Alaa Wardi

Alaa Wardi (Arabic: علاء وردي) (born 13 January 1987 in Riyadh) is a Saudi Arabian singer, songwriter, a cappella artist, and producer of Iranian origin.[1] He gained popularity through the online video sharing platform, YouTube, where he publishes covers of Middle Eastern, English, Bollywood and K-pop hits, and original ballads.[2] Wardi released his album Fi Ba7ri in 2015 and Madinat Al Salah in 2016. He is also part of the Arab rock and pop band Hayajan.

Alaa Wardi
Alaa Wardi (2014)
Background information
Born (1987-01-13) 13 January 1987
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
GenresPop
Occupation(s)Singer, songwriter, YouTuber
Years active2011–present
Associated actsHayajan
Websitewww.alaawardi.com

Career

Alaa Wardi studied music and sound engineering at the University of Jordan, and after graduating in 2008, he moved back to Riyadh to work and focus on his music.[3]

He produced the English language musical video "No Woman, No Drive" in October 2013 with comedians Hisham Fageeh and Fahad Albutairi as a satirical comment on the Saudi Arabian ban on women drivers. It is sung a capella by Fageeh backed by Wardi and Albutairi to the tune of Bob Marley's "No Woman, No Cry" and has been popular on YouTube.

In June 2015, Wardi released his album Fi Ba7ri. The lyrics for the album's songs were written by Aziz Maraka, a Jordanian musician. His Hindi cover versions of Bollywood hits "Pehla Nasha" and "Jiya Re" became famous, as well as his mash-up "Evolution of Arabic Music" which is an a capella mash-up of 42 Arabic songs from the 1930s to 2010s. He has collaborated with a great number of other Arab and international artists including Peter Hollens.

In August 2019, Wardi released a new a cappella cover of Arab all time star Fairuz, a Medley featuring Jordanian indie singer Haifa Kamal, which went viral within few hours, and reaching more than 800K views on its 9th day on Youtube. Wardi was then contacted by Rahbani family, and was instructed to immediately remove the video or serious legal actions would be taken.[4][5][6]

Thousands of fans had already downloaded the video, and it's still going viral on the internet.[7]


Personal life

He was born to Iranian parents in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.[2] His family owns a furniture business in Riyadh. He married Sinem Güneş in 2015 in Bodrum, Turkey.

Discography

Solo albums
Album name Release date Tracks
Fi Ba7ri 2015
  1. "Ya Fata" (2:49)
  2. "Fi Biladi" (1:44)
  3. "Fi Ba7ri" (2:47)
  4. "Thona2i" (2:36)
  5. "5Asran" (2:05)
  6. "Amwaaj" (3:14)
  7. "Simba" (2:08)
  8. "Sa7rawi" (2:28)
Madinat Al Salah 2016
  1. "Madinat Al-Salah" (2:28)
  2. "Yawrood" (2:35)
  3. "Tkooni Ma3ay" (2:30)
  4. "Weli" (2:23)
  5. "Ya Rabbi" (1:51)
  6. "Last Drop of Hope" (2:35)

Original singles
  • "Sha3ri Yot3eboni"
  • "Risala Ela..."
  • "Ye5lef"
  • "Garfan Bel-So3odia"
  • "Fe Shi Makan" (feat. Angie Obeid)
  • "Laying in Bed After a Good Day"
  • "7aram"
  • "Ma3gool"
  • "Shalamonti Fel7al"
  • "Wenti Mastaneti"
  • "Evolution of Arabic Music"
  • "Overpopulated"

Cover songs
Song titleFeaturingCover of
Jee Le ZaraaTalaash
Happy (Telfaz11 cover)Pharrell Williams
AïchaJean-Jacques Goldman and Cheb Khaled
Royals (Arabic Beat) coverLorde
No Woman, No DriveFahad Albutairi, Hisham FageehAdaptation of
Bob Marley song
"No Woman, No Cry"
Jai HoPeter HollensSoundtrack from
Slumdog Millionaire
Mr. SimpleWonho ChungSuper Junior
Pehla NashaSoundtrack of Pehla Nasha
Jiya ReSoundtrack of
Jab Tak Hai Jaan
StayMikky EkkoRihanna
Ela MataSultan Al-JameelAsala Nasri
Osad EinyAmr Diab
Wa7ashtenyMohabAmr Diab
ŞıkıdımTarkan
ChandelierDima BawabSia
Desert RosePeter HollensSting / Cheb Mami
Fairuz Medley Haifa Kamal Fairuz

References
  1. "Alaa Wardi: A voice for alternative music". Arab News. 9 April 2014. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
  2. Su, Alice (25 March 2014). "Saudi Arabia's King of YouTube". The Atlantic. Retrieved 11 December 2017.
  3. "Saudi Aramco World : Alaa Wardi Goes Viral". archive.aramcoworld.com. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
  4. "«فيروزيات هيفاء كمال».. علاء وردى يمزج 12 أغنية من روائع جارة القمر". عين (in Arabic). 24 August 2019. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  5. الجديد, بيروت ــ العربي. "علاء وردي يحذف فيديو "فيروزيات" بطلب من عائلة الرحباني: لوّحوا بمقاضاتي قانونياً – فيديو". alaraby (in Arabic). Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  6. Fairuz Medley – Behind The Scenes | فيروزيات – خلف الكواليس, retrieved 9 December 2019
  7. فيروزيات | fairuz medley (الفيديو المحذوف من قناة علاء وردي), retrieved 9 December 2019
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