Zoltán Mujahid (born 8 August 1979) is a Pakistani-Hungarian singer and music teacher. He is most notable for coming in 10th place in the first series of ''

Megasztár ''Megasztár – Voice of the Year'' is a Hungarian music talent show that started in 2003 on TV2. While it is widely considered an unlicensed clone of the British television show ''Pop Idol'' (and sometimes even referred to as ''Hungarian Idol ...

'' and participating in '' A Dal 2015''.

Personal life

Zoltán Mujahid was born on 8 August 1979 in

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

to Pakistani father Iqbal Mujahid and Hungarian mother Klára Somogyi. He has three siblings: Tamás (Altamash), Atilla, and Aneela. In 2012, he publicly came out as

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

. He first studied South Asian music in Karachi for five years, and held many high positions in local talent shows. At age eleven, he, his mom, and his siblings moved to

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

in his mother's native country, where he learned Hungarian. During his time in primary school, he learned classical piano. In 1995, he became involved with major plays at the Petőfi Musical Studio. At age seventeen, Zoltán began to take vocal lessons with the help of fellow teacher Zsuzsa Kósa. He graduated from Petőfi Sándor secondary school in 2000, and was admitted to the Lauschmann Gyula Conservatory of Jazz Music, which he graduated from in 2003. He went onto the Jazz department of the

Franz Liszt Academy of Music The Franz Liszt Academy of Music (, often abbreviated as ''Zeneakadémia'', "Liszt Academy") is a music university and a concert hall in Budapest, Hungary, founded on November 14, 1875. It is home to the Liszt Collection, which features several ...

, where he graduated in 2008.

Professional career

In 2003, he was in the top 10 of the

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American Music competition, singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle (company), Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It a ...

-esque show ''

'', in its first season. In December 2014, Mujahid was one of the names announced to partake in A Dal 2015, the Hungarian national selection for the

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international Music competition, song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster ...

, with his song ''Beside You''. He passed through the third heat on 14 February 2015, and the first semi-final on 21 February. He progressed to the final, and on February 28, was one of the entries which the juries voted to be eligible to go to the

Eurovision Song Contest 2015 The Eurovision Song Contest 2015 was the 60th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Vienna, Austria, following the country's victory at the with the song "Rise Like a Phoenix" by Conchita Wurst. Organised by the European Broa ...

, but fellow contestant

Boggie Boglárka Csemer (, born 30 November 1986 in Budapest, Hungary), professionally known as Boggie, is a Hungarian pop vocalist and songwriter. Globally, Boggie is best known for her 2014 hit single entitled "Nouveau Parfum" () from her self-titled ...

was chosen by the televote to go to the Eurovision. In December 2016, Mujahid was announced again to be participating in A Dal, this time in

A Dal 2017 Hungary was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2017. The local Media Services and Support Trust Fund (MTVA) and the Hungarian broadcaster Duna Media Service organised the national final ''A Dal 2017'' in order to select the Hungarian e ...

with the song ''On My Own''. He was eliminated in the second heat.

Discography

* Első vallomás (LP, 2005) * Első hó (single, 2008) * Túlélő (single, 2010) * Három év (single, 2012) * Beside You (single, 2015) * On My Own (single, 2016)

Sources (in Hungarian)

Hivatalos honlap

joyride.hu

allmusic.hu

blikk.hu

bulvar.ma.hu

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mujahid, Zoltan 1979 births Living people Gay singers Pakistani musicians 21st-century Hungarian male singers 21st-century Pakistani male singers 21st-century Pakistani singers Pakistani emigrants to Hungary Pakistani people of Hungarian descent Hungarian gay musicians Hungarian LGBTQ singers Pakistani gay musicians Pakistani LGBTQ singers Hungarian pop singers Pakistani pop singers Musicians from Karachi Musicians from Budapest 20th-century Hungarian LGBTQ people 21st-century Hungarian LGBTQ people 20th-century Pakistani LGBTQ people 21st-century Pakistani LGBTQ people