Farid Mammadov ( az , Fərid Məmmədov; born 30 August 1991, in

Baku Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world an ...

) is an Azerbaijani singer. He represented

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 in

Malmö Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal popul ...

with the song " Hold Me" and came second after Denmark.

Biography

Early life and career

Mammadov was born in

, to Asif Mammadov, a professional judoka and amateur rock musician, and Maya Mammadova, a silver-winning Soviet gymnast. Farid Mammadov studied at the

Azerbaijan State University of Culture and Arts Azerbaijan State University of Culture and Arts (ASUCA; az, Azərbaycan Dövlət Mədəniyyət və İncəsənət Universiteti) was founded in 1923 on the basis of the Baku Theatrical College. It is Azerbaijan's main state-funded institution of h ...

. Since childhood, Mammadov sang in the Bulbul ensemble managed by Aybaniz Hashimova. For a long time he was a soloist of this ensemble. He has been interested in

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest att ...

and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

since age 8 and cites

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, pop, s ...

as a major influence.Farid Mammadov's Rivals at Eurovision 2013
. ''Echo''. 14 April 2013. Mammadov is the author of ''Gal yanima'' (Come to Me), one of the songs which he performed during the Azerbaijani Eurovision selection tour. Besides music, he also practices

Greco-Roman wrestling Greco-Roman (American English), Graeco-Roman (British English), classic wrestling ( Euro English) or French wrestling (in Russia until 1948) is a style of wrestling that is practiced worldwide. Greco-Roman wrestling was included in the first mo ...

and

capoeira Capoeira () is an Afro-Brazilian martial art that combines elements of dance, acrobatics, music and spirituality. Born of the melting pot of enslaved Africans, Indigenous Brazilians and Portuguese influences at the beginning of the 16th cent ...

. In 2013, he participated at opening ceremony of the "Gold Grand Prix" international wrestling tournament In 2015, he participated at the closing of the 1st European Games where he sang the national anthem of Azerbaijan with

Sabina Babayeva Sabina Babayeva ( az, Səbinə Babayeva; born 2 December 1979, Baku) is an Azerbaijani singer. She represented Azerbaijan in the grand final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2012, held in Baku, Azerbaijan on 26 May 2012, with the song " When the M ...

Eurovision

In March 2013 Farid won the Azerbaijani national final for the 58th annual Eurovision Song Contest 2013 which was held in

, Sweden in May 2013. Mammadov was the first male solo singer to represent Azerbaijan in the contest. His performance was staged by Fokas Evangelinos, a Greek choreographer who directed the Eurovision performances of

Sakis Rouvas Anastasios "Sakis" Rouvas ( el, Αναστάσιος "Σάκης" Ρουβάς, ; born 5 January 1972), also known mononymously as Sakis, is a Greek singer, film and television actor, businessman and former pole vaulter and model. Born in Co ...

and

Ani Lorak Karolina Myroslavivna Kuiek, russian: Каролина Мирославовна Куек (born 27 September 1978), popularly known as Ani Lorak,, russian: Ани Лорак is a Ukrainian singer, songwriter, actress, entrepreneur and former U ...

. Azerbaijan placed 2nd in the 2013 competition, receiving ten 12-point scores and 234 points. For the first time in the history of Azerbaijan's participation in the Eurovision Song Contest, he was awarded the Marcel Bezençon Artistic Award.

Post-Eurovision

In April 2016, Farid Mammadov married a woman named Nigar in a private ceremony. The couple soon moved to Los Angeles, California, where they welcomed their newborn son in January 2019.

Discography

Singles

References

Official data about him, and about his family
;Specific

External links

www.esctoday.com – Azerbaijan: Farid Mammadov will fly the Azerbaijani flag in Malmowww.eurovision.tv – Official website of Eurovision – "It's Farid Mammadov for Azerbaijan"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mammadov, Farid 1991 births Living people Eurovision Song Contest entrants for Azerbaijan Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 2013 21st-century Azerbaijani male singers Azerbaijani pop singers Azerbaijani jazz singers English-language singers from Azerbaijan Folk-pop singers