Avraam Russo is a Syrian-born Russian pop singer of Armenian origin. In 2006 he suffered an assassination attempt in Russia and was severely injured. He recovered and is living in New York City.
Russo is an international artist who has recorded songs in a number of languages. He shot to fame with "Daleko Daleko" a Russian cover of a big Arabic language hit, "Tamally Maak" by Amr Diab.
Background
Avraam lost his father at an early age and his mother had to serve other households for the survival of the family. His singing talent was discovered while he was performing Armenian liturgical songs during his monastic studies in Aleppo.
Education
He studied in an Armenian Orthodox seminary in Lebanon for a couple of years. After leaving the studies, he was quickly involved in several amateur bands, making part-time appearances in Arab venues and outdoor restaurants (such as "Ramaya", "Aleppo Family Swimming Pool", "Somar", Orouba Club, etc.) and in hotels like "Al Amir" in Aleppo. During these years he was affectionately known as Apig or Apo, derivatives of his birthname Apraham.
Career
In 1993 he went to Cyprus and worked in night clubs for two years earning meagre salaries. But his presence in Cyprus proved important for his future career, as he got the attention of a Russian Azerbaijan-Jewish tycoon Telman Ismailov who, during one of his business trips to Cyprus, attended Avraam's performance and liked his work very much. Being owner of big retail businesses and entertainment outlets including "Prague Restaurant" and a well connected entrepreneur, he invited Avraam to take part in multilingual performances in Russia taking the Russian name Avraam Russo.
Avraam's first trip to Moscow in 1995 landed him fame in a relatively short time. With the help of a girlfriend, he quickly learned the Russian language and prepared a repertoire in many languages, exactly the way he used to do in Syria and Cyprus with Middle Eastern and European influences. His command of European languages was also impressive.
After his miraculous recovery and ability to walk again after his serious injuries and after a hiatus of 4 years in New York, Avraam Russo released his fifth studio album entitled Resurrection in early 2010 conveying his faith in Christianity which he credits for his survival. Resurrection is also his first-ever all-English Christian spiritual record recorded in Nashville, Tennessee. He infuses great spiritual depth and passion into the work produced by Dove Award winner Joe Beck and by Jim Frazier, In December 2009 he released the first single "Peace" taken from the album. The song is about child soldiers and released in aid of the Invisible Children charity.
In 2009 he officially opened his own restaurant "Heaven" in New York. In January 2010, Avraam Russo returned to Russia and gave a series of concerts in various Russian cities. He is currently preparing to release a new album in Russian language. Abraham also recorded a duet in Amsterdam named "Лунная соната" ("Moonlight Sonata") with Kazakh singer Diana Shik.