Zemfira at the Showbox SoDo, Seattle, Nov. 18 2016. Pavel Boiko photo.

Photos - Zemfira at the Showbox SoDo, Seattle, Nov 18 2016

– photos by Pavel Boiko

Zemfira at the Showbox in Seattle Friday night. The show came near the end of the Russian singer’s seven-city fall 2016 North American tour. On the tour, she became the first Russian artist to play the Theatre at Madison Square Garden.

“Zemfira” is the performing and recording name of Zemfira Talgatovna Ramazanova. Born (in 1976) and raised in Ufa, Bashkortostan, Ramazanova has been performing since 1999. She released her self-titled debut in 1999. She and her band (also named Zemfira) hit the big-time with their second album, 2000’s Forgive Me My Love. That record featured the hit (in Russia) singles “Searching” and “Ripe”.

According to the Zemfira Wikipedia page, the group has sold over three million records in Russia and other former Soviet republics.

And, according to that page’s discography, the band has released six studio albums. The most recent listed is To Live In Your Head, from 2013. Two live records and an album of B-sides (titled “Z-Sides”) are also included in the discography.

Other notable accomplishments include appearing (in 2004) with Queen at the MTV Russia Music Awards for a performance of “We Are the Champions”. In 2008, she appeared with Patti Smith at The Creation of Peace festival in Kazan. And, in 2012, she reunited with Queen when she joined the band on stage during their Moscow show at the personal invitation of Roger Taylor and Brian May. In 2013, she won the Best Russian Act award at the MTV Europe Music Awards.

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