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Rayhon G’aniyeva is an Uzbek pop singer who usually goes by her first name alone. She sings mainly in Uzbek, though occasionally also in Russian. She is considered one of the most influential contemporary Uzbek pop artists.
Rayhon was born in 1978 in Tashkent to an artistic family: both her parents, Tamara Shokirova and Otabek G’aniyev, were famous Soviet actors. Rayon studied the piano when she was in school, and performed in a range of contests and artistic festivals when she was a child. Most impressively, she performed a solo piano concert with the state symphonic orchestra when she was only 14. She then went on to study English philology at the Uzbek State University. While at university she performed in a band called Xayol (“thought”), which was popular among local youth but didn’t reach much beyond that. She did not rise to prominence until she started her solo career a few years later.
Rayhon’s first major success was the song “I’ll Be Happy” (“Baxtli bo’laman”), which was released in 2002. She also released an album of the same name—actually her second album, though the first one, from 2001, did not gain major traction. She won a Nihol, an Uzbek state prize for musicians, in 2002. She has now released 13 studio albums, quite an impressive number; the most recent, Izlama, came out just recently, in 2015. She has won several Tarona and M&TVA awards for her music over the years, and she is a Distinguished Singer of the Republic of Uzbekistan.
Beyond her career as a singer, Rayhon has also made some headway in establishing an acting career for herself. She has been in several films, though the one she is best known for is Forgive Me (Kechir), which she wrote, directed, and starred in. It follows the travails of a popular singer.
Rayhon was involved in controversy in 2015, when she appeared in a music video with fellow Uzbek singer Lola. The music video was criticized for apparently depicting lesbians, and Lola lost her performance license. Rayhon was, however, not similarly punished.
“Xalos et”:
Lyrics for “Xalos et”:
Bugun armon to’lar qalbimda,
Yurak-bag’rim bo’lar pora-pora.
Ayt, seni sog’ingan dilimni
Ne bilan ovutay, yo’qdir chora?
Balki ko’p vaqt o’tmay, qalbingdan
O’chira olarsan sevgim mening.
Yolg’izlanib qolgan qalbimda
Abadiy chizilgan isming sening.
Xalos et meni javobsiz sevgingdan,
Bir zum xalos et, endi charchadim sog’inchdan.
Begunoh yurak sarson arosatda,
Qalbim mahrum et bir on, to’xtatgin sevishdan.
O’ylasam, biz kutgan orzular
Tobora uzoqda bizdan ular.
Sevgimiz go’yo bir hikoya,
Unda sahifalar tugab borar.
Balki ko’p vaqt o’tmay, qalbingdan
O’chira olarsan sevgim mening.
Armonlarda qolgan qalbimda
Takror urib turar isming sening.
Xalos et meni javobsiz sevgingdan,
Bir zum xalos et, endi charchadim sog’inchdan.
Begunoh yurak sarson arosatda,
Qalbim mahrum et bir on, to’xtatgin sevishdan.
“Javob ber”:
Lyrics for “Javob ber”:
Ayt seni sevmadimmi, yuragim bermadimmi, javob ber?
Qadringga yetmadimmi yo baxtli etmadimmi, javob ber?
Ishonib yuragimni qo‘lingga tutmadimmi, javob ber?
Xatoyim seni sevib, umidvor kutganimmi, javob ber?
Xazonlar birma-bir qalbimni parchalar,
Armonlar tinmasdan bag‘rimga sanchilar.
Yolg‘onlar tubiga cho‘kkan dil bechora,
Yig‘lama, ishq o‘zi shafqatsiz, nachora?
Ayt seni sevmadimmi, yuragim bermadimmi, javob ber?
Qadringga yetmadimmi yo baxtli etmadimmi, javob ber?
Ishonib yuragimni qo‘lingga tutmadimmi, javob ber?
Xatoyim seni sevib, umidvor kutganimmi, javob ber?
Javobsiz savollar tilkalar bag‘rimni,
Yo‘qliging hanuzgacha sinar sabrimni.
Orzuying shu edimi aytgin yolg‘izim,
Tobora-tobora yiroqlarda orzuyim.
Ayt seni sevmadimmi, yuragim bermadimmi, javob ber?
Qadringga yetmadimmi yo baxtli etmadimmi, javob ber?
Ishonib yuragimni qo‘lingga tutmadimmi, javob ber?
Xatoyim seni sevib, umidvor kutganimmi, javob ber?
