Rising Kazakh Singer Daneliya Reintroduces Herself in Canada

Daneliya is introducing herself to Canada. The young Kazakh singer has been making her name on international stages, and now she’s launching her next chapter in Toronto.

Daneliya, also known as Daneliya Tuleshova, has teamed up with Canadian production company nsty, a Montreal/Toronto/Winnipeg-based multi-media company founded by Manitoba natives Taylor Ritchie and Dillan Lavallee. Nsty produced the music video for Tuleshova’s upcoming new single “Cynical,” which is dropping today (Dec. 15).

"This song demonstrates my perception of the way girls should act in modern society, the girls who don’t care about random people's opinions and simply just enjoy themselves,” says Daneliya. “I want my girlies to feel fun and free while listening to it.”

It’s a new attitude for Daneliya, showing a capacity for a darker, grungier sound. Known for their dreamy, colourfully intimate productions, nsty is hoping to shine her in a new light. nsty has worked with rising Canadian artists like 88Glam, Floor Cry, YSN Fab, Ramriddlz and Chxrry22, and is branching out with Daneliya – also an artist trying new things.

“It’s something different for us, it’s something different for her, it’s a bit left-field compared to her old stuff. We’re super excited to be the ones to bring that to light,” says Ritchie. “She wanted to do a really cool kind of cyberpunk aesthetic, which is right up our alley, so we said yes right away.”

Only 17 years old, Daneliya has amassed over 1.5 million YouTube subscribers and nearly 600 thousand Instagram followers, building a loyal fanbase that extends from her native Kazakhstan and across Europe. She recently moved to Boston to build her music career. But she’s already familiar to big crowds in her home country and to North American viewers of TV singing shows.

Then only 13, she represented Kazakhstan in the 2018 Junior Eurovision contest, appeared on The Voice Kids Ukraine and was a finalist on America’s Got Talent in 2020. She also appeared on the short-lived show The World’s Best, earning praise from Drew Barrymore.

Billboard Canada caught up with Daneliya while she was recording in Toronto and asked her to tell us 5 things you might not know about her, including one about a surprising number of hamsters.

Watch that video here:

Video Editor: Yasseen Ashri

Behind-the-Scenes & Video: Ali El Moudia

Produced by: Daniel Victor Louis