Elyanna, whose real name is Elian Marjieh, was born in Nazareth and now calls California home.
Rising Palestinian-Chilean singer Elyanna is set to be the first artist to perform in Arabic at Coachella, the renown music festival held every year in Indio, California.
The 20-year-old will perform at the highly anticipated music festival in California with headliners Bad Bunny, Frank Ocean, and Blackpink over two weekends, from April 14 to 16 and April 21 to 23.
In 2020, she released her self-titled debut EP, which featured a selection of Arabic songs with a strong electronic influence and featured her dynamic vocals.
She stated in an interview that she is influenced by both her Latin and Arab ancestry, which has given her access to rhythms from both cultures.
Elyanna recently performed her biggest show at SOUNDSTORM, the biggest music festival in the Middle East, prior to her upcoming Coachella appearance. On December 3, the performer wowed crowds in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, with an impressive set list of her most well-known songs and mesmerising choreography.
“I am honoured and grateful for all the love and support I have received in the past couple days,” she wrote to her 577,000 followers on Instagram. “Last year I attended Coachella, and this year I will be the first Arabic singing artist to perform there. Your wildest dreams will come true, so keep on dreaming! See you in the desert.”
She wrote in another post, “I’m so proud and excited to bring my culture and music to Coachella.”
Lebanese singer Massari, Dutch-Palestinian supermodel Bella Hadid, US-Iraqi businesswoman Huda Kattan, Egyptian rapper Felukah, Palestinian singer Noel Kharman, and Syrian swimmer Yusra Mardini are just a few of Elyanna’s famous admirers who congratulated the star on Instagram.
When the artist first began her musical career, she posted videos of herself singing covers of well-known songs online. The star came to Nasri Atweh’s interest after immigrating to the US from Palestine at the age of fifteen. Nasri Atweh is a Grammy Award-winning singer and songwriter.
Then Atweh introduced her to Wassim Slaiby, better known by his stage name “Sal,” a formidable music industry executive and manager best known for managing internationally renowned superstars The Weeknd and Doja Cat.
Throughout her career, Elyanna developed a distinctive fusion of Latin and Middle Eastern sounds while tackling themes of identity, love, and heartbreak in her lyrics. Her Palestinian heritage had an impact on her musical style, which incorporates traditional Palestinian instrumentation with elements of cumbia, reggaeton, and Latin American pop music.
Overall, the past few days have been exciting for the Arabic music industry and fans alike.
However, Elyanna’s use of Arabic songs will not be the first at a major event this year.
During this week’s Paris Fashion Week, the popular Arabic song “Basbousa” by Lebanese musician Ahmad Music served as the background music as French luxury brand Louis Vuitton unveiled its menswear fall/winter 2023 collection.
Rosalia, a Latin Grammy Award-winning singer, performed on the catwalk as models sashayed to the trending TikTok song.
