Manizha represented Russia at the 2021 Eurovision Song Contest. However, she started her career as a child. In 2016, she became a solo artist. She already had two studio albums and an EP before representing Russia in Eurovision. Her 2019 song ‘MAMA’ is part of her second album named ЯIAM.

Manizha wrote the lyrics for мама. The lyrics to the song are in Russian. In her song, Manizha talks about her mother in an enigmatic way. The song mentions being afraid about what is beyond, loneliness and falsehood. The author urges her mother in a cryptic tone not to wake her up.

MAMA is a song from Manizha’s second studio album ЯIAM.

In Manizha’s song from 2018, the artist is sending an empowering message in the metaphors of her song. For instance, she mentions that her mother did not embrace her so that she would stay silent. At the same time, in her song Manizha puts herself in a position of fragility, recognising that it can be scary to speak up. The song most likely refers to the pressing social issues taking place in her country.

MAMA – opinions from fans

In order to find out what Eurovision fans think of this song from Manizha, we asked our Eurovision Fan Panel. It includes team members as well as fans from all over the world.

🇩🇰 🇳🇱 Wouter V. – Wow! That’s a powerful song, with powerful symbolism. And an important message: if bad things happen, don’t stay silent, you don’t have to face your demons alone. But even if you don’t get any of that, it’s also an amazing song to listen to. Manizha’s voice is fantastic, and the video is a work of art!

🇦🇺 Australia Craig M. – Manizha blew my mind in Eurovision 2021, representing Russia. I just love everything she stands for, and I was in awe of Russian Woman when I first heard it. The lyrics, the rap, the craziness, the authenticity, the music – all of it. I wanted to know more, so I checked some of her other songs. This song, Mama is not the kind of music I get into, but I enjoy the mellowness of it, and the message. Manizha sings a song I Am Who I Am which I LOVE!!! While Mama is not my favourite Manizha song, her jazzy, bluesy voice is so good, she could sing me the phonebook, and I would like it.

🇩🇰 Charlotte J. – This is completely different from her Eurovision entry. In my case, that’s unfortunately not good. There’s nothing here to grab my attention – aside from the music video. That grabbed my attention, but then again, not in a good way as I am not into monster films. I wish someone had given me warning beforehand as I am afraid I will have nightmares about this.

🇬🇧 Michael O.- I really like the messages in Manizha songs but if we’re to pay attention, the tune needs to be better. This just cuts the mustard because she’s a fascinating woman, but this is a bit of a plodder.

🇩🇰 Denmark Liza P. – Now that was a really boring song and a weird video. The video actually looked like a Russian version of the Sleepy Hollow universe. And that was the only reason why I “heard” the whole song. I did think of ending it after one minute, because I almost fell asleep to the beginning of the song. And frankly I can’t remember the song, and I didn’t pay much attention to the song as I did to the video.

I don’t need to see or hear anything from Manizha ever again. I may be too old for her music – and so be it.

🇨🇴 🇫🇮 Álvaro S.- The contrast between this song and Russian Woman is immense. The lyrics of this song are so deep and also the music video is superb, telling a horror story. The images and metaphors used are impressive I could not keep my eyes off of it. I think that the music video and lyrics, though they can be shocking, are a very powerful way to tell a story. This monster for me is a reflex of domestic violence/abusive relationships.

🇹🇷 Gunec G. – Judging from the video, this is another track with a social message from Manizha. This one is stronger, a more dramatic one. Violence against women is a bleeding wound in many countries, including mine. I respect Manizha and all the artists who support women empowerment with their art.

🇨🇿 Josef S. – This song is quite dark themed even though Manizha sings about a mother. Combination of modern beat and electro sound with her voice is quite a unique combination. I hope that neither of them will be mad if I mention that from the beginning, Manizha really reminds me of Jamala, by her voice as well as by her look. It could have been fascinating to hear them make a song together.

🇲🇹 Malta Christopher D. – What a different Manizha. I prefer her Eurovision song since Mama is too dark and sombre. Russian Woman makes me happy each time I hear it. Mama was too dramatic for me, and the video clip is too distracting, and you end up waiting to see what will happen to the mother and daughter and the wolf, and forget that you’re actually supposed to be listening to the song. Russian Woman douze points for me.

🇳🇱Vica K. – The video clip is very interesting. But this song is a bit too dramatic for me. I prefer RUSSIAN WOMAN.

Enjoy Manizha’s MAMA in the embedded video. Below the video, you can read more about her.

Manizha – a mini biography

Born in Tajikistan in 1991, Manizha is a Russian-Tajik singer and songwriter. Manizha is also an active human rights advocate in her social media, supporting pressing issues such as LGBTQ rights, women’s rights and minority rights. Manizha fled Tajikistan with her family due to the ongoing civil war in the country and arrived to Moscow as a refugee. She studied piano in a music school.

Manizha competed in different children competitions when she was 12. She was a member of the music groups Ru.Kola and Assai. In 2016, she started a solo career as an independent artist. Manizha has shown her admiration for her great-grandmother, the first woman in Tajikistan to remove her headscarf. She uses her grandmother’s last name since she supported her financially to pursue a music career.

Manizha was named a UN ambassador for refugee rights. In 2021, she won the first Russian national selection for Eurovision in 9 years with her song Russian Woman. She represented her country in Rotterdam ending in the top 10 in the Grand Final.