Manizha Мани́жа | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Manizha in 2023 | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as | Manizha Sangin |
| Born | Manizha Dalerovna Khamrayeva (1991-07-08)8 July 1991 (age 34) |
| Origin | Moscow, Russia |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 2003–present |
Spouse | |
Manizha Dalerovna Sangin (Russian:Мани́жа Дале́ровна Санги́н;née KhamrayevaRussian:Хамра́ева;Tajik:Ҳамроева; born 8 July 1991), knownmononymously asManizha, is a Russian-Tajik singer and songwriter, as well as aGoodwill Ambassador for theUnited Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Beginning her career in 2003 as a child singer, Manizha went on to perform with the music groups Ru.Kola, Assai, and Krip De Shin, before later pursuing a solo career. Sherepresented Russia in theEurovision Song Contest 2021 with the song "Russian Woman".
Manizha was born on 8 July 1991 inDushanbe to parents Najiba Usmanova, a psychologist and clothing designer, and a father who worked as a doctor.[1] Her parents are divorced, and her father did not want Manizha to begin a singing career due to believing it was not a suitable career choice for aMuslim woman.[2] Manizha's grandfather wasToji Usmon [tg;ru], a Tajik writer and journalist, with a monument dedicated to his honor inKhujand.[3] Her great-grandmother was one of the first women in Tajikistan to remove herveil and begin a career of her own; in response to this, she had her children removed from her care, although she later was able to return to them and begin working outside of the home.[4][5] Manizha changed her surname from Khamrayeva to Sangin in order to honor her grandmother, who was one of the first people who encouraged her to pursue music.[1]
In 1994, Manizha and her family fled Tajikistan due to theTajikistani Civil War, subsequently settling inMoscow. After arriving in Moscow, Manizha began studying at a music school, where she studiedpiano. She afterward left the school to begin training with private vocal coaches.[3] Manizha studied psychology at theRussian State University for the Humanities.[1]
Manizha began her career in 2003, performing as a child singer. She took part in a number of children's singing competitions, winning the Grand Prix of the Rainbow Stars competition inJūrmala, becoming a laureate of the Ray of Hope festival organized byMir, and becoming a laureate of the Kaunas Talent competition inKaunas. She recorded a number of songs in bothRussian andTajik, before joining the music project Ru.Kola in 2007.[6][7][8][9] That year, she became a finalist at the Five Stars music competition inSochi.[10][11][12]
Manizha later left the Ru.Kola project, and joined the Russian group Assai in 2011.[1] She later left Assai to join Krip De Shin soon after, which was formed along with other former members of Assai. With Krip De Shin, she recorded an extended play and performed at various music festivals throughout Russia.[13][14] Due to creative differences between herself and the band, she later opted to leave the group.[6] After leaving the group, Manizha moved toLondon, and later began studyinggospel music in both London andNew York City.[3][6][15]
In 2016, Manizha returned to her music career, with the release of several independently released singles. The singles were followed by the release of her debut studio album,Manuscript, which was independently released in February 2017.[16][17] Following the release ofManuscript, Manizha began working on her second studio album,ЯIAM, which was released in March 2018. Describing the album, Manizha stated that it was based on the "architecture of the personality" of a person.[18] Her debut solo extended playWomanizha was released in April 2019.
In March 2021, it was confirmed that Manizha would be taking part in theRussian national final for theEurovision Song Contest 2021 with the song "Russian Woman".[19] At the final, held in Moscow on 8 March 2021, Manizha was declared the winner after receiving 39.7% of the public vote. She represented Russia in the contest inRotterdam,[20][21] where she placed ninth out of 26 countries, receiving 204 points.[22]
AfterRussia invaded Ukraine on 24 February 2022, Manizha stated her opposition to the invasion, referring to the Ukrainian backgrounds of her soon-to-be husband and daughter-in-law.[23] She released the single "Soldier" on 13 March in response to the invasion.[24][25]
As a consequence of the invasion, Russia was excluded from theEurovision Song Contest 2022,[26] and was banned from entering future contests.[27][28][29][30] Due to this, Manizha remains the last Russian representative in the contest (penultimate in any Eurovision event, behindTatyana Mezhentseva).
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In 2017, Manizha began posting unedited photos of herself with the hashtag #TheTraumaOfBeauty and captions discussing her struggles with her body image.[31][32] At her concert on the roof of the Château de Fantomas in Moscow, Manizha took off her stage makeup and invited the public to join this manifesto. She distributed wet wipes to those who wanted to.[citation needed]
Manizha supports various charitable foundations: she performed at the charity festival "Anton is here near" 2017, organised by the foundation helping autistic children; at the closing of the IX World Children's Games of the winners of 2018, organized by the "Give Life" Foundation helping children with cancer; took part in the "Star of Kindness" charity event in support of the "Children butterflies" and others.
In February 2019, Manizha launched a social campaign against domestic violence. As part of this project, she released a free mobile application called Silsila (in Persian - "thread") to help victims of domestic violence.[32] The app allows users to quickly call for help in an emergency using the panic button and offers a list of the nearest crisis centers and shelters in which to hide. Not all the centers that the team listed had been tested, only some of them can be contacted regardless of gender, nationality and documents. In support of the campaign, together with the director Lado Quatania ("HypeProduction"), a video was released for the song "Mama" (Russian and English versions). The video raises the problem of domestic violence against women and adolescents, as well as the problems of transformation from a child to an adult. The video provides statistics on the scale of the problem of violence in Russia. Manizha's team collects their own statistics. The project was created without the support of the state, third-party companies or funds.[citation needed] Manizha's mother sold her apartment to help pay for the app.[32]
Manizha also actively supports the LGBT community. In 2019, she starred in a video for the Russian online queer magazine "Otkritiye" ("Open") during Pride Month.[citation needed][33] After that, as the singer admits, about 10 thousand people unsubscribed from her Instagram. In 2020, she sang her version of Cher's song "Believe" during the Otkritiye's Digital Pride.[34] In the autumn of the same year, she performed at the Queerfest in St. Petersburg.
In October 2020, theUnited Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) announced Manizha as a Goodwill Ambassador for UNHCR.[35]
On 9 December 2021, Manizha visitedAlmaty, Kazakhstan in honour of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence campaign.[36]
On 24 February 2022, Manizha stated her opposition to theRussian invasion of Ukraine via an Instagram post, referring to her husband and sister-in-law's Ukrainian background.[23] Her opposition to the war led to her facing a campaign to have her blacklisted, leading to several promoters cancelling her performances after government supporters began posting personal information of concert organizers.[37]
On 6 September 2022, Manizha announced her marriage to film director Lado Kvataniya. Together they have a daughter, born in July 2023.[38]
| Award | Year | Nominee(s) | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berlin Music Video Awards | 2019 | "Мама" | Best Concept | Nominated | [39] |
| 2020 | "Недославянка" | 3rd Place | [40] | ||
| 2024 | "Standing Between Two Walls" | Nominated | [41] | ||
| 2025 | "Gun" | Nominated | [42] | ||
| Clio Awards | 2025 | "Gun" | Music Video | Silver | [43] |
| Cinematography | Silver |
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Manuscript |
|
| ЯIAM |
|
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Womanizha |
|
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NLD [44] | SWE [45] | |||
| "I Love Too Much" | 2016 | — | — | Manuscript |
| "Little Lady" | — | — | ||
| "Sleepy Song" (with Dima Ustinov) | — | — | Non-album single | |
| "Устал" (I Got Tired) | 2017 | — | — | ЯIAM |
| "Hear What I Feel" | — | — | Non-album single | |
| "Изумруд" (Emerald) | — | — | ЯIAM | |
| "Любил, как мог" (I Loved as Much as I Could) | 2018 | — | — | Non-album singles |
| "Мне легко" (It's Easy for Me) | — | — | ||
| "Black Swan" (with Anya Chipovskaya) | — | — | ||
| "Завтрак" (Breakfast) | 2019 | — | — | |
| "Сейчас дважды не случится" (Now Will Not Happen Twice) | — | — | ||
| "Недославянка" (Not Slavic Enough) | — | — | ||
| "Vanya" | — | — | ||
| "Человеку нужен человек" (A Human Needs a Human) | 2020 | — | — | |
| "Начало" (The Beginning) | — | — | ||
| "На путь воина встаю" (I'm Getting on the Way of Warrior) | — | — | Mulan (Official Motion Picture Soundtrack – Russian Dub) | |
| "Город солнца" (The City of Sun) | — | — | Non-album singles | |
| "Про тебя" (About You) | 2021 | — | — | |
| "Akkulista" (featuring Everthe8) | — | — | ||
| "Russian Woman" | 81 | 84 | ||
| "Держи Меня Земля" (Hold Me Mother Earth) | — | — | ||
| "Soldier" | 2022 | — | — | |
| "Standing Between Two Walls"[46] | 2023 | — | — | |
| "Tummy"[47] | — | — | ||
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Russia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 | Succeeded by None |
| International | |
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| Artists | |
