As the UAE prepares for another cool winter, the first two weeks of January 2025 promise to be even cooler in various ways. This period will be particularly special for music enthusiasts in the country, as they will have the opportunity to enjoy iconic rock band Coldplay. Fans will be treated to not one or two, but four exhilarating performances by the British lineup. Adding a Middle Eastern flavor to these four concerts at the Zayed Sports City Stadium in Abu Dhabi will be Palestinian-Chilean artist Elyanna.
Elyanna, who will celebrate her 23rd birthday in January, will serve as the supporting act for all four shows on January 9, 11, 12, and 14 in the UAE capital, as part of Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres World Tour. This is not the first time Elyanna, known for her captivating blend of Arabic music with Latin American rhythms, will share the stage with Coldplay.
Elyanna, who hails from a family deeply rooted in arts and music, was invited by the legendary band to perform with them at the renowned Glastonbury Festival in England in June this year. She contributed her soothing vocals to the song We Pray, Coldplay’s second single from their upcoming album Moon Music, as well as Arabesque, a hit from their 2019 album Everyday Life. We Pray, released on August 23, also featured a stellar lineup of artists including British rap star Little Simz, Nigerian singer Burna Boy, and Argentine singer Tini.
Elyanna was born in Nazareth, and her mother is a poet. Her maternal grandfather is a poet and singer, while her paternal grandmother is a Chilean pianist. Elyanna began singing at the age of seven, participated in competitions during her school years, and started posting song covers on SoundCloud. She gained attention through her cover songs of Amy Winehouse and Rihanna, which she performed with her sibling Feras, who plays the piano.
To advance her budding musical career, Elyanna and her family moved to San Diego, California, in the United States. After settling in the U.S., Elyanna continued posting cover songs on Instagram, where she amassed a following of 300,000 subscribers. This exposure caught the attention of Canadian musician, singer-songwriter, and producer Nasri Atweh, who introduced her to noted talent manager and record executive Lebanese-Canadian Wassim Sal Slaiby.
Impressed by her talent, Slaiby took Elyanna under his wing and facilitated her collaboration with Lebanese-Canadian singer and songwriter Sari Abboud, known as Massari. Her career took off when Slaiby signed her with Universal Arabic Music, and Elyanna eventually established her base in Los Angeles. Last year, Elyanna made history by becoming the first Palestinian to perform at the iconic Coachella music festival and the first to perform a full set in Arabic.
Elyanna’s family is fully supportive of her career, with her brother Feras continuing to play the piano and serving as her creative director and producer. Her mother is her co-writer, and her sister Tali is her stylist. Elyanna’s early musical influences include the late Syrian singer Sabah Al Fakhri and Spanish singer-songwriter Julio Iglesias.
Elyanna has released two eponymous EPs—Elyanna in 2020 and Elyanna II in 2022. Rolling Stone magazine named her one of the music’s Future 25 last year. Her debut studio album, Woledto (meaning I am born), was released on April 12 this year. The artist announced her Woledto world tour in July, set to begin on October 5. The three-month tour will start in Austin, Texas, known for its country music, before crossing the U.S. and Canada. She will then travel to Europe for gigs in the Netherlands, Spain, France, Belgium, Germany, and Sweden, concluding her first tour in London on December 16.
