Background and career
Alla Borisovna Pugacheva (Russian: Алла Борисовна Пугачёва, IPA: [ˈalːə bɐˈrʲisəvnɐ pʊɡɐˈtɕɵvə]; born 15 April 1949) is a Russian singer and songwriter. Her career began in 1965 and continues to this day, although she retired from performing in 2010 after the international concert tour "Dreams of Love". For her "clear mezzo-soprano and a full display of sincere emotions", she enjoys an iconic status across the former Soviet Union as the most successful Soviet performer in terms of record sales and popularity. For several decades, Pugacheva was a sex symbol, a style icon, an inspiration for Soviet women and a heroine of Russian tabloids. In the media, Pugacheva has been called "the Queen of Russian pop music". Pugacheva is one of the few Russian performers who has achieved international success, along with Anna Netrebko and t.A.T.u.
Her repertoire includes over 500 songs in Russian, English, German, French, Kazakh, Hebrew, Finnish and Ukrainian, and her discography has more than 100 records, CDs and DVDs. In addition to Russia and the former Soviet Union, Pugacheva's albums have been released in Japan, Korea, Sweden, Finland, Germany, Poland, Czechia, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Israel. In total, she has sold more than 250 million records. Her debut album, Mirror of the Soul, has sold 10 million copies. Pugacheva's other albums were also successful, including How Disturbing Is This Way, released in 1982, which sold 7 million copies.
During her career, Pugacheva has toured Eastern Europe, the Baltic states, Scandinavia, Central Asia and other countries around the world, including the United States, United Kingdom, France, Netherlands, Greece, Italy and Israel. She has performed in some of the most famous concert halls in the world, including Carnegie Hall in New York, Olympia in Paris, Friedrichstadt-Palast in Berlin, Royal Theater Carre in Amsterdam and Apollo in London.
In addition to Russia and the countries of the former USSR, Pugacheva's singles were included in the hit parade in other countries of Europe and Asia, including France, Sweden, Poland, Greece, Japan and Mongolia. The singles "Harlequin" and "А Million Scarlet Roses" are her main international hits.
In 1988, Billboard noted that Pugacheva “ranks with such great musicians of all time as Bing Crosby, Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson. In 2000, The New York Times called her "the goddess of Russian pop music, Moscow's Tina Turner with a touch of Édith Piaf".
How Alla Pugacheva makes money
Her career began in 1965 and continues to this day, although she retired from performing in 2010 after the international concert tour "Dreams of Love". In total, she has sold more than 250 million records.
