Rihanna. Madonna. Shakira. GooGoosha? Meet The Latest Pop Princess
A EurasiaNet Partner Post from:
RFE/RLMove over Rihanna, Madonna, Adele, Pink, Shakira, Ke$ha, Fergie, and Beyonce. There's a hot new one-named female singer in town.
Gaga, meet GooGoosha, whose eponymous first album in English went on sale on iTunes, Amazon.com, and elswhere across the United States, Europe, and Asia on June 5.
Who is GooGoosha?
Her website, lavishly adorned with all manner of glamour shots of the blonde bombshell, says she's a "poet, mezzo soprano, designer, and exotic beauty." Many citizens in her native, impoverished Uzbekistan would describe her as a robber baron and a thief with shadowy links to mafiosi. (UPDATE: The website appears now to have been taken offline.)
Everyone else knows her as Gulnara Karimova, the 39-year-old jet-setting, jewelry-making, fashion-designing, and fabulously wealthy daughter of Islam Karimov, who has ruled Uzbekistan -- one of the world's worst abusers of human rights and press freedoms -- with an iron fist since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
GooGoosha is said to be Karimov's pet name for his eldest daughter. (Oh, isn't that cute. Maybe there's a gooey chewy center underneath Karimov's crusty carapace after all?)
She's sung in Uzbek before, but this is her first English-language effort.
GooGoosha's website describes her album as "an exotic potpourri of sounds and a personal testimony to the power of deeply felt emotions," a "very brave approach through modern pop, trip-hop and soft rock."
What do others think?
GooGoosha's website says that "Billboard" magazine published a "stellar review" of the album's debut single, "Round Run," in April. However, the link on her website takes readers to this less-than-stellar critique:
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A search on Billboard.com pulls up no references at all to GooGoosha.
Likewise for a "great interview" that CNN.com supposedly did, also in April, with GooGoosha about "taking the independent route in the music business." A link on her website takes readers to the same gobbledygook paragraph, while a search on CNN.com reveals no such interview.
(Note to GooGoosha: Fire your web team.)
Those unschooled in the ways of music criticism might describe GooGoosha as an unabashed Madonna wannabe -- bland, pseudo-exotic pop, featuring lots of lush but lifeless harmonies, banal lyrics (the only thing on the album written by GooGoosha herself, it seems), and lots of those bleeps and blips that were all the rage back in 2009.
Imagine if Enya and Moby had a love child.
Well, take a listen to "Round Run" and judge for yourself.
It’s been the second year since I’ve become a winner of the Scholarship Program froTalanted Youth that is established by Fund “Forum of culture and arts of Uzbekistan” and “Mehrnuri” Foundations.
ReplyDeleteThese two years gave me good amount of things!
First of all, I have developed in myself such things as leadership skills, performing ability, organizing events and many other things.
Secondly, I have found myself in the epicenter of talented youth, whose life is passing so dynamic, and who live in the sake of their ideas. All these things involved me too to this life, and I realized myself being like them too.
Thirdly, besidepreviouswrittencharacteristics, I gained a lot of knowledge in my specialization. Participating in many events, round tables, presentations, forums and meetings with well-known scientists, fantasists, economists, politics and others enriched my views and widened my knowledge.
I’d like to say that with all these, in addition I have found many positive things too. I’malwaysintheheartofnewthingsandevents, fashionshows, exhibitionsandmanymore..It is a great proud for me, when I tell someone that I’m a scholarship holder of Fund Forum, the organization that does so many good activities. AndtheheadofwhichGulnaraKarimova.Sheisalivelyexample for youth whom she shows support. Also, I would like to mention, that thanks to GulnaraKarimova whole world know about rich culture and traditions of Uzbekistan.
Cannot notice the last news too. She is becoming so popular not only locally, but also throughout the world. GulnaraKarimova released her first english language full album named “Googoosha” of club style songs, that in so short period of time became popular not in Uzbekistan, but in US too. Нельзянеотметитьипоследниеновости. Wishing Googoosha (scene name of Gulnara) good luck in her all beginings and keep fighting! We are always with you, and thanks again for your support!
Everytime I listen to songs of Googoosha inside me there?s a feeling to fight
ReplyDeletefor thing that I own. To reach the aim that I put before myself?words of song
are so realistic, while listening them attentively, you understand, how
difficult was the life of Googoosha.
For me, Gulnara Karimova is just a good person, who puts heart and soul into young ventures. She is sufficient in all things, having almost all, not everyone has to pay so much attention to everything going on. I am proud of the fact that she says about our country at international level! Thanks Gulnara Karimova Uzbekistan began to talk about country and respect abroad! It isn’t small achievement! So if she decided to release her album, why not? I'm just happy for her! And proud to say WELL DONE!
ReplyDeleteFirst of all it’s necessary to say that Gulnara Karimova is known not only as you expressed in the article «Many citizens inhernative, impoverished Uzbekistan would describe her as a robber baron and a thief with shadowy links to mafiosi. (UPDATE: The website appears now to have been taken offline.) Everyone else knows her as GulnaraKarimova, the 39-year-old jet-setting, jewelry-making, fashion-designing, and fabulously wealthy daughter of Islam Karimov». For many citizens of Uzbekistan Gulnara Karimova is a person, who present a hope and belief in yourself. Thanks to Gulnara Karimova youth get grants for education and scholarships, realize their projects in all spheres of art and culture! Since 2005 winners of the program were 612 gifted students and for the best students a payment is prolonged annually. Every year about 100 talented students become winners of Scholarship Program for talented students! Not to mention the competition for talented young people "Kelajak ovozi" This year the number of participants reached 79,000, that became a record number of competitions held in Uzbekistan! Considering all of the above I don’t see a reason to read your articles and publications, as not knowing the person you cannot judge about him and to judge at all!
ReplyDelete