Note: The editor wishes to acknowledge the work of the writers, contributors and editors of Dimash’s wikipedia. Much of the text content of this page are modified content of the Dimash Kudaibergen Wikipedia page. For the full Wikipedia text, please go to Dimash Kudaibergen Wikipedia page.
In late 2016, Dimash was invited to participate in Singer, a popular Hunan TV contest for established professional singers. He signed a contract with Black Gold Talent in Beijing before the contest begun, confirming his participation. At 22, Dimash was the youngest participant in the history of the show, and competed against professional and top-selling Chinese singers. Dimash’s mother, Sveta later said that he had only hoped to reach at least the middle stage of the competition. Not only did he finish the Singer 2017, he finished Runner Up, gained millions of fans whom he began calling his “Dears. If his previous participation in other contests proved that he could sing well, his astounding performances on the stage of Singer 2017 guaranteed his rapid rise to popularity and international stardom.
Episode 1, SOS d’un terrien en détresse (1st Place)
Episode 1 of Singer 2017 was recorded on January 10, 2017 and premiered on Hunan TV on January 21, 2017. Dimash sang “SOS d’un terrien en détresse”, stunning the audience and participants alike with his rendition of this song. He received a standing ovation and won Episode 1, becoming an overnight sensation in China the night of broadcast. His name instantly became prominent in social media and mass media. Dimash’s success also made headlines in the media in Kazakhstan. French media took notice, too, and C8 TV Channel interviewed Claire Balavoine, sister of late Daniel Balavoine, the original singer of “SOS d’un terrien en détresse”. She was touched by Kudaibergen’s similar musicality to her brother and his heartfelt interpretation. Since then, Dimash’s spectacular rise to fame has been impressive.
Episode 2, Opera 2 (1st Place)
Episode 3, The Show Must Go On (3rd Place)
The media in Kazakhstan promptly informed the public of news of Dimash, and Hunan TV named him a bridge for Kazakh-Chinese cultural cooperation.
Between the recordings of episodes 3 and 4 of Singer, Dimash flew to Almaty, Kazakhstan to perform in the 2017 Winter Universiade opening ceremony, on January 29. He sang Sarah Brightman’s “A Question of Honor” with Zarina Altynbayeva.
Episode 4, Late Autumn (3rd Place)
Dimash performed his first ever Mandarin song, “Late Autumn” (Chinese: 秋意浓) in Episode 4 and ranked 3rd. During the broadcast of Episode 4, Kudaibergen’s meeting with Jackie Chan, a Chinese actor he has admired since childhood, was shown.
Episode 5, Uptown Funk, (6th Place)
Episode 6, Adagio (1st Place)
Kudaibergen won Episode 6 with his rendition of Lara Fabian’s “Adagio” (English version). Lara Fabian herself was so impressed with his performance that she congratulated him on her official Facebook page.
Episode 7, Daidadau (3rd Place)
For Episode 7, Kudaibergen decided to perform traditional Kazakh folk song “Daididau”. In an interview, his mother stated that it was his childhood dream to perform a traditional Kazakh song in a world-class competition. He flew to Astana to recruit his classmates from Kazakh National University of Arts to play traditional Kazakh instruments for his performance. Tailored costumes (shapan) were made in Kazakhstan with the support of the Ministry of Culture and Sports of Kazakhstan. Kudaibergen started the performance by playing the dombra as an intro, playing a traditional piece named “Aday” (Kazakh: Адай күйі) and then sang “Daididau” accompanied by his classmates. He came in third. His performance of “Daididau” 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 was aired on Hunan TV, in which Song Ke, CEO of Alibaba Planet – music platform of Chinese net giant Alibaba – said of Kudaibergen: “‘Dimash’ sounds like a soccer player’s name. I don’t know where he comes from. Definitely, he is a marvelous singer. His voice is the most exquisite, impressive, which can transcend gender, language and border. This is the basic essence of music. This dark horse is just so unexpected!”
Episode 8, Daybreak (3rd Place)
Episode 9, All By Myself (2nd Place)
Episode 10, Unforgettable Day (3rd Place)
Kudaibergen sang his own song, “Unforgettable Day”, for Episode 10. He had a section of the lyrics translated into Mandarin for his Singer performance. He came in third place. His performances from Singer were prominent in the Fresh Asia music chart, and “Unforgettable Day” topped the chart.
