Tamar Kaprelian
Tamar Kaprelian | |
|---|---|
 Kaprelian in 2015 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Tamar Mardirossian |
| Born | October 28, 1986 Scottsdale, Arizona, U.S. |
| Genres | Pop, pop rock |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter, musician, pianist |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, piano |
| Years active | 2008–present |
| Labels | Interscope |
| Website | http://www.tamarkaprelian.com/ |
Tamar Kaprelian (Armenian: Թամար Գաբրելեան, born October 28, 1986) is an Armenian American musician and singer.[1] She is best known for her single "New Day" and for winning the Cover Contest in March 2008 with "Apologize" by OneRepublic. She was selected to be part of Genealogy, a collective Armenian international music band to represent Armenia in 2015 Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna with the song "Face the Shadow".
Family, early life, and education
Kaprelian was born Tamar Mardirossian (Armenian: Թամար Մարտիրոսեան) in Scottsdale, Arizona to Avedis and Silva Mardirossian, Armenian emigrant parents who had emigrated from the United Kingdom. She grew up in the state of Georgia and California.[1] Her stage name was chosen in honor of her deceased grandfather; Kaprelian is her mother's maiden name. Kaprelian is proud of her Armenian heritage; her great-grandparents were from Western Armenia in present day Eastern Turkey. Kaprelian celebrates the festivals of the Armenian Apostolic Church.[2] She said in a 2013 interview that it was an "incredible honor to know that people in Armenia are listening to my music" and wanted nothing more than to "connect with the people in my homecountry (sic)". She graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Columbia University in May 2016 with a degree in English Literature.[3][4]
Career
Kaprelian won the OneRepublic "Apologize" Cover Contest in March 2008, and as a reward, Ryan Tedder helped bring her to the attention of Interscope Records which signed her shortly afterward. Wax Ltd produced her song "New Day," which went on to be her first single, and her first album Sinner or a Saint on Interscope records was released August 24, 2010. During 2010, she performed Dev's part of "Like a G6" with The Far East Movement at selected live performances.
Her first EP, California, was released on June 19, 2012.
Tamar represented Armenia in Vienna at the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 along with Essaï Altounian, Vahe Tilbian, Stephanie Topalian, Mary-Jean O'Doherty Basmadjian, and Inga Arshakyan —all with Armenian backgrounds. She became a citizen of the Republic of Armenia along with the other foreign members of Genealogy on 28 April 2015 after being given Armenian passports by President Serzh Sargsyan.[5]
After the contest, Kaprelian released a collaborative single "The Otherside" credited to Tamar Kaprelian featuring Elhaida Dani, Elina Born, Maria-Elena Kyriakou & Stephanie Topalian.[6][7] Dubbed "Eurovision 2015 Song Contest Unity Version", it included Kaprelian who was part of Armenian entry Genealogy with Dani who represented Albania, Born who represented Estonia, Kyriakou who represented Greece and the Japanese American Armenian Topalian who like Kaprelian was part of Armenia's Genealogy pan-Armenian diaspora band.
On February 14, 2017, the cover version of an old Armenian song titled "Sareri Hovin Mernem" was released with a simple music video on YouTube. The duet, performed alongside Larisa Hovannisian, was produced by DerHova and Ben Moody.
Discography
Studio albums
| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| Sinner or a Saint |
|
EPs
| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| California |
|
| Yours to Keep |
|
Singles
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Adult Top 40 | |||||||||
| "New Day" | 2009 | 37[8] | Sinner or a Saint | ||||||
| "Face the Shadow" (as part of Genealogy) |
2015 | — | non-album single | ||||||
| "The Otherside" (featuring Elhaida Dani, Elina Born, Maria-Elena Kyriakou & Stephanie Topalian) |
— | non-album single | |||||||
| "Sareri Hovin Mernem" (with Larisa Hovannisian |
2017 | — | non-album single | ||||||
| "—" denotes items which were not released in that country or failed to chart. | |||||||||
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | City | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Pan Armenian Entertainment Awards | Best female singer of Armenian Diaspora | LA | Won |
References
- ^ a b "About". Tamar Kaprelian – Official Site. Interscope Records. Retrieved December 7, 2009.
- ^ "I want people to know that I am Armenian – interview with Tamar Kaprelian". style.news.am. Retrieved February 10, 2013.
- ^ https://twitter.com/tamarkaprelian/status/731208183658754048
- ^ https://twitter.com/TamarKaprelian/status/834991031049420800
- ^ Jiandani, Sanjay (April 28, 2015). "Eurovision Armenia: Genealogy meet the president of Armenia". Esctoday. Retrieved May 1, 2015.
- ^ Wiwibloggs: Tamar Kaprelian releases ESC collaboration "The Otherside"
- ^ iTunes: "The Otherside"
- ^ "Killer Tracks Artist Series To Release Sequence of Original EPs". Billboard. Retrieved February 21, 2015.
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External links
| Authority control databases: Artists |
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