With a refreshing combo of powerful pipes and demure looks, 14-year-old Daneliya Tuleshova has won fans around the world and, in the process, put her country in the spotlight.
Born in Astana, Kazakhstan’s capital now renamed Nur-Sultan, Tuleshova broke into the singing circuit at just age eight and made the finals of New Wave, a singing competition to discover young talents from all across Europe and former Soviet Union countries, in 2015. She went on to ace other singing contests, clinching the grand prize of Hopes Of Europe in 2017 and winning the fourth season of The Voice Kids Ukraine – the first non-Ukrainian to do so.
Her big break came in 2018, when she placed sixth in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest and began building an international fan base. Though her soulful rendition of Andra Day’s Rise Up in the 2019 American TV reality show, The World’s Best, failed to land her a podium finish, it moved judge Drew Barrymore to tears.
The singing sensation hit a new high in the latest season of America’s Got Talent. During her audition aired in June 2020, her “very cool” interpretation of Faouzia’s “Tears of Gold” earned her a standing ovation from all four judges including Simon Cowell, who described her performance as “incredible”. And she truly is – Tuleshova has progressed to the semifinals, and we are definitely rooting for her to go all the way to the top!
But no matter what happens, it is clear she is on her way to bigger things. Her fanbase has been growing steadily by the day. Dubbed the “Vocal Wonder”, Tuleshova counts over 484,000 Instagram followers and 606,000 subscribers to her YouTube channel.
Though her talents have brought her places, home is still where her heart is, though. The young songstress was named a tourism ambassador of Kazakhstan last year for her efforts to promote her home country. “Wherever I go, I always say that I am from Kazakhstan and I’m glad that people show interest in my native country,” she told the press.
What can we say, we love that spirit!