CAPTIVATING, breathtaking and hauntingly beautiful. These words best describe Kazakhstan's pride and joy, Dimash Qudaibergen, during his Stranger Tour maiden concert in Kuala Lumpur recently.
Qudaibergen is a popular Kazakh name that means "given by God" and the 29-year-old artiste's vocal capability — six octaves and two semitones, and the ability to sing in the lowest and highest notes using falsetto — was truly a gift from the Almighty.
The concert kicked off at 8.45pm at Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil with Qudaibergen performing two of his popular songs, Golden and Zhalyn (Kazakh for Flames) wearing the red and gold costume of Altyn Adam.
Altyn Adam, or the Golden Man, is a national symbol of Kazakhstan. He was a warrior in the fifth century who was found buried in red embroidered armour made out of 4,000 pieces of gold plates with animal motifs.
About 6,000 fans, mostly made up of Qudaibergen's fan club called Dears from more than 20 countries, sang along with him when he performed Unforgettable Day and Give Me Your Love.
After most of his performances, Qudaibergen blew kisses to the audience and responded, "I love you, too," which elicited even louder cheers from the crowd.
He greeted his fans with Assalamualaikum and went on to greet them in Bahasa Malaysia.
The artiste, whose full name is Dinmukhamed Qudaibergen, is multilingual, as most Kazakhs are.
He speaks Kazakh, Russian and English, and performs songs in other languages too.
Born on May 24, 1994 to a family of creative artistes in Aktobe, the western part of Kazakhstan, Qudaibergen started singing at the age of 5.
He has more than two decades of professional musical education and training.
During the thrilling concert which lasted three hours, the dashing singer performed 24 songs in English, Kazakh and Russian.
There were also a few short clips that showcased Kazakh culture and musical instruments, namely the kobyz and dombra.
Several performers played the two musical instruments, and Qudaibergen played the dombra when performing the famous Kazakh melodies Adai and Daididau.
He also invited his younger brother, Abilmansur, to perform on stage and greet the fans.
The audience was mesmerised by Qudaibergen's vocal abilities, especially when he belted out Ave Maria, S.O.S, Requiem and Lebedi (Love of Tired Swans).
Malaysia's own icon, Datuk Seri Siti Nurhaliza, made a special guest appearance during the show and performed Bukan Cinta Biasa and Nirmala.
Qudaibergen later shared the sad news about the death of his grandfather, Kudaibergen Aitbayev.
Speaking in Kazakh, the singer explained that he had initially wanted to cancel the Stranger Tour concert in Malaysia.
However, he remembered that his grandfather was a man who kept his word, and since he had promised to perform in Kuala Lumpur, so he kept his promise.
Qudaibergen was supposed to perform in November last year, but the concert was rescheduled to June this year, due to the 15th General Election.
Before ending the concert, he jumped off stage to interact with his fans while performing Screaming.
He then introduced his team to the audience and ended the show with Let It Be.
The Stranger Tour was organised by ACO Media and Kwan's International, co-organised by Metalive World and AMM, and sponsored by Harman Kardon and VSing.