Philipp Kirkorov

Philipp Kirkorov
Philipp Bedrosovich Kirkorov PAR (born 30 April 1967) is a Bulgarian-born Russian pop singer. He is a five-time winner of the "Best Selling Russian Artist" title at the World Music Awards ceremonies. He has been a star of Russian pop and dance music since 1989.
Biography
Philipp Kirkorov was born on 30 April 1967 in Varna, Bulgaria. His father, Bedros Kirkorov, is a Bulgarian-born singer of Armenian descent.
In 1990, Kirkorov won the Grand Prix in the competition "Shlyager-90" (Hit-90) in Leningrad with the song "Nebo i Zemlya" (Sky and Earth). In 1992, his music video to the song "Atlantida" was selected as "Music Video of the Year". His popularity began to spread outside of Russia and he toured in the United States, Canada, Germany, and Israel.
In 1994, he proposed to Alla Pugacheva and she accepted. On 13 January the couple announced their engagement in Moscow. On 15 March the marriage was registered in St. Petersburg by then-mayor Anatoly Sobchak. On 15 May the wedding of Kirkorov and Pugacheva took place in Jerusalem. Kirkorov represented Russia in the Eurovision Song Contest 1995 held in Dublin with the song "Kolybelnaya dlya vulkana" ('Lullaby for the volcano') and finished in 17th place. He co-wrote the Belarusian entry at the Eurovision Song Contest 2007, "Work Your Magic" for Dmitry Koldun, wrote the 2008 Ukrainian entry "Shady Lady", performed by Ani Lorak, and also co-composed Moldova's Eurovision entry for the contest, "Sugar", which was performed by Natalia Gordienko. He was also a judge in the second season of Music Idol in Bulgaria. Kirkorov makes a cameo in Verka Serduchka's video "Do Re Mi". Other than his native Bulgarian, he is fluent in Russian, and is proficient in Spanish and English.
In January 2023, Ukraine imposed sanctions on Kirkorov for his support of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Public image and controversies
Kirkorov has maintained a "bad boy" public image for most of his career and has caused a number of media controversies.
The most notorious scandal followed an incident in Rostov-on-Don on 20 May 2004. At a press conference he insulted (using Russian obscene language) Irina Aroyan, a female journalist who had asked why so many of his songs were covers of American and European hits. During the ensuing discussion, Kirkorov eventually told Aroyan that he was "tired of her pink blouse, her tits, and her microphone" and demanded that she leave the room immediately. When she eventually did, his bodyguards attacked her outside and destroyed her tape recorder. The incident led to a major response and discussions in the mass media. On 11 August 2004, Kirkorov was found guilty of insults (article 130 of the Russian penal code) and was fined 60,000 rubles (about 2000 US dollars at the time).
At a pro-Viktor Yanukovych candidacy concert during the 2004 Ukrainian presidential election Kirkorov's father, Bulgarian singer Bedros Kirkorov, mistakenly called on Ukrainians to vote for the opposing candidate Viktor Yushchenko – to wild cheers from the audience.
There was also an incident where Kirkorov sent his guards to attack the Russian rock singer and DDT band frontman Yuri Shevchuk after their emotional skirmish in a public place (as known, Shevchuk keeps no guards of his own). The reason for the argument reportedly were Shevchuk's offensive statements against Kirkorov, his wife, and his alleged lip-synching.
On 15 May 2009 Kirkorov resigned as head of the Russian jury at the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest, which has a 50% say in who will be national Russian Eurovision representative, after having been seen posing for cameras with Greek entry Sakis Rouvas and having dinner with Norwegian entry Alexander Rybak. Furthermore, Kirkorov admitted that he and Rouvas had been personal friends for years. Since the integrity of the jury was deemed damaged, Kirkorov had little option but to resign once these stories had been made public.
On 3 September 2009 Philipp Kirkorov, clad in his (in)famous 2008 Music Awards 'gold' suit was caught on camera while 'confiscating' the camera belonging to journalist Veronica Kozlova. Since the act could have been interpreted according to the law as a robbery, some reports said the singer was facing 2 to 7 years' imprisonment and a heavy fine. All charges were dropped, however, and Kirkorov stated that his actions were 'provoked' by the journalist. Kozlova was immediately dubbed 'Pink Blouse the Second' by her colleagues and other journalists.
Another incident occurred on 4 December 2010, when he allegedly slapped a female assistant because he was unhappy with the lighting at a concert venue. The woman, later identified as Marina Yablokova, threatened to sue Kirkorov. As a result, Kirkorov fled to Israel and had himself interned at a psychiatric hospital. On 7 December 2010 the singer publicly admitted that he had psychological problems on his official website and apologized to his latest victim.
Russian actor Nikita Dzhigurda during a talk show hinted on non-hetero sexual orientations of several prominent Russian pop stars, including Kirkorov. Dzhigurda concluded with the warning: "Come out! Come out from below ground, before it's too late!"
On 29 November 2016, Russian media reported that Didier Marouani has been detained in Moscow by Russian police on charges of extortion and defamation. The charges were based on a complaint by Kirkorov with whom Marouani had a disagreement regarding a copyright infringement case.
In April 2022, Kirkorov criticized RT editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan for questioning the sexual orientation of Russian comedian and television presenter Maxim Galkin, who fled Russia in protest of the invasion of Ukraine.
Support for the Russian annexation of Crimea and invasion of Ukraine
Due to his public support of Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014, Lithuania blacklisted Kirkorov on 19 January 2021, preventing him from entering the country for a period of five years. Several of his concerts had been scheduled in Lithuanian cities that year. On 23 June, Kirkorov was included in the list of "persons who pose a threat to Ukraine's national security" and was thus banned from entering Ukraine for speaking in support of Russia's annexation of Crimea. Estonia banned the singer from entering the country on 24 February 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine; Ukraine imposed sanctions on him for promoting Russia in January 2023.
Honours and awards
Orders
Order of Honor (30 April 2017) - for great contribution to the development of national music art and many years of creative activity.
Order of Francesc Skarina (Belarus, 18 May 2012) - For a significant personal contribution to the development and strengthening of Belarusian-Russian cultural ties, high performing skills.
Titles
Order of Francysk Skaryna (18 May 2012)
People's Artist of Russia Federation (12 February 2008)
People's Artist of Ukraine (29 May 2008)
Merited Artist of the Russian Federation (2001)
People's Artist of Chechnya (2006)
People's Artist of Ingushetia (2006)
Honorary Citizen of Yalta (2010)
Honored Art Activist of Autonomous Republic of Crimea (2000)
Goodwill ambassador of United Nations (2000)
Medals
Medal "10 years of Astana" (Kazakhstan, 2008)
Public awards
Record holder of the Russian Book of Records (2017)
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Discography
Albums
Studio albums
1990: Philipp
1990: Sinbat-Morehod
1991: Nebo I Zemlya
1991: Ti, Ti, Ti
1992: Takoi Sakoi
1994: Ya Ne Raphael
1995: Primadonna
1995: Ckazi Solncu – "Da"
1998: Edinstvenaya
1998: Oi, Mama Shika Dam
2000: Chelofilia
2001: Magico Amor
2002: Vlubloniy I Bezumno Odinokiy
2003: Neznakomka
2007: For You
2011: Drugoy – 2 Edition
2016: Ya
Live
2001: Vchera, Segodnya, Zavtra... (Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow... )
Compilation
2003: Luchshie Pesni (The Best Songs)
2004: Dueti (Duets)
Singles
1999: Mish`
2000: Ogon` I Voda
2000: Kilimandzaro
2001: Diva
2001: Ti Poverish`?
2001: Ya Za Tebya Umru
2001: Maria
2002: Zesrokaya Lubov`
2004: Sam P..A?! Ili Kirkorov MAZZDie!!!
2005: Kak Sumashedshiy Ya (duet with Sakis Rouvas)
2009: Zara
Eurovision covers
Philipp Kirkorov has covered a few songs which appeared in the Eurovision Song Contest and its national finals, as well as entering a song in his own right. Songs include:
"Dreamin'" (Ireland 1995 entry) (English and Russian)
"(I Would) Die for You" (Greece 2001 entry) (English and Russian as "Ya za tebya umru")
"Diva" (Israel 1998 entry) (English, Hebrew, Spanish and Russian)
"Go" (United Kingdom 1988 entry) (Russian as "Lish by ty vsegda byla moej")
"Maria Magdalena" (Croatia 1999 entry) (Russian)
"Hero" – Charlotte Perrelli (2008 Swedish entry) (Russian as "Novyj geroj")
"La voix" – Malena Ernman (2009 Swedish entry) (Russian as "Golos", English and French) (with Anna Netrebko)
"Let's get wild" – Helena Paparizou (2005 Greek National Final) (Russian as "Kaif")
"Carnaval" – DJ Mendez (2002 Swedish National Final) (Russian)
"Let your spirit fly" – Jan Johansson & Pernilla Wahlgren (2003 Swedish National Final) (Russian as "Vljublennaja dusha") (with Anastasia Stotskaya)
"Cara Mia" – Måns Zelmerlöw (2007 Swedish National Final) (Russian as "Koroleva")
"Playing with Fire" – Paula and Ovi (Romania 2010 entry) (Russian as "Igra s ognem")
"Hope & Glory" – Måns Zelmerlöw (2009 Swedish National Final) (Russian as "Tyi vsyo uvidish sam")
Videos
Filmography
1995: "Old Songs About Main Things" (as magician from south)
1996: "Old Songs About Main Things – 2" (as Mr. Singer)
1997: "Old Songs About Main Things – 3" (as young actor)
2000: "Salon of Beaty" (as Evgeniy Slavin)
2000: "Old Songs About Main Things.Postscript" (as magician from south)
2001: "Como El Cine" (as himself)
2002: "Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka" (as devil)
2003: "Crazy Day or The Marriage of Figaro" (as Count Almaviva)
2006: "The Adventures of Verka Serduchka" (cameo)
2007: "Kingdom of Crooked Mirrors" (as kite Piliph)
2007: "Stars Holidays" (as Baron Ctar, intergalactic star)
2008: "Goldfish" (as star groom)
2008: "On Back Of Black Cat" (cameo)
2009: "Love in the Big City" (as Saint Valentin)
2010: "Love in the Big City 2" (as Saint Valentin)
2010: "Svaty" (cameo)
2012: "Little Red Riding Hood" (As Cat Basilio)
2014: "Love in the Big City 3" (as Saint Valentin)
2017: "Naughty Grandma" (cameo)
Eurovision Song Contest entries
Real estate
Villa in Ostrov Myakinino (Cottage Village Beresta) near Moscow.
Villa in La Gorce Dr, Miami Beach.
Scandals
Conflict over the cry “My Bunny”
On December 19, 2002, at the Ostankino television center, one of the young extras who came for filming, seeing Kirkorov, shouted: “My bunny,” for which he was beaten. This conflict was resolved very quickly.
Conflict with Yuri Shevchuk
On December 29, 2002, in the St. Petersburg hotel “European”, a verbal altercation occurred between the leader of the DDT group Yuri Shevchuk and Kirkorov, during which the latter’s guards attacked Shevchuk, knocked him down and began beating him. Kirkorov himself did not participate in the brawl, although, according to some sources, he tried to reach out to Shevchuk. After the hotel security calmed down the singer’s security, Kirkorov demanded that Shevchuk be declared persona non grata.
Insult of journalist Irina Aroyan
On May 20, 2004, at a press conference in Rostov-on-Don, shortly after a question from Gazeta Dona journalist Irina Aroyan, “What is the reason for such a large number of remakes in your repertoire?” the singer insulted the journalist using obscene words. Aroyan filed a lawsuit, which found the singer guilty under Part 2 of Article 130 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (insult in a public place) and sentenced Kirkorov to pay a fine of 60 thousand rubles. The scandal led to Kirkorov being declared a boycott for some time by many Russian electronic and print media.
Attack on Marina Yablokova
On December 6, 2010, a verbal altercation occurred between Philip Kirkorov and the assistant to the chief director of the Golden Gramophone ceremony, Marina Yablokova, at a rehearsal, after which the singer slapped Yablokova, pulled her by the hair and kicked her. Yablokova filed an application with the Moscow Criminal Investigation Department to initiate a criminal case under the articles “insult” (part 1 of article 130) and “infliction of minor bodily harm” (part 1 of article 115).
F. Kirkorov: “The reaction of some media is an absolute and deliberate lie. I didn’t kick her or turn her into an invalid.” Anna Netrebko, who was present at the rehearsal: “This girl is lying for some reason, it’s unclear why.” Witnesses to the incident clarify what happened at the rehearsal. The organizer of the award, Russian Radio, published “Clarification on the conflict between F. Kirkorov and M. Yablokova.”
In an interview with Ksenia Sobchak in the “Sobchak Live” program on the Dozhd TV channel, Kirkorov admitted that Vladimir Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov assisted him in settling relations with the media.
I. Prigozhin, Alexander Novikov, singer Valeria and V. Meladze spoke out against Kirkorov. The journalist who suffered from Kirkorov was also supported by the person involved in the previous scandal involving the singer, Irina Aroyan, who called for a repeated public boycott of Kirkorov and advised Yablokova to “see her job to the end.”
Several players of the Russian national football team wrote an open letter in defense of Kirkorov. Joseph Kobzon, Lyudmila Gurchenko, Igor Nikolaev, Sergei Makovetsky, Taisiya Povaliy, Gennady Khazanov also spoke out in defense of the singer.
On December 8, Kirkorov was hospitalized in the psychiatric ward of the Israeli Sheba Medical Center (Tel Hashomer Hospital), from where on December 10, in the “Let Them Talk” program, he publicly apologized to Yablokova and explained his behavior as a “serious illness”, attacks of which the singer “suffers” twice a year and which is accompanied by unconsciousness.” “Yes, I raised my hand. I insulted. But I didn’t do what they say I did.” On December 12, in the Central Television program, after the presenter’s statement about the presence of a video recording of the incident, Yablokova reported that Kirkorov did not pull her hair. Yablokova's lawyer asks that the video recording not be made public. On December 13, Kirkorov’s lawyer announced a possible appeal to law enforcement agencies regarding slander directed against Kirkorov. On December 15, a criminal case was opened. Kirkorov was recognized as a defendant, Yablokova as a private prosecutor and victim.
On December 16, F. Kirkorov and M. Yablokova entered into a settlement agreement. On December 22, the magistrate’s court held a meeting to consider the issue of its approval.
Conflict with Timati
In 2012, rapper Timati published a message via Twitter about the just completed Muz-TV Award, in which he expressed bewilderment at the distribution of awards in a number of categories. Kirkorov reacted rudely to the message, reminding Timati of professional ethics. Timati, in the same manner, reminded Kirkorov of his past scandals. The conflict resulted in Timati recording a video message to Kirkorov, “Goodbye”, “in the manner of a popular video at that time».
Conflict with Didier Marouani
In 2016, the leader of the Space group, Didier Marouani, made claims to Kirkorov for plagiarizing the musical material of the song “Tough Love,” which Marouani, citing experts, considered 41% borrowed from the song Symphonic Space Dream. After lengthy correspondence by email and telephone conversations (which, as it later turned out, were conducted by pranksters Vovan and Lexus instead of Kirkorov), Maruani arrived in Moscow on November 29, 2016 to resolve the conflict and a joint press conference with Kirkorov, for which, as he assumed, was supposed to receive $1 million in compensation from Kirkorov. Before meeting with Maruani, Kirkorov, on the advice of his lawyer A. Dobrovinsky, turned to the police, and during the “investigative experiment” in the Sberbank office, Maruani and his lawyer I. Trunov were detained by the police and then released. Law enforcement agencies refused to initiate a criminal case against Kirkorov based on his claim of “extortion” by Maruani. The whole detective story was characterized by the French musician as “a setup and a stupid, criminal act.” Maruani accused Kirkorov of “stole more than 30 songs from other performers,” and announced an intention to sue Kirkorov in the United States (where he has property) over “illegal use of musical material.” Kirkorov, in an interview with NTV, without denying a certain similarity of a fragment of the melody, argued that the song “Cruel Love” by composer Oleg Popkov was created and recorded in 1996-2000, and Marouani’s song Symphonic Space Dream - only in 2002. At the same time, Kirkorov declared himself only the performer of the song, not bearing any legal responsibility for its music.
Pamir Jurab incident
On January 2, 2017, in the entertainment program “MaximMaxim” on Channel One, Philip Kirkorov presented the presenters of the program, Maxim Galkin and Alla Pugacheva, with a pair of knitted woolen socks, calling them Bulgarian and saying that his aunt knitted them. After the release of the program with this episode, controversy and a flurry of indignation began in the Tajik segment of social networks. Users recognized these woolen socks as a rare pattern that can only be performed by women of the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region of Tajikistan. As it turned out, the socks donated by Kirkorov turned out to be part of the national attire of the Pamir peoples and some Tajiks - Pamir jurabs. Soon, on social networks, Tajiks and Pamiris organized a flash mob called “Know our jurabs!” They called on Kirkorov to apologize to the Pamir and Tajik peoples and admit his mistake. Many residents of Badakhshan, emphasizing the uniqueness of the Pamir socks, expressed dissatisfaction with the fact that Kirkorov did not indicate their origin, but presented them as handmade by his aunt. After this incident, some Tajik journalists proposed recognizing jurab knitted products as a masterpiece of the oral and intangible cultural heritage of humanity by UNESCO. The Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Tajikistan has included the knitting of jurabs in the list of intangible cultural heritage of the country, but has not yet submitted an official application to UNESCO.
Conflict with Gilbert Sinouet
In October 2017, Gilbert Sinouet, a French writer, author of the novel "Yerevan" about the Armenian genocide in the Ottoman Empire, also known as a songwriter, accused Kirkorov of plagiarizing his song "Helwa ya Baladi", which has existed since 1978. The accusation was related to the fact that Kirkorov performs the song “Silk Thread” in Russian, which is identical to the French work.
Ibiza
In 2018, Philip Kirkorov together with Nikolai Baskov released the video “Ibiza,” which caused a flurry of criticism and negative comments for using low-grade techniques (the climax was smearing both with feces and “milking” a goat). As a result, they had to release an apology video to their fans.
Swearing at the workers of the New Wave festival in Sochi
On August 29, 2019, a video appeared on the Internet in which Philip Kirkorov swore obscenely from the stage at the workers of the New Wave festival in Sochi, declaring that he did not care about the live broadcast and until he rehearsed the number with cameras, the show would not start . Soon the scandal quickly spread across social networks. Kirkorov's press secretary Ekaterina Uspenskaya called the incident "working moments on a very important day." She explained Kirkorov’s obscene language towards the festival workers by his concern for the quality of the performance that he was preparing for “New Wave 2019.” Soon, journalist Irina Aroyan responded to this incident, saying the following: “This is not masculine behavior. It’s bad to swear, what else can you say?”.
Trampling on the cross in honor of the 55th birthday
Philip Kirkorov found himself out of favor. After the anniversary concert, the masses took up arms against the king of pop on the national stage. Not only did an Orthodox cross with the actress’s crucifix appear on stage, Kirkorov also danced on it. The public’s favorite was not forgiven for such blasphemy.
Kirkorov was sued
Viewers are outraged by the inappropriate act of Philip Kirkorov. The famous artist danced on an Orthodox cross with the actress’s crucifix at the anniversary concert. The shocked public demands that the prosecutor's office deal with the blasphemer, and the department has a “bunch of statements” on its desk.
The famous lawyer Alexander Ostrovsky commented on Kirkorov’s troubles. The lawyer does not see the incident as a global catastrophe:
Hundreds of such applications are submitted every day. All tastes, everything is evaluated. If at the bottom they think so, then at the top they may think differently and cancel the decisions that were made. Even if a case is opened, it could actually end in a ban, a fine and that’s it.
This also led to massive cancellations of all his concerts.
Conflict with Nargiz Zakirova
In October 2022, singer Nargiz Zakirova posted a video on social networks in which she is driving through the streets of Tashkent and, upon seeing a poster announcing a concert by Philip Kirkorov, swears: “Come in large numbers, b...”. Philip Kirkorov responded with a mini-fable: Nargiz, you don’t even need vocal cords to “fuck you.” And to fawn and fawn on someone to whom yesterday you were fawning, and your conscience will not be useful." In November 2022, in an interview with journalist Alena Zhigalova in the YouTube show “Alena, damn it!” Philip Kirkorov commented on singer Nargiz’s attack on himself in Tashkent:
“I’m sitting not bothering anyone, suddenly this “hospitable” video “flies in.” On the eve of a tour in Tashkent, where I haven’t been for a hundred years, where Farukh Zakirov and the “Yalla” group are waiting for me... And suddenly she (Nargiz) records a video: driving past of my beautiful poster in Tashkent and remarks: “Let’s come in large numbers, ...!” This is about me! For five years, while she was trying to do something in Russia, until she quarreled with Fadeev, with Channel One, until she gave our country a bad name and received a ban on entry for her boorish attitude towards Russia, towards to all of us, she wrote to me: “Happy Birthday, Rock Star”, “I love you endlessly!” I answered her: “Thank you, my girl!” And suddenly: “Here we go!”
See also
Russian pop music
References
External links
Philipp Kirkorov at the Forbes
Интервью Филиппа Киркорова журналу Rolling Stone
1967 births
Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1995
Eastern Orthodox Christians from Russia
Eastern Orthodox Christians from Bulgaria
Bulgarian emigrants to the Soviet Union
Bulgarian people of Armenian descent
Living people
Musicians from Varna, Bulgaria
People's Artists of Russia
Recipients of the title of People's Artists of Ukraine
Recipients of the Order of Francysk Skaryna
Eurovision Song Contest entrants for Russia
Russian people of Armenian descent
Russian pop singers
World Music Awards winners
Soviet pop singers
Honored Artists of the Russian Federation
Russian record producers
Russian pop musicians
Russian television presenters
20th-century Russian male singers
21st-century Russian male singers
Anti-Ukrainian sentiment in Russia
Russian National Music Award winners
Russian people of French descent
Bulgarian people of French descent
Bulgarian people of Russian descent
Russian people of Bulgarian descent
Bulgarian people of Romani descent
Russian Romani people
Winners of the Golden Gramophone Award