Faia Younan is a Syrian-Assyrian singer, considered the first Middle Eastern artist ever to crowdfund her debut. Younan was born on June 20, 1992 to an Assyrian Christian family in the town of Tell Tamer, Syria, and grew up in the city of Aleppo. t’s hard to state a point of time at which Faia started singing. She remembers herself everywhere and all the time, singing at home, in school, on the road, on the bus, at different celebrations; friends’ jamming sessions and family gatherings. She moved with her family at the age of 11 from the culturally iconic city of Aleppo, Syria, to Sweden, carrying in her heart the oriental tunes she learned. Following high school, Faia studied Social Sciences at the university of Glasgow, but soon after her graduation and alongside with her work in Stockholm, she started participating in different cultural events and for the sake of different causes.At the age of eleven she moved to Sweden with her family and settled there until she moved to Scotland in 2010 to study Social Sciences; Economics and Business in the Glasgow University. After graduating she moved back to Sweden.Younan was a volunteer in the Swedish Red Cross and sang in local events.
In October 2014, inspired by the political atmosphere in her native Syria and its neighbouring Arab countries which she described as “loaded and hopeless”, Younan published a video that she created with her sister Rihan, titled “To Our Countries”. The video, which addresses the political reality of the Middle East and features Younan’s rendition of several songs by Lebanese diva Fairuz, went viral on YouTube and received exceptional attention, encouraging Younan to continue pursuing a career in music. The success of the video had the biggest impact on her decision on turning singing from merely a hobby to a full-time commitment.
In an exceptional time, Faia’s voice made its way to many people from all around the world. Relying on Youtube and social media as her background and platform, Faia’s genuine manner in staying in touch and directly connecting with people brought her closer to her audience. After a successful crowdfunding campaign, Younan released her debut single “Ohebbou Yadayka” (I Love Your Hands) followed by two other singles. “Ohebbou Yadayka” crowd funding campaign got Younan, in association with her manager Houssam Abdul Khalek, to Guinness World Records as the first Middle Eastern artist to crowd fund her debut song. This makes Younan the first female artist from the Arab World to enter the Guinness World Records Book. In 2017, she released her debut album, A Sea Between Us.
She was featured on the single “Busted and Blue” (Faia Younan Special)” from virtual band Gorillaz’ which appears on two versions of their Humanz album.In March 2019, Younan started releasing her second album Tales of the Heart digitally. The album contains 8 songs, referred to as tales, since each song is unique in musical genre and topic.
In addition to the songs she has released and which reflect her beliefs and values in arts and music, Faia has been holding live performances and concerts over the past year. Her concerts in Damascus (Opera House), Beirut (Unesco Hall, AUB assembly hall, USJ hall), Dubai (AUD hall) and Amman (Odeon theatre) witnessed a record-breaking success and won interest from all ages and different groups, which in turn placed her in the top list of young artists who present art with purpose that carries in its core cultural, social and humanitarian values. She has also participated in various occasions in different countries including Sweden, Morocco, Tunisia and the United Kingdom. In June 2016, she was on tour with the Orchestra of Syrian musicians and Damon Albarn & guests, where she performed on many stages including the Carre theatre in Amsterdam and the Royal Festival Hall in London.
