Dimash Kudaibergen


Dinmukhammed Kanatuly Kudaibergen is a Kazakh singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He is university trained in classical as well as contemporary music, and is known for his exceptionally wide vocal range. He has performed songs in twelve different languages.
Although offered a position at the Astana Opera, he decided to carve out his career in contemporary music, mixing classical elements and traditional Kazakh music with pop music.
He gained significant popularity in Kazakhstan and other post-Soviet countries in 2015 upon becoming the Grand Prix winner of Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk, Belarus. He rose to fame in China with his participation as a "wildcard competitor" in Hunan TV's Singer 2017.

Early life

Dinmukhamed Kanatuly Kudaibergen was born on 24 May 1994 in Aktobe, to Kanat Kudaibergenuly Aitbayev and Svetlana Aitbayeva. His father Kanat Aitbayev previously led the regional Cultural Development Board of Aktobe. His mother Svetlana Aitbayeva is a soprano singer at the Aktobe Philharmonic Society, a Member of the Standing Committee on Social and Cultural Development and Artistic Director of the children's studio Saz in the Aktobe region.
Kudaibergen was brought up in a close-knit musical family, and his grandparents played a major role in his upbringing, which follows a traditional Kazakh custom.
Kudaibergen began performing at a young age, singing and playing the piano. His first appearance on stage was at the age of two in a minor role in a local theatre production. At home Kudaibergen took an interest in musical instruments, and his parents and his music teacher noticed that he had absolute pitch. At the age of five, he began to take piano and vocal lessons at the children's studio of the local music college. Kudaibergen first sang on stage the same year, at the age of five. At the age of six, in 2000, he won the national piano contest Aynalayin.

Education

At the age of five, Kudaibergen began to take piano and vocal lessons at the children's studio of Aktobe's Akhmet Zhubanov Music College. He later attended Gymnasium No. 32 in Aktobe. Kudaibergen completed a Broadway Musical master class in 2009. In 2014 he graduated in Classical Music with Major in Vocal from the music institute of K. Zhubanov University in Aktobe. He began his studies in Contemporary Music at Kazakh National University of Arts in Astana, where he graduated with Major in Vocal on 27 June 2018. On 18 June 2020, he graduated from the same university with a Master's Degree in Composition by defending his Master's thesis with a perfect score, and receiving a recommendation for admission to doctoral studies in music.
Kudaibergen plays seven instruments, piano, dombra, drums, guitar, keyboard, marimba and bayan.
He speaks Kazakh and Russian, and is studying English and Mandarin. He has performed songs in 12 different languages, Kazakh, Russian, English, Mandarin, Italian, French, Spanish, German, Serbian, Turkish, Ukrainian and Kyrgyz.

Career

2010–2014: Early career

From 2010 to 2013 Kudaibergen participated in and won four major singing competitions, in Kazakhstan, Ukraine, and Kyrgyzstan.
With winning the prestigious National Zhas Kanat Contest in 2012, Kudaibergen gained for the first time wide attention from the Kazakh national media. He won the three-day vocal competition with a full jury score of 180 out of 180 points; the first time in the history of the contest. That same year he released his first self-composed work "Körkemim". In 2013 he was invited to perform as a guest singer at the Türkçevizyon Gala Night in Denizli, Turkey. Kudaibergen continued to perform in public.
In December 2014, Kudaibergen was awarded a laureate of the State Youth Prize Daryn.

2015–2016: Slavianski Bazaar, international performances and Unforgettable Day Tour

Following his graduation, Kudaibergen performed in various European and Asian countries. In 2015, he was invited to participate at the Slavic Bazaar in Vitebsk, Belarus, an annual international contest for prominent singers, after one of the organizers had seen him perform live in Kazakhstan. Kudaibergen went on to win the Grand Prix on 13 July 2015, with a score of 175 points out of 180. During the three days of the contest, he was the clear favorite of both the jury and audience. With his original renditions of the Kazakh folk song "Daididau", the Russian singer Alla Pugacheva's "Blizzard Again" and the French singer Daniel Balavoine’s "SOS d'un terrien en détresse", he gained wide recognition from the jury and international media. Chairman of the jury, Polad Bülbüloğlu, stated that Kudaibergen possessed three voices in one: a low and medium voice, and altino, a rare voice, and that he used all of them professionally.
Upon winning Slavianski Bazaar, Kudaibergen regularly appeared in national TV shows and public events. His guest performances included at Expo 2015 in Milan, Italy; at the theatrical show Mangilik El, dedicated to the 550th anniversary of the Kazakh Khanate; at the 2015 Eurasia International Film Festival in Almaty; and he performed at an Astana Opera Concert that was attended by the Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Kudaibergen released his second own composition "Unforgettable Day" in August 2015. In October 2015, Kudaibergen was selected to represent Kazakhstan at the 2015 ABU TV Song Festival in Istanbul, Turkey. Kudaibergen performed "Daididau", receiving a standing ovation. In November, Kudaibergen performed at the closing ceremony of Mary – Culture and Arts Capital of the Turkic World festival, in Turkmenistan.
Kudaibergen released his self-titled debut extended play on 1 January 2016. He appeared on various TV shows singing "My Swan" in a duet with Mayra Muhammad-kyzy. In February 2016, his rendition of "Daididau" was selected by the European Broadcasting Union to represent Kazakhstan in their "Around the World in 80 Minutes of Music" program dedicated to the World Radio Day 2016 that was played by radio stations around the world. In March Kudaibergen sang with his parents at the Women's Day concert in Astana, and took part in the "All Stars for My Beloved" concert dedicated to International Women's Day at the Kremlin Palace in Moscow. In March and April, he went on tour with the Kazakh University of Arts Symphony Orchestra in Vienna, Austria; Maribor, Slovenia; and Belgrade, Serbia, performing "SOS d'un terrien en détresse" and "Daididau".
Kudaibergen had his first headlined tour from April to December 2016, holding 25 concerts in 25 regions of Kazakhstan, in celebration of the 25th anniversary of independence of Kazakhstan, as well as two concerts in Kazan and Ufa, Russia. He named his tour Unforgettable Day, after his own song by the same name. The concerts consisted of a wide variety of songs in various languages.
In July 2016, he was invited to perform at the Slavic Bazaar opening ceremony in Belarus, where he sang a duet with Nagima Eskalieva, and was also honored to raise the flag of the festival. In 2016 Kudaibergen also served as a judge at Bala Dausy 2016,
Other performance highlights of Kudaibergen in 2016 included his guest performance at the annual Zhas Kanat Contest; and his performances of "Diva Dance" at an Astana Day Concert that was attended by the President of Kazakhstan; of the rap song "I Am Kazakh" at Almaty's 1000th Birthday Gala Concert; at a UNESCO event in Paris, France; his performance at the Turkic Culture Festival in Seoul, South Korea, performing for the presidents of South Korea, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan, and Turkmenistan; and he represented Kazakhstan, alongside baritone Sundet Baigozhin, as a guest singer at the Big Opera 2016 TV competition in Russia.
In November 2016, the director of Astana Opera State Theatre, Toleubek Alpiyev, invited Kudaibergen to work as an opera singer, stating that his voice would be "ideal for baroque opera", but he decided to pursue a career in contemporary music.

2017: ''Singer'', success in China and solo concert ''Bastau''

In early 2017, Kudaibergen appeared in the fifth season of Hunan Television's I Am a Singer under the recommendation of director Hong Tao, and signed a contract with Black Gold Talent in Beijing. At 22, he was the youngest participant in the history of the show, and competed against professional and top-selling Chinese singers as a ‘wildcard’ competitor. Kudaibergen's mother later said that he hoped to reach at least the middle stage of the competition.
He won Episodes 1, 2 and 6, with his performances of "S.O.S d’un terrien en détresse", "Opera 2", and "Adagio". He made it to the finals, and finished as runner-up to Hong Kong singer Sandy Lam.
In Episode 1 of Singer 2017 Kudaibergen sang "SOS d'un terrien en détresse". With winning this episode, Kudaibergen's name became prominent in social media and his success made headlines in China, Kazakhstan as well as French media and TV programs.
Kudaibergen also won Episode 2, with his version of Vitas’ "Opera 2", and came in third in Episode 3 with his rendition of Queen’s "The Show Must Go On". Hunan TV and the Chinese media named him "a bridge for Kazakh-Chinese cultural cooperation". Between the recordings of episodes 3 and 4 of, Kudaibergen performed at the 2017 Winter Universiade Opening Ceremony, singing Sarah Brightman’s "A Question of Honor" with Zarina Altynbayeva. He performed his first ever Mandarin song, "Late Autumn" in Episode 4 and ranked 3rd. During the broadcast of Episode 4, Kudaibergen's meeting with Jackie Chan, his childhood idol, was shown. Kudaibergen won Episode 6 with his rendition of Lara Fabian’s "Adagio" – a performance which was praised by Fabian.
For Episode 7 Kudaibergen performed his rendition of the traditional Kazakh folk song "Daididau", accompanied by the Folk Instrumental Ensemble of Kudaibergen's university, the Kazakh National University of Arts. Kudaibergen and the instrumentalists performed wearing traditional Kazakh costumes. He started the performance by playing a traditional piece named "Adai" on the dombra, and then sang "Daididau". He came in third. His performance was received positively and sparked interest in Kazakh music and culture in China. Kudaibergen later said in an interview that this gave him the opportunity to "make sure once again that music knows no boundaries". After the broadcast of Episode 7, a documentary about Kudaibergen aired on Hunan TV.
Kudaibergen sang his own song "Unforgettable Day" for Episode 10, with a section of the lyrics translated into Mandarin. He came in third place. Within a few days "Unforgettable Day" reached the top of the Fresh Asia Music Charts. On 5 April, he released his first Chinese single "Eternal Memories", theme song of the movie Battle of Memories.
In Episode 12 of Singer, the semi-final, Kudaibergen sang Adriano Celentano's "Confessa" in Italian, followed by "The Diva Dance" from the movie The Fifth Element. He placed second and was promoted to the final. On 12 April, he released his single "Go Go Power Rangers", theme song of the movie Power Rangers in China.
In the final of Singer 2017, Kudaibergen sang "A Tribute to MJ" in a duet with Laure Shang. He finished Singer 2017 as runner-up. For the final episode of Singer 2017, Episode 14, the gala episode, Kudaibergen performed a new song in Kazakh, "Give Me Love".
During Singer, Kudaibergen appeared on various Chinese TV programs, including "Happy Camp", My Boyfriend's A Superstar/Fan Fan Boyfriend and Come Sing with Me ; and had many other performances in China, including at the Chinese Top Ten Music Awards in Shanghai, where he won his first Chinese Award, namely for "Best Asian Singer"; at the Top Chinese Music Awards in Shenzhen, China, which are considered to be the Asian equivalent to the Grammy Awards, where he performed "Unforgettable Day" accompanied by Ouyang Nana on the piano, and won the "Most Popular International Singer" Award; and at the Meeting on the Silk Road Gala, held by the Embassy of Kazakhstan and China's Department of Culture, in Beijing.
Upon returning to Kazakhstan after the completion of Singer 2017, he was welcomed with a congratulatory event in Astana.
Following Singer 2017, Kudaibergen appeared and performed on numerous TV shows and public events in China, Kazakhstan and France.
His performances in France included his performance of "SOS d'un terrien en détresse" in the popular France 2 TV show Les Années Bonheur; his charity performances at the Global Gift Galas in Paris and Cannes ; at the Cannes Film Festival. and at the Ruhani Zhangyru UNESCO Gala in Paris.
On 27 June 2017 he held his first large-scale solo concert Bastau in Astana, Kazakhstan. Most of the three-hour concert was accompanied by a live orchestra; guest singers included Terry Lin, Loreen, Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Marat Aitimov; and Kudaibergen performed duets with Maira Mukhamedkyzy, Kristina Orbakaitė and with his parents, Svetlana Aitbayeva and Kanat Aitbayev. Along with popular pieces from Singer 2017 and pre-Singer, he also debuted his new songs "My Star", "Without You", "Last Word", and "Leyla". Bastau was well-received and sold out to a crowd of around 30,000 people.
In July, Kudaibergen's new song "Ocean over Time" was released in China as the theme song for the game Moonlight Blade, that later won a Hollywood Music in Media Award. In the same month he sang at the Closing Ceremony of Slavic Bazaar in Vitebsk, Belarus, where his international career had started in 2015; and performed several songs for the audience of the 2017 Eurasia International Film Festival and its honorary guests Nicolas Cage and Adrien Brody.
On 16 September, Kudaibergen performed as the headliner at the Gakku Open-Air Festival in Almaty, to a crowd of 150,000 people. Prior to this event, his highest recorded note was G#7 in whistle register, on par with Mariah Carey. At the Gakku Festival, he surpassed himself by hitting D8 during "Unforgettable Day".
In 2017 the Kazakh figure skater Denis Ten, who was an Olympic medalist and friend of Kudaibergen, began using his rendition of "SOS d'un terrien en détresse" for his skating programs.

2018: Continued success in China and breakthrough in Russia

In 2018, Kudaibergen continued having numerous performances in China. To highlight a few; He performed "Flight of the Bumblebee" and "Auld Lang Syne", accompanied by pianists Wu Muye and Maksim Mrvica, at the CCTV Spring Festival Gala; "Jasmine" in a duet with the Grammy-winner Wu Tong at the Chinese New Year Gala; a rendition of Lionel Richie's "Hello" as a guest performer at Singer 2018; and "Daididau", accompanied by an orchestra, at the One Belt One Road Gala. He was invited as guest and performer at the "Choose Big Star" variety show; performed "You and Me" in a duet with Wáng Lì at the Chinese Mid Autumn Festival, and premiered his first English single "Screaming" at the "Idol Hits" show. In December he performed his own composition "Unforgettable Day" at the Miss World 2018 Final, and Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On” at the Hainan International Film Festival.
Kudaibergen also participated in the "PhantaCity" short video play, in which he starred as the main actor and performed "If I Never Breathe Again" and "When You Believe".
He held three solo concerts in 2018; two "D-Dynasty" concerts in Fuzhou, and Shenzhen; and a solo concert in London, within the scope of the "Kazakhstan Day of Culture".
In May, Kudaibergen performed at the 71st Cannes Film Festival. In July, he appeared at the Slavic Bazaar 2018 in Vitebsk, Belarus, as a judge and guest performer, and sang "SOS d'un terrien en détresse". In September, he participated as a guest at the international contest for young pop singers New Wave in Sochi, Russia, where he performed "Sinful Passion" for the first time, and sang "Adagio" at the closing ceremony.
In November 2018 his collaboration with the renowned Russian composer Igor Krutoy started with their first single "Love of Tired Swans". Many performances in Russia followed and in December, at the annual "Pesnya Goda" Gala in Moscow, "Love of Tired Swans" was awarded one of the best songs of 2018.

2019: ''The World's Best'' in the United States and solo concert ''Arnau''

In January, he joined the Super Vocal TV competition for classical singers in China as a member of the judges.
In early 2019, Kudaibergen participated in the CBS talent competition The World's Best, in which he was presented to the US audience as the "Six Octave Man" and "man with the world's widest vocal range". He performed "SOS d'un terrien en détresse" in the audition round and "All by Myself" in the battle round. Despite being listed as front-runner, Kudaibergen withdrew from the competition after his performance of "Adagio" in the champions round, citing that he wished to leave the opportunity to younger performers.
On 13 June 2019, he released his first album, iD, in China. It reached platinum status within 37 seconds after release, and triple-platinum within the first hour.
He held his second large-scale solo concert, Arnau, in the Astana Arena in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, on 29 June 2019, and the sell-out performance attracted 40.000 people from 64 countries.
In 2019, the collaboration with Igor Krutoy continued with the songs "Mademoiselle Hyde", "Love is Like a Dream" , "Know" ', "Olimpico" ', "Where Love Lives" ', "Passione", "Ulisse" and "Ti Amo Così". In October and November, he joined Krutoy as a guest performer on the Igor Krutoy Anniversary Tour, performing in New York City, Dubai, Minsk, and Düsseldorf.
Kudaibergen gave his first solo concert in the USA on 10 December 2019. The show was titled Arnau Envoy'' and took place at the Barclays Center in New York. The venue was sold out with 19,000 spectators from 63 countries.
Among Kudaibergen's 2019 performances in Russia were his guest performances at the New Wave in Sochi, his headlining performance at the closing ceremony of the WorldSkills championships in Kazan, and the Igor Krutoy Anniversary Gala on Ice in Moscow.
He also had more performances in China, including a Queen medley that he performed with the Super Vocal Finalists at Singer 2019; a headlining performance at the Mount Emei Music Festival; at the Asian Culture Carnival; at the Opening Ceremony of the Jackie Chan International Action Film Week; at the Closing and Award Ceremony of the Silk Road International Film Festival; and a guest performance at Masked Singer China.
Other international performances included the premiere of his song "Olimpico" ' at the Opening Ceremony of the European Games in Minsk, Belarus; and he represented Kazakhstan at the 2019 ABU TV Song Festival in Tokyo, Japan, performing "SOS d'un terrien en détresse".

2020: ''Arnau'' tour

In early 2020, he appeared on two movie soundtracks, singing Hāi pí yíxià for Vanguard and Across Endless Dimensions, theme song of.
In February his Arnau Europe Tour started, but was interrupted in March due to COVID-19 pandemic.

Vocal range and style

Kudaibergen is known for his wide vocal range of 6 octaves.
Kudaibergen sings in multiple musical genres. His main genre is classical crossover, but he also sings classical music, pop, folk and world music. He uses musical elements, and vocal styles and techniques of many other genres, including jazz, rock, RnB, musical theater, and rap.
He is also known for his use of the whistle register, and for singing in full head voice.

Other ventures

Modeling

Kudaibergen has been a model for fashion labels and for Lifestyle and Fashion magazines. He was on the magazine covers of Men's Health, Southern Metropolis, Starbox, Easy, L’Officiel Hommes, Ivyplume, Chic, Chic Teen, and Elle. He was also featured in photo series of other magazines, including Cosmopolitan and OnlyLady, and in fashion videos for e.g. Elle Shop and Cosmopolitan.

Acting

Kudaibergen starred as an actor in several Chinese and Russian TV productions.

Singing contests

Kudaibergen is the initiator of the annual Kazah Baqytty Bala Children's Singing Contest. He also served as a jury member for Bala Dausy, Slavic Bazaar and Super Vocal.

Awards and achievements

Discography

Filmography

Solo concerts and international tours

Solo Concerts

Tours

Fandom

Kudaibergen calls his fans "Dears", which he explains in his own words as follows: “They are so devoted and give me so much support! So they are very dear to me. They are like family to me. Just as we love every member of the family, I love and cherish my fans and call them my dears.”

Humanitarianism

In 2015, Dimash Kudaibergen gave a charitable concert, named "From Heart to Heart", in Atyrau, Kazakhstan, to provide essential medical treatment for a 5-year-old girl. He was joined by the Kazakh pop singer Dosymzhan Tanatarov for the event.
Kudaibergen gave benefit performances at the Grand Charity Ball 2015, in the Kazakhstan cities of Shymkent, Kyzylorda and Uralsk. The events were organized by the Alpamys Sharimov Foundation, and the funds were donated to children with hearing and speech impairment.
In early 2016 he joined the Kazakh "Do Good" campaign that provides help for people with disabilities, illnesses and in financial need.
In 2016, he also gave a benefit performance at the "100 Grandmas and Grandpas" Charity Evening of the "Zaman Are We" Project in Astana, Kazakhstan. The elderly of the regional retirement homes were invited as honorary guests and the funds of the event were used for social, economic and medical help for elderly residents.
Kudaibergen donated all profits of his 2016 "Unforgettable Day" concert, held in his home town Aktobe, to a regional charity organization. With the funds of the concert, seven families in need were supplied with water, utilities, medical care and clothing. A wheel chair accessibility ramp was also set up for a wheelchair-bound resident.
He gave a benefit performance at the Grand Charity Ball 2016, in Uralsk, Kazakhstan. The teenage students of the local boarding school for visually impaired students were invited as honorary guests of the Ball. Several of these students performed a song on stage with him, and Kudaibergen also danced, in the Waltz part of the event, with the visually impaired invited guests. The Grand Charity Ball was organized by the Alpamys Sharimov Foundation, and the funds were donated to children with visual impairments, to this boarding school and to the regional orphanage.
At the Top Chinese Music Awards 2017, within the "Love Recycling" Campaign, he donated the suit from his first performance at Hunan Television's Singer 2017 competition. The suit was auctioned by the Jingdong Platform and all the proceeds were donated to the Care of Children Foundation for children with blood lead poisoning.
Kudaibergen gave charitable performances at the Global Gift Galas 2017 in Paris and Cannes. He was invited by Eva Longoria, Hollywood actress and Honorary Chair of the Global Gift Foundation. The Foundation provides social and economic help to children, families and women in situations of need.
Kudaibergen hosted a live broadcast for the Live Connection Challenge, a live stream charity campaign launched by Hongdou Live and Weibo Public Welfare. The campaign income was donated to the Audiology Development Foundation of China whose goal is to provide hearing and language rehabilitation for people with hearing impairment.
Kudaibergen donated an autographed dombra to an auction of the Smile Angel Foundation, a Chinese charity which aims to help children born with cleft lips and palates.
A charitable performance was given at the Grand Charity Ball 2017 in Uralsk hosted by the Alpamys Sharimov Foundation. It was held under the motto "Love for All" and the profits were donated to seriously ill people in Kazakhstan.
Kudaibergen gave a charity performance at the "Chinese National Wind Charity Concert", in Beijing, that was held under the motto "Pray for the Year". It was hosted by the China Children's Fund and the China Youth Foundation. The funds from the concert were used to enable music classes in rural Chinese primary schools that could not afford them.
He gave another charitable performance at the Villa International "Beauty Touching" charity event that was jointly hosted by the China Children and Teenagers Fund and "Bridge Culture".
Kudaibergen became goodwill ambassador of the "Listen Project" by the Audiology Development Foundation of China Trust Fund that provides hearing aid devices and education to hearing-impaired children.
A charitable performance was given at the Opening Gala of the Kazakh Snow Leopard Foundation whose goal is to save the endangered population and to preserve their natural habitat by creating protected areas.
On 19 November 2018, Kudaibergen gave a solo concert in London, UK, during the Great Britain's Days of Kazakhstan Culture. All proceeds went to promote young talent from Kazakhstan and sponsor youth’ participation in prestigious international contests.
Within the frame of the Shanghai Pet Adoption Day 2019, he became a supporter of the "Love is Home" initiative that aims to improve awareness and to increase adoptions of stray animals.
On his 25th birthday he visited a nursing home for the elderly and the physically impaired in his hometown Aktobe. As it is customary for him on his birthday since his school days, he brought gifts and spent time with the residents. He also performed for them a cappella.
A few days before his "Arnau" Concert of 29 June 2019, in Astana, Kazakhstan, there were explosions near the Kazakhstan city of Arys that caused injuries and casualties. Kudaibergen decided to donate funds from his concert to the victims.
When he was in the Russian city of Kazan for his performance at the WorldSkills 2019, he visited the local children's hospice, to see a seriously ill fan who couldn't attend Kudaibergen's concert due to chemotherapy.
When he was in Kiev, Ukraine, for his Arnau Tour, he donated clothes and other belongings to an auction for the Ukrainian OKHMATDET Center for Pedriatric Toxicology that aims to save the lives of children with acute poisoning, and also enables hemodialysis for children with low weight, heart problems and unstable blood pressure.
During COVID-19 pandemic in Kazakhstan, Kudaibergen provided 102 needy families in Nur-Sultan and Aktobe with five tons of food.