by Hrag Vartanian
When Bulgarian Armenian, Philip Kirkorov, makes a public appearance, it is destined to appear in the Russian media as the public eagerly follows the comings and goings of one of the country's biggest pop idols.
Based in Moscow for decades, he has won eight Russian Grammy's (called Ovations), received two Monte Carlo World Music Awards and he's made it into the Guinness Book of World Records for the most consecutive sold out performances (a 32 concert marathon at a 4,000 seat venue).
America's Details magazine wrote that he was the, ... "Russian Ricky Martin, the Russian Madonna - Kirkorov is nothing if not a student of American pop chameleons. He boasts of friendships with Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson, who once invited him to a benefit concert for the children of Kosovo. He even called himself the Russian Michael Jackson, going so far as to adopt the Gloved One's stringy curls."
His songs are typical of pop music's sappy love-laced fantasia. You, You, You, Atlantis, At Night and in Day Time" and his song to his muse and partner, 20 years his senior, pop superstar Alla Pugachyova, My little hare, I'm your little rabbit is iconic.
He regularly performs throughout the former Soviet Bloc, Europe, Israel and has toured the United States, performing for a capacity crowd at Madison Square Garden in 1997.
He is a groundbreaking artist in many ways.
Still remembered as a King of Kitsch, he recently released the first Spanish album by a Russian singer, Sueño de Amor.
His lifestyle is grand; his taste is more Las Vegas than Moscow and in capitalist Russia, that suits most people just fine. Not one to encourage apathy in his audience, the English-language St. Petersburg Times captured the reality of his place in contemporary Russian pop culture, "You may not like the music, but you have to admire the show."
