Jamala

Jamala, the stage name of Susana Jamaladinova, is a Ukrainian singer, songwriter and actress best known for winning the Eurovision Song Contest in 2016 with her song «1944». Born to a Crimean Tatar father and Armenian mother, she grew up largely in Central Asia, where many Crimean Tatars, including her family, had been forcibly relocated by the Soviet regime. That history of deportation directly inspired «1944», turning the song into both a personal statement and a political one, released the same year Russia annexed Crimea.

Classically trained, Jamala graduated with honors from the Tchaikovsky National Music Academy of Ukraine as an opera singer before moving into pop music, a shift she made after winning the New Wave song contest in 2009 with «History Repeating». Her voice blends operatic control with soul and jazz-inflected phrasing, and her recordings often mix electronic pop production with folk and traditional Crimean Tatar musical elements.

Beyond «1944», her catalog includes «My Lover», «5:45» and a range of Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar-language songs such as «Подих» and «Любити», reflecting an artistic identity rooted in her heritage. Her Eurovision win brought international visibility to Crimean Tatar history and cemented her as one of Ukraine's most recognized musical exports.