Even since Irakli Pirtskhalava was a child, he wanted to become a professional football player but
things did not work out as he planned. Instead, he became a gifted singer. Pirtskhalava was born on
September 13, 1977 and was raised by a loving mother. She was supportive of both his dreams and diverse talents.
She enrolled him in a sporting academy. Pirtskhalava was 5 years old when he first entered a musical school,
Violin Department, where he continued to study for 8 years. At the age of 13, he decided to dedicate his life to
football. For two years he had played in “Locomotive” team but he was disappointed for always being on the
bench and not getting to play with the best players.
However, the years spent at the musical school were not in vain. At the age of 16, Pirtskhalava
recorded his first song in a professional recording studio. All the while, he was just an average kid and
a distinguished pupil at school. He wore baggy trousers and he explained his non-conventional dress code
as being “most fond” of Hip-hop.
Pirtskhalava has been a member of several bands and several CDs have been produced and distributed,
together with the White Hot Ice Band. Pirtskhalava not only is fond of Hip-hop but he is considered as a
leading specialist as he has given it a special flavor. His Hip-hop music is performed with a positive and
amusing style.
Pirtskhalava recalls that White Hot Ice band was popular but it stayed in the underground, not much
in the public sight. Pirtskhalava decided to quit the band as it was a difficult period when one of the band
members had died of HIV/AIDS that is thought to have been connected to his drug addiction.
Following this crisis period, Pirtskhalava became very interested in a new style, “R’n’B” that
envisaged dancing and singing simultaneously. He and his friends would visit various clubs and soon afterwards
a well-known Russian musical producer Matvey Anachkin invited Pirtskhalava to a new group entitled Tête-à-tête.
The group existed for 4 years and it even managed to release one album of its very own.
At Pirtskhalava’s personal initiative, in the last 4 years, open championships for street dancing
were held in the Russian Federation’s capital of Moscow. Contenders throughout the world gathered to take
part in these championships. Pirtskhalava’s career is diverse and he has also worked for one of the radio
stations and hosted his own radio program. All the while he served as Art-Director of one of Moscow top clubs.
On day, he heard the advertisement on Russian TV which said that a second tour of competition was to be
announced for “Factory of Starts” musical contest. Max Fadeev, a famous Russian producer was producing the
contest. Pirtskhalava was very much attracted by the advertisement and thought it was another good opportunity
to start back to a singing career.
After completion of “Factory of Stars” contest, Pirtskhalava’s first audio hit “Vova-Chuma” began to
circulate in various radio charts. The song was followed by “London-Paris” and the first CD under the same
title. In 2005, Pirtskhalava astonished his listeners when he performed his new song “Drops of Absent”.
The song was recognized as the hit of the year. Afterwards two other songs entitled “I Am with You” and “So
What” were released, and both songs topped the charts for several months.
In 2007, Pirtskhalava shot a video clip in Tbilisi on the song “Beautiful Georgia.”
