Elyanna

Biography

Elyanna, born Elian Amer Marjieh on 22 January 2002 in Nazareth, is a Palestinian-Chilean singer and songwriter who has rapidly become the most globally visible young artist of Arabic-language pop, fusing Arabic music with Latin rhythms and contemporary production into a distinctive experimental Arab-pop sound. Her mother is a poet and her maternal grandfather was a poet and singer, and her paternal grandmother is of Chilean descent, giving her a richly layered heritage. Elyanna began singing at the age of seven, and after her brother recognized her talent, the family relocated from Nazareth to Los Angeles to pursue her career. In 2018 she connected with producer Nasri and manager Wassim 'SAL' Slaiby, and in 2021 became one of the first artists signed to Universal Arabic Music, a venture between Slaiby, Republic Records, and Universal Music Group designed to bring Arabic music to global audiences. Her historic breakthrough came at the Coachella festival in 2023, where she became the first artist ever to perform a set entirely in Arabic on one of the world's largest pop stages, a milestone widely covered by international media as a watershed for Arabic-language music in the mainstream Western industry. She insisted on singing in Arabic rather than crossing over into English, a deliberate assertion of cultural identity. Elyanna's ascent has continued at a remarkable pace. In 2024 she released her debut studio album Woledto, sold out a North American tour, was invited by Coldplay to perform at the Glastonbury Festival, and appeared alongside the band on Saturday Night Live, exposing Arabic-language song to vast new audiences. She has become a fixture in global music press as a symbol of a new, confident generation of Arab artists. Throughout her rise she has foregrounded her Palestinian identity, using her platform to draw attention to the Palestinian cause and to assert that an unapologetically Arab artist can succeed on the largest international stages without diluting her roots. Still in her early twenties, Elyanna represents the newest frontier of Palestinian music: a diaspora-born star carrying the Arabic language and Palestinian identity into the global pop mainstream, and reshaping what international audiences expect Arab music to sound like.

Why This Person Matters

The first artist to perform an all-Arabic set at Coachella, she has carried the Arabic language and Palestinian identity into the global pop mainstream as the breakout young star of Arab music.

Historical Context

Elyanna was born Elian Marjieh in Nazareth in 2002 to a Palestinian mother — herself from a line of poets and singers — and a father of Chilean descent, a heritage that mirrors the global dispersal of Palestinian and Arab families. She came of age in the social-media era, and her family's relocation to Los Angeles to pursue her career placed her at the meeting point of Arab roots and the Western pop industry. Her 2021 signing to Universal Arabic Music, a venture explicitly designed to bring Arabic music to global audiences, situated her within a deliberate twenty-first-century push to mainstream the Arabic language internationally. Rising as a diaspora-born artist amid heightened global attention to Palestine, she chose to foreground rather than soften her identity.

Historical Context

1. 2002 — Born in Nazareth, Israel

Selected Works

• Caribe — A bilingual Arabic-Spanish fusion track that brought Palestinian-Chilean singer Elyanna to international attention, blending her Palestinian heritage with the Latin music she grew up with in Chile.

Legacy & Influence

Elyanna made history at Coachella in 2023 as the first artist ever to perform a set entirely in Arabic on one of the world's largest pop stages, insisting on Arabic rather than crossing over into English — a deliberate assertion of cultural identity. Her momentum has only accelerated with her debut album Woledto (2024), a sold-out North American tour, a Coldplay-backed Glastonbury appearance, and a Saturday Night Live performance, each exposing Arabic-language song to vast new audiences. Throughout her rise she has used her platform to foreground her Palestinian identity and the Palestinian cause. Still in her early twenties, she represents the newest frontier of Palestinian music — a star reshaping what international audiences expect Arab music to sound like and proving an unapologetically Arab artist can succeed at the highest level without diluting her roots.

Topics & Themes

• Contemporary
• Diaspora

References & Sources

1. Elyanna — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elyanna
2. Palestinian-Chilean pop star Elyanna makes history at Coachella 2023 — https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Culture/palestinian-chilean-pop-star-elyanna-set-make-history/story?id=98581880
3. How Palestinian Chilean Singer Elyanna Is Forging Her Own Path — https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/elyanna-new-album-coachella-criticism-1234771806/