Zarema

Zarema Halilova, known professionally as Zarema, is a Crimean singer, songwriter, and actress of Crimean Tatar descent. She was born in Uzbekistan while the Crimean Tatars were in deportation, before the community was allowed to return to their Crimean homeland in 1989. Growing up in a musical family, she decided at the age of four that she wanted to be a singer. Following her family's relocation to Crimea, she began formal music studies covering piano, violin, solfeggio, and chorus, while also writing original song lyrics in the Crimean Tatar language.

During her youth in Crimea, Zarema engaged in various creative endeavors. Her early lyrics were published in the Crimean newspaper Dostluk when she was eleven, leading to her sponsored attendance at the Artek Children's Camp. At age thirteen, she produced a music video for her original song "Ayi-Dag," which aired on Crimean television. She regularly performed as the lead singer for a town hall band and participated in regional and national music festivals. Later, she moved to Kyiv to study at the National University of Theatre, Film and Television, earning a bachelor's degree in acting for dramatic theatre and film. While a student, she returned to Artek to perform her music before Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma.

Following her university studies, Zarema co-wrote the Turkish-language songs "Savash" and "Hop Soyle" with Ukrainian producer Mikhail Nekrasov. The songs achieved international airplay and led to a recording contract with Sony BMG Music Entertainment Turkey in 2007. She relocated to Istanbul for a year to release her self-titled debut Turkish album, collaborating with producers such as Ozan Colakoglu, Mustafa Ceceli, and Özgür Buldum. The video for her single "Atak," directed by Alan Badoev, reached number one on multiple Turkish music channels and became the first video in Turkey to pass 400,000 views on YouTube. She subsequently promoted the album through concerts across several countries, including venue performances in Baku and Moscow.

In late 2008, Zarema moved to Los Angeles, California, and became a United States citizen in 2012. She furthered her training by graduating from the Stella Adler Studio of Acting in Hollywood. She became a member of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists in 2009 and joined the Screen Actors Guild in 2010. Being fluent in Crimean Tatar, Russian, Ukrainian, Turkish, and English, she has contributed multi-lingual voice-over work to numerous television shows and films, including Homeland, Criminal Minds, Madam Secretary, The Queen's Gambit, and For All Mankind.

Zarema has also continued writing and releasing English-language music in the United States. In 2018, she released the single "Night of My Life," which was co-written and produced by RedOne, with additional lyrics by John Anthony Russell, and released through Roton Music and Dogan Music. In May 2025, she released the song "I Hold You Child," accompanied by a music video directed by Marc Klasfeld.