Elaha Soroor

Elaha Soroor (also spelled as Elaha Sorur) (Persian: الهه سرور‎) (born in 1988) is an Afghan pop singer. She was in musical reality show Afghan Star, a television program similar to the Idol franchise. She is a member of the Hazara ethnic group of Afghanistan.

Elaha Soroor
الهه سرور
Birth nameMaryam
Also known asElaha
Born1988 (age 32–33)[1]
esfahan, Iran
GenresPersian pop, pop
Occupation(s)Singer
Years active2008–present
Associated actsAfghan Star, Stage Manoto

Personal life

Soroor was born in Iran into a religious family of refugees who left Afghanistan during the civil war, and lived there for 14 years. She and her family moved back to Afghanistan in 2005. During her high school years, Soroor worked as a news reporter for a local radio station in Kondoz, a city in the north of Afghanistan, and also for the Bakhtar news agency. At the same time, she taught literacy and maths to young girls and women from her neighborhood who were not allowed to attend school under Taliban law.

As a young woman in Kondoz (at the time, the Taliban still had influence on people of the area), Soroor was not afraid to openly challenge conservative views and fight for a more equal society. She was labeled by locals as a political activist, meaning she and her family were forced to leave Kondoz after receiving death threats from fundamentalist groups.

Music career

After moving to Kabul with her family in 2007 Soroor began to develop her passion for music. She studied at music school where she specialized in traditional Afghan folk music whilst also studying western harmony, and started performing with Afghani group, Aryan. All this was done in secret without the consent or support of her family, who were against her performing as a professional musician. Upon finding out, they prevented her from singing for a year.

Soroor's voice was discovered by the judges of the TV talent show Afghan Star in 2009, where she gained popularity nationally among Afghan communities around the world, being the first female Hazara singer to perform on national TV.

Her first two original songs, "Abi Jan" and "Be Bahana" were released in 2009. In 2010 she recorded "Sangsar", a song which openly criticises the "stoning law" practiced by some Muslim communities. This led to fundamentalist groups attempting to assassinate her and members of her family on several occasions.

Discography
Live performances and concerts
  • Concert in Copenhagen, Denmark (June 7, 2011)
  • Concert in Nederland, Holland (June 2011)[2]
  • Special appearance on BBC New Year show of BBC Persian TV in 1391
Music videos
  • "Bay Bahaana"
  • "Abi Jan"
  • "Devanegi"
  • "Meyane Tariki"

See also

References
  1. "Official Elaha Soroor website – About Me". Elaha Soroor. elahamusic.com. Archived from the original on 2013-03-31. Retrieved 2013-03-31.
  2. "Biography – Welcome To West Kabul". Kabulboy.webs.com. Archived from the original on 2013-03-31. Retrieved 2012-05-05.


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