Mark Masri (born 23 August 1973) is a Canadian singer, songwriter and producer. He is signed to

EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...

record label and has released five albums: ''Mark Masri'', ''La Voce'', ''Christmas Is...'', ''A Christmas Time with You'', and ''Intimo'', as well as a special US release: ''See My Face US''. He sings in English and also has a multilingual repertoire of interpretations. On his album ''La Voce'' he sings a collection of classic songs in six languages.

History

Mark Masri was born to a Lebanese immigrant father, a

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a movement within the broader Evangelical wing of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes direct personal experience of God in Christianity, God through Baptism with the Holy Spirit#Cl ...

minister, and a Canadian mother, a banker. He moved with his family from Ontario to various locations including

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

and

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

. He started singing in his father's small church near

Antigonish Antigonish ( ; ) is a town in Antigonish County, Nova Scotia, Canada. The town is home to St. Francis Xavier University and the oldest continuous Highland games outside Scotland. It is approximately 160 kilometres (100 miles) northeast of Hal ...

, Nova Scotia, when he was nine. The family returned to

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, sub ...

, Ontario in the 1980s. At twelve he was singing in local churches and giving piano recitals. He led in many choirs and worked as a music producer for the CTS network. When his job position was eliminated, he decided to devote all his time to music. In 2000 he released his first album, self-titled ''Mark Masri''. After Masri recorded a demo with

Amy Sky Amy Sky (born 24 September 1960) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, record producer, theatre actress, and television host. Sky started classical music lessons at the age of five, and plays piano, guitar, cello and recorder. She has a degree from t ...

, on a song she thought might suit

Jim Brickman James Merrill Brickman (born November 20, 1961) is an American pop songwriter, pianist and radio host. Brickman has earned two Grammy nominations for his albums ''Peace'' (2003) for Best Instrumental, and ''Faith'' (2009) for Best New Age Album. ...

, he was very interested and invited Masri in 2008 to tour with him. They also collaborated on Brickman's hit "Christmas Is..." that reached No. 18 on

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks The Adult Contemporary chart is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine and lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary radio stations in the United States. The chart is compiled based on airplay data submitted to ''Billboard'' by stat ...

. Masri also appeared as a guest vocalist on Jim Brickman's 2009 CD ''Faith'', which was nominated for Best New Age Album at the

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

s. He is married to Angela since 1998 and they have a son together.

Awards and nominations

* In 2001, nominated for a

Juno Award The Juno Awards (stylized as JUNOS), or simply known as the Junos, are awards presented by Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to recognize outstanding achievements in Canada's mu ...

in the category

Best Gospel Album The Grammy Award for Best Gospel 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 albums in the Gospel music genre. Honors in ...

for ''Mark Masri'' * In 2001, winner of the GMA Canada

Covenant Award The Covenant Awards are awarded to the Canadian gospel music industry by GMA Canada, the Gospel Music Association of Canada. The association is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote the growth and ministry of Christian music in Ca ...

for ** Pop Album of the Year: ''Mark Masri'' ** Contemporary Gospel Song Of The Year: "Dwell In The House" ** Pop Song Of The Year: "Take My Hand" (with Madeline Stone and Bernie Herms) * In 2010, winner of the GMA Canada

for three categories: ** Classical – Traditional Song of the Year for "Time" (Mark Masri featuring Nita Whitaker) (Mark Masri jointly with

)) ** Classical – Traditional Album of the Year for ''La Voce'' ** Inspirational Song of the Year for "Hold On" ((Mark Masri jointly with Adam Crossley and John Acosta *

Discography

Albums

*2000: ''Mark Masri'' (independent limited edition) *2008: ''See My Face'' (only in the United States) *2009: ''Christmas Is...'' *2010: ''La Voce'' *2010: ''A Christmas Time with You'' *2011: ''Intimo'' *2014: ''Mark Masri Live'' (CD and DVD) *2016: ''Beating Heart''

Featured

*2008: "Christmas Is" by Jim Brickman feat. Mark Masri – reached No. 18 on

*2009: "Breathe, Dream, Pray, Love" in album ''Home'' (Jim Brickman feat. Mark Masri and Delta Goodrem) *2010: "To Be Wanted" by

Olivia Newton-John Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British and Australian singer and actress. With over 100 million records sold, Newton-John was one of the List of best-selling music artists#100 million to 119 million record ...

feat. Mark Masri appeared on Newton-John's album '' Grace and Gratitude – Renewed edition)'' (United States release). The album reached US Billboard New Age albums chart at No. 2, Billboard Christian albums chart at No. 36 and Billboard Christian/Gospel albums chart at No. 54. *2010: "Waiting" (Rosanna Riverso feat. Mark Masri) on her album ''Let There Be Peace''

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Masri, Mark 1973 births Living people Singers from Toronto Canadian people of Lebanese descent Canadian pop singers Canadian gospel singers 21st-century Canadian male singers 21st-century Canadian singers