One of Russia's most beloved pop stars, Alla Pugacheva was first heard at age 16 with her song "Robot," produced for a state radio program, and soon her clear mezzo-soprano was all over the country. In 1975 she won the Bulgarian Golden Orpheus Award, which brought her moderate success. Her victory at Poland's 1978 Sopot International Song Festival with the song "Kings Can Do Everything," however, was the turning point in her career, giving her worldwide fame and recognition. From then on, although for many she grew to represent the government-endorsed pop culture that was forced upon the people, her popularity skyrocketed, and Pugacheva released many albums throughout the years. Her contributions to Russian music were recognized when she was bestowed the title of People's Artist of the U.S.S.R., the most prestigious award that could be received by Soviet artists, in 1991, shortly before the country collapsed. After that, Pugacheva continued to perform around the world and put out more albums, including 1998's Da!, 2001's Rechnoy Tramraychik, and 2004's Jivi Spokoino Strana.

Marisa Brown, Rovi