Dilara Kazimova

Dilarə Kazımova

Dilara Kazimova (2014)
Background information
Born May 20, 1984
Baku, Azerbaijan SSR, Soviet Union
Occupation(s) Singer, Actress
Instruments Vocals
Associated acts Unformal, Milk & Kisses
Dilara Kazimova presenting herself.

Dilara Kazimova (Azerbaijani: Dilarə Kazımova; born 20 May 1984 in Baku) is an Azerbaijani singer and actress.[1][2] She represented Azerbaijan in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 in Copenhagen[3] with the song "Start a Fire".

Career

Born in Baku, Dilara Kazimova studied vocal arts at the Baku Academy of Music. After graduating, she briefly performed as part of an opera troupe. From the early 2000s, she was a member of the rock band Unformal and later the lead singer for the duo Milk & Kisses. Both bands participated in the Azerbaijani national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest before, with Unformal placing second in the national final in 2008, and Milk & Kisses placing second again in the national final in 2010.[1][4] In 2010, the duo Milk & Kisses represented Azerbaijan at the annual New Wave music festival in Jurmala, Latvia, but came 16th out of 17 contestants.

In 2014, Dilara Kazimova participated in the Azerbaijani selection (this time by herself) and won the competition.[5] "Start a Fire", the song with which Dilara represented Azerbaijan in Copenhagen, was released two weeks later, on 16 March 2014, at the same time as the video clip.[6]

Kazimova is currently a contestant of the Ukrainian reality talent show Holos Krayiny (part of the international syndication The Voice). Svyatoslav Vakarchuk turned around his chair so he will be her coach and mentor for the duration of the show.[7][8]

Kazimova has also starred in two Azerbaijani films Try Not to Breathe (alongside Fakhraddin Manafov) in 2006 and Purgatory (for which she recorded the soundtrack "Sonsuz yol" as part of the band Unformal) in 2007.[9][10]

Filmography

Year Film Role Notes
2006 Try Not to Breathe Short film, debut film
2007 Prugatory Supporting role and soundtrack

References

Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Farid Mammadov
with Hold Me
Azerbaijan in the Eurovision Song Contest
2014
Succeeded by
Elnur Hüseynov
with Hour of the Wolf