Nouhad Wadie Haddad (Arabic: نهاد وديع حداد; born November 21, 1935), popularly known as Fairuz (Arabic: فيروز), is a Lebanese singer-songwriter and actress. She is widely considered an iconic vocalist and one of the most celebrated singers in the history of the Arab world. She is popularly known as "The Bird of the East", "The Cedar of Lebanon", "The Moon's Neighbor", and "The Voice of Lebanon", among others. She is the mother of Lebanese composer and playwright Ziad Rahbani (Arabic: زياد الرحباني; January 1956 – 26 July 2025) Fairuz began her musical career as a teenager at the national radio station in Lebanon in the late 1940s as a chorus member. Her first major hit, "Itab", was released in 1952 and made her an instant star in the Arab world. In the summer of 1957, Fairuz held her first live performance at the Baalbeck International Festival where she was awarded with the honor of "Cavalier", the highest medal for artistic achievement by Lebanese president Camille Chamoun. Fairuz's fame spread throughout the Arab world in the 1950s and 1960s, leading her to perform outside of Lebanon in various Arab capitals, including Damascus, Amman, Cairo, Rabat, Algiers, and Tunis. Fairuz has received honors and distinctions in multiple countries, including Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Palestine, Tunisia, the United States, Egypt, and France. Throughout her career, she headlined at the most important venues in the world, such as Albert Hall and Royal Festival Hall in London, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center and United Nations General Assembly Lobby in New York, the Olympia and Salle Pleyel in Paris, and the Odeon of Herodes Atticus in Athens. In a career spanning over six decades, Fairuz has recorded nearly 1500 songs, released more than 80 albums, performed in 20 musicals, and sold over 150 million records worldwide, making her one of the highest selling Middle-Eastern artists of all time, and one of the best-selling music artists in the world.
last.fm