Alaa Wardi

Alaa Wardi
Alaa Wardi (2014)
Background information
Born (1987-01-13) 13 January 1987
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Genres Pop, covers
Occupation(s) Singer, musician, YouTuber
Years active 2011-present
Associated acts Hayajan
Website www.alaawardi.com

Alaa Wardi (in Arabic علاء وردي) [ʕaˈlaʔ warˈdiː] (born 13 January 1987 in Riyadh) is a Saudi Arabian singer, songwriter, a cappella artist and producer of Iranian origin. He is an online YouTube celebrity in the Arab world and internationally.[1] Wardi released his album Fi Ba7ri in 2015 and Madinat Al Salah in 2016. He has released a number of singles of original ballads and a cappella versions of mainly Middle East pop and pan-Arab hits and English international hits with occasional cover of other hits including notably Bollywood, K-pop hits. He was also part of the Jordan-based pop band Hayajan.

Career

Alaa Wardi studied music and sound engineering in University of Jordan. He lives in Riyadh. He is a musician, composer, singer, songwriter and audio engineer.[2]

His music features a cappella singing, usually with human rhythmic accompaniment, including beatboxing. His music and videos are marketed via the internet on a voluntary contribution basis.

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.[3] The lyrics for the album's songs were written by Aziz Maraka, a Jordanian musician.[4]

He became internationally known for his Hindi cover versions of Bollywood hits "Pehla Nasha" and "Jiya Re".[5] He is well known for "Evolution of Arabic Music" (in Arabic تطور الموسيقى العربية read Tatawwor al Musiqa al Arabiyya), with an a capella mash-up of 42 Arabic songs from the 1930s to 2010s. The music video directed by Nina Najjar was released on 26 April 2016 in association with Telfaz11 and Anghami. The video has accumulated more than 12 million views by February 2018. He has collaborated with a great number of other Arab and international artists including Peter Hollens.

In band Hayajan

In 2011 he formed a band called Hayajan with four Jordanian musicians. Their Arabic language debut album, Ya bay was released in May 2013. It was recorded by Hanna Gargour at Sweetspot Soundworks. The album includes 8 tracks, 6 written by the band members. The other two are cover versions of the Radiohead song "Nude" and Pink Floyd's "Comfortably Numb" with Arabic lyrics.

The band was made up of

  • Alaa Wardi - keyboards, acoustic guitar, lead vocals
  • Odai Shawagfeh - electric guitar
  • Mohammed Idrei - electric guitar
  • Amjad Shahrouh - bass
  • Hakam Abu Soud - drums

Personal life

He was born to Iranian parents in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.[1] His family owns a furniture business in Riyadh.

He married Sinem Güneş in 2015 in Bodrum, Turkey. Wardi's song "Thona2i" is dedicated to his wife and the music video has footage from the marriage ceremony.

Discography

Solo Albums

Album details Track listing
Fi Ba7ri
  • Release date: 2015

Tracklist:

  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
  • Release date: 2016

Tracklist:

  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)

Album with Hayajan

Album details Track listing
Ya bay
  • Release date: 2013

Tracklist:

  1. "Ya 7weneh" (4:11)
  2. "Wel Loom Ramani" (4:29)
  3. "Safina" (3:28)
  4. "Fish Majal" (5:36)
  5. "Ween El-Kalam" (4:16)
  6. "Risala" (3:14)
  7. "Ween Min eSneen" (4:57)
  8. "Wyama" (4:17)
  9. "Nude" (Radiohead Cover) (6:31)
  10. "Comfortably Numb" (Pink Floyd cover) (6:31)

Songs

  • "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"

Covers

Song titleFeaturing or WithCover 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

Source:[2]

References

  1. 1 2 Su "Saudi Arabia's King of YouTube" Check |url= value (help). The Atlantic. March 24, 2014. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
  2. 1 2 "Alaa Wardi". loudr.fm. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  3. ↑ "Fi Ba7ri by Alaa Wardi on iTunes". iTunes.
  4. ↑ "Aziz Maraka's Biography — Free listening, videos, concerts, stats and pictures at Last.fm". www.last.fm. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
  5. ↑ "Trending on Web". Daily Bhaskar. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
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