“My father was upset when he heard I was born.” Nigora, who did not want to marry Oybek, worked as a nanny in a kindergarten, and is a mother of four children, is 38 years old

“Hearing that I was born, my father was upset.” Nigora, who did not want to marry Oybek, worked as a nanny in a kindergarten, and is a mother of four, is 38 years old

There are not many duets in Uzbek show business who have worked together for many years. Due to various reasons, disagreements, or differences in creative views, many duets have ceased their activities. Oybek and Nigora, however, are an exception in this regard. For 21 years, they have been side by side on the same stage, in one family, and in raising four children. Singer Nigora celebrated her 38th birthday on September 12, and on this occasion, we take a look at her life and creative career.

“My father wanted to have a son”

Nigora Ismoilova was born on September 12, 1988, in the city of Tashkent into a working-class family. She is the fourth daughter and has three older sisters and one younger brother.

— My late father was a bus driver. And my mother worked as a pediatrician. Even though they did not work in high-income fields, they raised five children to be second to none. I was the fourth daughter in the family. My late father used to get upset every time he heard the news “A girl is born.” He really wanted to have a son. Even when he heard that I was also a girl, he reportedly said, “I won’t go to pick her up from the hospital, just come by yourself.” But my mother used to say, “Still, he couldn’t help himself and came to the hospital, he loved you all.” However, my sisters remember the day my younger brother Zohidjon was born very well. Out of joy, he crawled into the house saying, “I have a son,” says Nigora.

“I have aspired to the stage since I was three years old”

Although there were no artists in Nigora Ismoilova’s family, she had been interested in singing since childhood. She recalls her aspiration to the stage since the age of three as follows.

— Although I was not a straight-A student at school, I was very interested in participating in holiday events. At that time, an unconventional children’s singing competition led by Fotima and Zuhra Ziyomuhamedova was held in our neighborhood. The unconventionality of the competition was that, along with healthy children, visually impaired and disabled children could also test their talents there. Naturally, because of my strong interest in music, I participated in the competition. Whether it was my luck or not, I won the competition.

Then, a choir was organized from the selected group of children and named “Uzbell.” In the choir group, we learned the secrets of singing. Here I made a lot of friends. It was also here that I met singer Ziyoda. In her spare time, she used to talk about the group “Tantana.” Naturally, I developed a desire to become a member of this group. One day, our choir group closed for unknown reasons. I was very sad, but when Fotima and Zuhra sisters invited me to the “Tantana” group, I was overjoyed, says the singer.

“I worked in a kindergarten”

Nigora, of the duo Oybek and Nigora, worked as a nanny in a kindergarten for a while after graduating from school.

— Our family lived a modest life. My late father was a bus driver, and my mother was a pediatrician. After graduating from school, I also worked as a nanny in a kindergarten for a while. I didn’t have a hard time because I got along with children quickly. When I received my first salary, my parents were very happy. With the money I earned myself, I bought ingredients for pilaf and made my family members happy, says singer Nigora.

“We were accepted to Akfa Media without any connections”

Nigora participated in many concert programs with the children’s group “Tantana.” After graduating from school, on the recommendation of her teachers, she entered a music college. While studying in her second year, her teachers suggested she participate in a casting held by a production company.

— Back then, Nigora and I left class and went looking for the “Akfa” company. At first, I didn’t tell my parents about the casting. Because I assumed beforehand that they would be against it. To make matters worse, on the day of the casting, my throat got hoarse. At that time, Samandar Hamroqulov and the company leaders were members of the jury. Nigora passed the test, but I was not accepted, recalls singer Ziyoda.

Nigora, on the other hand, recalls that she passed the casting without any connections and that there were many girls with voices stronger than hers.

— My vocal capabilities are very limited, I know this well. I cannot boast that I can sing high notes. There were many talented girls at the casting, but luck smiled upon me. I was accepted without any connections. But I didn’t like singing with Oybek. The first duet song “Izlayman” (I am searching) that I sang with Oybek was liked by many. After that, our management suggested creating another duet song, and the song called “Sen uchun” (For you) was born. In turn, a music video was shot for it and presented to our people. In a short time, the song became popular and rose to the top of the hit parades. After that, people started to recognize me and Oybek as the duet group Oybek and Nigora, says singer Nigora.

“The partnership did not end beautifully”

The duo Oybek and Nigora won the state award named “Nihol” in 2008. Hit songs were also coming one after another. However, in 2010, a coldness arose between the production company and the singers working in it.

— Because it did not end beautifully, we knew how much money we were making. It was not easy to get everything back on track. From the creators who had been cooperating with us until that day, we heard words like, “That’s it, they have no money, it’s useless to work with them.” We would create new songs, but we didn’t have the opportunity to shoot music videos for them and present them to the public. At that time, there were grudges, but now we are only grateful to “Akfa Media.” Because thanks to them, the duo Oybek and Nigora appeared, and our brand became known among people, says the singer.

“I will not marry Oybek”

Nigora explained why, before getting married, she used to answer “No” to journalists’ questions “Will you get married?” as follows.

— Oybek never left me alone. We were always together, I could feel his attention. But he would never openly say what was in his heart. That’s why I would get angry and say, “I won’t marry you, stay out of my sight.” The most interesting thing is that he didn’t even pay attention to these words of mine. Our families had also been close beforehand, says Nigora.

“I was not a good daughter-in-law”

Singer Nigora openly said that she was not a good daughter-in-law and that she does not want her sons to marry a daughter-in-law like herself.

— We would be at work until midnight, naturally, then we would sleep until noon. But for a week after the wedding, I performed my duties as a daughter-in-law and swept the street and yard at five in the morning. When many people say, “I admire you, may my daughter-in-law be like you,” I laugh and say, take your words back. I even jokingly tell my sons that I don’t want a daughter-in-law like me to come, says Nigora.

“Unable to get along with my husband, I went to my mother’s house”

— After my first child, like all mothers, I had sleepless nights, pain, and neglect towards my husband. If this neglect is not understood by the husband, misunderstandings arise. I also had this situation. Both my pregnancy and giving birth to my child were quite difficult. My baby drank neither breast milk nor formula. I was worried about him, thinking he was staying hungry. Out of exhaustion, I would sit and cry at night. My whole body was aching. In short, I fell into postpartum depression. There was absolutely no attention to my husband, my mind was only on my child. He also only looked after the baby. We tried to be together, but it felt as if something was standing between us. Then we took a break from each other. I went to my father’s house. Not giving up, but to rest, to recover. I also ask mothers-in-law to send their daughters-in-law to their mothers’ houses after childbirth. I went through those days myself. After I came to my senses, I returned to my home, and things started to warm up between me and my spouse, recalls Nigora about the years she first became a mother.

Although they are active in their creative work, their hit songs have decreased compared to before. The duet partners actively participate in baby welcoming ceremonies.