Авраам Руссо

Avraam Russo (Russian: Авраам Руссо; born as Apraham Ipjian (Апрахам Ипджиян or Авраам Ипджян) on July 21, 1969 in Aleppo, Syria) is a popular Russian-Armenian pop singer of Syrian Armenian origin. Russo is an international artist who has recorded songs in a number of languages. He shot to fame with "Daleko Daleko" a Russian cover of a big Arabic language hit, "Tamally Maak" by Amr Diab. He has four platinum albums recorded in Russia Amor (2001), Tonight (2002), Prosto Lyubit' (2003) and Obruchalnaya (2006) with songs in Russian and English. Amor, a #1 smash in Russia and throughout Eastern Europe. He has sold millions of album copies worldwide. His most recent album is an all-English spiritual album Resurrection (2010) recorded in the United States where he resides with his wife Morela and daughter Emanuela. Avraam lost his father at an early age and his mother had to serve other households for the survival of the family. His singing talent was discovered while he was performing Armenian liturgical songs during his monastic studies in Aleppo. He also studied in an Armenian Orthodox seminary in Lebanon for a couple of years. After leaving the studies, he was quickly involved in several amateur bands, making part-time appearances in Arab venues and outdoor restaurants (such as "Ramaya", "Aleppo Family Swimming Pool", "Somar", Orouba Club, etc.) and in hotels like "Al Amir" in Aleppo. In 1993 he went to Cyprus and worked in night clubs for two years earning meagre salaries. But his presence in Cyprus proved important for his future career, as he got the attention of a Russian Azerbaijan-Jewish tycoon Telman Ismailov (originally from Baku, Azerbaijan SSR and now Vice President of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress) who, during one of his business trips to Cyprus, attended Avraam's performance and liked his work very much. Being owner of big retail businesses and entertainment outlets including "Prague Restaurant" and a well connected entrepreneur, he invited Avraam to take part in multilingual performances in Russia taking the Russian name Avraam Russo.