Faia Younan

Faia Younan (Arabic: فايا يونان; born 20 June 1992) is an Syrian-Assyrian[1] singer, considered the first Middle Eastern artist ever to crowdfund her debut.[2]

Faia Younan
فايا يونان
ܦܵܝܵܐ ܝܘܿܢܵܢ
Faia Younan
Faia Younan
Background information
Birth nameFaia Younan
Born (1992-06-20) 20 June 1992
Al-Malikiyah, Syria
OriginSyria
GenresArabic music, Syrian, Oriental
Occupation(s)
  • Singer and song writer
Instrument(s)Vocals
Years active2014 – present
Labels
WebsiteOfficial website

Early life

Younan was born on 20 June 1992 to an Assyrian Christian family in the city of Al-Malikiyah, Syria, and grew up in the city of Aleppo.[3] At the age of eleven she moved to Sweden with her family and settled there until she moved to Scotland in 2010 to study Social Sciences; Economics and Business in the Glasgow University.[4] After graduating she moved back to Sweden.[5] Younan was a volunteer in the Swedish Red Cross and sang in local events.[5]

Career

In October 2014, inspired by the political atmosphere in her native Syria and its neighboring Arab countries which she described as "loaded and hopeless", Younan published a video that she created with her sister Rihan, titled "To Our Countries".[5] The video, which addresses the political reality of the Middle East and features Younan's rendition of several songs by Lebanese diva Fairuz,[5] went viral on YouTube and received exceptional attention, encouraging Younan to continue pursuing a career in music.[6] The success of the video[7] had the biggest impact on her decision on turning singing from merely a hobby to a full-time commitment.

After a successful crowdfunding campaign, Younan released her debut single "Ohebbou Yadayka" (I Love Your Hands) followed by two other singles. "Ohebbou Yadayka" crowd funding campaign got Younan, in association with her manager Houssam Abdul Khalek, to Guinness World Records as the first middle eastern artist to crowd fund her debut song.[8] This makes Younan the first female artist from the Arab World to enter the Guinness World Records Book.[9] In 2017, she released her debut album, A Sea Between Us.[5]

She was featured on the single "Busted and Blue" (Faia Younan Special)" from virtual band Gorillaz' which appears on two versions of their Humanz[10] album.

In March 2019, Younan started releasing her second album Tales of the HEart digitally. The album contains 8 songs, referred to as tales, since each song is unique in musical genre and topic.[11]

Discography

Albums
Album Details
A Sea Between Us
  • Release: March 25, 2017
  • Format: Digital download; CD
Tales of the Heart
  • Release: March 7, 2019
  • Format: Digital download; CD

Singles
Year Title
2015 "Ohebbou Yadayka"
2015 "Nohebbou Al Bilad"[12][13]
2015 "Nam Ya Habibi"
2017 "Shababik"
2018 "Hob Al Akwiyaa"
2018 "Baghdad"
2021 "Metel Elyom"
2022 "Kun Ashiqan"

References
  1. "Faia wishes everyone a Happy Assyrian New Year". 2 April 2016. Archived from the original on 2021-12-26.
  2. "Faia Younan: Viral video singer becomes the first Middle Eastern artist to crowdfund her debut in the music industry". www.albawaba.com.
  3. "Faia Younan moves deep feelings of Syrian Youths at Damascus Opera House". Syrian Arab News Agency. 10 August 2015.
  4. "A meeting with Faia Younan .. See what she said about Baghdad!". YouTube (in Arabic).
  5. Aschkar, Diala (22 October 2016). "Interview with Faia Younan - A voice of the Levant". Orient Palms.
  6. Davidian, Edgar (4 January 2017). "Faia Younan, super-Orientale online, s'affirme et s'assume - Edgar DAVIDIAN". L'Orient-Le Jour (in French).
  7. "Swedish sisters' Syria peace vid goes viral | IceNews - Daily News". icenews.is. 12 November 2014.
  8. "First Middle-Eastern musician to crowdfund a debut single". Guinness World Records. 19 April 2015.
  9. "Syrian Singer Faia Younan enters Guinness World Records". Syrian Arab News Agency. 21 October 2018.
  10. "Gorillaz - Humanz". Discogs.com.
  11. "Faia Younan to sing for 1st time in Bedouin dialect". Egypt Today. 28 May 2019.
  12. "Faia Younan chante l'amour de son pays natal, la Syrie". Arabic Mood (in French). 1 February 2017. Archived from the original on 20 December 2018. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
  13. "Syrian singer pays tribute to her homeland in debut show". reuters.com.
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