Ferras

A Los Angeles-based singer and songwriter, Ferras crafts electronic pop laced with R&B elements both on his own releases and through material he supplies to fellow acts. Born Ferras Alquasi in Illinois in 1982, he took up the keyboard at age five once his parents split and he relocated with his father to Amman, Jordan. After only five months there, he returned to the United States to reside with his mother and soon channeled his energies into music. During his teenage years another move with his mother took him to Santa Barbara, California, where his ambitions as a songwriter and performer drew the attention of Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst, who sought to place him on his fledgling label. Instead, Ferras enrolled at the Berklee College of Music in Boston; while studying, Durst arranged an audition with Capitol Records that resulted in a recording contract.

Ferras issued his debut album, Aliens & Rainbows, in 2008. The set contained “Hollywood’s Not America,” which served as the semifinal-round exit song during the seventh season of the reality competition American Idol. Around 2010 he shifted focus to behind-the-scenes work, writing for Adam Lambert, Michael Paynter, Ricky Martin, and additional artists. In 2014 he became the first signee to pop star Katy Perry’s Metamorphosis Music imprint and delivered a self-titled five-song EP that featured the track “Legends Never Die” with Perry. He followed in 2016 with the singles “Closer” and “Medicine,” the latter featuring Raja Kumari. Working alongside marquee songwriters such as Max Martin and Shellback, he supplied multiple cuts to Perry’s 2017 album Witness. Ferras’ own ballad “Coming Back Around” appeared in early 2018.