Yalan - Levent Yüksel & Yıldız Usmanova
Yıldız Usmonova was born in Margilan in the Ferghana district, Uzbekistan. Her parents worked at a silk factory. She studied music at the pedagogical institute in Margilan.
She was discovered by Gavharxonim Rahimova after singing at a Women’s Day show. Gavharxonim helped open many doors for her. After being introduced to professors from the Uzbekistan State Conservatory, she prepared under their guidance, and was admitted. She studied voice, and then later became a popular singer in Uzbekistan after independence in 1991. She became famous throughout Central Asia and released songs in many languages, her native Uzbek but also Uyghur, Turkish, Russian, Persian/Tajik, Arab, Kazakh, and Tatar.
As Uzbekistan’s most popular singer, she regularly appeared in concerts and has released several albums. She is known for her vocal opposition to the practice of lip-syncing in "live" concerts which is widespread among (younger) singers in Uzbekistan. She is one of the few artists remaining who always sing live. She is also believed to have controversial ties to the Uzbek government. Usmonova served in the parliament. Most of the rumors about her ties to Karimov´s government are spread by her rivals on the popular music scene in Uzbekistan, and have on many occasions forced her to go into self-inflicted exile into Russia, the US and most recently Turkey.
In 2008, Usmonova emigrated to Turkey citing dissatisfaction with political involvement and the incident that happened on May 13, 2005 in Fergana (also known as Bloody Friday in the Fergana Valley). However, in her own interview Yulduz Usmonova cites the problems with the control of state in Uzbekistan over where a singer is allowed to sing. She mentions that Uzbek government obstructed her from performing in Turkmenistan, with which Uzbek officials had problematic relations over the border issues. After moving to Turkey she launched a successful career in Turkey, scoring hits with ´"Beni kovma kalbinden", "Dünya", "Yalan" and Seni Severdim, the latter being a duet with famous Turkish singer Yaşar.
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