“Yulduz Usmonova came to visit me when I was in prison.” Singer Abdulla Qurbonov, who was imprisoned due to drugs and escaped death several times, is 50 years old

“Yulduz Usmonova came to visit me when I was in prison.” Singer Abdulla Qurbonov, who was imprisoned because of drugs and escaped death several times, turns 50

Singer Abdulla Qurbonov, one of the long-standing representatives of Uzbek art, who won the love of many mothers with his song “Onajonim” (My Dear Mother), turned 50 on September 2. We take a look at the career and life path of the artist, who learned the secrets of music from Muhriddin Xoliqov and Farrux Zokirov since his youth, survived an assassination attempt, was caught with drugs, and spent several years in prison.

“Muhriddin Xoliqov set a condition”

Nine sons and daughters grew up in a large family. Among them was Abdulla Qurbonov. Although there were no artists in his family, he had been close to art since childhood. He first picked up a microphone and sang in 1987 at the wedding of his brother, Doniyor Qurbonov. Singer Muhriddin Xoliqov, who was quietly watching him, was asked to take the young man as an apprentice. Having received the answer, “I have one condition, if he manages to perform ‘Arab Tango’, I will take him as an apprentice,” young Abdulla diligently learned the song. Muhriddin Xoliqov took him as an apprentice and brought him along to perform at weddings.

My participation was liked by many. Having received the blessings of Muhriddin Xoliqov, I called Farrux Zokirov. “Take me as an apprentice,” I said. At that time, the names of Farrux Zokirov and the group “Yalla” were known all over the world, and there were few singers who could match them in terms of popularity. Following the advice of Muhriddin Xoliqov, learning “Arab Tango” came in handy, and in 1991 I was accepted as an apprentice into Farrux Zokirov’s team. For five years, I learned the secrets of singing and participated in many concerts of “Yalla,” says Abdulla Qurbonov.

“If I get rich, I won’t let my mother work”

Abdulla Qurbonov recalls his childhood years spent in hardship as follows.

— It was not easy to run a large household. Later, my father left baking and got a job at a taxi depot. When he said, “I milked the yellow cow to feed you,” I would wonder because we didn’t have a cow. Later I found out that by yellow cow, my father meant the taxi car. And my mother, in addition to household chores, also did baking. I would take them to the market and sell them. To bake 50 loaves of bread, one had to go in and out of the burning tandoor oven that many times. “If I get rich, I won’t let my mother work,” I used to make a wish. Fortunately, all of them came true, says the singer.

“My car rolled over”

In 2002, Abdulla Qurbonov got into a car accident and suffered serious injuries. The singer assesses this situation as an assassination attempt.

When I turned the steering wheel to avoid a collision, my car rolled over. None of the four young men sitting in the “Moskvich” helped and disappeared from sight. If it wasn’t staged, shouldn’t they have helped in exchange for me risking our lives to avoid harming them?, says the singer.

“I admit, I used to smoke in the past”

The singer was deprived of liberty because of drugs. According to the artist, when one of his close acquaintances came to visit his house under the pretext of inviting him to a wedding, despite the singer’s refusal, he gave him drugs “as a gift.”

Abdulla Qurbonov admitted that he used to take “this thing” at weddings and gatherings with friends in the past, but stressed that he had quit at that time, and his health could not take it either.

I must admit, if I smoked in the past, I smoked. But I didn’t tell them to bring this, I said this in the courtroom too. But the law is the same for everyone. I was imprisoned because of drugs, says Abdulla Qurbonov.

“Yulduz Usmonova came to the prison”

The singer spoke about how only Yulduz Usmonova went to visit him when he was serving his sentence in a correctional facility in Qashqadaryo, and her words gave him great strength.

— Among so many artists, one of the brave sides of Yulduz Usmonova is that she went to visit me when I was in prison.

She went to the prison, called the administration, and went to check on me, saying, “This boy is like my child, my younger brother, he is one of the artists I love the most, pay more serious attention to him, the people still need him. We are hearing all kinds of rumors, are there any pressures on the boy, is there any oppression?”

To be honest, she was afraid. Let them fear God, not people! At that time, Yulduz opa went to Qashqadaryo with her team, stopping at nothing. They inquired about which prison I was in.

When the administration called me and asked, “Who is Yulduz Usmonova to you?”, I was worried. While I was thinking, what on earth, has something happened to my sister too, they said, “Don’t think, don’t be afraid, don’t worry. We won’t do any harm to that person, we are asking in a straightforward sense, who is she?”, and when I said, “She is my sister, I respect her, what’s the matter?”, they said, “She came here, but it is not possible to arrange a meeting within the framework of the law, because the last name does not match. There is a law that only family is allowed, others are not,” and both they and opa understood it correctly.

“Alright, just my personal request, tell him that I came, and ask how he is doing on my behalf with a couple of words,” her saying this is a great gesture of attention. Do you see the attention? Why did she go, feeling sorry for me? Some aspect of mine pleased opa, she liked some character trait of mine. As a woman, this person showed the kind of kindness that not many men have shown. That is why I love opa, says Abdulla Qurbonov.

“Three years in prison”

In many of his interviews, the singer mentioned that even when he had a car accident or was imprisoned, the encouragement of his wife and mother gave him great strength.

At such times, my mother’s prayers and my wife’s support gave me strength, says the singer.

“I escaped death once”

In one of his interviews, the singer also spoke about how he escaped death once.

About the trial that befell me, I also prepared a song with the lines: “Only the Lord is without sin, every servant has a fault. My fault is my satiety, my playfulness from my satiety.” There is a good side to every bad thing. In 2013, I talked on the phone with my friend Jaloliddin, who lives abroad, and we agreed that in October, both of us would go on a one-month cruise with our families. Taking my wife and four children, planning to also take them to Disneyland in Florida, we got a visa for one year. But August 27 remained not in the pages of history, but as an indelible stain in my heart. On that date, a criminal case was opened against me, and we couldn’t go abroad... And on the radio, I heard that the ship we planned to travel on had crashed, so I escaped death with my family, says the singer.

The singer in the center of discussions

A few years ago, in the winter months, a video of the singer committing hooliganism at the internal affairs department was circulated. According to Qurbonov, after a wedding in Bo‘stonliq, he went to a cafe, consumed alcohol, participated in a fight, and was sentenced to 10 days of administrative arrest.

His insulting of internal affairs officers also caused a lot of discussion.

About his family

For now, only his eldest son, Muzaffar Qurbonov, is continuing his father’s profession and is active in art. But so far, no uniqueness has been noticed in his work.

Abdulla Qurbonov married off his son Muzaffar in September 2022. The show business representatives and artists gathered at the singer’s child’s wedding night throwing dollars over them spread on social networks and caused a lot of discussion.

A year later, the singer achieved the status of a grandfather. Muzaffar Qurbonov had a daughter.

Currently, Abdulla Qurbonov himself has become much quieter in his career, occasionally appearing at gala concerts.