Avraam Russo
Avraam Russo (, , ); born as Abraham Zhanovich Ipjian (; born July 21, 1969) is a Syrian-born Russian pop singer of Armenian origin. Russo is an international artist who has recorded songs in a number of languages. He shot to fame with "Daleko Daleko", a Russian cover of a big Arabic language hit, "Tamally Maak" by Amr Diab. He has four platinum albums recorded in Russia "Amor" (2001), "Tonight" (2002), "Prosto Lyubit"' (2003) and "Obruchalnaya" (2006) with songs in Russian and English. "Amor" became a No. 1 hit in Russia and throughout Eastern Europe. He has sold millions of album  copies worldwide. His most recent album is an all-English spiritual album "Resurrection" (2010) recorded in the United States where he resides with his wife Morela and daughter Emanuela. Early years. Avraam was born in the Syrian city of Aleppo to an Armenian family with three brothers. His father was from the city of Ayntab (nowadays Gaziantep) in Cilicia, (Çukurova in modern-day Turkey) and his mother is from Dikranagerd (now known as Diyarbakır). Avraam lost his father at an early age and his mother had to serve other households for the survival of the family. His singing talent was  discovered while he was performing Armenian liturgical songs during his monastic studies in Aleppo. He also studied in an Armenian Orthodox seminary in Bikfaya, Lebanon for a couple of years. After leaving the studies, he was quickly involved in several amateur bands, making part-time appearances in Arab venues and outdoor restaurants (such as "Ramaya", "Aleppo Family Swimming Pool", "Somar", Orouba Club, etc.) and in hotels like "Al Amir" in Aleppo. During these years he was affectionately known as Apig or Apo, derivatives of his birthname Abraham. In 1993 he went to Cyprus and worked in night clubs for two  years earning meagre salaries. But his presence in Cyprus proved important for his future career, as he got the attention of a Russian Azerbaijan-Jewish tycoon Telman Ismailov (originally from Baku, Azerbaijan SSR and now Vice President of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress) who, during one of his business trips to Cyprus, attended Avraam's performance and liked his work very much. Being owner of big retail businesses and entertainment outlets including "Prague Restaurant" and a well connected entrepreneur, he invited Avraam to take part in multilingual performances in Russia taking the Russian name Avraam Russo. Russian career. Avraam's  first trip to Moscow in 1995 landed him fame in a relatively short time. With the help of a girlfriend, he quickly learned the Russian language and prepared a repertoire in many languages, exactly the way he used to do in Syria and Cyprus with Middle Eastern and European influences. His command of European languages was also impressive. There was always a kind of mystery about his origin and he was subject of many speculations as to his origins. But despite pressure from his Syrian compatriots, he himself did not explicitly refer to his ethnic background, due to an informal  agreement he made with his management team even before receiving wide recognition. In 2006 he suffered an assassination attempt in Russia and was severely injured. He recovered and moved to New York City. American career. After his miraculous recovery and ability to walk again after his serious injuries and after a hiatus of 4 years in New York, Avraam Russo released his fifth studio album entitled "Resurrection" in early 2010, conveying his faith in Christianity which he credits for his survival. "Resurrection" is also his first-ever all-English Christian spiritual record recorded in Nashville, Tennessee. He infuses great spiritual  depth and passion into the work produced by Dove Award winner Joe Beck and by Jim Frazier. In December 2009 he released the first single "Peace" taken from the album. The song is about child soldiers and released in aid of the "Invisible Children" charity. In 2009 he officially opened his own restaurant "Heaven" in New York. In January 2010, Avraam Russo returned to Russia and gave a series of concerts in various Russian cities. He is currently preparing to release a new album in Russian language. Abraham also recorded a duet in Amsterdam named "Лунная соната" ("Moonlight Sonata") with  Kazakh singer Diana Shik. Awards. In 2002 Avraam Russo won the Russian national top award for "Song of the Year" ("Pesnya Goda") for his international hit "Daleko Daleko" (Far Away in Russian), a cover version of the 2000 Arabic language massive hit "Tamally Maak" performed by Egyptian pan-Arab superstar Amr Diab. Personal life. He is married to Morela Russo (born 1982), a US citizen. Registered marriage in Butyrsky registry office on September 8, 2005. They were married in Israel for the Christmas holidays (2005–2006). He has 2 daughters, the oldest is Emanuella (born on December 27, 2006) while the  youngest daughter is Avemaria (born on August 19, 2014). Discography. Albums Compilations and live DVDs Singles