Meet Emin Eminzada

Today we’d like to introduce you to Emin Eminzada.

So, before we jump into specific questions, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I was born on March 29, 1997 in Azerbaijan, Baku.

My music career started a long time ago. As a little boy, I was glued to the TV screen every time an opera was on. My parents first wanted me to become a doctor, but seeing my love of the arts, my Dad took me to a vocal teacher to study opera singing. I am a Pop Singer now but I started music in the classical genre. When I was 11, I was singing “Aria” selections from Italian Opera. I truly still do love the opera. I’m so proud that I am a classically trained vocalist.

I was taught by a great Azerbaijani opera singer: Fidan Kassimova. Classical music is the foundation of all modern music and it has always been very important to me. In primary school, many of my peers couldn’t understand its importance and for a period of time I had a difficulty explaining my passion to my friends,

In 2011, at age 13, I was selected with other young performers to sing together with Robertino Loretti at his concert in Baku. That was my big moment! Together we sang two songs that were first performed by Robertino when he was 13. He liked my singing so much that he invited me to take part in the national song concert in Italy a few months later! I was a soloist of the State Children’s Philharmonic. I won the “Golden Microphone” in Kazakhstan, “Elia Catalano” in Italy, “Opus –2012” in Spain.

So I decided to write my own original music. I released a debut single called ‘Bubble Dreams’. This song is about reaching out for your dreams that are hidden in bubbles. It’s possible to pop the bubbles and get the dreams out if you work really hard. Of course, luck is important too.

I like to keep busy writing and working hard always, even when I was very young. While studying in the U.S. I worked on building connections with American record labels as an Azerbaijani singer. I really like bringing the two cultures together.

I felt very welcome in my American high school and there I spoke a lot about Azerbaijan. Back in Baku, I can’t stop telling people about American traditions and my FLEX year. It’s great to belong to both communities. I want to continue sending this message through my music.

In 2015, I entered the American Musical and Dramatic Academy as the first Azerbaijani student and from there, I took an academic leave to continue my studies at the Azerbaijan State Musical Academy (BMA).

In 2016, I studied master classes for young performers in Baku and graduated from the Baku Music Academy. My degree supports me a lot through my performances and songwriting sessions. There were a lot of long days of hard work. One of my big successes was while I was an exchange student.

During my FLEX year at age 15, my host mother took me to Los Angeles, California. There we visited the American Musical and Dramatic Academy. I had already been singing and performing for years and as soon as I stepped into the hallway I knew that I would try to come back here as a student. It was such a huge dream. I wasn’t sure whether it’d ever come true. But with the help of my host family this dream soon turned real. The academy was having auditions in Texas, and my host mother helped me to prepare for them and then drove me to Dallas. There I recited a Shakespearean monologue and sang a song from a Broadway musical. Then, I attended the American Musical and Dramatic Academy to study music theater in 2017.

Today I am a 22 years old singer/songwriter from Azerbaijan – Baku city. In 2017 I released “BUBBLE DREAMS”, In 2018 I released “TREASURE ME” and “BEHIND THE CURTAIN”. And in 2019, “AYRILIK” and “I WILL TAKE CARE OF YOU BABE”

“I Will Take Care of You, Babe” is very personal and emotional to me.

I wrote this song three years ago with strange and unfamiliar feelings. My first inspiration for writing this song was the phrase of “I will take care of you babe”. You can hear a lot of nice phrases from people like: ‘I love you’ or ‘I miss you’, but this one affected me so much because I remembered the fact that last time I heard it from my mother and now some stranger from the first date said this.

My first single, “Behind the Curtain” was co-written by Grammy-winning Carla Carter with Grammy nominee Drew “Druski” Scott (who also produced it) It was about some sexy, frank pillow talk, it’s a dance track influenced by smooth ‘80s pop and contemporary R&B which got #1 on Azerbaijani iTunes and charted at various countries. This time my message would be let them take care of you, it feels so good.

An example of the lyrics:
“[I got crazy when you said:
‘I will take care of you babe’
Cause it warmed my heart so fast
That I started to dream
Of having a big family.”

I wrote both the lyrics and music. The track was produced and mixed by Joseph Genetti and STKHA did the mastering.

I am working on new music to release soon and studying with the Stevie Mackey!

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Let me start with the harsh fact that it’s not a smooth road at all. For me, the biggest struggle was finding my perfect sound, in other words, my unique style. I’m still exploring myself. The most important thing is being unique and standing out of the crowd. There are thousands of songs that are being released every day. You want to have answers for their questions: Why they should listen to my songs?

What’s so special and extraordinary about my message to my audience? What’s different about my style/physical appearance? (if you are a performer)

In this industry, you probably will hear more rejections than acceptance but it doesn’t mean that you are not allowed to explore your abilities. Human being is genius if he works on himself.

We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
Currently, it’s so hard for me to fit myself in one concept which I probably should. I love Pop music, but I recently wrote a song and it’s RnB! First time and I couldn’t believe. So my music is evolving and growing.

My music reflects real stories. I can’t write something out of my imagination. Well, I can add something out of my imagination to the real story as my comment, but the story itself must authentic. I can proudly say that my lyrics are real and relatable. I like making people feel “dejavu” when they hear my lyrics.

I am special I think too because not many Pop singers/ songwriters are trained in Opera. I have a special view and approach to my creativity.

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
I think honesty, real feelings, being genuine is most important to my success. I want people to feel the emotions as I feel them.

Don’t get excited too quickly. Do not trust to every single compliment you hear. Have a lawyer. Kill them with kindness. Simply, Leave the conversation if they don’t understand. As a songwriter, be more critical of what you just created.

If you had to start over, what would you have done differently?
Nothing. I’m proud of my mistakes otherwise, I wouldn’t learn. Don’t be scared of making mistakes.

Pricing:

• My music is on spotify, amazon music, apple music and it is very affordable, .99/song.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://emineminzada.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emineminzada/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/emineminzada/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/EminEminzada

Image Credit:
White/tan color shirt photos: by Alper Doruk, Black and White photos: by Aleks Verbetsky, Photos with circle make-up lights in background: by Caleb Masula

Suggest a story: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.