Zemen (Bulgarian: Земен) is a town in Pernik Province, western Bulgaria. Located near the Pchelina Reservoir on the banks of the Struma River, it is the administrative centre of a municipality.

The old name of Zemen was Belovo; it was renamed to Zemen in 1925. The new name was initially only given to the railway station nearby, but it was soon carried over to the village itself. The present name commemorates the medieval castle of Zemlangrad, which was located in the Struma gorge in the vicinity of Zemen. The fortress was first mentioned in the 11th-century Tale of Isaiah as ЗЄМЛЬНЬ ГРАД and as ЗЄМЛЪНЬ in a 15th-16th century Serbian chronicle. The toponym is derived from the Bulgarian word for "land" (земя, zemya) and refers, according to the locals, to the only arable land in the rocky surrounding area.

Proclaimed a town in 1974, Zemen is famous for the medieval Zemen Monastery located on its outskirts. The population of the town is mostly Bulgarian Orthodox.

Zemen Knoll on Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica is named after Zemen.

Tilahun Gessesse (Amharic: ጥላሁን ገሠሠ) (also spelled Telahun Gesesse or Tlahoun Gèssèssè) (September 29, 1940-April 19, 2009) was an Ethiopian singer regarded as one of the most popular of his country's "Golden Age" in the 1960s. During the 1960s he became famous throughout the country, nicknamed "The Voice". He raised money for aid during the famines of the 1970s and 1980s and earned the affection of the nation, being awarded a doctorate degree by the University of Addis Ababa and also winning a lifetime achievement award from the Ethiopian Fine Art and Mass Media Prize Trust.

In his later years he suffered from diabetes. He died on 19 April 2009 in Addis Adaba shortly after returning from America. Tilahun was honoured with a state funeral attended by tens of thousands of his fellow citizens.

Tilahun was born to Mrs. Gete Gurmu and Mr. Ayyaano Guddata (Woliso Awrajja), on 29 September 1940. His given name was thus Dandana Ayano Gudata. When his mother remarried Gessesse Negussie, Tilahun was baptized and took his stepfather's name as his second name. As time went by, his interest in music became increasingly clear, although his grandfather urged him to concentrate on his academic studies. The Ras Gobena School Principal Mr. Shedad (who was from Sudan), encouraged Tilahun's interest in music and urged him to go to Sudan to pursue his music career. Although Tilahun did not go to Sudan, he took Mr. Shedad's advice very seriously. When Weyzero Negatwa Kelkai, Ato Eyoel Yohanes and other artists from the Hager Fikir Theatre came to his school to perform, Tilahun took the opportunity to discuss his interest in music with Ato Eyoel. He was told to go to Addis Ababa if he wanted to pursue a career in the field.^{[citation needed]}

Tamrat Desta (born 1978) is an Ethiopian singer and vocalist. He was born in a small town in Awassa called Tiqur Wuha, the second of three children, all boys. After few years, his family moved to Shashemene, and he again moved to Awasa where he finished high school. All three towns are approximately 250 kilometers south of the capital Addis Ababa.

In 1998, he moved to Dire Dawa, located 515 kilometers east of Addis Ababa, to live with his guardian and work at Cherqa Cherq Yekenet Buden where he received basic training as a vocalist and playing with a band.

In 1999, he moved to Addis Ababa to pursue his music career. In 2004, he released his first album Anleyaym, for which he received wide acclaim. Most of the lyrics on this CD were written by Habtamu Bogale, and the melodies of six tracks were by Tamrat.