Lina Makhul

LINA
Background information
Born (1993-07-11) 11 July 1993
Ohio, US
Origin Acre, Israel
Genres Pop/Dance
Years active 2013–present
Labels Yodan Productions
Website www.linaofficial.com

Leena Courtney Makhoul (or Lina Makhul, Arabic: لينا مخول‎, Hebrew: לינא מח'ול‎) (born July 11, 1993) is a Palestinian-Israeli international singer-songwriter.

Early life

Leena Courtney Makhoul was born to Arab-Christian parents in Toledo, Ohio, and grew up in Acre, Israel. Since the age of four she has loved dancing, playing the piano and singing. She speaks five languages and became the first Arab to win the Israeli version of The Voice through viewer voting.[1]

Music career

In an audition for the second season of the reality singing competition The Voice Israel in late 2012, Makhoul sang "Empire State of Mind" by Alicia Keys and joined the mentoring team of Shlomi Shabat. In the program she also sang a cover version of the song "Autumn Leaves" (Arabic version, originally by Fairuz), obtaining the vote of all mentors. Within three days of her first appearance on The Voice, she had a quarter of a million views on YouTube.

On 23 March 2013, Makhoul won the final in the Nokia Arena[2] in Tel Aviv with 62% of the vote, having performed "What A Feeling", theme song of the movie Flashdance. Along with her mentor Shabat, she performed a song written and composed by him with his daughter singer Manor Shabat. She also sang "Hallelujah" by Leonard Cohen.[3] She was approached by International Israeli-born manager Irit TenHengel who signed her to her label, Yodan Productions.

In September 2016 Lina was selected as the opening act for the band Queen + Adam Lambert in Tel Aviv.[4] The concert was held at Park Hayarkon and she performed in front of an audience of 51,000 people.[5]

In December 2016 Lina covered "Holy War" by Alicia Keys, releasing an online video of the song that included her own ethnic influences. The video was discovered by Alicia, who shared it on her own Instagram, Facebook and Twitter pages.[6]

In September 2017, Lina announced on her social media pages that she would be supporting British girl-group Little Mix on their upcoming UK & Ireland leg of The Glory Days Tour for all 37 arena dates from October–November 2017.[7]

Discography

Her first single "This Ain't About You" was released worldwide on the 29 April 2016. The track achieved a top 10 in the UK Music-Week's Club and Pop Charts.[8] Her second single "Dance Sucker" rose even further to #4 in the UK Music Week's Official Club Chart, reflecting her growing international success.[9]

Single "Dance Sucker" was released as a preview of Lina’s new album Walking On A Tightrope due for release in 2017. The track was produced by Grammy Award winner Jerry Wonda and Tal Forer. The album features songs written by Karen Poole (David Guetta / Janet Jackson / Kylie Minogue) and Grammy Award winner Eliot Kennedy (Spice Girls / Take That). Lina is currently working with writers such as Brit Award Nominee Maegan Cottone (Demi Lovato / Iggy Azalea / Britney / Little Mix), Hiten Bharadia (Craig David / Lemar / Omi / Tiesto) and Knightstarr (Anne-Marie / Janelle Monae).

Singles

Year Single Music Week Charts
DJ Charts Commercial Pop Charts
2016 This Ain't About You
1
7
2017 Dance Sucker
—
—
Can't Keep Falling
4
—

See also

References

  1. ↑ Gemer, Shira. "Israeli Arab voted best singer in Israel's The Voice". BBC. BBC. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
  2. ↑ Gemer, Shira (2013-03-27). "Israeli Arab voted best singer in Israel's The Voice". BBC News. Retrieved 2017-04-06.
  3. ↑ Owoseje, Toyin (March 27, 2013). "Israeli Arab Lina Makhoul Crowned Winner of Israel's The Voice". International Business Times. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
  4. ↑ "When Queen comes to town, show goes on with local singers". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 2017-04-06.
  5. ↑ London, Brian. "What Is It Like To See Queen In Park HaYarkon In Tel Aviv". Israel Cool. Israel Cool. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
  6. ↑ Keys, Alicia (20 December 2016). "Blown away by this beautiful, deep cover" (Tweet). Twitter. Twitter. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
  7. ↑ "Tour". LINA. Retrieved 2017-09-21.
  8. ↑ Sutherland, Mark (17 April 2016). "Music Week". Music Week. 16 (Week 16). Retrieved 18 April 2017.
  9. ↑ Sutherland, Mark (23 October 2016). "Music Week". Music Week. 43 (Week 43). Retrieved 18 April 2017.
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