May 07, 2021

Happy Birthday to Russia's Quirkiest Pop Icon


Happy Birthday to Russia's Quirkiest Pop Icon
The man, the myth, the legend: Philipp Kirkorov. Wikimedia Commons user Okras

Russian pop celebrity Philipp Kirkorov celebrated his 54th birthday last week, and it was a television spectacle.

Right after the news on Friday, April 30, Kirkorov's many-houred concert was broadcast on Rossiya Channel 1. The concert was actually filmed four years earlier, on his 50th birthday, but it was so beloved that it reappeared in 2021.

Despite not conforming to traditional gender roles, Kirkorov has been and remains a major Russian star. At the concert, operatic pop singer Nikolai Baskov sang Kirkorov's song "Diva" while the birthday boy tried to decide which of the two was the greater diva.

Kirkorov was born in Bulgaria to an Armenian father and Russian mother. He was married to famous singer Alla Pugacheva from 1994 to 2005.

His two young children joined Kirkorov on stage to perform one song. Both were born in the United States via surrogates. His daughter, whom he named Alla in honor of his ex-wife, was born in 2011, and his son in 2012.

The concert reviewed all of the years of Kirkorov's performing career, with pictures of his changing look and with other stars performing his songs in his honor. These stars included Grigory Leps, Dima Bilan, Sergey Lazarev, Ani Lorak, Svetlana Loboda, Timati, Polina Gagarina, Aleksandr Revva (who may be better known by his stage name Artur Pirozhkov), Valery Meladze, Kristina Orbakaite, and Valery Leontev.

Kirkorov claims that he has friends from all social classes, not only spending his time with other celebrities. He does have a warm personality and a talent for bringing people together and reminding us of the important things in life, like family and friends.

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