Nasri Tony Atweh ( ar, نصري طوني عطوة, born 10 January 1981), known mononymously as Nasri, is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and record producer. He currently resides in Los Angeles, California, United States. He is the lead vocalist and songwriter for the

reggae fusion Reggae fusion is a genre of reggae that mixes reggae and/or dancehall with other genres, such as pop, rock, hip hop, R&B, jazz, funk, soul, disco, electronic and latin. Origin Although artists have been mixing reggae with other genres from as ...

band,

Magic! Magic! (stylized in all uppercase) is a Canadian reggae fusion band based in Toronto, Ontario. The band is composed of lead vocalist, guitarist/producer Nasri Atweh, guitarist/keyboardist Mark "Pelli" Pellizzer, and bassist Ben Spivak. Active ...

, a group consisting of fellow

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

natives, Mark Pellizzer, Alex Tanas, and Ben Spivak. MAGIC!'s single " Rude" became a major international hit single. He is currently managed by Wassim "Sal" Slaiby. Nasri is also a renowned songwriter and producer, one half of the songwriting and production duo the Messengers. He and

Adam Messinger Adam "Messy" Messinger is a Grammy Award-winning Canadian songwriter, record producer, and multi-instrumentalist currently based in Los Angeles, California. He is a producer for Canadian reggae band Magic!, but was initially a producer/songwriter ...

have produced a string of hits for well-known artists, including

Justin Bieber Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Bieber is recognized for his genre-melding musicianship and has played an influential role in modern-day popular music. He was discovered by American record executive Scooter ...

Shakira Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll ( , ; born 2 February 1977), professionally known by the mononym Shakira, is a Colombian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Barranquilla, she has been referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular ...

Pitbull Pit bull is a term used in the United States for a type of dog descended from bulldogs and terriers, while in other countries such as the United Kingdom the term is used as an abbreviation of the American Pit Bull Terrier breed. The term was f ...

Chris Brown Christopher Maurice Brown (born May 5, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. According to ''Billboard'', Brown is one of the most successful R&B singers of his generation, having often been referred to by many contempor ...

, Halsey, and more. In 2012, he earned the

Grammy Award for Best R&B Album The Grammy Award for Best R&B Album is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality works on albums in the R&B music genre. Honors ...

for his production work on Chris Brown's '' F.A.M.E.''. He also received a

Latin Grammy The Latin Grammy Awards are an award by The Latin Recording Academy to recognize outstanding achievement in the Latin music industry. The Latin Grammy honors works recorded in Spanish or Portuguese from anywhere around the world that has been ...

for Best Pop Vocal Album and the

Grammy Award for Best Latin Pop Album The Grammy Award for Best Latin Pop Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for releasing albums in the Latin pop genre. Honors in ...

for his work on

's ''

El Dorado El Dorado (, ; Spanish for "the golden"), originally ''El Hombre Dorado'' ("The Golden Man") or ''El Rey Dorado'' ("The Golden King"), was the term used by the Spanish in the 16th century to describe a mythical tribal chief (''zipa'') or king ...

''. His songs " As Long as You Love Me" by Justin Bieber and "

Feel This Moment "Feel This Moment" is a song by the American rapper Pitbull, featuring American singer Christina Aguilera. The song was released on February 22, 2013, as the fourth single from the album by Mr. 305, Polo Grounds Music and RCA Records ''Global War ...

" by Pitbull both made the top 10 of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

Early life and education

Nasri was born and raised in

as a child of

Palestinian Christian Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...

immigrants from

Bethlehem Bethlehem (; ar, بيت لحم ; he, בֵּית לֶחֶם '' '') is a city in the central West Bank, Palestine, about south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000,Amara, 1999p. 18.Brynen, 2000p. 202. and it is the capital ...

. and began singing at the age of six. He studied at

Senator O'Connor College School Senator O'Connor College School (also called SOCS, Senator O'Connor CS, Senator O'Connor, OCS, or simply Senator or O'Connor), previously known as John J. Lynch High School until 1967 is a Separate high school in the Parkwoods neighbourhood in the ...

, and while attending, was part of the school choir as well as extra-curricular sports.

Career

Early career as a solo artist

At age 19, Atweh presented a demo to a local radio station. He then earned a deal with Universal Canada. Two years later in 2002, he won the John Lennon Songwriting Contest with a song he wrote with

. The following year, he released two solo singles through Universal, "Go" and "Ova N' Dun With"․ The songs received some airplay in Canada, and another song titled "Best Friend" was also heard on indie radio in his hometown in 2003. According to the promotional material attached to his single "Go", he was to release an album titled ''Invisible Walls'' sometime in 2003 or 2004, but that never materialized. In 2007, he released a song entitled "Click, Click, Click", that would ultimately be covered by the

New Kids on the Block New Kids on the Block (also initialized as NKOTB) is an American boy band from Dorchester, Massachusetts. The band consists of brothers Jonathan and Jordan Knight, Joey McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg, and Danny Wood. New Kids on the Block enjoy ...

Writing and production with the Messengers

Nasri is part of the writing and production duo the Messengers alongside

. He helped drive the reunion of the

in 2007, and wrote numerous songs for them including his first, " Summertime". Over the course of the following years, Nasri wrote (usually with Messinger) for other major label artists such as Justin Bieber,

David Guetta Pierre David Guetta ( , ; born 7 November 1967) is a French DJ and music producer. He has over 10 million album and 65 million single sales globally, with more than 10 billion streams. In 2011, 2020 and 2021, Guetta was voted the number one D ...

, Shakira,

Cody Simpson Cody Robert Simpson (born 11 January 1997) is an Australian swimmer and singer-songwriter. Since his debut, he has released four solo studio albums: ''Paradise'' (2012), ''Surfers Paradise'' (2013), '' Free'' (2015), and ''Cody Simpson'' (202 ...

Cheryl Cheryl is a female given name common in English speaking countries. There are several prevailing theories about its etymology. The most common is that it has Italo-Celtic roots and is an Anglicised version of either the French name Cherie (from L ...

Boyzone Boyzone were an Irish boy band, created in 1993 by talent manager Louis Walsh. Before even recording any material, Boyzone made an appearance on RTÉ's '' The Late Late Show''. Their most successful line-up was composed of Keith Duffy, Steph ...

, JLS,

Kat Deluna Kathleen Emperatriz DeLuna (born November 26, 1987) is an American singer. DeLuna began pursuing a career as a singer when she was a teenager and later signed with Epic Records. Her debut single, " Whine Up", released in 2007, went on to become ...

, Elliott Yamin,

Jason Derulo Jason Joel Desrouleaux (born September 21, 1989), known professionally as Jason Derulo (; formerly stylized as Derülo), is an American singer and songwriter.

Akon Aliaune Damala Badara Akon Thiam (; born April 16, 1973), known mononymously as Akon, is a Senegalese-American singer, record producer, and entrepreneur. He rose to prominence in 2004 following the release of " Locked Up" (featuring Styles P ...

, Pitbull,

Christina Aguilera Christina María Aguilera (; ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and television personality. Known for her four-octave vocal range and ability to sustain high notes, she has been referred to as the " Voice of ...

, Chris Brown,

Lana Del Rey Elizabeth Woolridge Grant (born June 21, 1985), known professionally as Lana Del Rey, is an American singer-songwriter. Her music is noted for its cinematic quality and exploration of tragic romance, glamour, and melancholia, with frequent r ...

Big Time Rush ''Big Time Rush'' is an American musical sitcom television series created by Scott Fellows that originally aired on Nickelodeon from November 28, 2009, to July 25, 2013 and is currently available in Paramount+. It focuses on the Hollywood mi ...

Iggy Azalea Amethyst Amelia Kelly (born 7 June 1990), known professionally as Iggy Azalea (), is an Australian rapper. At the age of 16, Azalea moved from Australia to the United States in order to pursue a career in music. Azalea earned public recognitio ...

Michael Bolton Michael Bolotin
, The Jewish Historical Society of New Haven, 1998. (born February 26, 1953), known professio ...

Peter Andre Peter Andre (born Peter James Andrea, 27 February 1973) is an English-Australian singer and television personality of Australian descent. Andre gained popularity as a singer, best known for his singles "Mysterious Girl" and " Flava". He is als ...

JoJo Jojo, JoJo or Jo Jo is a given name, surname, nickname or stage name used by several people and fictional characters, including: People with the given name, nickname or stage name Musicians *JoJo (singer) (born 1990), American R&B singer, songwri ...

Jay Sean Kamaljit Singh Jhooti (born 26 March 1981), better known by the stage name Jay Sean, is a British singer and songwriter. He debuted in the UK's Asian Underground scene as a member of the Rishi Rich Project with " Dance with You", which reache ...

, Vanessa Hudgens,

No Angels No Angels are an all-female pop group from Germany, formed in 2000. Originally a quintet, consisting of band members Nadja Benaissa, Lucy Diakovska, Sandy Mölling, Vanessa Petruo, and Jessica Wahls, they originated on the debut season o ...

Manafest Christopher Scott Greenwood (born July 19, 1979), known by his stage name Manafest, is a Canadian Christian rapper and rock artist from Pickering, Ontario, Canada. He has won multiple awards for the GMA Canada Covenant Awards, GMA Dove Award ...

, and

Iyaz Keidran Jones (born 15 April 1987), better known by his stage name Iyaz, is a British Virgin Islands singer and songwriter, formerly signed with the record label Beluga Heights Records. He is known for his singles " Replay", "Solo" and " Prett ...

. The Messengers are a Grammy-winning production team. Their work has resulted in two Grammy Award nominations for 2011 Best Pop Vocal Album for Justin Bieber ('' My World 2.0''), 2011 Best Contemporary R&B Album for Chris Brown (''

Graffiti Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...

''), and a win for 2012 Best R&B Album for Chris Brown ('' F.A.M.E.''), as well as their collaboration with Justin Bieber /

Rascal Flatts Rascal Flatts is an American country music band founded in 1999. The band members were Gary LeVox (lead vocals), Jay DeMarcus (bass guitar, background vocals), and Joe Don Rooney (lead guitar, background vocals). DeMarcus is LeVox's second cou ...

in "

That Should Be Me "That Should Be Me" is a song by Canadian singer Justin Bieber, included as the tenth and final track on his first studio album, ''My World 2.0'', released on March 19, 2011. The song was written by Bieber alongside Luke Boyd and Nasri Atweh and ...

" that won a 2011

CMT Music Award The CMT Music Awards is a fan-voted awards show for country music videos and television performances. The awards ceremony is held every year in Nashville, Tennessee, and broadcast live on the CMT (Country Music Television) channel. Voting takes ...

for Best Collaborative Video. In 2017 and 2018, he was honored with the Latin Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album and the

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

for Best Latin Pop Album for his work on Shakira's ''El Dorado''. Nasri-onstage-with-Zedd-Sumersonic-tokyo-Aug16-2015

Success with Magic!

While playing music with friend Mark Pellizzer (who played guitar for Justin Nozuka) in 2012, Nasri conceived of

. Mark Pellizzer then recruited Alex Tanas on drums and Ben Spivak on bass. In 2013, Magic! released their highly successful debut single, " Rude", which peaked at number six on the

Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music industry record chart in Canada for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. The Canadian Hot 100 was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007, and is currently the standard record ...

, topped the charts in the United States and the United Kingdom, and peaked within the top ten of the charts in Australia, New Zealand, Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden. The band is signed to

Sony Music Entertainment Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainmen ...

and partnered with Latium Entertainment in addition to

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also ...

in the USA. Their debut album, '' Don't Kill the Magic'', was released in 2014 and charted at number 5 in Canada and at number 6 in the U.S. Their follow-up, '' Primary Colours'', was released in 2016 and third album Expectations in 2018.

Personal life

Since 2009, he has been linked romantically with the German singer

Sandy Mölling Sandy Mölling (born 27 April 1981) is a German singer and television personality. She rose to fame as one of the members of the girl group No Angels, which were formed in 2000 on the German television talent show '' Popstars'', becoming one of ...

. The two had met while working on the

album ''

Welcome to the Dance ''Welcome to the Dance'' is the fifth studio album by all-female German pop group No Angels, released by Polydor and Universal Music Domestic throughout German-speaking Europe on 11 September 2009. The band's second post-reunion effort following ...

''. He has a son called Noah with Mölling.

Discography

As solo artist

Singles *"Go" (2003) *"Ova N' Dun With" (2003) *"Click Click Click" (2007) *"You Deserve Better" (2012) along with many other unreleased demos

As member of Magic!

Songwriting and production

References

External links

MAGIC! official website
(archived)
Nasri official MySpace
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nasri 1981 births Living people Palestinian songwriters Palestinian record producers Palestinian pop singers Canadian singer-songwriters Canadian record producers Canadian pop singers Musicians from Toronto Canadian people of Palestinian descent Canadian rhythm and blues musicians 21st-century Canadian male singers Canadian male singer-songwriters