. By the time she turned 17, Nizharadze had won several international young singer's contests, including the "Bravo, Bravissimo!" competition in Mini La Scala (Italy), "Crystal Note" (Moscow, Russia) and "Crystal Fur-tree" (
Borjomi Borjomi ( ka, ბორჯომი ) is a resort town in south-central Georgia with a population of 11,173 (as of 2024). Located 165 km from Tbilisi, it is one of the six municipalities of the Samtskhe–Javakheti region and is situated in the ...
, Georgia). She participated in several festivals in Russia, Turkey, Italy, Latvia and Georgia. Later, she took leading parts in the musicals ''The Wedding of the Jays'' and '' Roméo et Juliette, de la Haine à l'Amour''. She was living in Moscow at the time she started gaining international recognition as a singer. In 2004, she got a main part in Gerard Presgurvic's musical (Original Russian Version, Operetta Theatre, leading cast). In 2005, she reached the final in the New Wave Festival in Jūrmala, Latvia. In 2008, Nizharadze gave up her career in Russia and returned to Georgia due to the ongoing war between the two countries. She performed "
The Star-Spangled Banner "The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written by American lawyer Francis Scott Key on September 14, 1814, after he witnessed the bombardment of Fort ...
" during Vice President
Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...
's official visit to Georgia.


Eurovision Song Contest 2010

Nizharadze was chosen by GPB to represent Georgia in the
Eurovision Song Contest 2010 The Eurovision Song Contest 2010 was the 55th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Oslo, Norway, following the country's victory at the with the song "Fairytale (Alexander Rybak song), Fairytale" by Alexander Rybak. Organise ...
. An open call for songs was launched, and over 100 entries submitted, the broadcasting authorities selected six, that were all performed by her in a national final on 27 February in the Tbilisi Even Hall. " Shine" was voted as the winner.


2010: After Eurovision

In celebration of her performance at Eurovision,
President of Georgia The president of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს პრეზიდენტი, tr) is the ceremonial head of state of Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U ...
Mikheil Saakashvili Mikheil "Misha" Saakashvili (born 21 December 1967) is a Georgian and Ukrainian politician and jurist. He was the third president of Georgia for two consecutive terms from 25 January 2004 to 17 November 2013. He is the founder and former chair ...
suggested that Nizharadze was being considered for appointment as the nation's Minister of Culture. Nizharadze performs at events throughout Europe and Asia. She has sung duets with
José Carreras Josep Maria Carreras Coll (; born 5 December 1946), better known as José Carreras (, ), is a Catalan operatic tenor from Spain who is particularly known for his performances in the operas of Donizetti, Verdi and Puccini. Born in Barcelona, ...
,
Andrea Bocelli Andrea Bocelli (; born 22 September 1958) is an Italian tenor. He rose to fame in 1994 after winning the newcomers' section of the 44th Sanremo Music Festival performing " Il mare calmo della sera". Since 1994, Bocelli has recorded 15 solo st ...
,
Chris de Burgh Christopher John Davison (born 15 October 1948), known professionally as Chris de Burgh ( ), is a British-Irish singer-songwriter and musician. He started out as an art rock performer but subsequently started writing more pop-oriented material ...
and
Julio Iglesias Julio José Iglesias de la Cueva (; born 23 September 1943) is a Spanish singer and songwriter. Iglesias is recognized as the most commercially successful Spanish singer in the world and one of the top List of best-selling music artists, reco ...
. In 2013 she recorded a single "When We Danced." She released a new album with this single and also with Eurovision Song Contest hit "Shine" in March 2014. In 2016 she was a judge at the Georgian format of ''
X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–200 ...
'' alongside
Nika Gvaramia Nika Gvaramia ( ka, ნიკა გვარამია; born June 29, 1976) is a Georgian lawyer, media entrepreneur, public figure, who had held posts of Minister of Justice and Minister of Education and Science. He was the Director General ...
,
Nina Sublatti Nino Sulaberidze ( ka, ნინო სულაბერიძე, born 31 January 1995), better known by her stage name Nina Sublatti ( ka, ნინა სუბლატი), is a Georgian singer, songwriter, and model. Sublatti achieved in ...
and Giorgi Gabunia.


Awards and achievements

* 1995: "Crystal fir tree", the international festival nominated at the "Best Vocal" category * 1996: Special award – "The League", the first Georgian festival; award owner at the festival Mini La Scala * 1997: participant of "Crystal note" International Festival in Moscow (850 anniversary of Moscow city) * 1999: Diploma of the First category for the best vocal within the frame of the festival "Pushkin weeks"; Diploma of the Tbilisi Mayor's Office for the "Unique vocal features” * 1998: 2001- Scholarship of President Eduard Shevardnadze * 2000: "Golden Star" for the best vocal granted by Forte Cinematographic Studio and Star Scale Studio * 2003–2004: leading part in the musical ''The Wedding of the Jays'' * 2004–2006: leading part on '' Roméo et Juliette, de la Haine à l'Amour'' The Musical * 2005: participant, a finalist of the young pop star contest at the New Wave Festival * 2005–2007: leading parts in shows and production of RATI; was invited for Esmeralda part to the Musical ''Notre Dame De Paris'' * 2010: performed a duet with
José Carreras Josep Maria Carreras Coll (; born 5 December 1946), better known as José Carreras (, ), is a Catalan operatic tenor from Spain who is particularly known for his performances in the operas of Donizetti, Verdi and Puccini. Born in Barcelona, ...
, extract from the musical ''
West Side Story ''West Side Story'' is a Musical theatre, musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a Book (musical theatre), book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo an ...
'' * 2010: performed with
Chris De Burgh Christopher John Davison (born 15 October 1948), known professionally as Chris de Burgh ( ), is a British-Irish singer-songwriter and musician. He started out as an art rock performer but subsequently started writing more pop-oriented material ...
* 2011: performed with
Andrea Bocelli Andrea Bocelli (; born 22 September 1958) is an Italian tenor. He rose to fame in 1994 after winning the newcomers' section of the 44th Sanremo Music Festival performing " Il mare calmo della sera". Since 1994, Bocelli has recorded 15 solo st ...
* 2012: performed a duet with
Julio Iglesias Julio José Iglesias de la Cueva (; born 23 September 1943) is a Spanish singer and songwriter. Iglesias is recognized as the most commercially successful Spanish singer in the world and one of the top List of best-selling music artists, reco ...
* 2012–2013: leading role in Redha Bentifour's musical ''Melodies of Vera District'' * 2013: recorded single "When We Danced" and a music video with the participation Joaquin Cortes * unknown: main role in the first Georgian musical
Keto and Kote ''Keto and Kote'' ( ka, ქეთო და კოტე, ''Keto da kote'') is a comic opera in three acts, by the Georgians, Georgian composer Victor Dolidze (composer), Victor Dolidze who also wrote the libretto based on Avksenty Tsagareli's 1 ...


Stage roles

* Musical ''Svadba Soek'' "The Wedding of the Jays" (Ketevan – main role) * Musical ''Romeo & Juliette'' – Juliet (Original Russian Main Cast) * Musical ''Hello, Dolly'' (RATI) * ''Keto and Kote'' The Musical (Keto – leading role) * ''Melodies of Vera District'' The Musical by Redha Benteifour (Vardo – leading role)


Albums

* ''The Wedding of the Jays'' Original Cast Recording (2003) * ''Musical Romeo & Juliette'' "Ot Nenavisti Do Lubvi" Original Cast Recording (2005) * ''Where are you...'' (2008) **Track listing: **#"My Dream" **#"Every Moment" **#"Where Are You..." **#"Leave Me Alone" **#"I'm Running Away" **#"Over and Over" **#"Leave Me Alone (rmx)" **#"Over and Over (rmx)" * ''We Are All'' (2014) **Track listing: **#"No Way Out" **#"Hero" **#"Why Won't You Love Me" **#"When We Danced" **#"We Are All" **#"Without Your Love" **#"The Reason I Go On" **#"Shine" **#"So in Love" **#"Call Me" **#"Without Your Love (Remix)" **#"Two of a Kind"


Personal life

On December 31, 2021,
Mikheil Saakashvili Mikheil "Misha" Saakashvili (born 21 December 1967) is a Georgian and Ukrainian politician and jurist. He was the third president of Georgia for two consecutive terms from 25 January 2004 to 17 November 2013. He is the founder and former chair ...
recognized to have an extramarital daughter, Alice Maria, with Sofia Nizharadze, calling her "my most lovely girl and youngest child".


References


External links


Sofia Nizharadze Official Website

Official Facebook PageThe Sofia Nizharadze official myspaceSofia Nizharadze official Eurovision.Tv page

www.sofianizharadze.ru Russian/English site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nizharadze, Sofia Living people Georgian people of Turkish descent 21st-century actresses from Georgia (country) 21st-century women singers from Georgia (country) Pop singers from Georgia (country) Musicians from Tbilisi Television actresses from Georgia (country) Actresses from Tbilisi Stage actresses from Georgia (country) Film actresses from Georgia (country) Musical theatre actresses 1985 births Eurovision Song Contest entrants