Nancy Ajram

Nancy Nabil Ajram (نانسي نبيل عجرم, born May 16, 1983) is a Lebanese singer, television personality, and businesswoman, dubbed by Spotify as the "Queen of Arab Pop".

With the support of her father, she began performing as a child and appeared on several television shows in her early years.

Nancy Ajram was born into a Lebanese Greek Orthodox Christian family on May 16, 1983, in Achrafieh, a district in Beirut, Lebanon.

She is the eldest child of Nabil Ajram and Raymonda Aoun.

She has one sister, Nadine, and one brother, Nabil Jr. Ajram was only eight when she started her journey singing the good oldies with her grandmother.

She carried on with successful participation in children's contests in two local television stations, TL and LBC.

In 1995, at the age of twelve, Ajram took part in a variety show, Noujoum Al-Moustakbal (English: Stars of the Future) on Future TV, a Lebanese reality television competition, which finds new solo musical talent.

Ajram won a gold medal in the Tarab category after singing a song by Umm Kulthum.

Ajram studied music with renowned Lebanese musicians and although she was less than 18 years old, the syndicate of professional artists in Lebanon accepted her as a member.

At the age of 13, Ajram released her debut single "Kel Ma B'ello B Albi El Gheere" in 1996, followed by "Oulha Kelma" one year later.

By the age of 15, Ajram signed a recording contract with EMI and released her debut studio album Mihtagalak (1998).

In spite of being under the legal age, Ajram was exceptionally accepted to the Syndicate of Professional Artists in Lebanon.

In 1998, she signed a recording contract with EMI and released her debut studio album Mihtagalak, followed by Sheel Oyoonak Anni (2001).

The following year, she released her second album Sheel Oyoonak Anni (2001).

In early 2002, Ajram signed a contract with renowned Lebanese producer and artist manager Jiji Lamara, four months after his splitting with Aline Khalaf.

They started working together in preparation for the third studio album shifting her musical style and image away from the decent girl.

Ajram's breakthrough single, "Akhasmak Ah", was released in December.

The music video caused a controversy; reminiscent of older Arabic films, she appeared as a café manager who dances and flirts with its customers.

It received criticism from various news publications, and it was meant to be banned on several Arabic televisions due to its sexually suggestive content.

Her breakthrough occurred with the start of her collaboration with well-known Lebanese producer Jiji Lamara, when she released her controversial smash hit single "Akhasmak Ah"; created by Egyptian composer Mohamed Saad, and third studio album Ya Salam (2003) in which she adopted a public image as a sex symbol while reinventing her music.

However, in early 2003, Ajram rose to fame, propelled by the success of the single, and the release of her third studio album, Ya Salam which was a best-seller.

Ajram's fourth album Ah W Noss (2004) was another commercial success, spawning the chart-topping singles "Ah W Noss", "Lawn Ouyounak", "Oul Tani Keda" and "Inta Eyh", at which point she had established pop icon status in the Middle East.

Her fourth album, Ah W Noss, was released on April 14, 2004, and it was also an important marking point in Ajram's career.

The tremendous success that Ah W Noss achieved, stabilized Ajram's position as an A-List star in the Arab music industry.

Ajram then filmed "Lawn Ouyounak" (Color of Your Eyes), which portrayed Ajram as a bride in a traditional Lebanese wedding.

After the release of the album, Ajram signed-up with Coca-Cola to be their official celebrity spokesperson for the Middle East and North Africa region.

Her first Coke commercial featured her hit, "Oul Tani Keda?"

(Say That Again?), which was filmed with the international Italian director Luca Tomassini.

The commercial's success led to it being filmed as a music video behind the scenes of the commercial.

In 2007, Ajram released her first children's album, Shakhbat Shakhabit, which was the most notable and successful work for children at the time.

Having sold over 30 million records worldwide as of 2007, Ajram is one of the best-selling Middle Eastern music artists.

Betfakkar Fi Eih (2008), her sixth album produced seven singles including the commercially successful Egyptian hits, "Betfakkar Fi Eih", "Min Dally Nseek" and the Lebanese single "Mashi Haddi", won Ajram's first World Music Award as world's best-selling Middle Eastern artist, the youngest Arab WMA winner to date.

By 2010 she was announced the best-selling Middle Eastern female singer of the decade (2000–2009).

Throughout her career, Ajram has released twelve studio albums to date (including two dedicated for children) and numerous chart toppers such as "Yay", "Ya Tabtab", "Moegaba", "Ehsas Jdeed", "Ibn El Giran", "Fi Hagat", "Ya Kether", "Ma Tegi Hena", "Aam Betaala' Feek", "Badna Nwalee El Jaw", "Salamat", and "Aala Shanak".

Ajram is the first and only female spokesperson of Coca-Cola in the Arab world, releasing several promotional Coke anthems that became instant smash-hits, such as "Oul Tani Keda", "El Dounya Helwa", "Noss El Kawn" and "Shaggaa Bi Alamak".

Ajram has made the list of Most Powerful Arabs on Arabian Business several times, and was similarly listed by Newsweek as one of the most influential Arab singers.

She has also featured in patriotic songs for her country Lebanon, and has also dedicated seven patriotic songs to Egypt; a country she is widely popular in thanks to her Egyptian hits such as "Akhasmak Ah" and "Ah W Noss".

Between 2013 and 2017, Ajram served as a judge on MBC's reality talent show Arab Idol.

She also began serving as a coach on The Voice Kids Arabia in 2016.

In 2020, Nancy was the most-streamed Arab female artist on Spotify, achieving more than 100 million plays of her songs, followed by Lebanese icon Fairuz with 67 million plays.