Background
Elissa was born on October 27, 1978 in Deir el Ahmar in the Beqaa Valley of Lebanon. She received a Bachelor of Political Science degree from the Lebanese University. She began her artistic career with the "Théatre de 10 heures" political satire group and the performer Wassim Tabbara.

Elissa is Maronite.

Musical career
Elissa started her singing career in 1992 on a talent show broadcasted on LBC, "Studio el Fan", in which she won the silver medal. After a long absence, she came back with a Spanish-Arabic single, titled "Badi Doub" in 1998. Her first album Baddi Doub was one of the largest-selling albums in Lebanon and the Middle East, selling over 150,000 copies. The album's success resulted in her participation in the renowned International Music Festival in Cannes in 2000.

Her second project in 2000 was a duet with Ragheb Alameh "Betghib Betrouh." The song was included in Elissa's second album W'akherta Ma'ak, which went on to sell more than 1,600,000 copies. [citation needed]

Later on, Elissa was featured with the international artist Chris DeBurgh in an Arabic-English song titled "Lebanese Nights", which was written, composed and distributed by DeBurgh. He wrote this song while on his last visit to the country. He decided to sing it with a Lebanese singer, and chose Elissa. The song was recorded in London and released in DeBurgh's 2002 Album, Timing Is Everything.

Her third album Ayshalak was released in June 2002 supported by a video clip filmed in Paris by French director Fabrice Begotti, wardrobe and make up by Christian Dior. Elissa was the first Arab figure to represent Christian Dior. The video and song were huge successes, and with the aid of the composer/arranger Jean-Marie Riachi, Elissa was able to follow with another hit "Agmal Ehsas" was Elissa's second single from Ayshalak. The video clip was directed by the Lebanese director, Selim El Turk. Together Elissa and Selim won the Murex D'Or for the best female artist and the best video clip.

At end of 2002 she inaugurated the opening of Kuwait's Virgin Megastore with Sir Richard Branson, the founder of the famous stores. Also a great success for Elissa was being included in the anthology book '100 Pioneers of Lebanon' alongside artists such as Fairouz, Wadih el Safi, as well as many other celebrities.

In September 2003, Elissa performed at the Hope Charity gala, which took place in the Royal Albert hall, one of London's most prestigious venues. Elissa was the sole representative of the Middle East among other international stars such as Sarah Brightman, Zucchero, and Joaquin Cortes.

Elissa's fourth album, Ahla Donya was released in 2004. This was one of the fastest-selling albums ever in the Arab world. This album was the first under Elissa's contract with Rotana, the music production company. The album included a variety of songs, such as Koll Youm Fi Omry, Erga' Lel Shoa', Hobbak Waja' (Inta Lameen) and Ahla Donya. The album received a 2005 World Music Award for best-selling album in the Middle East and North Africa. In 2005, a Special Collector's Edition of the record was made available (1000 copies) with state-of-the-art packaging including a mini-biography. [citation needed]

Her current (2007) hit is called Halili and is a duet with Cheb Mami.

Image
In 2001, she took part in Jordan's 'Fiesta Latina'. She also held a performance at the pyramids of Egypt as the opening act for British superstar Sting. In addition to this, she was the only Arabic artist to perform in front of the former U.S President Bill Clinton at the Stars Charity show in Dubai. Also present at this event were Queen Rania of Jordan and the Crown Prince of Dubai, Cheikh Mohamed Bin Rachid al Maktoum.

In 2003 was her first deal with Pepsi which made her the official female star for Pepsi for the Arab World. It was followed in 2004 by a contract with Ray Ban to promote their campaign. Further commercial campaigns included the contract with Lux, and a renewal for her contract with Pepsi. Elissa is an official spokesperson for Pepsi. In 2006 she co-starred with Christina Aguilera in a Pepsi Cola advertisement.

Controversies
Elissa is also known for accusing the singer, Amal Hijazi for imitating her style especially in the video of Hijazo's song, Bedawwar A Albi (Searching for my heart). Hijazi however denied the accusations, stressing that each of the singers has her own unique style. Hijazi added that her song was filmed long before Elissa's "Hubbak Waja" and has been airing on different satellite channels for some time now. In 2004, however, Hijazi put everything aside and made a personal visit to Elissa to give her condolences after the latter lost her father to cancer. Elissa welcomed Amal with open arms and expressed her gratitude towards Amals attempt to stand by her side at such a troublesome time.

Awards and honors
Elissa was rewarded an exceptional Honorable Murex D'Or for being the first Lebanese to receive the World Music Award 2005. In the same event Elissa was also admired for her second success with Lebanese director Selim el Turk and received the best video clip award for the song Hobbak Waja' (directed by Selim el Turk). She was also held the Best Female artist of the year. [citation needed]

Elissa has won two World Music Awards for best-selling artist in the Middle East in 2005 and 2006. Total sales of her albums are close to 18 million, making her one of the most popular Lebanese singers ever. [citation needed] Elissa is also one of the wealthiest Lebanese singers and her wealth is estimated to be nearly $31 million. [citation needed]

In early 2006, Elissa released her fifth studio effort, the album Bastanak, which has sold nearly 6.2 million copies, according to Rotana. In 2006, Elissa again won the World Music Award for best-selling Middle Eastern artist from the album sales of "Bastanak".

Elissa's fan base increases with every new album. Her concerts are always fully booked with sometimes a huge number of viewers that exceeds the capacity of the stage at which she is performing. Her official fan club page has more than 12,000 members since it relaunched in March 2006.

Bastanak, Elissa's latest album which created a lot of debate among all media representatives for its high production cost and international standards, brought Elissa a lot of success on a local, regional, and international scope of sales leading her to claim her second consecutive World Music Award.

Elissa performed Bastanak the smash hit from her latest album, dazzling the audience with a lovely performance, dedicating the award to her beloved country Lebanon - her Father's soul - and all her fans.

Her album Bastanak received a 2006 World Music Award for best-selling album in the Middle East.It has been said that she has bought the award by multiple Arab singers including Nancy Ajram and Hussain AL Jasmi. Both singers have claimed that the same award was offerred to them in exchange for an amount of money.

Discography
1998 - Baddi Doub
Sales : 1,400,000 copies
2000 - W'akherta Ma'ak
Sales : 1,600,000 copies
2002 - Ayshalak
Sales : 3,650,000 copies
2004 - Ahla Donya
Sales :5,300,000 copies
2006 - Bastannak
Sales : 6,200,000 copies

Clips
Baddi Doub (1998)
W'akherta Ma'ak (2000)
Betghib Betrouh (2001)
Ayshalak (2002)
Ajmal Ehssas (2003)
Lebanese Night (2003): Duo with Irish artist Chris De Burgh
Koli youm fi omry (2004)
Erga3 Lel Sho2 (2005)
Inta Lameen (2005)
Bastannak (2006)
Law Ta3rafoh (2006)
Halili dounyaia (2007)

Nogomalarab.com