Rania Zeriri (born 6 January 1986) is a

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

singer. Most notably, she finished fifth in the German reality talent show ''Deutschland sucht den Superstar'' in

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

Early life

Rania Zeriri grew up in the Netherlands as the daughter of a Dutch mother and an Algerian father who left the family when she was still very young. After finishing school with a

General Certificate of Secondary Education The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a range of subjects taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, having been introduced in September 1986 and its first exams taken in 1988. State schools ...

(

Mittlere Reife The Mittlere Reife (, lit. ''"Middle Maturity"'') is a school-leaving certificate in Germany that is usually awarded after ten years of schooling. It is roughly comparable with the British GCSE. The official name varies between the federal st ...

), she moved at the age of 17 to

Salamanca Salamanca () is a Municipality of Spain, municipality and city in Spain, capital of the Province of Salamanca, province of the same name, located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is located in the Campo Charro comarca, in the ...

to study Spanish. Later, she acquired a hotel animation diploma and then worked mainly on

Ibiza Ibiza (; ; ; #Names and pronunciation, see below) or Iviza is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It is 150 kilometres (93 miles) from the city of Valencia. It is the third largest of th ...

and

Fuerteventura Fuerteventura () is one of the Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean, geographically part of Macaronesia, and politically part of Spain. It is located away from the coast of North Africa. The island was declared a biosphere reserve by UNESCO i ...

where she also started to perform as a singer in hotels.

Music career

Rania Zeriri gained national recognition as contestant and 'Top 5' finalist in the 2008 German "

Idol Idol or Idols may refer to: Religion and philosophy * Cult image, a human-made object that is venerated or worshipped for the deity, spirit or daemon that it embodies or represents * Murti, a devotional image of a deity or saint used during puja ...

" version ''

Deutschland sucht den Superstar ''Deutschland sucht den Superstar'' (''DSDS''; "Germany is looking for the Superstar") is a German reality talent show. Part of the ''Idol'' franchise, it was created by British media mogul Simon Fuller as a spin-off from the British show ''P ...

'' (DSDS) broadcast by

RTL RTL may refer to: Media * RTL Group, a European TV, radio, and production company *** List of RTL Group's television stations (including part-owned channels) *** List of RTL Group's radio stations ** RTL Lëtzebuerg, usually referred to simply a ...

. She finished in fifth place. After the DSDS show Zeriri performed throughout Germany and performed before the final of the European Football Championship at the fan area at the Brandenburg Gate, Berlin, in front of several hundred thousand visitors. Zeriris debut solo

maxi single A maxi single, maxi-single, or maxi CD (sometimes abbreviated to MCD or CDM) is a music single release with more than the usual two tracks of an A-side song and a B-side song. Maxi singles are often mistaken for extended plays (EPs), especial ...

''Crying Undercover'' was released on 14 November 2008 by the record label ''

Kontor Records Kontor Records is a record label based in Hamburg, Germany. The label's artist roster includes ATB, Tiësto, Armin van Buuren and Scooter. Jens Thele is the head manager of Kontor and is also the manager of Scooter. Edel SE & Co. KGaA is th ...

''. The title song was written for the singer by Achim Jannsen, a writer who produced several cover-songs for Jan Wayne, together with the musician Claas P. Jambor, a member of the '' Zeichen der Zeit'' project. The CD contains also the song ''Cursed And Blessed'' written by Zeriri in 2006 and the video of the title song. The single reached position 86 in the Germany Singles Top 100.

DSDS controversies

Although Rania Zeriri started the last phase of the competition as one of the favourites she received later controversial press coverage, especially from the German newspaper ''

Bild ''Bild'' (, ) or ''Bild-Zeitung'' (, ) is a German tabloid newspaper published by Axel Springer SE. The paper is published from Monday to Saturday; on Sundays, its sister paper '' Bild am Sonntag'' () is published instead, which has a differen ...

''. On 24 April 2008 ''Bild'' appeared with an article suggesting that contestants of the show might have used

drugs A drug is any chemical substance other than a nutrient or an essential dietary ingredient, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalation, injection, smoking, ingestio ...

in the dressing room area singling out Zeriri as potential culprit. However, the accusation was never proven and Zeriri made new headlines when she publicly voiced her opinion that a requested drug test should not only include the contestants but also the jury, openly stated her increasing discomfort in participating in the show and directly criticised the juror

Dieter Bohlen Dieter Bohlen (; born Dieter Günter Bohlen on 7 February 1954) is a German songwriter, producer, singer and television personality. He first achieved fame as a member of the pop duo Modern Talking in the 1980s, and has since produced numerous G ...

Personal life

Zeriri was born with holes in her

vocal cords In humans, the vocal cords, also known as vocal folds, are folds of throat tissues that are key in creating sounds through Speech, vocalization. The length of the vocal cords affects the pitch of voice, similar to a violin string. Open when brea ...

. Her dark voice is the result of an operation which was necessary to close the inborn holes using laser treatment. This caused her difficulties to sing high notes and in the

falsetto Falsetto ( , ; Italian language, Italian diminutive of , "false") is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave. It is produced by the vibration of the ...

ArtEZ ArtEZ University of Arts () is an art academy in Netherlands. ArtEZ combines several art institutes and art disciplines with branches in Arnhem, Enschede, and Zwolle. In its name the A stands for Arnhem, the E for Enschede, and Z for Zwolle. Aca ...

. She also works as a reporter with the regional broadcaster ''TV Enschede FM''. After she reached the Top 10 of the fifth season of the German television contest ''

'' (DSDS) in 2008, she resigned from her job and moved to Gronau- Epe in Germany to live with her mother. In February 2025, the pop star was intercepted in

Mercogliano Mercogliano is an Italian town and ''comune'' in the province of Avellino, Campania, southern Italy. Geography Mercogliano is a hill town located near the western suburb of Avellino and below the mount Partenio (or Montevergine). The municipality ...

Avellino Avellino () is a city and ''comune'', capital of the province of Avellino in the Campania region of southern Italy. It is situated in a plain surrounded by mountains east of Naples and is an important hub on the road from Salerno to Benevento. ...

, Italy, where she lived as a homeless person: the city administration mobilized to help her. As of 25 February 2025, she is receiving mental health support from the municipality of Mercogliano.Da popstar in Olanda a clochard nell’Avellinese: Rania Zeriri riconosciuta e aiutata a Mercogliano

Discography

Sampler

* 2008 ''Fly Alone'' (joined release of all finale participants of Deutschland sucht den Superstar)

Maxi single

* 2008 ''Crying Undercover''

References

External links

Biography at agency site
*
Official fan site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zeriri, Rania 1986 births Living people Dutch people of Algerian descent Deutschland sucht den Superstar participants Dutch pop singers Dutch expatriates in Spain Dutch expatriates in Italy People from Enschede 21st-century Dutch women singers 21st-century Dutch singers English-language singers from the Netherlands