First the Eurovision stars came to Baku’s Crystall Hall, and now the superstars are following. The venue will welcome Jennifer Lopez on September 23. As part of its “hello” the city is rolling out Emin—the Eurovision interval act who just happens to be the president’s son-in-law. He’ll warm up the crowd of 20,000 before J.Lo reminds fans that she’s just Jenny from the Block.
“I’m absolutely thrilled and excited to be performing at the Crystal Hall in Baku, my home city, with one of the most amazing and successful female artists in the world,” Emin said in a statement sent to WiwiBloggs.Com. “I had the pleasure of meeting her and working together on her fashion brand ‘jLo by Jennifer Lopez’ 10 years ago, and now we crossover from fashion to music. I couldn’t be happier!”
Emin, a household name in Russia and Azerbaijan, has started making in-roads in the U.K. Since his performance at Eurovision, he’s released “Walk Through Walls,” the second single from his album “After the Thunder.” He’s also performed on BBC Breakfast—the biggest morning news program in the U.K. A dolla makes him holla. Emin is reportedly in talks to host a six-part music series in Britain.
Just in case y’all are still wondering who he is, his p.r. team was kind enough to provide this list of facts.
• Emin’s family relocated to Moscow when he was 3 years old.
• When Emin was a teenager he was educated first in Russia and later in Switzerland and then New Jersey in the U.S.
• In 2001 Emin graduated with a bachelor degree in Business and Management from a New Yorkbased University.
• Emin and a friend started an online store selling Russian trinkets while at college.
• Emin then opened a shoe boutique on New York’s Lexington Avenue.
• His father prompted an offer to return to Moscow and develop the retail division of his hugely successful Crocus Group.
• Emin’s father Aras Agalarov is a self-made businessman who was an economics graduate and opened his first co-op in 1988.
• Emin released his first album ‘Still’ in 2006, followed up by three subsequent albums ‘Incredible’ (2007), ‘Obsession’ (2008) and ‘Devotion’ (2009).
• His album ‘Still’ (2006) sold over 100,000 copies worldwide.
• Emin’s album ‘Wonder’ was released in 2011. The album title track ‘Wonder’ and his first single ‘Obvious’ were co-written by Emin. Three songs from the album were ‘record of the week’ on Radio 2.
• ‘Baby Get Higher’, the first single from ‘After The Thunder’, was added to the BBC Radio 2 A-list in April 2012.
• ‘Baby Get Higher’ had its film premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. The song features in the comedy film ‘The Magnificent Eleven’.
• Emin performed ‘Never Enough’ from ‘After The Thunder’ as the ‘special guest’ in the interval section of the Eurovision show on May 26, 2012.
