Biography. Susanna Jamaladinova (Jamala): The story of my Armenian roots begins with Karabakh Jamala year of birth
The mother of Eurovision 2016 winner Susanna Jamaladinova, performing under the pseudonym Jamala, said that she had no doubt about her daughter’s victory in the international song competition.
Galina Tumasova, like the rest of the singer’s relatives, whom the Ukrainian media are trying to position as an “icon of the fight against the occupiers,” received Russian citizenship and all the required benefits after the return of Crimea to the Russian Federation.
According to the singer’s mother, she “didn’t doubt at all” that Jamal would take first place.
“Even yesterday, when the votes were being counted and preliminary forecasts were being made - either second or third place, her husband could not stand it, he jumped out: that’s it, he said, that’s all, it won’t work out... Even then I had no doubt that she would win “,” she told the Crimean publication “Your Newspaper”.
Tumasova also said that her daughter consulted with her parents about the song with which she represented Ukraine at Eurovision. However, Jamala herself practically does not appear in Crimea, since she is “constantly busy with some projects.”
However, according to her, “in the days of preparation for Eurovision” they were close.
Susanna Alimovna Jamaladinova was born on August 27, 1983 in Kyrgyzstan, in the city of Osh. Jamala’s father’s family ended up in Osh after the Tatars were deported from Crimea. Jamala's mother is half-Armenian, whose ancestors come from Nagorno-Karabakh.
By religion, Galina Tumasova is a Christian; her family also included Russians, Ukrainians and Poles. However, Jamala herself, like her father, are Muslims.
In Osh, Jamala's father worked as a choir director, and his mother worked as a pianist.
The future star spent her childhood in Crimea, in the village of Malorechenskoye near Alushta, where she and her family returned in 1989 from the places of former deportation of the Crimean Tatar people. At the same time, in order to move, the parents of the future Eurovision winner had to divorce, since according to the laws, Crimean deportees could not buy real estate on the peninsula.
Now Galina Tumasova, like the singer’s other relatives, lives in Crimea and has Russian citizenship. After the 2014 referendum, Jamala’s parents flatly refused to move to Kyiv, not wanting to leave the house they had built and the orchard they had planted.
After Jamala’s parents received Russian citizenship, they were given fifty percent benefits on utility bills: water, gas, electricity. In addition, the relatives of the Ukrainian singer receive free holidays.
However, Jamala's family lost their eatery on the coast due to its non-compliance with sanitary standards and non-payment of taxes.
As the Crimean singer stated, it was the income from her parents’ restaurant business that allowed her and her sister to receive a higher musical education at the conservatory. Moreover, both girls worked together with their parents in the diner.
Jamala started singing at the age of three, and at nine she recorded her first album. Jamala was greatly influenced by her Armenian environment as a child. In an interview, the singer said that due to the different social circles, she was always more considered an Armenian, and her older sister was considered a Tatar.
The singer’s older sister Evelina now lives in Turkey with her husband, a citizen of this country, and children.
Jamala left her parents' home at the age of 14, going to study in Simferopol, then to Kyiv. She took part in dozens of vocal competitions in Ukraine, Russia and Europe and received a number of prestigious awards.
In 2009, at the international competition of young pop singers “New Wave” in Jurmala, she received the Grand Prix, sharing first place with an Indonesian performer and earning an ovation from jury member Alla Pugacheva, who gave the Ukrainian a standing ovation.
After Jamala’s performance at Eurovision 2016, the Tatars living next door to her parents asked them about the reasons that prompted their daughter to perform this song.
In addition, the government of the Republic of Crimea recommended that the singer change her citizenship from Ukrainian to Russian and return to her historical homeland.
Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of the Republic Georgy Muradov told TASS that he considers Crimea to be Jamala’s homeland.
“I emphasize that Crimea will always be happy to see Jamala perform, this is her homeland,” he said, inviting her to “hold small events related to the change of citizenship, come to her homeland and perform at home.”
“We are always happy to see her, we congratulate her and we think that among the Russian votes she received there are many people from among the Crimean Tatars who live in Crimea,” added Muradov.
1992-1998 - studied piano at music school No. 1 in Alushta.
He has been participating in solo concerts since he was 16 years old.
1992 - laureate of the children's music competition "Starry Rain", this year an album of children's and Crimean Tatar songs was recorded, which was broadcast on local radio.
1993 – Laureate of the children's competition “Living Springs”.
1998-2001 – studied at the Music College named after. P.I. Tchaikovsky in opera vocal class (Simferopol).
2000 – Grand Prix winner of the international competition “Voices of the Future” (Russia).
2001 – entered the National Music Academy of Ukraine named after. P.I. Tchaikovsky in opera vocal class (Kyiv).
Best of the day
2001 – winner of the third prize in the vocal competition “Crimean Spring”.
2001 - Winner of the Dodge 2001 Special Award.
2001 – a joint concert with the famous saxophonist Alexander Novoselsky (Moscow).
2004 – laureate of the International competition “1 Concorso Europeo Amici della musica” (Italy).
2005 - guest of honor at the international festival “Tricolore della canzone italiana”.
2006 - laureate of the festival of young performers “Dо#Dж junior 2006” (second prize for the vocal quintet “Beauty Band”), special diploma “Best Vocal” of the same festival.
2007 - soloist of the musical "Pa".
In August 2009, she took part in the International Competition for Young Performers of Popular Songs "New Wave 2009".
From the first days Jamala was a leader. Jamala performed the hit “Mama's Boy” superbly, making the entire audience clap to the beat of the song and receiving a storm of applause at the end. The Diva herself applauded Jamal loudly and for a long time.
Jamala won the 1st prize, sharing it with a participant from Indonesia - Sanddi Sandorro.
Jamala is passionate about yoga. He admits that “60 percent of my day I listen to good music - I love very different genres - from gospel, soul, jazz, to classical.”
In the style of clothing, I look for “a harmony of shapes, colors that correspond to my mood and attitude, my music... and on stage I like to feel a little bit like an “object of a spectacle.” In general, Jamal is close to the idea of the great Yves Saint Laurent: “The most important thing in women’s clothing is the woman who wears it.” Favorite colors are brown and green.
The artist does not believe in omens. Afraid of... silence.
Jamala's motto is “Treat people the way you would like to be treated.”
Single. Lives and works in Kyiv.
I just heard on TV how someone compared Jamala to “Lady” Gaga. Sheer absurdity!!! How can you compare a “computer monkey” with the same computer voice and the most unique singer, owner of the rarest vocal abilities - Jamala! For me - so This is the second Imma Sumac. Probably few people know or have heard her now, but she was a singer from another civilization, as if she was sent from space to the land of Peru. And Jamala was sent to us in Ukraine! Happiness to you, dear, love, confidence and good health_you simply need it_. I am 60 years old. I am a choir master and, believe me, I know what I’m saying!
Jamala (Susanna Jamaladinova) is a Ukrainian singer who won Eurovision 2016 with the song “1944”. Her music combines the features of jazz, rhythm and blues and ethnic music, and her rich lyric-dramatic soprano makes each composition performed unique.Jamala's childhood and family
The girl was born in Kyrgyzstan, where her great-grandmother, a Crimean Tatar, fled after the deportation of the long-suffering people from the peninsula. Later, the family returned to their homeland, Crimea, where Susanna spent her childhood in the village of Malorechenskoye near Alushta. 
Her parents are musicians: her father, Alim Ayarovich Jamaladinov, graduated from a conducting school, and her mother, Galina Mikhailovna Tumasova, sang beautifully and taught at a music school. It was she who noticed that her three-year-old daughter’s voice somehow had a special intonation - when Susanna sang children’s songs, everyone froze in amazement.
Already at the age of 9, the talented girl recorded an album with cover versions of popular children's songs. To the sound engineer's amazement, it only took her one hour to do this. The girl managed to perform 12 compositions one after another, without making a single mistake. For this achievement, her mother gave Susanna a Barbie doll.
The girl went to the Alushta music school, where she mastered the piano. After graduation, she became a student at the Simferopol Music School (specialty “Opera vocals”).
After graduation, Susanna continued her musical education at the Kyiv National Academy of Music. Being the best student on the course, the girl dreamed of professionally performing opera arias and performing in the legendary La Scala opera. However, later she began to become more interested in experiments with ethnic oriental music and jazz motifs.
The beginning of the career of singer Jamala
Since the age of 15, the singer has repeatedly taken part in song festivals and competitions: Ukrainian, Russian, European, often taking prizes. After performing at a competition for young jazz performers, where she won the special Dodge 2001 award, she was noticed by choreographer Elena Kolyadenko, who recognized the talent of the aspiring singer and invited her to her musical “Pa.”Therefore, soon the audience saw the girl on stage together with the ballet “Freedom” participating in the production. According to many critics, the velvety depth of Susanna Jamaladinova’s voice was more captivating than the complex movements of the dancers.
Jamala on "New Wave"
However, the turning point in the singer’s career was the victory in the youth competition “New Wave 2006”. Susanna, performing under the pseudonym Jamala (her stage name is formed from the first syllables of her last name), literally “teared up” the audience with her powerful voice and brilliant improvisation. She performed three songs: the folk “Vershe miy, vershe”, a humorous composition of her own composition “Mama’s Boy” and a track by the British group “Propellerheads” called “History Repeating”. Ironically, the compere of the competition was Sergey Lazarev, who lost to the Ukrainian at Eurovision 7 years later.Jamala - History Repeating (New Wave 2009)
The victory instantly made Jamal the new “star” of Ukraine. Soon after the triumph, she gave a series of concerts in Kyiv and other cities of Ukraine and Russia. In 2009, the girl was invited to the opera The Spanish Hour, and in 2010 she was invited to an opera production based on Bond.
At the same time, the girl broke off her professional relationship with Elena Kolyadenko. They had serious disagreements regarding the singer’s creative plans. According to Jamala, Elena demanded to perform songs exclusively in Russian, as well as record duets with popular Russian artists. The singer did not want to limit herself to pop music - she was interested in expressing herself in soul and jazz, classical and blues.
Inspired by her victory at the New Wave, Jamala decided to try her hand at another equally popular competition, Eurovision, but did not make it through the qualifying round, losing to another Ukrainian, Mika Newton. The jury doubted the fairness of Mika's victory, but Jamala stated that she would not participate in the selection again.
Instead, the girl spent all her creative efforts on recording her debut album, “For Every Heart,” which was released in the spring of 2011. It included 12 new compositions and 3 songs performed by Jamala on the “New Wave” in 2009. In 2012, the singer became the winner of the “Stars in the Opera” show together with Ukrainian vocalist Vlad Pavlyuk.
Jamala and Vlad Pavlyuk in the show “Stars at the Opera”
Jamala's personal life
On April 26, 2017, singer Jamala got married. Her chosen one was economist and entrepreneur Bekir Suleymanov. He is 8 years younger than his chosen one.The controversy surrounding the Eurovision 2016 final has not subsided for three days. Jamala's victory with the song “1944” caused heated debate on the Internet. Some viewers believe that the victory of the Ukrainian singer is deserved. Another part is sure that Jamala has become a political tool in the hands of the Eurovision organizers. In any case, the winner of the competition has become one of the most popular people in the media space in recent days.
Jamala's family: why the singer's parents divorced
Jamala is the stage name of a Ukrainian singer, taken as a derivative of her last name: Jamaladinova. In fact, the 32-year-old performer's name is Susanna.
Despite the fact that Jamala considers Crimea her homeland, the future star was born in the Kyrgyz city of Osh, where her great-grandmother was deported during the deportation of Tatars from Crimea.
Susanna's family is multinational - her mother is Armenian from Nagorno-Karabakh, and her father is a Crimean Tatar. The singer’s older sister is married to a Turkish citizen, where she currently lives with her children.
When the future star was 6 years old, her parents decided to move to Crimea. At that time, the Tatars, whose families were evicted from the peninsula, could not buy real estate there. To purchase a house in Crimea, Jamala’s parents divorced, and Susanna’s mother purchased the property.
As the singer later recalled, they became the first returning Tatars to buy a house on the South Coast:
We were the first Crimean Tatars to buy a house in Malorechenskoye. When the Tatars began to return, they were given plots in the most unfavorable places, in the mountains. I remember exactly the day when we came to our future yard. The owner of the house, who had already signed the documents, suddenly realized that she had sold the property to the Crimean Tatars. How she screamed then!
Jamala's personal life: she has never been married and has not yet met her love
The singer does not advertise her personal life; on her Instagram page you can mainly find the latest news about the star’s work. It is known that Jamala has neither a husband, nor children, nor a loved one. For now, the heart of the 32-year-old Eurovision winner is free.