Dilara Kazimova

Dilara Kazimova
Dilara Kazimova (2014)
Background information
Born	(1984-05-20) May 20, 1984 (age 32) Baku, Azerbaijan SSR, Soviet Union
Genres	Pop, pop rock, rock, R&B
Occupation(s)	Singer, Actress
Instruments	Vocals
Associated acts	Unformal, Milk & Kisses

Dilara Kazimova (Azerbaijani: Dilarə Kazımova; born 20 May 1984 in Baku) is an Azerbaijani singer and actress. She represented Azerbaijan in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 in Copenhagen with the song "Start a Fire".

Born in Baku, Dilara Kazimova studied vocal arts at the Baku Academy of Music. After graduating, she briefly performed as part of an opera troupe. From the early 2000s, she was a member of the rock band Unformal and later the lead singer for the duo Milk & Kisses. Both bands participated in the Azerbaijani national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest before, with Unformal placing second in the national final in 2008, and Milk & Kisses placing second again in the national final in 2010. In 2010, the duo Milk & Kisses represented Azerbaijan at the annual New Wave music festival in Jurmala, Latvia, but came 16th out of 17 contestants.

In 2014, Dilara Kazimova participated in the Azerbaijani selection (this time by herself) and won the competition. "Start a Fire", the song with which Dilara represented Azerbaijan in Copenhagen, was released two weeks later, on 16 March 2014, at the same time as the video clip.

Kazimova is currently a contestant of the Ukrainian reality talent show Holos Krayiny (part of the international syndication The Voice). Svyatoslav Vakarchuk turned around his chair so he will be her coach and mentor for the duration of the show.