Philipp Kirkorov Soviet Singer Born 1967 in Varna

Early life

Philipp Bedrosovich Kirkorov was born on 30 April 1967 in Varna, Bulgaria. His father, Bedros Kirkorov, was a Bulgarian-born singer of Armenian origin, and Philipp began travelling on tour with his parents at the age of five. He grew up in Moscow and finished school there with a gold medal. An attempt to enter a theatre institute failed at the entrance examinations, and in 1984 he enrolled in the musical comedy department of the Gnessin State Musical College, graduating with honours in 1988.

Career

Kirkorov made his television debut in November 1985 on the programme Wider Circle, singing "Alyosha" in Bulgarian. In 1987 he was invited to join the Leningrad Music Hall, which led to a tour that included the Friedrichstadt-Palast in Berlin. The lyricist Ilya Reznik became an early supporter. In April 1988 he met Alla Pugacheva, and that October she invited him to take part in her Christmas Meetings concerts. During the preparations he began working with the poet Leonid Derbenyov, who wrote many of his later songs, including "Nebo i Zemlya" and "Atlantida".

In 1989 he toured Australia and Germany with Pugacheva and gave his first solo concert in Perm. In 1990 he won the Grand Prix of the Shlyager-90 competition in Leningrad with "Nebo i Zemlya", and in 1992 the video for "Atlantida" was chosen as music video of the year. His audience grew beyond Russia, with tours of the United States, Canada, Germany and Israel. In 1995 he represented Russia at the Eurovision Song Contest in Dublin with "Kolybelnaya dlya vulkana" and placed 17th. His album Primadonna appeared that year, and in 1996 he won a World Music Awards prize as the best-selling Russian artist. In 1999 he took part in Michael Jackson's MJ & Friends charity concert.

From the 2000s Kirkorov worked increasingly as a producer and mentor to younger performers. He co-wrote the Belarusian entry for Eurovision 2007, "Work Your Magic", sung by Dmitry Koldun, wrote the Ukrainian entry for 2008, "Shady Lady", performed by Ani Lorak, and co-composed Moldova's entry for 2021, "Sugar". His own albums of the period include Fire and Water and CheloFiliya in 2000, Neznakomka in 2003 and For You in 2007. In 2017 he signed with the Black Star label after working with the rapper Timati. In 2018 the singles "Ibiza", a duet with Nikolay Baskov, and "The Color of Mood is Black", recorded with Egor Kreed, drew large audiences online. A short film and music video, Black Panther, followed in November 2024.

He also works in television and film. From 2003 to 2016 he hosted shows including Morning with Kirkorov on STS, and since 2006 he has served as a judge on programmes such as Star Factory and Dancing with the Stars. Since 2020 he has been a judge on The Mask, the Russian version of The Masked Singer, broadcast on NTV; for hosting it he received a TEFI award in 2021. His film roles include the devil in Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka in 2001 and Saint Valentine in Love in the Big City in 2009, a part he repeated in two sequels. He also voiced the lead in The New Adventures of Aladdin and the parrot Kiki in Richard the Stork.

Estonia banned him from entering the country in February 2022, and Ukraine imposed sanctions on him in January 2023, in both cases in connection with his public statements on Russia's actions.

Recognition

Kirkorov holds a long list of state and professional honours. These include the title Merited Artist of Russia in 2001, People's Artist of the Russian Federation in 2008, the Belarusian Order of Francysk Skaryna in 2012, the Russian Order of Honour in 2017, and the Kazakh medal for the tenth anniversary of Astana in 2008. He has also received the Golden Gramophone, Muz-TV and ZD Awards prizes. In total, fifteen awards are on record.

Personal life

In 1994 Kirkorov married Alla Pugacheva, and the marriage ended in 2005. He has two children. Besides his native Bulgarian he speaks Russian fluently and is proficient in Spanish and English.