From a young age he was fond of music, was a member of the school choir, played the guitar, performed in an amateur vocal-instrumental ensemble.

In 1975 he, the soloist of Leysya, Pesnya, performed the song Farewell (now better known by Lev Leshchenko), which later became a hit.

The memorable voice of the singer attracted the attention of David Tukhmanov, who invited Ivanov to record the disk By the Wave of My Memory [ru].

[2] In 1983, according to numerous surveys, Igor Ivanov entered the list of the most popular performers of the country.

In 2008, Ivanov was awarded the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation for high achievements.