Rachel Tayza (; born Htoo Htwe Tayza on 14 September 1996), also known as RACHEL, is a

Burmese Burmese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Myanmar, a country in Southeast Asia * Burmese people * Burmese language * Burmese alphabet * Burmese cuisine * Burmese culture Animals * Burmese cat * Burmese chicken * Burmese (horse), a ...

pop singer, songwriter, and fashion designer. She rose to fame with her solo album, ''Kabar''. She is the daughter of Burmese business tycoon

Tay Za Tay Za (, ; born 18 July 1964) is a Burmese business tycoon and Chairman of Htoo Group of Companies. He is a close associate of the country's former head of state, Than Shwe. He is the first Burmese entrepreneur to appear on the cover of Forbes As ...

. Since January 2023, she has faced sanctions from the US government for providing financial support to the military regime in Myanmar.

Early life

Rachel was born on 14 September 1996 to

and Thida Zaw, the youngest of three children. Her father, Tay Za, is a business tycoon and chairman of

Htoo Group of Companies The Htoo Group of Companies (HGC, ) is a Burmese holding company, with headquarters at 5 Pyay Road, Hlaing Township, Yangon, Myanmar. HGC is the parent company of Air Bagan, a privately held Burmese airline company. The company has several subs ...

Career

Rachel started learning and playing the guitar at the age of 13. She discovered her real passion and has devoted her life to becoming a musician. She began her music career by making cover songs and posting them on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

. As a notable achievement, she made the background music album for the popular film '' Nya''. Since then, she has become popular, having performed in various major music concerts and even live concerts. In 2018, she started endeavoring to be able to produce and distribute her first solo album. She released her debut solo album, ''Kabar'', on September 21, 2019, which was officially distributed to all parts of Myanmar. The album was a commercial success, reaching the top of the album charts. On 24 August 2019, she performed in Alive in Yangon's second music concert, called The Blue Night, together with Mary and Gabriel Phway. In December 2019, she released a single song and music video with featured artist X-Boxin called "Thu" on her Facebook page, which earned 1 million views within 24 hours and was the longest-leading No. 3 song in the Myanmar Top Chart on

Joox Joox (stylised in all caps) is a music streaming service owned by Tencent, launched in January 2015. Joox is the biggest music streaming app in Asian markets such as Hong Kong, Macau, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand and also in South Afri ...

. After graduating from Polimoda in 2024, she is currently working as a fashion designer in Italy.

Sanctions

On 31 January 2023, on the eve of the 2nd anniversary of the

2021 Myanmar coup d'état A coup d'état in Myanmar began on the morning of 1 February 2021, when Elections in Myanmar, democratically elected members of the country's ruling party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), were deposed by the Tatmadaw, Myanmar's milita ...

, the US government sanctioned Rachel for providing financial support to Myanmar's military regime due to her association with the Htoo Group of Companies. She is a director and shareholder of numerous subsidiaries and associated companies under the Htoo Group of Companies umbrella. She owned Nova Lifestyle Holdings, and its registration is currently suspended. On 8 March 2024, the activist monitoring group

Justice for Myanmar Justice For Myanmar (abbreviated JFM) is a covert group of activists campaigning for justice and accountability for the people of Myanmar. Justice for Myanmar's public website launched on 28 April 2020. Since its launch, the group has published a ...

called for the Italian government to investigate Rachel Tayza. They demanded that her assets be seized and that she be expelled from the country. JFM reports that she is a director of at least seven private companies, including Htoo Group's businesses with direct links to the Burmese military that were established after the 2021 coup d'état. Additionally, according to JFM reports, Rachel Taze is also a director of the now-defunct Myanmar Avia Export Company Limited, which brokered Russian aircraft and spare parts.

Discography

Albums

*''Myit'' (for Nya film) (2018) *''Kabar'' (2019)

Singles

*''Ser Myat Nar'' (2017) *''Ani Youn Alwan'' (2017) *''Thu'' (2019)

References

{{authority control Living people 1996 births Singers from Yangon Burmese YouTubers Burmese pop singers 21st-century Burmese women singers Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List Individuals related to Myanmar sanctions