“Those with two hot dogs in their mouth and propane installed in the back are trending” — singer Jorabek on the deplorable state of current Uzbek art

“Those with two hot dogs in their mouth and propane installed in the back are trending” — singer Jo‘rabek on the deplorable state of current Uzbek art

Singer Joʻrabek Esanov, known among his fans as the “Uzbek Tarkan,” gave an interview to the YouTube show “Mashhur qilgan tarona” (The Song That Made Me Famous). During the conversation, he shared how he entered the world of art, how imitating his older brother sparked his interest in art, and expressed his thoughts on the problems in today's show business.

**“My original profession is directing”**

— Actually, I studied directing. Sometimes, in my spare time, I would play the piano. But I didn't have a musical education. My entry into singing started by chance during my student years. For the first time, I went on stage and sang a song at our institute's Navruz holiday. At that time, a festival called “Umid yulduzlari” (Stars of Hope) was being organized. They came to our institute looking for talented youth to participate in this festival. Our rector recommended me to them. Then they called me in and asked me to sing a song. After I finished singing, they scheduled a recording day. That is how accidentally I entered singing, says the singer.

**“I used to imitate my brother to get along well with him”**

— Because there was a big age difference between my brother and me, our conversations and interests did not match. Therefore, wanting to be close to him, I started to imitate my brother. For example, if he turned on the tape recorder and sang looking into the mirror, I would do the same. If he drew a picture, I would draw like him too. When he got interested in music and learned to play the guitar, I followed him again. Through this following, I became interested in art. Later, my brother became a guitarist, and I became a singer. There are no other artists in our family besides us, he says.

**“They said I was imitating the Turkish singer Tarkan”**

— I love Tarkan's work. In my youth, when Uzbekistan did not know him yet, I knew him. At that time, I was a young school student.

The singer commented on his resemblance to Tarkan as follows:

— They used to say that my pupils looked small in photos or videos. During a music video shoot, I had to wear contact lenses to make the pupils look larger. When I went to choose lenses, only the blue ones fit my size. When I tried them on, the salesgirl said the lenses suited me and that I looked like Tarkan in this look. After that, I asked her, “Is it good to look like Tarkan?”. She said it was good. Thus, I shot the music video in a new image. After that, expressions like “Uzbek Tarkan” appeared. But since this was said in a positive, not negative sense, I am not offended by it.

**“Our era was different”**

— Our times were different. I can't really “digest” today's show business. In our time, there was a distance between the artist and the people. There was such a thing as longing. When they missed you, your new song would come out, and they would listen and enjoy it. Now, they see you on the internet and say, “Ugh, is it this again?”. Artists show where they went, what food they ate — everything. I feel sorry for those who call themselves artists like this, says the singer.

**“In the past, they wouldn't put ‘made-up’ girls on stage like they do now”**

— In our days, there was lip-syncing at weddings too. But at that time, people who had no clue about themselves wouldn't stand on stage. There were those who were at least somewhat educated and understood music. They wouldn't put girls who are “made-up” from head to toe like they do now. Now, if you look at what a video with hundreds of thousands of views on Instagram is, there is nothing but those with two hot dogs “hung” in their mouth and propane “installed” in the back. Everyone is stuffing money on them. With this, art has disappeared somewhere. It has become a strange and incomprehensible time, says singer Jo‘rabek.