Myriam Fares (, ; born 3 May 1983) is a Lebanese singer, actress, and entertainer. She began her career in 2003, and released her debut single "Ana Wel Shoq". Following the success of that single, she released her self-titled debut

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

''Myriam'' (2003). She is known in the

Arab world The Arab world ( '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, comprises a large group of countries, mainly located in West Asia and North Africa. While the majority of people in ...

as the "Queen of The Stage" for her unique choreographed dance routines and performances. Fares made her acting debut with the television series ''Itiham''. The following year, her fifth studio album '' Aman'' broke the record for being the most played album on the streaming service

Anghami Anghami ( , "melodic"/"my melodies") is the first legal music streaming platform and digital distribution company in the Arab world. It launched in November 2012 in Lebanon, providing unlimited Arabic and international music to stream and downlo ...

. In 2021, Fares starred in her own

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

'' Myriam Fares: The Journey'', which made her the first Middle Eastern and Arab artist to release a documentary on Netflix, with it ranking at number 1 in several countries worldwide. Her 2018 single " Goumi" gained popularity on

TikTok TikTok, known in mainland China and Hong Kong as Douyin (), is a social media and Short-form content, short-form online video platform owned by Chinese Internet company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which may range in duration f ...

after a viral dance challenge Fares created surpassed 10 billion total views. Fares also collaborated with other musicians

Nicki Minaj Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian rapper, singer, and songwriter. Regarded as the "Queen of Rap" and one of the most influential rappers of all time, she is noted for her ...

and

Maluma Juan Luis Londoño Arias (born 28 January 1994), known professionally as Maluma, is a Colombian singer. Born and raised in Medellín, he developed an interest in music at a young age, recording songs since age sixteen. Arias released his debu ...

in 2022 on the official

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

single, "

Tukoh Taka "Tukoh Taka" is the 2022 FIFA Fan Festival anthem performed by Trinidadian-born rapper Nicki Minaj, Colombian singer Maluma and Lebanese singer Myriam Fares. It was released by FIFA for the 2022 FIFA World Cup soundtrack on November 18, 2022, th ...

Life and career

1983–2005: Early life, beginnings and ''Nadini''

Myriam Arbal Fares was born on May 3, 1983 in Kafar Shlal, a small village in Southern Lebanon Saida. Her journey in the world of arts began at the age of five when she started learning classical ballet. At the age of nine, she exhibited her talents on the television program ''Al Mawaheb Al Saghira'' and was honored with the first prize in oriental dancing by the Lebanese Public Television. Fares joined the Lebanese National Conservatory at the age of fifteen, dedicating four years of learning the foundations of oriental singing. At the age of 16, Myriam achieved the top position in "Lebanese song publicity" at the festival of the Lebanese song under the management of Unesco group in Lebanon. At the age of seventeen, she made her mark on the television talent program '' Studio El Fann'' in the category of Lebanese song, winning the title of best singer in the South of Lebanon,

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

, and

Mount Lebanon Mount Lebanon (, ; , ; ) is a mountain range in Lebanon. It is about long and averages above in elevation, with its peak at . The range provides a typical alpine climate year-round. Mount Lebanon is well-known for its snow-covered mountains, ...

Soon after, Fares signed a contract with Music Master Records and released her debut song titled "Ana Wel Shog" as part of her debut album, ''Myriam.'' The album achieved success, with multiple songs hitting the charts, including the song "La Tes'alni" which topped the charts for two months. The track "Ghamarni" was especially popular in

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...

and was translated into more than four languages including Russian, Ukrainian, and Chechen. Following the album release, Fares started touring globally. She also launched her own fragrance line, featuring scents such as "Ana wel Shog". In 2005, Myriam released her second album titled "Nadini Myriam," in both Lebanese and Egyptian. The album consisted of 10 songs, including "Aanadiya," "Hasisni Beek," "Leih Habibi," "Maarafsh Had bel Esmi da," "Hasat bi Aman," "Khalini Teer," and "Zaalan Menni," songs "Nadini," "Haklik rahtak," and "Waheshny Eah." From this album she filmed three music videos for the songs "Nadini," "Haklik rahtak," and "Waheshny Eah." The music video for "Haklik Rahtak," was shot in Theatre Gymmase Marie Belle in Paris. The song "Nadini" charted for approximately two months. The music video for "Wa7ishni Eh," had a racing theme, with Fares performing some stunts along with a professional stunt driver. The song was translated into several languages, including Assyrian, Turkish and

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

. She also launched her second fragrance line, called "Nadini". Myriam has collaborated with a multitude of global brands. In 2007, she engaged in her successful collaboration with the globally renowned telecommunications company, "Vodafone Egypt", she starred as the face of this company. In 2008, Myriam released her highly anticipated first Khaliji Mega hit, accompanied by a captivating music video, titled "Moukanoh Wein." Myriam integrated the rich Eastern heritage of the Gulf area with its modernity, presenting it to her generation. Following the tremendous success of her song, she embraced the concept of fusing civilizations and cultures through music, presenting a new approach. By blending tradition with modernity, Myriam not only appealed to a wide audience but also showed her artistic ability to create a unique musical experience. It did a bomb in the Arab world and especially in the Gulf area because of the amazement of the choreography in the music video. After the tremendous success of her song, Myriam had a meeting with the Kuwaiti audience during the largest festival in the Arab world at that time, "Hala February." In this festival, she was crowned the "Queen of the Stage" due to the uniqueness of her performance.

2007–2011: ''Bet'oul Eih'', Silina and ''Min Oyouni''

In 2007, Fares released the song titled "Moukanoh Wein" which served as the lead single from her third studio album '' Bet'oul Eih''. The next year, she released music videos for the second and third singles "Mouch Ananiya" and "Eih Elly Byehsal" and the album was released in April 2008. She spent the year promoting the album and it became one of her most successful albums to date, she also released two more music video from the album that were "Ayyam El Sheety" and "Betrouh". In 2009, Myriam starred in the movie ''Silina''.

Tukoh Taka

In 2022, Fares was chosen by the

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

panel to be the performing artist representing the

for the official FIFA Fan Festival anthem of the Qatar World Cup. Alongside global artists

and

, she performed the song "Tukoh Taka." Fares played a significant role in the song's development: contributing to the arrangement, composing the Arabic part, and designing the choreography for the music video herself. Upon its release, "Tukoh Taka" quickly rose to the top of the music charts in both the region and the world. The song and its music video incorporated three different languages: English,

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

, and

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

. In the Arabic part, Fares aimed to send a message to promote peace in Arab countries, especially Lebanon. The music video was shot in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. The FIFA Fan Festival's opening in

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

witnessed an elaborate performance by Fares, featuring 50 dancers, 50 musicians, 400 costumes, 40 technicians and graphics. The performance elevated Fares' career beyond the Arab region, establishing her as an international artist. The song kept trending at number 1 for three weeks on trending for music and two weeks on a global music video.

Myriam Fares: The Journey on Netflix

In 2021, Netflix chose Fares as the first Arab artist to make a documentary film on her personal life. The documentary recounts experiences in Myriam's personal and professional life. ''Myriam Fares: The Journey'' was intentionally released during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. Since people all over the world were not able to connect socially, Fares wanted to share for the first time how she and her family coped with this situation. The documentary achieved great success revealing her personal life for the first time, from pregnancy and delivery to music and studio preparations. Immediately after its release, the documentary ranked number 1 for 2 weeks in the Arabic and International films category, as well as Netflix documentaries, and series, remaining in the top 10 list for 2 months. ''Myriam Fares: The Journey'' consistently ranked among the top searched titles on Netflix in the region, for the duration of its broadcast. Fares ended the documentary with a music video for her new release '' Ghaddara Ya Dounya''.

Goumi

Fares released '' Goumi'' in 2018, a song that encouraged girls to stand up and dance. Following a dance challenge that Fares launched on her Instagram, the song went viral around the world. To date, the "Goumi" challenge has surpassed over 10.2 billion views. Following the successes of "Goumi" and "Tukoh Taka," Fares garnered significant attention and was invited for numerous international interviews on television and in magazines. One notable interview was with Fox 5DC, where she discussed the meaning behind "Tuko Takah" and her feelings about becoming an international singer.

Latest awards

In the 2023 Murex D'or Awards in Lebanon, Fares was awarded the "First Lebanese International Star".

Personal life

Fares married

Lebanese-American Lebanese Americans () are Americans of Lebanese descent. This includes both those who are native to the United States of America, as well as immigrants from Lebanon and Latin America. Lebanese Americans comprise 0.79% of the American populatio ...

businessman Danny Mitri in a

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

ceremony in August 2014. They have two boys born in February 2016 and October 2020. In an interview with , she stated that she is a supporter of

civil marriage A civil marriage is a marriage performed, recorded, and recognized by a government official. Such a marriage may be performed by a religious body and recognized by the state, or it may be entirely secular. History Countries maintaining a popul ...

and is not against

interfaith Interfaith (also called "interreligion") may refer to various ways of relating between beliefs, creeds, ideologies, faiths, or religions: * Interfaith conflict (disambiguation) * Interfaith dialogue, also known as interfaith cooperation * Interfai ...

relationships.

Discography

Studio albums

* ''Myriam'' (2003) * ''Nadini'' (2005) * ''Bet'oul Eih'' (2008) * ''Min Oyouni'' (2011) * '' Aman'' (2015)

Singles

Other charted songs

Filmography

*2009: Silina (Movie) *2010: Fawazeer Myriam Fares (TV program) *2014: Itiham (TV series) *2021: Myriam Fares : The Journey (Netflix Documentary)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fares, Myriam 1983 births Living people People from Sidon District 21st-century Lebanese women singers Lebanese women singers Lebanese female dancers Lebanese belly dancers Lebanese film actresses Lebanese television actresses Lebanese Maronites International artist groups and collectives Arabic-language singers of Lebanon