Ziyoda Qobilova

Ziyoda O'tkirovna Qobilova, known by the stage name Ziyoda, was born on 7 January 1989 in Tashkent. As a child she sang the songs of Yulduz Usmonova. After school she studied at the Hamza music college and then entered the State Institute of Arts of Uzbekistan.

She became widely known in 2004 with “Sevmaganman”, an Uzbek-language version of the Ukrainian singer Ruslana's “Wild Dances”; the video for it was directed by Yodgor Nosirov. She came through an audition at a production company and began her career with that song. Her performance of Ruslana's song also made her known outside Uzbekistan.

Her first album, “Yuragimsan”, came out in 2008, followed by “Baxt to'la” (2010) and “Sodda qiz” (2012). In 2006–2013 she appeared in several Uzbek feature films, among them “Asal qopqog'i”, “Nortoy”, “Bekorchilar makoni” and “Ijarachilar”, and later concentrated mainly on singing.

Her song “Sevadi yorim mani” was among the twenty best hits of the year at the “Song of the Year 2014” contest; its video was directed by Sarvar Karimov. By a presidential decree of 25 August 2015, issued for the twenty-fourth anniversary of Uzbekistan's independence, she was given the title Honoured Artist of Uzbekistan as a singer of the “Uzbeknavo” variety association.