Nargiz Polatovna Zakirova was born on October 6, 1970 in Tashkent into a well-known musical family in Uzbekistan. Grandfather Karim Zakirov is an opera singer, People's Artist of the Uzbek SSR, grandmother Shoista Saidova is a soloist of the Musical Theater of Drama and Comedy. Father Pulat Mordukhaev was a drummer in the ensemble of composer Batyr Zakirov. It is impossible not to mention the singer’s uncle, Farrukh Zakirov, a famous singer and leader of the popular ensemble “Yalla”. Mom Louise performed on stage in the 60s.

Already at the age of 15, Nargiz took part in the First All-Union Television Competition for Young Performers of Soviet Pop Songs “Jurmala-86”, where she won the Audience Award with the song “Remember Me” to the music of Farrukh Zakirov and lyrics by Ilya Reznik.

In addition to secondary school, Nargiz Zakirova also went to music school. And when her peers were just choosing their path and entering college, the girl was already performing on stage with Anatoly Batkhin’s orchestra. She was also enrolled in the circus school in the vocal department.

Zakirova did not like singing in the traditional format; she tried different approaches and styles: she appeared in public in short shorts, dyed her hair, hired men as backup dancers, and performed rock music. In 1995, the singer and her daughter immigrated to the United States, and already in New York her musical career began in earnest.

In 2001, the artist recorded a solo album in the ethno genre, “Golden Cage,” published by Sweet Rains Records, which sold in large quantities in the United States. Alone came out next. Zakirova thought about returning to Russia, and the show “The Voice” became a happy occasion.
The singer missed the first season due to the death of her father, to whom she subsequently dedicated the song “Нелюбимая дочь” (Unloved Daughter). Before the start of the second, she auditioned for the American “X-Factor”, but did not pass the selection. Nargiz chose Russia and was right. The way she performed the Scorpions hit "Still Loving You" at the blind auditions did not leave any of the jury members indifferent. Zakirova chose Leonid Agutin as a mentor, but upon completion of the project she signed a contract with the production center of Maxim Fadeev.

In July 2014, Nargiz Zakirova won the Grand Prix of the international music festival “White Nights of St. Petersburg”. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.