"THERE IS LESS AND LESS MUSIC FOR THE SOUL"

She is capable of disarming any "wordsmith" with just a single glance and flooring an opponent with one precise phrase. She is enigmatic, regal and alluring, like a flash of diamonds, just what a true Star should be - a star like Brilliant Dadasova. She talks to R+ readers about her profession as an artiste and about her love for her family.

- Your fans are worried that you might quit Azerbaijan and resettle in Turkey. Is that likely?

- I often go to Turkey for my work, but this doesn't mean that I am planning to move there forever. However, I believe that people in the arts should be "citizens of the world". I spent a long time in Norway working on two discs. But for some reason this didn't cause a stir in our press like my trips to Turkey have. Perhaps it's because I often appear on Turkish programmes and am always in the public eye? I don't like to talk about my achievements and blow my own trumpet. I let my listeners be the judge of that, after all it's them I am singing for and for them that I spend days on end in the studio. Many listeners have no idea about this other side of our profession. Tours, exhausting flights, night recordings in the studio, endless filming and photo-shoots…And all the time one has to look after one's appearance and always try to be cheerful. Incidentally, some Azerbaijani performers are no worse than Western stars when it comes to singing and talent. They can even put Madonna in the shade, and she, in my opinion, can't sing at all. Trust my experience: I know a thing or two about music. We have the talent and the desire to work and move forward. So why shouldn't we be sought after in the world? It's high time we asserted ourselves.

- Recently many of our stars have been trying to make a name for themselves through scandals and revelations. It has to be said - they don't show themselves in a good light. You are an acknowledged star who has reached the top in music. What's the formula for success? How do you become a real star?

- One can understand these people. In this day and age it is very difficult to achieve something. Life is dear and all over the world scandals and bickering among the stars is all the rage. Even world stars stoop to bad publicity. As for me, when I first took to the stage there was only one TV channel in Azerbaijan - republican State Television. There was a rule whereby any performer - beginner or established - could appear on stage only once every three months. And then only after all the artistes had registered their repertoire and the list of concerts in which they planned to participate. This rule was binding…I first went on the professional stage in 1985, immediately after joining the institute. A year later I became a soloist of the Azerbaijan State Television and Radio Variety Symphony Orchestra. My voice and my talent were acknowledged by the inimitable pianist, composer and musician Rafiq Babayev. Of course, I didn't realize that at the time because I was too young.

So Rafiq asked the management of State Television and Radio to give me a certificate releasing me from some of the lectures at the institute because we were frequently on tour. Even then I could feel the love of the audience. Many people say to me now that I was just lucky then because, they say, there weren't many singers around then. But it seems to me that if I have been on the stage for so many years and people continue to listen to me and love me, then I couldn't just have been lucky. And there are more than enough come-and-go performers around now. They watch the world performers and think that to become a star is easy. It's all about fame, the crowds of fans, the money and a carefree life. They don't know about the other side of the coin. As well as constantly working on yourself, the exhausting filming, flights and tours, a performer must also strive to improve. One must get to know music, examine it, feel it. Perhaps I'm a little old-fashioned in some of my opinions.  For example, I don't understand and I don't like modern technical music because I believe this type of music turns people into robots. Unfortunately, there is less and less real music for the soul.

- Brilliant xanim, you are one of the few singers who surprise the audience with a new image each time. You change outwardly while remaining yourself. How do you manage that?

- (smiling) It's natural for me. I'm not afraid of experimenting with my appearance. I can quickly change from blonde to brunette or become red-haired in an instant. And each time I feel different. Even my eye expression changes. But my nature stays the same.

- Who is the Brillant Dadasova that your fans don't know?

- I am always what I am. I don't have to hide my emotions and I never play with them. I could never smile at someone and then rubbish him behind his back. I'd rather tell him to his face. That's the way I am. 

- What about Brilliant Dadasova, the mother?

- (laughing) Quite mad! I simply adore my son, Cahad!

- Why are you so careful about hiding him from the press?

- He doesn't like appearing before the cameras. He doesn't like being in the public eye. And I don't like showing him off in public, either. I didn't even when he was little. It seems to me the audience should be interested in my work, not my private life or my child.

- Does Cahad listen to his mother's songs?

- He used to more often when he was little. Now he's more into modern music. That same technical music which I don't understand at all.

- When your son was born you were already a well-known singer. How did you manage everything?

- It was much more difficult before he was born. In the morning I studied at the institute, at three o'clock I would dash off to rehearsals at the variety symphony orchestra, and in the evenings I would perform at wedding receptions in villages around Baku. If I was five minutes late for a lecture, even my uncle Melik Dadasov (an Azerbaijani actor in the second half of the 20th century, People's Artiste of the Azerbaijani SSR, he taught at the State Theatrical Institute in Baku - R+) wouldn't let me into the auditorium. I didn't get as much sleep as I would have liked but I tried to fit everything in. Incidentally, I started to earn money at the age of 14. My sisters once took me to a wedding ceremony in Quba. One of the singers who was due to perform at the ceremony had fallen ill, so I decided to take her place.

(laughing) That day I sang for six hours! Now I am amazed that a child of my age could have sung live for six hours! It was then that I began to feel I had grown up. I loved appearing in front of people. My first audience accepted me with gratitude. Of course, to the women who listened to me on that day, I was still a child. I remember they fussed over me during the "intervals" and fed me with pilaf. I remember how they turned to me in their motherly way, saying: "Mama qurban". For me, who had lost my mother when young, it was nice to hear these words.

I liked to record my songs on cassette. I would place my small cassette-player on the piano, play and sing. My home-spun songs were very quickly picked up by neighbours and friends. On one occasion, one of these cassettes was heard by Akif Islamzada who invited me to the variety symphony orchestra. At first, I didn't know if I was on my head or my heels. After all, the stage is not a wedding ceremony. There would be lots of people and great responsibility. At first my voice was used in various shows and then, when I became more confident, I went on stage. Then I got married and had a child, but I did not quit the stage. I remember that when my son was three months old, we set off on tour to Hungary. I cried for ages because I would be away from my child for a whole week. Incidentally, my mother-in-law, who looked after Cahad when he was a child, was of great help to me. 

- You love your job, your family and your son. What else would you ask of the Almighty?

-  I am a producer of music. Just imagine that I have a workshop for the production of music, but all the time I am short of material. In other words, I don't have enough money to make a high-quality orchestration, pay the performers, make videos, and so on. I have to work three times harder to earn enough for my family, to live and work. I always invest some of my money into my work. It's a constant cycle! So, it's hard being a star in our country.

- What is happiness for Brilliant Dadasova?

- I am a believer and I believe we come into this world to be happy. Our earthly life is merely a test which we must pass worthily. We can only be happy when we do good. After all, it's not for nothing that they say - do good and you will be rewarded!