Shahrizoda
Encyclopedia
Shahrizoda is a Central Asian music group consisting of three girls from Uzbekistan
, who have intermittently been based in Ürümqi
, the provincial capital of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in Western China. Their music ranges from traditional ethnic music to ethno-pop and pop. They sing mostly in Uzbek and sometimes in the Uyghur language
. Due to the linguistic and cultural affinity between the various Turkic peoples
inhabiting the region covering Uzbekistan, Xinjiang, Kazakhstan
, Kyrgyzstan
, Turkmenistan
and Azerbaijan
, their popularity has spread throughout the region.
The group moved to Ürümqi in 2006, which was experiencing an economic boom at the time. A series of videos shot in various locations across Xinjiang was released on DVD. The song “Oynasun” - a remake of a popular Uyghur folk song - became an instant hit, and its success spread quickly to other parts of the region. A second DVD was produced in 2007, containing a number of songs sung in Chinese, in an attempt to break into the large Han Chinese
market, however with only modest success. Since its inception, the group has undergone several personnel changes from its original configuration, consisting of Muborak Ashurboeva, Shakhnoza Yuldosheva and Kamola Arslanova.
The name “Shahrizoda” is the transliteration of the Uyghur and Uzbek variants (شهريزاده and Шахризода, respectively) of Scheherezade, the legendary Persian Queen and story teller of the One Thousand and One Nights.
Although the group does not maintain an official website, copies of their mostly low budget music videos on Youtube have attracted over 1 million views.
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....
, who have intermittently been based in Ürümqi
Ürümqi
Ürümqi , formerly Tihwa , is the capital of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China, in the northwest of the country....
, the provincial capital of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in Western China. Their music ranges from traditional ethnic music to ethno-pop and pop. They sing mostly in Uzbek and sometimes in the Uyghur language
Uyghur language
Uyghur , formerly known as Eastern Turk, is a Turkic language with 8 to 11 million speakers, spoken primarily by the Uyghur people in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of Western China. Significant communities of Uyghur-speakers are located in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, and various other...
. Due to the linguistic and cultural affinity between the various Turkic peoples
Turkic peoples
The Turkic peoples are peoples residing in northern, central and western Asia, southern Siberia and northwestern China and parts of eastern Europe. They speak languages belonging to the Turkic language family. They share, to varying degrees, certain cultural traits and historical backgrounds...
inhabiting the region covering Uzbekistan, Xinjiang, Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
, Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan , officially the Kyrgyz Republic is one of the world's six independent Turkic states . Located in Central Asia, landlocked and mountainous, Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the southwest and China to the east...
, Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan , formerly also known as Turkmenia is one of the Turkic states in Central Asia. Until 1991, it was a constituent republic of the Soviet Union, the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic . Turkmenistan is one of the six independent Turkic states...
and Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
, their popularity has spread throughout the region.
The group moved to Ürümqi in 2006, which was experiencing an economic boom at the time. A series of videos shot in various locations across Xinjiang was released on DVD. The song “Oynasun” - a remake of a popular Uyghur folk song - became an instant hit, and its success spread quickly to other parts of the region. A second DVD was produced in 2007, containing a number of songs sung in Chinese, in an attempt to break into the large Han Chinese
Han Chinese
Han Chinese are an ethnic group native to China and are the largest single ethnic group in the world.Han Chinese constitute about 92% of the population of the People's Republic of China , 98% of the population of the Republic of China , 78% of the population of Singapore, and about 20% of the...
market, however with only modest success. Since its inception, the group has undergone several personnel changes from its original configuration, consisting of Muborak Ashurboeva, Shakhnoza Yuldosheva and Kamola Arslanova.
The name “Shahrizoda” is the transliteration of the Uyghur and Uzbek variants (شهريزاده and Шахризода, respectively) of Scheherezade, the legendary Persian Queen and story teller of the One Thousand and One Nights.
Although the group does not maintain an official website, copies of their mostly low budget music videos on Youtube have attracted over 1 million views.