Elissa (singer)
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| Elissa | |
|---|---|
 Promo for Bastannak |
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| Country | Lebanon/Middle east |
| Years active | 1998–present |
| Genres | Arabic music |
Alissar Khoury, known as Elissa (Arabic: إليسا) is a Lebanese star singer. She was born on October 27, 1972 in Deir el Ahmar in the Beqaa Valley of Lebanon. She launched her career in 1998 with a breakthrough hit "Baddi Doub". Elissa has won two World Music Awards for best selling artist in the Middle East in 2005 and 2006. Total sales of her albums are close to 18 million making her one of the most popular Lebanese singers ever.[citation needed] Elissa is also one of the wealthiest Lebanese singers and her wealth is estimated to be nearly $31 million.[citation needed]
Elissa is also known for accusing the singer, Amal Hijazi for imitating her style especially in the video of Hijazo's song, Bedawwar A Albi (Searching for my heart). Hijazi however denied the accusations stressing that each of the singers has her own unique style. Hijazi added that her song was filmed long before Elissa's “Hubbak Waja” and has been airing on different satellite channels for some time now. In 2004, however, Hijazi put everything aside and made a personal visit Elissa to give her condolences after the latter lost her father to cancer. Elissa welcomed Amal with open arms and expressed her gratitude towards Amal’s attempt to stand by her side at such a troublesome time.
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[edit] Discography
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- Sales : 1,400,000 copies[citation needed]
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- Sales : 1,600,000 copies[citation needed]
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- Sales : 3,650,000 copies[citation needed]
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- Sales : 5,300,000 copies[citation needed]
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- Sales : 6,200,000 copies[citation needed]
[edit] Biography
Elissa started off her singing career in the early 90s on a talent show, "Studio el Fan," in which she won the silver medal on LBC. After a long absence, she came back with a Spanish-Arabic single, titled “Badi Doub” in 1998. Her first album Baddi Doub was one of the largest selling albums in Lebanon and the Middle East, selling over 150,000 copies. "Baddi Doub" (featured a flamenco artist named Gerard Ferrer).
The album's success resulted in her participation in the renowned International Music Festival in Cannes in 2000.
Her second project in 2000 was a duet with Ragheb Alameh "Betghib Betrouh." The song was included in Elissa's second album W'akherta Ma'ak, which went on to sell more than 1,600,000 copies.[citation needed]
In 2001, she took part in Jordan's 'Fiesta Latina'. She also held a performance at the pyramids of Egypt as the opening act for British superstar Sting. In addition to this, she was the only Arabic artist to perform in front of the former U.S President Bill Clinton at the Stars Charity show in Dubai. Also present at this event were Queen Rania of Jordan and the Crown Prince of Dubai, Cheikh Mohamed Bin Rachid al Maktoum.
Later on, Elissa was featured with the international artist Chris DeBurgh in an Arabic-English song titled “Lebanese Nights”, which was written, composed and distributed by DeBurgh. He wrote this song while on his last visit to the country. He decided to sing it with a Lebanese singer, and chose Elissa. The song was recorded in London and released in DeBurgh's 2002 Album, Timing Is Everything.
Her third album Ayshalak was released in June 2002 supported by a video clip filmed in Paris by French director Fabrice Begotti, wardrobe and make up by Christian Dior. Elissa was the first Arab figure to represent Christian Dior. The video and song were huge successes, and with the aid of the composer/arranger Jean-Marie Riachi, Elissa was able to follow with another hit "Agmal Ehsas" was Elissa's second single from Ayshalak. The video clip was directed by the Lebanese director, Selim El Turk.Together Elissa and Selim won the Murex D'Or for the best female artist and the best video clip.
The end of 2002 carried the bang when she inaugurated the opening of Kuwait's Virgin Megastore with Sir Richard Branson, the founder of the famous stores. Also a great success for Elissa was being included in the anthology book '100 Pioneers of Lebanon' alongside artists such as Fairouz, Wadih el Safi, as well as many other celebrities.
In September 2003, Elissa performed at the Hope Charity gala, which took place in the Royal Albert hall, one of London's most prestigious venues. Elissa was the sole representative of the Middle East among other international stars such as Sarah Brightman, Zucchero and Joaquin Cortes.
In 2003 was her first deal with Pepsi, it was a dear contract to Elissa's heart as it made her the official female star for Pepsi for the Arab World. Followed in 2004 by a contract with Ray Ban to run their campaign.
Elissa’s fourth album, Ahla Donya was released in 2004. This was one of the fastest selling albums ever in the Arab world. This album was the first under Elissa's contract with Rotana, the music production company. The album included a variety of songs, such as Koll Youm Fi Omry, Erga' Lel Shoa', Hobbak Waja' (Inta Lameen) and Ahla Donya. The album received a 2005 World Music Award for best selling album in the Middle East and North Africa. In 2005, a Special Collector's Edition of the record was made available (1000 copies) with state-of-the-art packaging including a mini-biography.[citation needed]
Elissa was rewarded an exceptional Honorable Murex D'Or for being the first Lebanese to receive the World Music Award 2005. In the same event Elissa was also admired for her second success with Lebanese director Selim el Turk and received the best video clip award for the song Hobbak Waja' (directed by Selim el Turk). She was also held the Best Female artist of the year.[citation needed]
Further commercial campaigns included the contract with Lux, and a renewal for her contract with Pepsi.
Elissa is an official spokesperson for Pepsi. In 2006 she co-starred with Christina Aguilera in a Pepsi Cola advertisement. In early 2006, Elissa released her fifth studio effort, the album Bastanak, which has sold nearly 6.2 million copies, according to Rotana. In 2006 Elissa again won the World Music Award for best selling Middle Eastern artist from the album sales of "Bastanak".
Elissa's Fanbase increase dramatically with every event she attend/holds and with every new album. Her concerts are always fully booked with sometimes a huge number of viewers that exceeds the capacity of the stage she's performing at. Her official fanclub page hosts more than 12,000 fans since it relaunched in March 2006.
Bastanak, Elissa's latest album which created a lot of debate among all media representatives for its high production cost and international standards, brought Elissa a lot of success on a local, regional and international scope of sales leading her to Earls Court - London to claim her second consecutive World Music Award.
Elissa performed Bastanak the smash hit from her latest album dazzling the audience with a lovely performance, dedicating the award to her beloved country Lebanon - her Father's soul - and all her fans.
Her album Bastanak received a 2006 World Music Award for best selling album in the Middle East.
[edit] Trivia
- Elissa's latest song is "Halili", a duet with Cheb Mami.
- Elissa made a new song recently dedicated to Waild ben Talal's Daughter for her wedding.[citation needed]
- Hussain Al-Jasmi, a singer from the UAE, announced few weeks before the 2006 World Music Awards that he had been offered the award prior to Elissa claiming to be the highest selling artist in Rotana, and that he rejected the offer as officials from the WMA asked for a prize. This anouncment caused a big buzz around the arab music industry accusing Elissa to buy awards in order to sell her image. Elissa has not responded to the announcment ever since!
