Elissa

Elissar Zakaria Khoury came into the world on October 27, 1971, in Deir el Ahmar, Lebanon, and would later establish herself as Elissa, among the foremost Arabic pop figures to emerge after 2000. Flashy promotional clips, television ad tie-ins, and luxury-brand apparel further defined her public profile beyond the music itself. Her recording career opened with the 1999 album Baddy Doub, whose title track delivered her earliest hit. The follow-up W'akherta Ma'ak arrived in 2000 and yielded the major success “Bitghib Betrouh,” a collaboration with fellow Lebanese artist Ragheb Alameh. Momentum held through A'ayshalak in 2002, where the title song became another standout single, its video shot amid Parisian settings. Ahla Dounya marked her first Rotana release in 2004; by then Pepsi had already produced a series of commercials built around several tracks from the project. In 2005 she received her initial World Music Award as Best-Selling Middle Eastern Artist, repeating the honor in 2006, the same year Bastanak appeared. Subsequent releases encompass Ayami Beek from 2007.