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Elyanna

Elian Marjieh (born January 22, 2002),[1] known professionally as Elyanna, is a Palestinian-Chilean singer-songwriter,[2] merging Arabic music with Latin rhythms to create an experimental Arab-pop sound that has captured a global audience. Born in Nazareth, her musical talents were nurtured by her family, with early influences including iconic figures like Julio Iglesias[3] and Sabah Fakhri,[4] Elyanna's career took a significant turn when she was discovered at age 15 by Grammy-winner Nasri Atweh.[5] She has released two EPs: Elyanna (2020) and Elyanna II (2022), and one studio album: Woledto (2024). She is currently signed to Universal Arabic Music. Her singles "Ana Lahale", "Ghareeb Alay", "Ala Bali", and "Mama Eh" have all charted on The Official Lebanese Top 20.[6] Elyanna is the first artist to sing in Arabic on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.[7] She recently sold out The Wiltern in Los Angeles[8] and KOKO in London.[9]

Elyanna
Elyanna in 2022
Background information
Birth nameElian Marjieh
Born (2002-01-22) January 22, 2002 (age 22)
Nazareth
Genres
Occupations
  • Singer
  • songwriter
Years active2019–present
LabelsUniversal Arabic Music
Websiteelyanna.com

Early life

Elian Marjieh[10] was born and raised in Nazareth[11] and is of Palestinian descent. Her paternal grandmother is of Chilean descent.[12] Her mother is a Palestinian poet, and her maternal grandfather is a Palestinian poet and singer who used to perform zajal at Palestinian weddings.[13] Her paternal grandmother is a pianist from Chile, who she frequently visited as a child.

Elyanna began singing at age seven[14] and started posting covers of songs on SoundCloud as a teenager while participating in singing and talent competitions at school.[11] She gained popularity in her community alongside her brother, Feras, who was by her side as a pianist. Feras is now Elyanna's pianist, producer and creative director. Her sister, Tali, handles her styling.

In 2017, at the age of 15, she and her family moved to San Diego, California (eventually settling in Los Angeles) to further pursue her musical career after coming across Wassim "Sal" Slaiby on TV.[12] After arriving in the United States, she began posting covers on her Instagram, where she garnered a following of around 300,000 users,[13] and grabbing the attention of musician and producer Nasri Atweh. Nasri would later introduce Elyanna to Sal, and she would spend weekdays in San Diego while driving up to Los Angeles on weekends to work on music with Nasri and Massari.

Career

Elyanna draws inspiration from jazz and blues alongside many household names for families in the Middle East: Dalida, Fairuz, Sabah Fakhri, Abd El Halim Hafez. In 2018, Elyanna contacted singer and producer, Nasri, who took an interest and connected her to his manager, Wassim Slaiby.[12] She was signed to Slaiby's management company, SALXCO, soon after the two met.[11] She was then mentored by Nasri and fellow singer and producer, Massari.[14] One of her first singles, "Ana Lahale," featured guest vocals from Massari.[15] That track was on her debut self-titled EP released in February 2020 via ElMar Music, an Empire Distribution imprint.[13] In April 2021, Elyanna was announced as one of the first signees of the newly-formed imprint, Universal Arabic Music (UAM), which was founded by Slaiby in collaboration with Republic Records and the Universal Music Group.[16]

 
Elyanna performing with Coldplay at the Glastonbury Festival in 2024

In 2021, she performed alongside Alnajjar at his concert in Amman, Jordan the following month.[17] In January 2022, she collaborated with Tunisian artist, Balti, on the track "Ghareeb Alay." In March 2022, she released her second EP, Elyanna II, via UAM. The collection features the single "Al Kawn Janni Maak" (an Arabic version of "La Vie en rose"). Its music video was directed by Caroline "Chuck" Grant, the sister of Lana Del Rey, who ultimately got involved on the project by styling Elyanna.[15] In 2023, the singer made history as the first artist to perform a set entirely in Arabic at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.[18]

That the same year, her song "Ala Bali" was featured on Netflix comedy-drama series Mo.[19] She also performed at the El Gouna Film Festival and paid tribute to her homeland of Palestine with her single "Olive Branch (غصن زيتون)".[20] In 2024, Elyanna sold out her debut North American tour and ended it with the announcement of her debut studio album, Woledto, released on April 12 alongside a music video for "Ganeni".[21]

Boutayna Chokrane praised the record on her review for Pitchfork, stating that it "plays with Arab pop, R&B, EDM, and jazz to express the nuances of love, loss, and longing".[22] She was positive of the "subtle yet poignant references to identity, displacement, and cultural resilience" as well, as those "underscore [Elyanna's] sorrow and ferocity".[22] Moreover, the singer has been featured on the covers of numerous magazines worldwide, including Billboard Arabia,[23] Vogue Arabia,[24] Rolling Stone,[25] Cosmopolitan ME[26] and GQ.[27] On 29 June 2024, she was invited by British rock band Coldplay to perform the songs "We Pray" and "Arabesque" at the Glastonbury Festival.[28] On July 22, the singer officially announced the Wholedto Tour, with concerts in North America and Europe between October and December 2024.[29]

Elyanna performed alongside Coldplay for Saturday Night Live on 5 October 2024.[30]

Discography

Studio albums

List of studio albums with selected details
Title Details
Woledto

EPs

List of EPs with selected details
Title Details
Elyanna
  • Released: February 7, 2020
  • Label: ElMar Music, Empire
  • Formats: Digital download, streaming
Elyanna II
  • Released: March 4, 2022
  • Label: Universal Arabic Music
  • Formats: Digital download, streaming

Singles

As lead artist

List of singles as a lead artist, with selected chart positions, showing year released and album name
Title Year Peak chart position Album
LBN
[6]
"Ta Ta" 2019 — Non-album single
"Ahwak" — Elyanna
"Enta Eih" — Non-album single
"Oululee Leh"[11] — Elyanna
"Shee" 2020 —
"Ana Lahale"
(featuring Massari) 		1
"Ghareeb Alay"
(featuring Balti) 		2022 2 Elyanna II
"Al Kawn Janni Maak" —
"Youm Wara Youm"
(with Hijazi) 		— Non-album single
"Ala Bali" 6 Elyanna II
"Sokkar" 2023 — Non-album single
"Mama Eh" 1 Woledto
"Good Torture"[32]
(with Sevdaliza) 		2024 — TBA
"Olive Branch (Ghosn Zeytoun)" — Non-album single
"Ganeni"[33] 3 Woledto
"Wala Ghalta"
(with Joseph Attieh) 		14 Non-album single
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
List of singles as a featured artist, with selected chart positions, showing year released and album name
Title Year Peak chart positions Album
LBN
[6] 		US
[34]
"Hada Ghareeb"[35]
(Issam Alnajjar featuring Elyanna) 		2021 1 — Baree?
"We Pray"
(Coldplay featuring Little Simz, Burna Boy, Elyanna and Tini) 		2024 1 87 Moon Music

Tours

  • The Woledto Tour (2024)

References

  1. ^ Marjieh, Elian (January 23, 2023). "elyanna on Instagram: "٢١🎂🎂🎂🎂"". Instagram. Retrieved August 3, 2023.
  2. ^ "Palestinian-Chilean Singer Elyanna: I'm Passionate About My Culture". The Guardian. August 3, 2024. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on August 21, 2024. Retrieved August 21, 2024.
  3. ^ "Elyanna's New Album Was Inspired By Kanye West & Julio Iglesias". Nylon. April 25, 2024. Retrieved June 4, 2024.
  4. ^ "Elyanna's New Single 'Al Sham' is a Tribute to the Levantine Heritage". SecneNow. Retrieved June 4, 2024.
  5. ^ "Can Arabic-language pop conquer America? A Tarzana ingénue and her power manager say 'inshallah'". Los Angeles Times. July 25, 2022. Retrieved June 4, 2024.
  6. ^ a b c Peak chart positions for singles in Lebanon:
  7. ^ Villa, Lucas (May 9, 2024). "WATCH: Elyanna Becomes First Artist to Sing in Arabic on 'The Late Show'". Remezcla. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
  8. ^ "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved June 4, 2024.
  9. ^ "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved June 4, 2024.
  10. ^ Aswad, Jem (August 2, 2022). "Can Universal and Weeknd Manager Wassim 'Sal' Slaiby Take Arabic Music Global?". Variety. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
  11. ^ a b c d Sweidan, Ruqyah (March 17, 2021). "Who Is the Rising Palestinian Star, Elyanna?". Arab America. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
  12. ^ a b c Barshad, Amos (July 25, 2022). "Can Arabic-language pop conquer America? A Tarzana ingénue and her power manager say 'inshallah". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
  13. ^ a b c Mooro, Alya (May 22, 2021). "Palestinian-Chilean Singer Elyanna Is Unapologetically Ready For Stardom". GQ Middle East. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
  14. ^ a b Minthe, Caterina (May 13, 2020). "Elyanna Reveals the A-Team Steering Her to Explode Music Charts". Vogue Middle East. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
  15. ^ a b Kaabi, Amina (June 21, 2022). "Elyanna is the moment". Cosmopolitan. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
  16. ^ Stassen, Murray (April 6, 2021). "Universal and Republic Team With Wassim 'Sal' Slaiby to Launch Universal Arabic Music". Music Business Worldwide. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
  17. ^ Al Saadi, Leen (October 12, 2021). "Elyanna just performed a concert in Jordan with Issam Alnajjar". Grazia. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
  18. ^ "Palestinian-Chilean pop star Elyanna makes history at Coachella 2023". ABC News. Retrieved April 10, 2024.
  19. ^ "Mo Soundtrack - Complete List of Songs". WhatSong. Retrieved March 26, 2024.
  20. ^ "Palestinian Singer Performs Emotional Tribute at Gouna Film Festival". UAE Moments. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
  21. ^ Staff, B.-Sides (February 28, 2024). "VIDEO: INTERVIEW – Elyanna Says Debut Album To Represent Her Latin Roots, Inspired By Algerian, Moroccan Sounds". B-Sides. Retrieved March 26, 2024.
  22. ^ a b Chokrane, Boutayna (April 23, 2024). "Elyanna: Woledto Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
  23. ^ "Elyanna: The Future Sound of Arabic Pop". Billboard.
  24. ^ "Palestinian-Chilean Singer Elyanna on Embracing Her Authentic Voice". February 29, 2024.
  25. ^ "Why Elyanna Set Her Palestinian and Chilean Culture at the Forefront of Her Upcoming Debut Album". Rolling Stone. February 21, 2024.
  26. ^ "Cover Story Summer Issue: Elyanna of Nazareth". June 21, 2022.
  27. ^ "GQ Men of the Year 2023: Elyanna on Redefining Pop, Craft, Resilience, and Womanhood - GQ Middle East". November 28, 2023.
  28. ^ "Watch Coldplay Bring Out Michael J. Fox and Debut Little Simz Collab at Glastonbury". Stereogum. June 30, 2024. Archived from the original on June 30, 2024. Retrieved June 30, 2024.
  29. ^ "Elyanna to embark on global 'Woledto Tour' this fall". Live Nation Entertainment. July 22, 2024. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
  30. ^ "Elyanna Makes Her Debut On Saturday Night Live". October 7, 2024. Retrieved October 7, 2024.
  31. ^ "Elyanna Announces New Album, "WOLEDTO"". GQ Middle East. March 6, 2024. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
  32. ^ Hussain, Shahzaib (March 1, 2024). "Sevdaliza Links With Palestinian-Chilean Singer Elyanna On 'Good Torture'". Clash. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
  33. ^ Schube, Will (April 12, 2024). "Releases Debut Album 'Woledto,' Video For 'Ganeni'". UDiscoverMusic. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
  34. ^ tolsen (January 2, 2013). "Billboard Hot 100™". Billboard. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
  35. ^ "Hada Ghareeb (feat. Elyanna) – Single by Issam Alnajjar". Apple Music. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
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