Jamala: The Life Story Behind Ukraine's Eurovision Star

Jamala is the singer who made Europe hear the history of her people. In 2016, she stood on the Eurovision stage in Stockholm and sang “1944”, a song about the deportation of the Crimean Tatars, her own people, from their homeland in 1944. She sang it with a powerful voice, with pain and with dignity, and she won. It was the first time Ukraine had won Eurovision since Ruslana in 2004, and it was a victory that meant far more than a song contest. It was a victory for memory, for a people who had been forced from their homes, and for a singer who dared to tell their story on the biggest stage in Europe.

Her real name is Susana Jamaladinova, and she was born in 1983 in Osh, in Kyrgyzstan, in a family of Crimean Tatars who had been deported from Crimea. She grew up in Crimea, she studied music, she sang jazz and opera, and she built a career as a singer in Ukraine. Her voice is strong, her style is her own, and her songs mix jazz, soul, and the music of her people.

Her story is a story about home, about loss, and about music as memory. She sings about a land she loves, about a people who were taken from it, and about the hope that they will return. This is the story of how a girl from a deported family became the voice of Crimea, and how a single song in Stockholm made the whole of Europe listen.

Born Into a Deported Family

Susana Alimivna Jamaladinova, known as Jamala, was born on 27 August 1983 in Osh, a city in Kyrgyzstan, then part of the Soviet Union. She was born into a Crimean Tatar family, a people who had been deported from their homeland in Crimea in 1944, by order of Stalin. Her great grandmother was among those deported, and her family lived for many years far from Crimea, in Central Asia, before they were allowed to return. Jamala was born in exile, in a family that remembered Crimea even though they had been taken from it.

Her father, Alim Dzhamaladinov, is Crimean Tatar, and her mother, Galina Tumasova, is Armenian. Jamala grew up in a home where music was loved, and where the story of the deportation was known. She heard about Crimea, about the Black Sea, about the land her family had lost, and about the pain of being forced to leave. Those stories stayed with her, and they later became the heart of her most famous song.

As a child, she was drawn to music. She sang, she played the piano, and she showed a strong voice early. Her family supported her, and they encouraged her to study music. She was a serious child, and she practised hard. She knew that music was not just a hobby. It was a way to tell stories, to remember, and to keep her people’s history alive.

When she was still a child, her family was able to return to Crimea, to the village of Malorichenske, near Alushta, on the southern coast. Returning to Crimea was a joyful and emotional moment for her family, and for Jamala it was a homecoming to a land she had only heard about in stories. She grew up there, by the sea, in a place that felt like home, and that home became the centre of her music and her identity.

Growing Up in Crimea

Jamala grew up in Crimea, in a village by the Black Sea, surrounded by mountains, vineyards, and the sea. Crimea is a beautiful place, with a warm climate, with old towns, and with a mix of cultures: Crimean Tatar, Ukrainian, Russian, Armenian, and Greek. Jamala grew up in that mix, and she learned to love the land, the sea, and the music of her people. She sang Crimean Tatar songs, she listened to jazz and soul, and she dreamed of a life in music.

She studied music in Crimea, and then she went to Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, to study at the National Music Academy, where she trained as an opera singer. Studying opera gave her a strong technique, a powerful voice, and a deep understanding of music. She learned to sing classical music, to control her breathing, and to use her voice with precision. That training is still clear in her singing today. Her voice is strong, it is clear, and it can move from a whisper to a powerful cry in a single song.

In Kyiv, she also began to perform jazz and soul music, and she developed her own style. She did not want to be only an opera singer. She wanted to sing songs that were her own, that mixed jazz, soul, and the music of Crimea. She sang in clubs, she took part in contests, and she built a reputation as a talented and original singer. Her voice was different from other Ukrainian singers, and people noticed it.

Crimea stayed with her, even when she lived in Kyiv. She visited her family, she sang about the sea, and she kept her connection to her homeland alive. That connection would become the most important part of her career, when she sang a song about the deportation of her people and won Eurovision with it.

New Wave and the First Fame

In 2009, Jamala won the New Wave contest in Jūrmala, Latvia, a popular singing contest for young artists from the former Soviet Union. Winning New Wave made her famous in Ukraine and in the region, and it was the start of her professional career. She was praised for her voice, for her style, and for her originality, and she began to release music, to give concerts, and to appear on television.

After New Wave, she released her first album, For Every Heart, in 2011, and she began to build a career as a singer in Ukraine. Her songs mixed jazz, soul, and pop, and they showed her range as a singer. She sang in English, in Ukrainian, and in Russian, and she wrote songs that were personal and honest. She was not a simple pop singer. She was a musician with a serious training, and her songs reflected that.

She also took part in the Ukrainian selection for Eurovision several times, and she became known to Eurovision fans in Ukraine. She tried to represent Ukraine, but she did not win the selection at first. She kept working, she kept singing, and she waited for the right song and the right moment. That moment would come in 2016, with a song that was not a simple pop song, but a song about history, about her family, and about her people.

During these years, Jamala also became known for her performances, for her strong voice, and for her stage presence. She sang with feeling, she moved with grace, and she connected with her audience. She was a singer who had something to say, and her audience listened. Her fame grew slowly, but it grew steadily, and by 2016 she was ready for the biggest stage in Europe.

1944 and the Eurovision Victory

In 2016, Jamala was chosen to represent Ukraine at the Eurovision Song Contest in Stockholm, Sweden, with the song “1944”. The song is about the deportation of the Crimean Tatars in 1944, when Stalin ordered the whole people to be taken from Crimea and sent to Central Asia. Jamala’s great grandmother was among those deported, and the song tells her story, and the story of her people, in a way that is personal and powerful. The song includes words in Crimean Tatar, and it is sung with pain, with anger, and with hope.

The song was controversial before the contest, because some people said it was political, and Eurovision rules say that songs should not be political. But Jamala said that the song was about her family, about history, and about memory, not about politics. The Eurovision organisers allowed it, and she sang it in Stockholm. Her performance was powerful. She stood on stage in a long dark dress, she sang with a voice that filled the hall, and she moved the audience to tears. Many people in the hall and at home cried when they heard it.

On the night of the final, Jamala won. She finished first, ahead of Australia and Russia, and Ukraine won Eurovision for the second time. It was a great victory, and it meant far more than a song contest. For Crimean Tatars, it was a recognition of their history, of their suffering, and of their right to be heard. For Ukrainians, it was a moment of pride, at a time when Crimea had been taken by Russia in 2014, and when Ukraine was at war. For Jamala, it was the fulfilment of a dream, and the honour of singing her family’s story to the world.

The victory made her famous across Europe, and “1944” became one of the most talked about Eurovision songs of all time. It is still remembered today, not only as a winning song, but as a song that told a true story, and that gave a voice to a people who had been silenced for too long.

After Eurovision: A Voice for Her People

After winning Eurovision, Jamala became one of the most famous singers in Ukraine and in Europe. She toured, she gave concerts, and she was invited to perform in many countries. She released new music, including albums that mixed jazz, soul, and Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar influences. She also became a coach on The Voice in Ukraine, where she helped young singers and shared her experience with them.

Her life after Eurovision was also shaped by the situation in Crimea. After 2014, when Russia took control of Crimea, Jamala could not return to her home there easily, and her family faced difficulties. She spoke out about the situation in Crimea, about the rights of Crimean Tatars, and about the importance of remembering history. She became not only a singer, but a voice for her people, and she used her fame to speak about their rights.

She also continued to make music that was personal and honest. Her songs after Eurovision included “I Believe in U”, “Shlyakh dodomu”, which means “The Way Home”, and other songs about home, about love, and about hope. She sang in Ukrainian, in English, and in Crimean Tatar, and she kept her connection to her roots alive. Her music is a mix of many influences, but at its heart it is always about home, about Crimea, and about the people she loves.

Jamala’s work after Eurovision showed that she was not a one song singer. She was a serious artist, with a long career ahead of her, and with a message that mattered. She used her Eurovision victory not only for herself, but for her people, and that is a rare and brave thing to do.

War, Exile, and Singing On

In 2022, when Russia launched a full scale invasion of Ukraine, Jamala’s life changed again. She left Ukraine with her children, and she became a refugee, like millions of other Ukrainians. She travelled to other countries, she performed in concerts to raise money for Ukraine, and she spoke to the world about the war. She sang “1944” again, and its words about deportation and loss felt newly true, as millions of Ukrainians were forced to leave their homes.

She performed at concerts in Europe, in America, and in many other places, raising money and awareness for Ukraine. She spoke about her children, about her family in Crimea, and about the pain of war. She also continued to make music, releasing new songs and working with other artists. Her voice became a voice for Ukraine, not only for Crimean Tatars, but for all Ukrainians who had lost their homes.

Jamala has also worked to keep Crimean Tatar culture alive, singing in her language, telling its stories, and reminding the world that Crimea is Ukrainian, and that its people deserve to return home. She has become a symbol of resilience, of a singer who sings even in the hardest times, and who uses her music to keep hope alive.

Today, Jamala lives between Ukraine and other countries, she performs, she records, and she speaks for her people. Her story is still being written, and the war is still going on, but her voice is still strong, and her songs are still heard. She is a singer, a mother, and a voice for a people who have known exile, and who still hope to go home.

Albums, Jazz, and a Style of Her Own

After her Eurovision victory, Jamala released new albums that showed the full range of her talent. Her music mixes jazz, soul, pop, and the sounds of Crimea, and each album has its own mood. Some songs are soft and tender, some are strong and dramatic, and some are full of rhythm and joy. She writes songs in Ukrainian, in English, and in Crimean Tatar, and she sings them all with the same honesty and the same power. Her voice is the centre of her music, and it is a voice that can move from a whisper to a cry in a single line.

She has also performed in jazz festivals and in concert halls, where her training as an opera singer and her love of jazz come together. Those performances are different from her pop concerts. They are quieter, more intimate, and more focused on her voice and on the musicians who play with her. Audiences who see her in those settings discover a different Jamala: not only a pop star, but a serious musician who loves jazz, who loves improvisation, and who loves to sing with a band.

Her albums after Eurovision include Kryla, which means Wings, and other works that show her growth as an artist. She has worked with producers and musicians from Ukraine and from other countries, and she has tried new sounds, new rhythms, and new ideas. She does not repeat herself. Each album is a new step, and each one shows a woman who is still learning, still growing, and still singing from her heart.

A Mother, a Singer, and a Refugee

Jamala is also a mother, and her family is central to her life. She has children, and she has spoken about the difficulty of being a mother and a singer, especially in a time of war. In 2022, when the full scale invasion began, she left Ukraine with her children, and she became a refugee, like millions of other Ukrainians. That experience, of leaving your home with your children, not knowing when you will return, is one that she shares with her own family’s history, and it gave her songs a new and painful meaning.

She has performed in concerts for refugees, for charities, and for audiences around the world, raising money for Ukraine and speaking about the war. She has also spoken about her children, about their fear, and about their hope, and she has done it with a mother’s honesty. Her fans respect her for that, because she does not hide her feelings. She shares them, in her songs and in her words, and that sharing makes her music even more powerful.

Today, Jamala lives between countries, she performs, she records, and she raises her children. She is a singer, a mother, and a voice for her people, and she carries all three roles with courage. Her story is still being written, and the war is still going on, but her voice is still strong, and her hope is still alive. She sings for Crimea, for Ukraine, and for a future when her children can go home.

Concerts for Ukraine and the World

Since 2022, Jamala has performed in concerts across Europe, America, and many other places, raising money for Ukraine and speaking about the war. She has sung in large halls, in small venues, and at charity events, and in each place she has told the story of Ukraine, of Crimea, and of her people. Her concerts in these years are not only performances. They are acts of witness, moments when an audience hears, from a singer who has lived through war and exile, what it means to lose your home and to keep hoping for its return.

She has also worked with other artists, from Ukraine and from other countries, making music together and sharing stages. Those collaborations show that music can cross borders, and that artists from different countries can stand together for a common cause. Jamala’s voice, strong and clear, fits well with other voices, and her collaborations have brought her to new audiences who might never have heard her otherwise.

Her work in these years has also included speaking to the media, to parliaments, and to international audiences about the situation in Crimea and in Ukraine. She is not only a singer. She is a witness, a person who can tell the world what is happening in her country, in her own words, with her own feelings. That testimony matters, because it comes from a real person, not from a report, and people listen to it with their hearts, not only with their minds.

Through all of this, she has kept making music, releasing new songs and working on new projects. Her music in wartime is both sad and hopeful, and it reflects the life she is living: a life of exile, of hope, and of a deep love for home. She sings for Crimea, for Ukraine, and for a future when her children can go home, and her songs carry that hope to everyone who hears them.

Hope, Home, and the Songs That Remain

Jamala’s songs are, at their heart, songs about home. Home is Crimea, with its sea, its mountains, and its villages. Home is the place her family was taken from, the place they returned to, and the place she dreams of returning to again. Her music keeps that home alive, in her voice, in her words, and in the hearts of everyone who hears her. A song about home is a powerful thing, because home is something everyone understands, whether they have lost it or not.

Her hope is also at the heart of her music. She sings about a future when Crimea is free, when Ukrainians can go home, and when children can grow up in peace. That hope is not naive. It is a hope that comes from a woman who has lived through exile, through war, and through loss, and who still believes that home is worth singing for. That belief is what makes her songs so moving, and it is why people listen to them with tears in their eyes.

Today, Jamala continues to sing, to perform, and to speak for her people. Her voice is still strong, her songs are still heard, and her hope is still alive. She is a singer, a mother, and a voice for Crimea, and she carries all three roles with courage and with grace. Her story is not over, and her songs will continue to be sung, as long as people remember home, and as long as they hope to return to it.

My Take:

When I think about Jamala, I think about a song that made me cry. “1944” is not just a Eurovision song. It is a song about a family, about a people, and about a terrible moment in history, sung by a woman whose own great grandmother lived through it. When she sings it, you can hear the pain in her voice, and you can feel the history in her words. I admire her for singing that song on the biggest stage in Europe, because it took great courage to tell a painful story in front of millions of people, and to trust that they would listen. They did listen, and they voted for her, and that is a wonderful thing.

I admire her voice, because it is strong, clear, and full of feeling. She trained as an opera singer, and you can hear that training in the way she controls her voice, in the way she moves from a whisper to a powerful cry. But her voice is not cold or technical. It is warm, it is human, and it is full of emotion. When she sings “1944”, you do not hear a technique. You hear a woman singing about her family, and that is why the song touches people so deeply. A voice that can do both, technique and feeling, is a rare gift, and Jamala has it.

What I find most moving in her story is her family’s history. Her great grandmother was deported from Crimea in 1944, and her family lived in exile for many years before they could return. Jamala was born in exile, in Kyrgyzstan, and she grew up hearing stories about a homeland she had never seen. That is a painful inheritance, and she turned it into a song. I think about the strength it takes to sing about your family’s pain, in public, on television, in front of the world, and I respect her for it. She did not hide her history. She sang it, and she gave it to the world, and the world heard it.

I also think about Crimea, because it is a beautiful place, and a sad place. Jamala grew up there, by the sea, and she loves it. After 2014, she could not go home freely, and after 2022, millions of Ukrainians became refugees, like her family had been in 1944. History repeated itself, in a painful way, and Jamala’s song became true again, for a new generation. I feel sad about that, and I also feel admiration for Jamala, because she kept singing, she kept speaking, and she kept hope alive, even when her home was taken from her again.

If I have a worry about her story, it is the worry that a song, even a great song, cannot change history by itself. “1944” won Eurovision, but Crimea is still not free, and the war in Ukraine is still going on. A song can move people, it can make them cry, and it can make them remember, but it cannot bring back a home, or end a war. I know that, and I think Jamala knows it too. But I also believe that a song can keep memory alive, and that memory matters. As long as people remember 1944, as long as they sing Jamala’s song, the story of the Crimean Tatars will not be forgotten, and that is important.

I think about her work as a coach on The Voice, because it shows another side of her. She helps young singers, she shares her experience, and she encourages them to find their own voice. That is a generous thing to do, and it shows that she cares about the next generation. She was once a young singer herself, trying to find her way, and now she helps others to find theirs. I respect that, because it shows that fame is not only about yourself. It is about passing something on, and Jamala does that with grace.

Another thing I notice is her mix of styles. She sings jazz, she sings soul, she sings opera, and she sings Crimean Tatar music, and she brings them all together in a way that is her own. That mix is brave, because it is easier to sing one kind of music and to stick to it. Jamala did not do that. She followed her heart, she sang what she loved, and she created a style that is unique. I admire that, because it shows an artist who is true to herself, not an artist who follows fashion.

I also think about her as a mother. She has children, and she left Ukraine with them in 2022, as a refugee. That must have been a frightening and painful experience, to leave your home with your children, not knowing when you will return. She did it, and she kept singing, and she kept speaking for Ukraine. That is a mother’s courage, and an artist’s courage, together. I respect her for it, and I think about the many Ukrainian mothers who did the same thing, who left their homes with their children, and who are still waiting to go back.

In the end, what I take from Jamala is a lesson about memory and about home. Her song “1944” is about a home that was taken away, and about a people who remember it, and who hope to return. That hope is powerful, and it is the heart of her music. She sings about home, not as a place on a map, but as a feeling, as a memory, and as a promise. I believe that promise, and I hope that one day, Jamala can go home to Crimea, and sing there, in freedom, for her people. Until then, her songs will keep that home alive, in the hearts of everyone who hears them.

One more thought stays with me. When I picture Jamala, I do not picture her on a stage in Stockholm, holding a trophy. I picture her by the sea in Crimea, as a girl, listening to stories about her family, and dreaming of singing. That picture is quiet, and it is beautiful, and it is the start of her story. From that girl by the sea came a singer who won Eurovision, who told her family’s story to the world, and who still sings for her people. That is a wonderful journey, and I am grateful to her for making it, and for sharing it with us.

I also think about the way Jamala sings in Crimean Tatar, because it is a brave and beautiful choice. Crimean Tatar is a language that many people in Europe had never heard before she sang it on the Eurovision stage. By singing in that language, she gave it a voice, and she showed the world that it is a living language, with songs, with poetry, and with a people who speak it. That is a gift to her people, and it is a gift to the world, because every language that is sung is a language that is kept alive.

Another thing I notice is her strength as a mother. She left Ukraine with her children in 2022, as a refugee, and she kept singing, kept speaking, and kept hope alive for them. A mother in wartime must be strong for her children, even when she is afraid herself, and Jamala has done that. Her children have seen their mother sing on stages around the world, and they have seen her speak for Ukraine, and that example will stay with them for the rest of their lives. I respect her for that, and I think about the many Ukrainian mothers who have done the same thing.

I think about the sea in Crimea, because it is at the heart of Jamala’s music. The Black Sea, the coast, the mountains, and the villages of Crimea are the places she sings about, and they are the places she loves. When she sings, you can hear the sea in her voice, calm one moment and powerful the next. That connection to a place is rare, and it is beautiful. A singer who loves a place, and who sings about it, gives that place a voice, and Jamala has given Crimea a voice that the whole world has heard.

There is something else I keep returning to, and it is the idea of return. Jamala’s family were deported, they returned, and now, after 2014 and 2022, many Crimean Tatars and Ukrainians are again far from home. The hope of return is at the heart of her songs, and it is a hope that many people share. I believe that hope matters, even when return seems far away, because hope keeps a people together, and it keeps their culture alive. Jamala’s songs carry that hope, and they will keep carrying it, until the day when she can sing in Crimea again, in freedom.

In the end, I believe Jamala’s “1944” will be remembered as one of the most important Eurovision songs ever made, not because it won, but because it told a true story, and because it gave a voice to a people who had been silenced. A song contest is usually about entertainment, but Jamala made it about memory, about history, and about justice, and that is a remarkable thing to do. I am grateful to her for that song, for her voice, and for her courage, and I hope that one day, she can go home to Crimea, and sing there, for her people, in peace.

I think about the Crimean Tatar language, and about how Jamala keeps it alive by singing in it. A language that is sung is a language that lives, and Jamala’s songs in Crimean Tatar give that language a voice on the world stage. That is a gift to her people, and it is a gift to the world, because every language that is lost is a world that is lost. Jamala sings so that her language, and her people, will not be forgotten.

I also think about her children, and about the future she sings for. She sings for a day when her children can go home to Crimea, when they can walk by the sea, and when they can live in peace. That hope is in every song she sings, and it is a hope that many Ukrainian children share. I believe that hope matters, even when the day seems far away, because hope keeps a people together, and it keeps their songs alive.

In the end, I will remember Jamala as the singer who made Europe hear the history of her people, and who did it with a voice that was strong, clear, and full of feeling. Her song “1944” is a song about memory, about home, and about hope, and it will be remembered as long as people sing. I am grateful to her for that song, and for her courage, and I hope that one day, she can sing it in Crimea, in freedom, for her people.

I think about the future of Crimea, and about Jamala’s hope that she will sing there again one day, in freedom, for her people. That hope is at the heart of her music, and it is a hope that many Crimean Tatars and Ukrainians share. It may seem far away now, but hope is what keeps a people together, and Jamala’s songs carry that hope to everyone who hears them. I believe in that hope, and I hope that one day, it comes true.

I think about the word home, and about how it runs through Jamala’s whole story. Home is Crimea, with its sea and its mountains, and home is the place she dreams of returning to. Her songs keep that home alive, in her voice and in the hearts of everyone who hears her, and that is a powerful thing for a singer to do. A song about home can travel anywhere, and it can make people feel at home, even when they are far away.

In the end, I will remember Jamala as the singer who made Europe hear the history of her people, with a voice that was strong, clear, and full of feeling. Her song “1944” will be remembered as long as people sing, and her hope of returning home will live in every note of it.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Jamala’s real name and when was she born?

Her real name is Susana Alimivna Jamaladinova, and she was born on 27 August 1983 in Osh, Kyrgyzstan, into a Crimean Tatar family that had been deported from Crimea.

What is Jamala’s song 1944 about?

The song is about the deportation of the Crimean Tatars from Crimea in 1944, ordered by Stalin. Jamala’s great grandmother was among those deported, and the song tells her family’s story.

When did Jamala win Eurovision?

She won the Eurovision Song Contest in 2016 in Stockholm, Sweden, with “1944”, giving Ukraine its second Eurovision victory. She finished ahead of Australia and Russia.

What kind of music does Jamala sing?

She sings a mix of jazz, soul, pop, and opera, with influences from Crimean Tatar music. She trained as an opera singer at the National Music Academy in Kyiv.

Did Jamala win any contest before Eurovision?

Yes, she won the New Wave contest in Jūrmala, Latvia, in 2009, which made her famous in Ukraine and in the region and started her professional career.

What happened to Jamala after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine?

She left Ukraine with her children as a refugee, and she performed in concerts across Europe and America to raise money and awareness for Ukraine, singing “1944” and speaking about the war.