In 1999 she moved to Baku to defend a Master's dissertation, but problems of adaptation and financial difficulties forced her to abandon her plan and find an office job to make a living.
[1] Despite being musically gifted and citing singing as a childhood hobby, Ilhama Gasimova had not chosen to pursue a career in show business partly due to her parents opposing this choice.
[1][2] Ilhama Gasimova had no professional musical training when her coworkers persuaded her to sign up for the Baku Autumn song contest in 2000, where she won the first prize.
[6] In November 2011, Ilhama Gasimova released her first single Bei Mir Bist Du Sheen featuring DJ OGB, a modern version of the popular 1932 Yiddish song.
[10] In January–February 2012, Ilhama Gasimova went on her first big tour and gave concerts in cities around Germany and Austria, including Vienna, Berlin, Karlsruhe, Fulda, Lübeck and Ludwigshafen.