Background and career
Elissar Zakaria Khoury (Arabic: إليسار زكريا خوري; born 27 October 1971), commonly known as Elissa (Arabic: إليسا), is a Lebanese singer and television personality. Known for her romantic musical style and emotive vocal performances, she has been dubbed as the "Queen of Emotions". Her musical career began in 1992 when she was featured in the Lebanese talent show Studio El Fan; later being awarded the silver medal. In 1998, she released her debut studio album Baddy Doub through EMI Music Arabia. Her second album W'akherta Maak (2000) featured the single "Betghib Betrouh", a duet with Ragheb Alama. Elissa's breakthrough occurred with her 2002 single "Ayshalak", from the third studio album of the same name, which was a substantial commercial success. After signing with record label Rotana, she released the albums Ahla Dounya (2004), Bastanak (2006), Ayami Bik (2007), Tesada'a Bemeen (2009), Asaad Wahda (2012), Halet Hob (2014), Saharna Ya Leil (2016), Ila Kol Elli Bihebbouni (2018) and Sahbit Raey (2020); eventually becoming Rotana's best-selling artist. Following a dispute over her masters and the withdrawal of her catalogue from platforms like Spotify, YouTube and Anghami, Elissa launched her own record label, E-Records, in 2022, and has since released the album Ana Sekketen (2024). Elissa is one of the best-selling music artists of the Middle East; having sold 30 million albums throughout her career. She has additionally garnered over 1 billion streams on Anghami, making her the most-streamed female artist and the second most-streamed overall on the platform, as well as over 6 billion views on YouTube. In 2005, Elissa became the first Lebanese artist to win the World Music Award for "Best Selling Middle Eastern Artist" in recognition of the sales of Ahla Dounya. She won the award again in 2006 and 2010 for Bastanak and Tesada'a Bemeen respectively, becoming the first and only female artist to win in the category more than once. In 2007, she was nominated for Best Arabian Act at the 2007 MTV Europe Music Awards. Throughout her career, she has endorsed brands, such as Corum and Pepsi and is also a women's rights activist; raising awareness on specific subjects such as women's rights in Lebanon and breast cancer awareness.
Elissar Zakaria Khoury was born on 27 October 1972 in Deir Al-Ahmar, Lebanon to a Lebanese father, Zakaria Khoury, who was a poet and a Syrian-Lebanese mother, Youmna Suud from Wadi al-Nasara and Marjayoun. She has three brothers named Ghassan, Camil, Jihad and two sisters, Norma and Rita. Elissa and her siblings were later raised in the Beqaa Valley. On the day of her birth, she was delivered by a midwife due to the lack of hospitals at her birthplace; her grandmother had left her as she was not a boy. Throughout her childhood, she had a very close relationship with her father, as well as her sister Norma; being very heartbroken when she had gotten married and moved away while Elissa was 14 years old. Elissa revealed that she had a difficult childhood due to witnessing frequent disputes between her parents; additionally noting that while her father was a calm person, her mother was stricter and harsh. At the request of her father, she and her sister Norma attended a French boarding school, where one of the nuns known as "Sister Samira" had discovered her musical talent. Elissa graduated from the Lebanese University with a degree in political science. Although she had a degree in politics, she was additionally interested in making music. Therefore, after graduating, she decided to pursue a professional career in show business and in music.
In 1989, Elissa began her career when she appeared in theatrical comedy plays written by Lebanese actor Wassim Tabbara (1943–2005), acting and singing professionally under her birth name "Elissar Khoury" from the age of 16. She later moved to the "Théâtre de 10 Heures" in 1991. Elissa's musical career began the following year, when she enlisted in the Lebanese talent show Studio El Fan, singing songs such as "In Rah Mennek Ya Ain" by Shadia and later winning the silver medal. After doing so, her contract on the series was terminated, as showrunner Simon Asmar was unconvinced of her talent. Following this, she also attempted to begin a career in television, applying with stations such as LBC.
Elissa's debut studio album Baddy Doub, was released in Lebanon in December 1998 by Lido Musique, later given wider distribution in the Arab world by EMI Music Arabia in early 1999. On the album's titular single, she collaborated with Spanish singer, Gerard Ferrer; he additionally appeared on various songs on the album. The single's music video was directed by Marc Hadifé. Her second album, W'akherta Maak was released on 8 August 2000 by Music Master. The album included the duet "Betghib Betrouh" featuring Ragheb Alama. The song was a considerable success and later won awards. A music video for the album's titular song "W'akherta Maak" was released.
After renewing her contract with label Music Master, Elissa's third studio album Ayshalak was released on 14 June 2002 to huge commercial success and is known as her breakthrough. The album topped Arab music charts for numerous weeks and later sold 2.9 million copies. It was additionally the best selling cassette album in the Middle East of 2002. A music video for the titular song was directed by Fabrice Begotti and was filmed in Paris. She was the first Middle Eastern artist to collaborate with Dior in the video. On 14 September, Elissa won the Murex d'Or award for Best Lebanese Female Artist. In 2002, she was additionally mentioned in the book "Pioneers from Lebanon" alongside artists such as Fairuz and Wadih El Safi. A music video for "Ajmal Ihssas", directed by Salim el Turk, was released in the following year. The video received controversy for what was considered sexualised scenes. However, it won the award "Best Video Clip" at the Arab Music Awards, held in Dubai in 2002. The song was featured on a Rolling Stone poll titled "The 50 Best Arabic Pop Songs of the 21st Century", ranking at #14. In January 2002, Elissa performed at the STARS (Science, Technology and Arts Royal Summit) charity event in Dubai; being the only artist to attend and perform at the event. In attendance were Queen Rania of Jordan, Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and former United States President Bill Clinton. Later in 2002, she collaborated with Irish singer Chris de Burgh in a duet titled "Lebanese Nights", featured on his album Timing is Everything. A music video, directed by Salim el Turk, was shot in Beirut, Lebanon and Zurich, Switzerland and premiered exclusively on LBC television stations. The song had received positive reception from both Middle Eastern and western audiences. In January 2003, Elissa attended the grand opening of Kuwait's Virgin Megastore with Sir Richard Branson as well as Kuwaiti band Guitara. In 2003, Elissa signed with Saudi Arabian entertainment group Rotana, under which she released her fourth studio album, Ahla Dounya the following year on 6 May. The album was a huge success, selling about 3.4 million copies by the end of 2004. The album spawned the singles "Koul Youm Fee Oumri", "Irjaa Lilshowk" and "Hobak Wajaa (Inta Lameen)". The tracks "Koul Youm Fee Oumri", "Karibli" and "Law Nirjaa Sawa" were featured in Pepsi advertisements. In 2005, Elissa became the first Lebanese artist to ever receive a World Music Award for Best Selling Middle Eastern Artist. The ceremony took place at the Kodak Theatre (currently known as the Dolby Theatre) on 31 August and was later broadcast on 13 September. Later, she received the Murex d'Or awards for Best Lebanese Artist and Best Video Clip for "Hobak Wajaa". On 16 February 2006, she released her fifth studio album Bastanak to similarly substantial commercial success. The album featured the hit single of the same name and "Law Taarafou", both of which received music videos. On 15 November, Elissa received her second World Music Award in a row for the sales of this album. As of 2006, Bastanak had sold 3.7 million copies.
Elissa's sixth studio album Ayami Bik was released on 18 December 2007. Including one of Elissa's bigger hits "Betmoun" as well as "Awakher Al Shita", "Ayami Bik" and "Khod Balak Alaya". Tesada'a Bemeen, her seventh studio album, was released on 26 December 2009 to massive commercial success and included one of her signature songs "Aa Bali Habibi" and the titular song of the same name, both of which received music videos. Elissa garnered her third World Music Award for the album. In November 2010, she was awarded the prize for "Best Arab Female Artist" in the Jordan Music Awards and the Big Apple Music Award for "Best Female Artist" in the Middle East a few days later. Tesada'a Bemeen received critical acclaim for its differing and darker themes and stronger vocal delivery throughout the album.
