Philipp Bedrosovich Kirkorov (Russian: ????´?? ?????´????? ?????´???; born April 30, 1967 in Varna, Bulgaria) is a Russian-Armenian singer and producer living and working in Moscow.

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Biography

Philipp Kirkorov was born on April 30, 1967 in Varna, Bulgaria in a family of Bulgarian singer Bedros Kirkorov and his Russian wife Victoria. In 1984, he entered to the Gnesin State Music School and graduated with honors in 1988. His musical style is generic Russian pop music with occasional Turkish and Western influences and, like many Russian pop stars of the 90s and later, he frequently records duets with other artists working in the same field. 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, and wrote the 2008 Ukrainian entry "Shady Lady", performed by Ani Lorak. 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".

Eurovision covers

Philipp Kirkorov has covered a few songs which appeared in the Eurovision Song Contest, as well as entering a song in his own right, such songs include: -

• Dreaming (Ireland 1995 entry) (English and Russian)
• (I Would) Die for You (Greece 2001 entry) (English and Russian)
• Diva (Israel 1998 entry) (English, Hebrew, Spanish and Russian)
• Go (United Kingdom 1988 entry) (Russian)
• Maria Magalena (Croatia 1999 entry) (Russian)

Controversies

There is a number of media controversies surrounding Kirkorov.

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 remakes of American and European hits. ^[1] 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 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). ^[2]

Also, in one of his concerts, in the middle of a song, his mother went to the scenario to surprise him, making him scream and reveal he was actually lip-synching. ^[3]

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. ^{[4] [5]}

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 host national Russian votes, after having been seen posing for photographs with Greek entry Sakis Rouvas and having dinner with Norwegian entry Alexander Rybak. ^[6] Furthermore, Kirkorov admitted that he and Rouvas had been personal friends for years. Because this damaged the integrity of the jury, Kirkorov had little option to resign once these stories had broken. ^[7]

References

1. http://english.pravda.ru/science/57605-0/
2. http://articles.latimes.com/2004/aug/12/world/fg-popstar12
3. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNVTi7H0xB0&feature=channel_page
4. ????? ?? ???????? ??? ???? ????????
5. ?????? ?????????? ???????? ????? ???? ?????????? ???????
6. How the West Won: Norway Takes the Crown at Eurovision
7. First jury scandal - Russia: Philipp Kirkorov resigns as jury boss