What and who Dimash is becoming, at the age of 25 (year 2019) far exceeds what one would expect of a singer even with a rich musical heritage.  Dimash has 20 years under his belt, of professional, grueling music education and training. But even that doesn’t explain the  almost magical beauty and excellence of Dimash’s music.

Several interviews with the singer attempt to explain the Dimash phenomenon. Below are some transcripts of these interviews. (Edits mine – Nen)

Q: We all know that Dimash grew up in a musical family…
S: Dimash’s father Kanat and I are both performers. I am a singer in a group named “Kazyza Zhobanov” in Aktobe; my husband has been in this field for many years as well. As the saying goes, “Apples don’t fall outside of the garden."

Dimash's musical talent was discovered early

From the moment Dimash was born, he was exposed to people and things related to music. He grew up listening to Kazakh lullabies. So, from a young age, he has been exposed to music. And so, I believe his family has a deep influence on him.

Q: Did you discover his talent when he was a child?
S: Yes, we saw his talent ever since he was little. Besides Dimash, we have two other children; his sister, Raushan, and brother, Mansur. Because my husband and I are professional musicians, we pay close attention to our childrens’ musical sense.

When Dimash was very little, we discovered that he had a great talent in identifying musical notes. For example, he could identify any random note played on the piano. He could name it and sing it. And so, we sent him to music school to learn from professional teachers at the age of five.

Q: What was Dimash like growing up?
S: We have three children in the family. You can say that they were spoiled because of Grandpa and Grandma. We live together with their grandparents the whole time, so the three children

grew up around them. We dare not yell at the kids when grandparents are around.

Dimash is the oldest, so he had everyone’s attention. He was both stubborn and daring. Because of our tradition, all three of them are good with the Kazakh language. They all had to learn the dombra.

In our opinion, all children should grow up listening to the music of their heritage, and be able to play the instruments. I’m sure you’ve seen on the news -- Dimash gave our traditional costume and a dombra to Jackie Chan. If Dimash didn’t know how to play the dombra, and just gave it to Jackie Chan without playing some Kazakh music, then the gift would have been meaningless.

Dimash was very bright academically. He was hardworking. We didn’t have to worry about him. But he was quite active; he liked soccer. He used to come home with aches and pains, sometimes with falls and injuries.

He had always loved the stage. He attended all my performances, sitting in the audience. He would run up to the stage and take a bow with me after the performances. He really liked to do that. He never had stage fright.

There is one thing we especially appreciate about Dimash. When he was little, he always shared his snacks with friends. He still does that, always thinking about sharing with others. Always wanting others to be happy.

And he really likes giving people flowers. Even though he has already graduated, every year on September 1st or May 25th, if he is in Aktobe, he would visit and bring flowers to his elementary and secondary school teachers. Same with us. For example, this year on Women’s Day, he was in China. But he made arrangements to send me flowers here at home. He does this every year. We are spoiled.

Q: Does Dimash tell you his secrets?
S: Dimash is an outgoing child. Sometimes we talk about girls, but no plans related to girls right now. All he thinks about now is his music, album, and concerts.

Q: What if Dimash brings home a Chinese girl and tells you she is your daughter-in-law?
S: I am so happy Dimash has so many Chinese fans. Dimash is able to accomplish so much because of these fans. Of course, we are all in the hands of destiny. As parents, of course, we want him to find someone who has similar faith, culture and tradition, someone he can understand and talk to easily.

Dimash in France

Q: Let’s talk about Dimash and his fans.
S: During the Singer competition, there was this one time he came back to Aktobe. His flight arrived at 1 AM. You know how cold it is in Aktobe during winter, -35 to -40 degrees. But the girls were waiting for him with flowers at the airport and at his home, and the flowers were frozen. He felt bad for them and invited them in for hot tea.

People who are familiar with me and his dad tend to be older. Young people mostly don’t know us even if they were aware that we are singers. But now, because of Dimash, we are getting famous as well. Even if they did not know my name, many girls call me Mama. Of course, that makes me happy.

Right now, Dimash has fan clubs in over 70 countries. Yesterday (September 2017) he was at the Gakku music festival in Almaty. Fans from different countries attended as well. Over 40 % of the audience at his concert were from overseas.

Q: Dimash’s room must be filled with gifts and letters.
S: I am most impressed by the fans in China. They have preserved the forgotten culture of writing letters by hand. Démarche get hundreds of letters a day. Some fans even learn Kazakh and write to him in Kazakh. The letters reflect a high level of literacy and are very well written, they write beautiful well wishes to Dimash. Some fans draw portraits of him using different techniques. Some put crystals on the drawings; some are embroideries on silk materials. We are doing our best to preserve these gifts. We are considering donating some to museums.

Dimash photo on promotional airplane for Chinese game Midnight Blade

Q: On the internet we saw an airplane with Dimash’s photo?
S: Dimash was invited by a company to sing a theme song for a computer game. The photo you see on the airplane is from the promotion. We are really excited. I was really nervous at the time as well. After all, my son’s photo is on the airplane. It was flying in the sky with the airplane. When I posted on social media, I was praying for the plane’s safe landing, praying for his safety.

Q: When Dimash first started performing, some criticized his high notes as ‘screeching’ and not singing how did you feel about that?
S: if the critics were professionals in the music field, or experts in local music, if these people criticise him, then I would worry about Dimash’s skills. But those critics were actually not highly skilled professionals, so I didn't pay too much attention to their remarks. I know Dimash potential very well, and I believe in him.

Dimash Kudaibergen at Singer 2017

Q: Dimash has been in many competitions. Was there ever a time when you worry about him to a point of tears?
S: yes, when he was participating in ‘Singer.’ The competitions he entered in the past were usually around three days. Each participant needed to prepare 3 to 4 songs, to perform during the competitions. And then it was over quickly.

But the ‘Singer’ show was really challenging, really gruelling. The competition lasted for months and participants were asked to prepare 14 songs. It was challenging not only in terms of singing skills, but also physical stamina. To the end of the show I grew increasingly worried, and there were times when I couldn't sleep at night.

Q: Are you proud of your son?
S: Of course I am. When he entered the ‘Young Wings’ competition, he was there as our son representing our family. When he came back, he became the son of Aktobe. Afterwards in Makin Asia and Slavic Bazaar, he competed as the son of Kazakhstan. He returned as the pride of our country. Of course, we are really happy about this. I believe every parent has the same hope, we all want our children to achieve more than we did.