Elyanna

Last updated

Elyanna
Elyanna UAM.jpg
Elyanna in 2022
Background information
Birth nameElian Marjieh
Born (2002-01-22) January 22, 2002 (age 22)
Nazareth, Israel
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Singer
  • songwriter
Years active2019–present
LabelsUniversal Arabic Music
Website elyanna.com

Elian Marjieh (born January 22, 2002), [1] known professionally as Elyanna, is a Palestinian-Chilean singer-songwriter. 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. [2] Elyanna is the first artist to sing in Arabic on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert . [3]

Contents

Early life

Elian Marjieh [4] was born and raised in Nazareth [5] and is of Christian Palestinian and Chilean descent. [6] Her mother is a Palestinian poet, and her maternal grandfather is a Palestinian poet and singer who used to perform zajal at Palestinian weddings. [7] Her paternal grandmother is a pianist from Chile, where she had frequently visit from a young age.

Elyanna began singing at age seven [8] and started posting covers of songs on SoundCloud as a teenager while participating in singing and talent competitions at school. [5] 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 age 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. [6] After arriving in the United States, she began posting covers on her Instagram, where she garnered a following of around 300,000 users, [7] 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 attending school 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. [6] She was signed to Slaiby's management company, SALXCO, soon after the two met. [5] She was then mentored by Nasri and fellow singer and producer, Massari. [8] One of her first singles, "Ana Lahale," featured guest vocals from Massari. [9] That track was on her debut self-titled EP released in February 2020 via ElMar Music, an Empire Distribution imprint. [7] 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. [10]

In 2021, she would perform alongside Alnajjar at his concert in Amman, Jordan the following month. [11] 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"). The music video for the song was styled by Lana Del Rey and directed by her sister, Caroline "Chuck" Grant. [9]

In 2023, Elyanna made history as the first artist to perform a Coachella set entirely in Arabic. [12] That same year, her song "Ala Bali" was featured on Netflix show Mo . [13]

In early 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. [14] To date, she has been on the covers of and featured in Billboard Arabia, Vogue Arabia, Rolling Stone, Cosmopolitan ME, GQ, and others. Boutayna Chokrane, writing for Pitchfork , said that Woledto "plays with Arab pop, R&B, EDM, and jazz to express the nuances of love, loss, and longing." [15]

Discography

Studio albums

List of studio albums with selected details
TitleDetails
Woledto

EPs

List of EPs with selected details
TitleDetails
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
TitleYearPeak chart positionAlbum
LBN
[2]
"Ta Ta"2019Non-album single
"Ahwak"Elyanna
"Enta Eih"Non-album single
"Oululee Leh" [5] Elyanna
"Shee"2020
"Ana Lahale"
(featuring Massari)
1
"Ghareeb Alay"
(featuring Balti)
20222Elyanna II
"Al Kawn Janni Maak"
"Youm Wara Youm"
(with Hijazi)
Non-album single
"Ala Bali"6Elyanna II
"Sokkar"2023Non-album single
"Mama Eh"1Woledto
"Ganeni" [17] 2024
"Olive Branch (Ghosn Zeytoun)"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
TitleYearPeak chart positionAlbum
LBN
[2]
"Hada Ghareeb" [18]
(Issam Alnajjar featuring Elyanna)
20211Baree?
"Good Torture" [19]
(Sevdaliza featuring Elyanna)
2024TBA
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

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References

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