Farid Mammadov

Farid Mammadov is an Azerbaijani singer. He represented Azerbaijan in the [Eurovision Song Contest 2013|Azerbaijan] in the Eurovision [Song Contest 2013] in Malmö with the song "Hold Me" and came second after Denmark.

Biography

Mammadov was born in Baku, to Asif Mammadov, a professional judoka and amateur rock musician, and Maya Mammadova, a silver-winning Soviet gymnast. Farid Mammadov studied at the Azerbaijan State University of Culture and Arts.
Since childhood, Mammadov sang in the Bulbul ensemble managed by Aybaniz Hashimova. For a long time, he was a soloist in this ensemble. He has been interested in soul and jazz since age 8 and cites Stevie Wonder as a major influence.
Mammadov is the author of Gal yanima, one of the songs which he performed during the Azerbaijani Eurovision selection tour.
Besides music, he also practices Greco-Roman wrestling and capoeira.
In 2013, he participated in the opening ceremony of the "Gold Grand Prix" international wrestling tournament
In 2015, he participated in the closing of the 1st European Games where he sang the national anthem of Azerbaijan with Sabina Babayeva

In March 2013 Farid won the Azerbaijani national final for the 58th annual Eurovision Song Contest 2013 which was held in Malmö, Sweden in May 2013. Mammadov was the first male solo singer to represent Azerbaijan in the contest. His performance was staged by Fokas Evangelinos, a Greek choreographer who directed the Eurovision performances of Sakis Rouvas and Ani Lorak. Azerbaijan placed 2nd in the 2013 competition, receiving ten 12-point scores and 234 points.
For the first time in the history of Azerbaijan's participation in the Eurovision Song Contest, he was awarded the Marcel Bezençon Artistic Award.

In April 2016, Farid Mammadov married a woman named Nigar in a private ceremony. The couple moved to Los Angeles, California, where their son was born in January 2019.