On November 10, right after arriving in London, Dimash Qudaibergen was invited to the CNN studio. During the daily international news broadcast, aired in prime-time across Europe as part of the program “We Know with Max Foster,” Dimash spoke about his career and his core mission.

Right, my next guest is a Kazakh singer, huge fan base, not just at home, but right across the world. Dimash rose to fame in China eight years ago due to his unique style, astonishing vocal range spanning six octaves, would you believe? 

Not only that, Dimash has performed in 16 languages. He’s now taking his talents across the world. He’s just played New York’s Madison Square Gardens, this week performing here in London as well. I mean, you’re extremely well-known in Central Asia, in China as well, and the rest of the world is getting to know you a bit better now. And that vocal range is just something that absolutely wows everyone.

Thank you, sir. Thank you.

You’ve got a classical background. Is that basically where it comes from?

Yeah, of course. Of course. First of all, I want to say a lot of thanks for having me. For me, it’s a great honor to be here and get a chance to say a lot of respect from Kazakhstan for all our worldwide audience. Yeah, my international career started nearby 15 years ago when I was a student at the University of Arts in Astana. So first, I got an education like an opera singer and then moved to the University of Arts from Aktobe, from the west part of Kazakhstan. And there, I got an education like a pop jazz singer. And then, for a couple of years, I learned about composition. And now, still.

But you made that, you offered a role, weren’t you, at the symphony orchestra in Astana, but instead, you went into a contemporary route. Why did you make that decision?

Because I think neoclassical music is more suitable for my voice, for my vocal range. But sometimes, I love to do some experiments. Yes. At my concerts, my fans know about that. Sometimes, I’m doing rap. Sometimes, I’m doing rock. Just for fun.

Just tell us about the six octaves. As I understand it, over your career, you’ve extended your range. It was two octaves less, not that long ago. How have you managed to do that?

I don’t know. Maybe it’s something like a gift from God. And I just want to use this opportunity to say a lot of thanks to my vocal coaches. His name is Marat Aitimov. He’s still living in Aktobe. Yes, I’m still, every day doing some vocal exercises, still learning some lessons. Just if you want to be better, if you want to improve yourself, yeah, of course, you need to do hard work every day. Pavarotti once said, after 50 years, big career in front of millions of audience, he understood how to sing.

I know that when I was in Kazakhstan, where I first heard you, you’re such an ambassador for the country. And I understand people, there are now tours around the school you went to and the home you grew up in. But you’ve been very vocal about that as well, haven’t you? Because it’s very important to you to sell Kazakhstan to the world, because it’s a country you’re very proud of.

Yeah, of course, it’s my biggest mission. I become an international singer, not because I want to earn money or not because of those kinds of commercial things. I just want to explain, I just want to share with a worldwide audience about our history, our traditional things, about our culture, and about peace, about love. So, just welcome to Kazakhstan.

Welcome to London. Thank you for coming in, Dimash.