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Vasil Troyanov Boyanov (; born 7 March 1978), professionally known as Azis (), is a
Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...
n recording artist, of mixed
Bulgarian Bulgarian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria * Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group * Bulgarian language, a Slavic language * Bulgarian alphabet * A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria * Bul ...
and
Romani Romani may refer to: Ethnicities * Romani people, an ethnic group of Northern Indian origin, living dispersed in Europe, the Americas and Asia ** Romani genocide, under Nazi rule * Romani language, any of several Indo-Aryan languages of the Roma ...
ethnicity. Azis initially rose to prominence in
Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, whic ...
performing songs mostly in
chalga Chalga (; often referred to as pop-folk, short for "popular folk" or ethno-pop, short for "ethnic pop") is a Bulgarian music genre. Chalga or pop-folk is essentially a folk-inspired dance music genre, with a blend of Bulgarian music (Bulgarian e ...
, a genre which can be described as the Bulgarian rendition of
pop-folk Turbo-folk (sometimes referred as pop-folk or popular folk) is subgenre of contemporary pop music with its origins in Serbia, that initially developed during the 1980s and 1990s, with similar music styles in Bulgaria ( chalga), Romania ( mane ...
. Azis has collaborated with other Bulgarian pop-folk singers, such as Gloria, Malina,
Sofi Marinova Sofiya "Sofi" Marinova Kamenova ( bg, София "Софи" Маринова Каменова, is a Bulgarian Romani pop-folk and ethno-pop singer. She has won multiple music awards and contests. She is often called "the Romani pearl" and "the ...
,
Toni Storaro Toni Storaro ( bg, Тони Стораро; born Tuncher Fikret Ali, bg, Тунчер Фикрет Али, tr, Tunçer Fikret Ali; on 2 August 1976)rap artist Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...
s – Ustata and Vanko 1. Other than that, his repertoire includes duets with Serbian singers, including
Indira Radić Indira Radić (; ; born 14 June 1966) is a Bosnian Serb pop-folk singer. She has established herself on the music scene of the former Yugoslavia and Bulgaria and sings almost exclusively in her native tongue. In the period from 1992 to 2015 she r ...
,
Marta Savić Marta Savić (; born 7 May 1966) is a Bosnian-born Serbian turbo-folk singer. Early life Marta Savić was born to Bosnian Serb parents in Vranjak, a village near Modriča, Bosnia and Herzegovina. At the age of two months, her family settled i ...
,
Jelena Karleuša Jelena Karleuša ( sr-cyr, Јелена Карлеуша; born 17 August 1978) is a Serbian singer and media personality. Born and raised in Belgrade, she rose to prominence upon the release of her debut album ''Ogledalce'' in 1995, which was su ...
and Severina. Boyanov performed " Let Me Cry" at the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 with
Mariana Popova Mariana Popova ( bg, Мариана Попова) (born 6 June 1978) is a Bulgarian singer. She is known for representing Bulgaria at the Eurovision Song Contest 2006, trainer on The Voice of Bulgaria 2011 and from Vip Brother 2012 – Bulgari ...
, staying in the semi-finals. Other than his acclaimed career as a vocalist, he competed unsuccessfully in the 2005 Bulgarian parliamentary election as a member of the Euroroma party. Azis remains a prominent figure in the Bulgarian music scene.


Biography

Azis was born Vasil Troyanov Boyanov in
Sliven Sliven ( bg, Сливен ) is the eighth-largest city in Bulgaria and the administrative and industrial centre of Sliven Province and municipality in Northern Thrace. Sliven is famous for its heroic Haiduts who fought against the Ottoman Turk ...
, although his childhood was spent in
Kostinbrod Kostinbrod ( bg, Костинброд ) is a town in western Bulgaria. It is the seat of Kostinbrod Municipality. It is located 15 km west of the capital city of Sofia. It is located on two important transport corridors: Lom — Sofia — T ...
and
Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and h ...
. In 1989, after the
fall of communism in Bulgaria The People's Republic of Bulgaria (PRB; bg, Народна Република България (НРБ), ''Narodna Republika Balgariya, NRB'') was the official name of Bulgaria, when it was a socialist republic from 1946 to 1990, ruled by the ...
, he moved with his family to
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. There, his sister, Matilda, and brother Ryan were born. Azis married Nikolay "Niki Kitaetsa" Petrov Parvanov on 1 October 2006. Their marriage is not legally recognized under Bulgarian law. Azis' daughter was born on 5 August 2007 and was named Raya. Her mother is Azis' longtime friend, Gala. In 2008, Azis and Parvanov separated amicably.


Homosexuality controversies

In late November 2007, Boyko Borisov, then
mayor of Sofia This is a chronological list of mayors of Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, since that post was established after the Liberation of Bulgaria in 1878. The first governor of Sofia was Petr Alabin. Initially, the mayors of Sofia were assigned by the ...
, censored billboards of Azis kissing Niki Kitaetsa, which pictured both men shirtless on the basis they were too graphic in nature. The picture was then censored in other cities in Bulgaria. In 2021, Azis was scheduled to perform at the Balkan Fair in Kestel, Bursa, Turkey, but the performance was cancelled after a campaign by
Islamists Islamism (also often called political Islam or Islamic fundamentalism) is a political ideology which posits that modern states and regions should be reconstituted in constitutional, economic and judicial terms, in accordance with what is c ...
targeting Azis' LGBT identity.


Appearances

* In 2007, Azis and Kitaetsa appeared in the ''
VIP Brother 2 ''VIP Brother 2'' was the second season of the celebrity version of the Bulgarian reality television show Big Brother. It was aired on Nova Television. The show started on 26 March 2007 and ended on 27 April 2007. It lasted for 33 days, 4 days ...
'' edition of ''
Big Brother Bulgaria ''Big Brother'' is a reality show based on the ''Big Brother'' series by Endemol. The show originates from the Netherlands, where in 1999 the first season was aired. At present, the format is spread in a number of countries around the world. ...
''. Azis left the house voluntarily after nineteen days. * Azis was interviewed in the second episode of '' Michael Palin's New Europe''. * In 2008 on PRO.BG, Azis co-hosted the talk show ''Azis' Late Night Show'' with actress Ekaterina Evro. * In August 2012, Anonymous used the video clip to Azis' song "Mrazish" to deface the website of the Russian court Khamovnichesky, where the members of the band
Pussy Riot Pussy Riot is a Russian feminist protest and performance art group based in Moscow that became popular for its provocative punk rock music which later turned into a more accessible style. Founded in August 2011, it has had a membership of appr ...
were convicted. * Azis was a contestant on the widely popular reality show ''Kato dve kapki voda'', which is the Bulgarian version of ''
Your Face Sounds Familiar ''Your Face Sounds Familiar'' ( Spanish: ''Tu cara me suena'') is a Spanish interactive reality television franchise series where celebrity contestants impersonate singers. The format, similar to Dutch television series ''Soundmixshow'', was ...
''. After twelve weeks and a wide specter of highly praised and enjoyed performances, he placed second. In early 2021, he was announced as one of the returning participants in the forthcoming ninth All Stars season of the show.


Covers

Greek
laïko Laïko or laïkó ( el, λαϊκό ραγούδιlaïkó 'tragoúdi'' ; “ ongof the people", "popular ong, pl: ''laïká'' 'tragoúdia'' is a Greek music genre composed in Greek language in accordance with the tradition of the Greek peo ...
vocalist
Panos Kiamos Panos Kiamos (Greek: Πάνος Κιάμος, ) is a Greek laiko–pop singer. Early life Kiamos was born on 4 October 1975 in Athens, where he spent the rest of his adolescent life. In 1994, at the age of 18, he passed the entry exams for me ...
, made a
cover Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...
of Azis' single "Sen Trope" entitled "Fotia me Fotia" (''Fire to Fire''). Serbian
turbo-folk Turbo-folk (sometimes referred as pop-folk or popular folk) is subgenre of contemporary pop music with its origins in Serbia, that initially developed during the 1980s and 1990s, with similar music styles in Bulgaria (chalga), Romania (manele ...
singer Dragan Kojić Keba covered the same song as "Ona to zna" (''She Knows That''), as well as the Romanian singer Florin Salam as "Saint Tropez". In November 2012, the Greek singer
Giorgos Tsalikis Giorgos Tsalikis (Γιώργος Τσαλίκης, born 25 October 1975) is a Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the I ...
made a cover of Azis' song "Hop", entitled "Asto" (''Let it'').


International acclaim

On 9 November 2011, a series of Azis' music videos were uploaded to Bilibili, a
mainland Chinese Mainland Chinese or Mainlanders are Chinese people who live in or have recently emigrated from mainland China, defined as the territory governed by the People's Republic of China (PRC) except for Hong Kong ( SAR of the PRC), Macau (SAR of the PRC), ...
video sharing website. The videos became extremely popular, and have been among the hottest videos on Bilibili since 2016. As of February 2020, the videos have been viewed over 21 million times and have received 788 thousand danmus (rolling comments played over the video) in total, and have received numerous covers. Thanks to "Hop", the first video of the series, where he crossdresses, Azis has become famous in the Chinese internet culture as the "保加利亚妖王 (King of coquetry of Bulgaria)" or jokingly "保加利亚妖后 (Queen of coquetry of Bulgaria)".


Discography


Studio albums


Compilation albums


EPs (Maxi singles)


Videography / Songs


DVDs

*2003: ''Шоу спектакъл'' *2004: ''Нищо лично'' *2004: ''The best videoclips'' *2004: ''Together with Desi Slava'' *2005: ''AZIS 2005'' *2005: ''Дуети'' (Duets) *2006: ''Аз, Азис'' ( I, Azis) (CD) *2007: ''Azis''


Collaborations

In 2011, Azis sang a duet called "Sezam" with
Indira Radić Indira Radić (; ; born 14 June 1966) is a Bosnian Serb pop-folk singer. She has established herself on the music scene of the former Yugoslavia and Bulgaria and sings almost exclusively in her native tongue. In the period from 1992 to 2015 she r ...
, a
Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...
n singer, on her album '' Istok, sever, jug i zapad''. After that, in 2012 he sang another duet with
Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...
n singer
Marta Savić Marta Savić (; born 7 May 1966) is a Bosnian-born Serbian turbo-folk singer. Early life Marta Savić was born to Bosnian Serb parents in Vranjak, a village near Modriča, Bosnia and Herzegovina. At the age of two months, her family settled i ...
, which was featured on her studio album '' 13''. The song was called "Mama" and it was one of Balkan hit songs in 2012. In 2022, Azis made a song "Fališ mi" with
Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...
n singer Severina.


Books

* ''Аз, Азис'' (Book and CD) (2006)


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Azis 1978 births Living people Bulgarian expatriates in Germany Bulgarian pop singers Bulgarian folk-pop singers Bulgarian people of Romani descent Musicians from Sliven Romani musicians Romani singers Gay musicians LGBT Romani people LGBT musicians from Bulgaria Bulgarian television personalities Big Brother (Bulgarian TV series) contestants Non-binary musicians 20th-century LGBT people 21st-century LGBT people