Last week, Manizha won Russia’s impromptu 2021 national final with “Русская женщина” (Russian Woman). Like the selection itself, the song was a surprise and had not been released or publicised prior to the first live performance. In an interview since her win, she revealed that the song will be undergoing a revamp for Rotterdam. The revamp is now available on streaming services.
Last week, Manizha revealed that her entry will undergo a revamp before her Eurovision performance. This revamp will include the addition of more English lyrics.
There are also English lines (Every Russian woman needs to know), but we will refine it a little bit, I will add a few sentences in English, so they are clear to everyone.
Manizha on the revamp
Via her Instagram, she confirmed that the revamp will be released today. This week, several news outlets including The Guardian, reported that the track was being investigated for “illegal lyrics”. However, as we reported last night, the outcome was released and “no illegal statements were found in the song”.
As promised you can now stream the studio version of the track:
About Manizha
Manizha was born in 1991 in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. She and her family fled the Tajikistani civil war in 1994 to settle in Moscow. She began her career as a child singer, eventually performing in the Ru.Kola project and as part of music groups Assai and Krip De Shin. Following these stints, she went on to study gospel music in both London and New York City.
She began her solo career in 2016 by releasing a string of singles as an independent artist. In addition, she has released two albums, Manuscript and ЯIAM in 2017 and 2018, respectively. In 2019, she released her EP Womanizha.
As reflected in the lyrics of “Russian Woman”, Manizha identifies as a feminist and is a supporter of LGBTQ+ rights. This, her Muslim background and Tajikistani heritage have attracted online abuse via her social media channels.
In a three-way 100% public voting format, Manizha won with 39.7% of the public vote. You can watch her national final performance below:
What do you think of the revamp? Are you rooting for Manizha in Rotterdam? Let us know! Be sure to stay updated by following @ESCXTRA on Twitter, @escxtra on Instagram and liking our Facebook page for the latest updates! Also, be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel to see our reactions to the news in the upcoming months.