Alsou Ralifovna Abramova, born 27 June 1983 in Bugulma, Russian Federation, is a Russian pop singer whose career began when she was 15 and was discovered by manager Valeriy Belotserkovskiy after a performance of "I Will Always Love You". Her debut Russian album Alsou was released on 16 September 1999, producing singles "Zimniy Son", "Vesna", and "Inogda"; the album sold over 700 000 copies in Russia. In 2000 she entered the Eurovision Song Contest with the English single "Solo", finishing second and becoming the highest‑selling single in Russia that year. The same year she released the English single "You're My #1" with Enrique Iglesias. Her first English album Alsou appeared in 2001, with the single "Before You Love Me" reaching number 27 on the UK Singles Chart. In 2003 she issued 19, a Russian studio album that sold 500 000 copies and spawned hits such as "Vsyo Ravno" and "Vchera". After a series of tours across former Soviet states and a brief hiatus, she returned with Samoe Glavnoe in 2008, followed by a Tatar‑language album Tugan Tel the same year. She continued to release music, including "Love U Back" in 2018, and has been recognized as a Merited Artist of the Russian Federation since 2018.
