Azerbaijani pop music

Music of Azerbaijan
General topics
Azerbaijani dances Azerbaijani musical instruments Sari Gelin Tar Azerbaijani ballet
Genres
Classical Folk Hip hop Jazz Opera Pop Rock
Specific forms
Traditional music	Ashiq music Meykhana Mugham
Subgenres	Jazz mugham
Media and performance
Music festivals	Gabala International Music Festival Baku Jazz Festival International Mugham Festival Hajibeyov Music Festival
Music media	Medeniyyet TV
Nationalistic and patriotic songs
National anthem	March of Azerbaijan

Azerbaijani pop music (Azerbaijani: Azərbaycan pop musiqisi) had its humble beginnings in the late 1950s with Azerbaijani cover versions of a wide range of imported popular styles, including rock and roll, tango, and jazz. As more styles emerged, they were also adopted, such as hip hop, rock and reggae.

History

1960s

The early 1960s were probably the era when Azerbaijani pop music was most dependent on the group format, with pop acts, like rock bands, playing guitars and drums, with the occasional addition of keyboards or orchestration. Classical pop-folk music enjoyed mainstream popularity during this era, with artists such as Anatollu Ganiyev, Muslim Magomayev and Shahlar Guliyev.^[1]

1970s

The Azerbaijani pop music experienced during the late 1970s a golden age of productivity characterized by the rise of a new generation of musicians. The classical pop artists such as Rashid Behbudov, Mirza Babayev, Flora Karimova, Shovkat Alakbarova, Ogtay Aghayev, and Gulagha Mammadov experienced their greatest success at the start of the decade and maintained their popularity throughout the entire music history.^[2][3][4]

1980s

Akif Islamzade often considered one of the most successful and influential Azerbaijani male pop artists of the early 1980s.^[5]

Baku chanson, a subgenre of Russian chanson, picked up popularity for the mid 1980s. Artists such as Eyyub Yaqubov brought Baku chanson to popularity in 1992.^[6][7] However, many artists were uncomfortable with their success, and were equally suspicious of the chanson label.

1990s

In the early 1990s, the country music charts were dominated by pop singers with only tangential influences from regional music such as Niyameddin Musayev and Baloghlan Ashrafov, a trend that has continued since.^[8]

In the 1990s, while the singles charts were dominated by boy bands and girl groups like Karvan and W Trio,^[9] artists like Aygun Kazimova, Faig Aghayev, Samir Bagirov, Zulfiyya Khanbabayeva and Brilliant Dadasheva also enjoyed their greatest level of mainstream success to date, and the rise of World music helped revitalise the popularity of folk music.^[10]

During Nagorno-Karabakh War, in stark contrast to the upbeat dance based music of the scene was the emergence military bard that emerged as part of the independent or alternative folk scenes of the 1990s, following the lead of artists such as Shamistan Alizamanli and Mubariz Taghiyev.^[11][12]

2000s

The Azerbaijani pop singer Röya breakthrough at the early 2000s led to her major international success in many Turkic speaking countries, especially the Iranian Azerbaijan and Turkey in addition to the music scene of Azerbaijan.^[13][14]

At the beginning of the new millennium, while talent show contestants were one of the major forces in pop music, as country made its debut appearance at the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest. The country's entry gained the third place in 2009 and fifth the following year.^[15] Ell and Nikki won the first place at the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 with the song "Running Scared", entitling Azerbaijan to host the contest in 2012, in Baku.^[16][17]

On contrary, many music critics argued that the surge of Yeni Ulduz (Pop Idol) type competitions and reality shows on Azerbaijani TV has only added to the pop industry's shallow image, and is cited as the reason why underground and reactionary music is becoming more popular.^[18][19]

2010s

Influenced by globalization of the world music, electropop, dance-pop, synthpop and electrohop, along with other forms of dance, electronica and pop music that started in the 1980s, have become the dominant form of music in the Azerbaijan in the early 2010s.

Despite the commercial dominance of hip-hop and pop during this period, rapper Miri Yusif found success with his reggae and soul fusion album "Karma", peaked at number 1 in the Azerbaijani Albums Chart in 2010.^[20][21][22]

Notable performers

Individuals

Female

Sabina Babayeva · Safura Alizadeh · Flora Karimova

• Aygun Kazimova
• Tunzala Aghayeva
• Shovkat Alakbarova
• Sevda Alakbarzadeh
• Nushaba Alasgarly
• Safura Alizadeh
• Sabina Babayeva
• Elnara
• Nazpari Dostaliyeva
• Khumar Gadimova
• Ilhama Gasimova
• Irada Ibrahimova
• Nigar Jamal
• Manana Japaridze
• Flora Karimova
• Konul Karimova
• Dilara Kazimova
• Zulfiyya Khanbabayeva
• Zeynab Khanlarova
• Aysel Teymurzadeh
• Röya

Male

Muslim Magomayev · Eldar Gasimov

• Emin Agalarov
• Aghadadash Aghayev
• Faig Aghayev
• Samir Bagirov
• Ogtay Aghayev
• Shamistan Alizamanli
• Mirza Babayev
• Abbas Baghirov
• Rashid Behbudov
• Bulbul
• Polad Bülbüloğlu
• Nadir Gafarzade
• Eldar Gasimov
• Huseynagha Hadiyev
• Akif Islamzade
• Muslim Magomayev
• Farid Mammadov
• Adalet Shukurov
• Mubariz Taghiyev
• Eyyub Yaqubov
• Miri Yusif

Groups

• Ell & Nikki

See also

• Azerbaijani folk music
• Azerbaijani jazz
• Azerbaijani rock

References