Alsou
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Alsou Ralifovna /Rälif qızı/ Abramova (Tatar: Alsu Rälif qızı Abramova, Russian: Алсу́ Рали́фовна Абрамова), better known as just Alsou (Russian: Алсу́, born on June 27, 1983) is a popular Tatar-Russian singer.
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[edit] Biography
Alsou was born in Bugulma, Tatarstan, USSR. Her father, Ralif Rafilovich (Räfil ulı) Safin is a former Russian oligarch and a member of the Federal Council, the upper chamber of the Russian parliament. He is the owner of the Sochi football team Zhemchuzhina and was named the 100th richest Russian by Forbes Magazine in 2004. Her mother, Razia Iskhakovna /İsxaq qızı/ Safina, is an architect. Alsou has two brothers, Renard and Marat (who is not the same person as the tennis player Marat Safin).
Alsou took second place at the Eurovision Song Contest 2000 with the song Solo. She performed it again at "Congratulations", the 50th anniversary Eurovision concert in Copenhagen, Denmark, in October 2005.
Alsou travelled often around the world when she was a young girl. She visited Denmark, Canada and the USA and at the age of 10 she was living in London, where she later entered the prestigious MPW College to study architecture and design.
At a summer camp in Sweden, Alsou was convinced by her girlfriend to sing "I Will Always Love You" at the camp's talent show. She was a big fan of Whitney Houston and owned all her CDs. Later she sang "I Will Always Love You" and "My Heart Will Go On" at her brother's wedding. In the summer of 1998, a good friend of Alsou's family, who had heard her voice and adored it, offered to introduce Alsou to the Russian producer Valery Belotserkovsky. The producer thought she was very talented. Alsou was then introduced to the Russian composers and singers Alexander Shevchenko and Vadim Baikovwho who became her devoted fans. Work on new songs began, but Valery couldn't find the right song for her debut. Eventually, Belotserkovsky managed to convince Alexander Shevchenko to give Alsou a retro-styled ballad called "Zimniy Son" ("Winter Dream"), which was actually written by Shevchenko for himself. Belotserkovsky felt intuitively that this song could attract a wide audience.
Currently Alsou has plans to release an international album titled Inspired which will feature songs like "Always On My Mind", "I Don't Wanna Fall In Love Again" and a duet with hip-hop star Nelly titled "I Wish I Didn't Know".
[edit] Celebrity
Alsou is now one of the few Russian artists that is known in other parts of the world. She is also well known in Germany, France, United Kingdom, USA, Canada, Australia, Ukraine and the other former Soviet republics. She is very often featured in Russian magazines, and even in other parts of Europe. She will star in her debut film Spirit Trap with Billie Piper, Luke Mably, Emma Catherwood and Sam Troughton. (citation please)
On March 18, 2006 Alsou married Yan Abramov, a Russian millionaire who is said to have dated Mariah Carey among others. Yan allegedly proposed to her with a fireworks display. And several months after the half-million-dollar wedding she was gone to London to give birth to her first child.
However, later on she and her husband left for the USA, allegedly fearing possible terror attacks and health problems of the mother-to-be. On September 7, 2006 Alsou gave birth to a 7-pound daughter Safina at the world-famous Cedars-Sinai in LA.
The medical center, well chosen by the Muslim singer's Jewish husband, is aka "the hospital of the stars" where Judy Garland gave birth to Liza Minelli and Goldie Hawn gave birth to Kate Hudson, not to mention hundreds of other Hollywood-star patients.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Singles
All singles were performed in English.
- Solo (2000)
- You Are My №1 (2000, featuring Enrique Iglesias)
- Before You Love Me (2001)
- He Loves Me (2001)
- Always On My Mind (2005)
- I Wish I Didn't Know (2005, featuring Nelly)
[edit] Albums
- Alsou (Russian: Алсу́, 2000, in Russian)
- Alsou (2001, in English)
- Mne prisnilas' osen' (Russian: Мне́ присни́лась о́сень, 2002, in Russian)
- 19 (2003, in Russian and Tatar)
