Susana Alimivna Jamaladinova, better known by her stage name Jamala, is a Ukrainian singer of Crimean Tatar descent. She made her first recording at the age of 9 and envisioned a career in opera singing, but her true passion was jazz music. In 2009, she won the New Wave Competition, an international contest for young pop singers.
She entered the Ukrainian selection for Eurovision in 2011, but chose to withdraw citing suspicions into vote fixing.
Jamala represented Ukraine at the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 in Stockholm, the country's return after a year's absence performing the song 1944. She won with a then-record 534 points. The outfit Jamala wore onstage is now part of a special Eurovision exhibit at the ABBA Museum in Stockholm.
After Eurovision 2016[]
Jamala returned to the Eurovision stage in 2017 to perform as the interval act during the first semi-final and the Grand Final.
She fled Ukraine with her children in the midst of the Russian invasion of her country in 2022 and performed "1944" at the 2022 German and Romanian national finals.
She performed her entry among several other prominent Ukrainian acts during the Flag Parade for the 2023 contest in Liverpool. A year later, she was the Ukrainian spokesperson for the 2024 grand final in Malmö.
Videos[]
Jamala gets welcomed at the airport in Kyiv
Jamala is the winner of the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest !
Jamala (Ukraine) wants to thank you for voting
Ukraine wins the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest!
Jamala - 1944 (Ukraine) Winning Performance at the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest
Jamala 'My Life Really Changed!'-0