Sherali Joʻrayev

Sherali Joʻrayev (Uzbek: Sherali Joʻrayev / Шерали Жўраев, Russian: Шерали Джураев; c. 12 April 1947 – 4 September 2023) was an Uzbek singer, songwriter, poet, author, and actor. He was an influential figure in Uzbek cultural life for nearly five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1980s and 1990s.

His most famous songs include "Birinchi muhabbatim", "Inson qasidasi", "Karvon", "Oshiqlar sardori", and "Oʻzbegim", which are regularly played at public events and weddings in Uzbekistan and neighboring Central Asian countries. Joʻrayev's lyrics incorporated a variety of political, social, philosophical, and literary influences. Some of his lyrics have become part of everyday Uzbek vocabulary. While Joʻrayev usually wrote both the music and lyrics to his songs, he also used lines from the poems of Ali-Shir Nava'i, Babur, Jami, Rumi, Abdulla Oripov, and Erkin Vohidov in his songs.

Joʻrayev wrote the screenplay and played the leading role in the 1989 film Sherali va Oybarchin. He also penned two books, Bola dunyoni tebratar (1988) and Bir qoʻshiq kuylayki... (2023). He was a member of the Supreme Assembly of Uzbekistan from 1990 to 1995.

Joʻrayev was awarded dozens of awards and nominations, including the title People's Artist of the Uzbek SSR (1987). In 1991, he received the Alisher Navoiy State Prize. He was also awarded the orders of Fidokorona xizmatlari uchun (2018) and El-Yurt Hurmati (2022). In 2018, he became a People's Artist of neighboring Tajikistan, an extremely rare feat for a performer who is not a citizen of Tajikistan.

Starting from 2002, Uzbek government authorities banned Joʻrayev's appearance on Uzbek television and radio. He fell out of favor with the government for his critical remarks about the difficult economic situation in the country. Following the death of President Islam Karimov in 2017, the unofficial ban on Joʻrayev was lifted and in subsequent years he was regularly featured on state television.