1. Hiba Michel Tawaji is a Lebanese singer, actress, and director.
36 Facts About Hiba Tawaji
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Hiba Tawaji started her career playing the main female role in Rahbani musicals.
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Hiba Tawaji participated in the fourth season of France's version of The Voice, in which she was coached by Mika and reached the semi-finals.
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On 30 May 2016, it was announced Tawaji would join the cast of Notre-Dame de Paris as Esmeralda in the revival of the musical.
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Hiba Tawaji has since toured with the cast and performed internationally.
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Hiba Tawaji has pursued her Arabic career with four studio albums produced by Oussama Rahbani and numerous projects on the Lebanese and Arab levels, including in Egypt, Tunisia, and Saudi Arabia, where she was the first woman to sing on stage following an easing of restrictions on women's rights.
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Hiba Tawaji is signed to Universal Music Arabia, in partnership with Universal Music Group and Republic Records.
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Hiba Tawaji trained at an early age in opera and classical singing, then in modern style.
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From 1990 and until 2005, Hiba Tawaji studied at the Athenee de Beyrouth school and received a literary baccalaureate.
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Hiba Tawaji obtained her bachelor's degree in 2012 with a short movie written and directed by her, titled The Rope.
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Hiba Tawaji has insisted on different occasions that her collaboration with Rahbani is lifelong and that no contract exists to govern their projects together.
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In 2008, Hiba Tawaji released her first single, "Metl El Rih", which received extensive airtime on TV channels across Lebanon.
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Hiba Tawaji cemented her position as a promising newcomer on the musical scene with her acclaimed second single, "Helm", to which she directed the music video herself.
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Hiba Tawaji returned to Lebanon and appeared in other musicals by the Rahbanis, Don Quixote and Moulouk Al Tawaef.
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In 2012, Hiba Tawaji released her first album La Bidayi Wala Nihayi, in collaboration with Oussama Rahbani.
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Hiba Tawaji has performed in 2013 and 2014 with the National Symphonic Orchestra of Ukraine, headlining shows in Lebanon, Oman and the United Arab Emirates.
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Hiba Tawaji released in 2014 the official tribute song to the Lebanese Army on its 69th anniversary, Metl El Chajar Mazrouiin.
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In January 2015, Hiba Tawaji took part in the fourth season of The Voice: la plus belle voix, France's version of The Voice.
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Hiba Tawaji sang "Pas la" from Vianney, but lost to Thibault in the public vote, with the latter qualifying to the final.
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Hiba Tawaji ended up finishing joint 5th to 8th place for the season.
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Hiba Tawaji then proceeded on tour with the cast, performing sold-out shows in Taiwan, China, Turkey, Russia, Canada, South Korea, Switzerland, the UK, the United States, and Belgium, in addition to a tour of France and her home country of Lebanon, where the musical headlined the Jounieh International Festival.
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In 2017, Tawaji announced the release of her new project with Oussama Rahbani, titled Hiba Tawaji 30, honoring her 30th birthday.
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Hiba Tawaji's renowned and respected status was solidified as she was selected, in December 2017, to be the first female artist ever to take the stage in Saudi Arabia, following women's rights reforms in Saudi Arabia undertaken by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
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Hiba Tawaji featured on the official soundtrack of the movie, notably with the songs "Ce reve bleu" and "Parler".
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In 2019, Hiba Tawaji was invited by international tenor Andrea Bocelli to perform together at a concert as part of the Cedars International Festival in Lebanon.
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Hiba Tawaji performed the official soundtrack of the series Lahza Ya Rayt.
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In 2022, Hiba Tawaji signed a record deal with Universal Music Arabia, a division of Republic Records and Universal Music Group.
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Hiba Tawaji is managed by Lebanese-Canadian executive Wassim "SAL" Slaiby, the CEO of the label, which he launched to promote Arabic music on a global scale.
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On 7 October 2022, Hiba Tawaji released her first single under UMA called "Que Sera Sera" featuring Puerto Rican star Luis Fonsi.
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Hiba Tawaji conducted a one-time concert open to public for free, called Night of Hope, in the first large musical event after the 2020 Beirut explosion.
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Hiba Tawaji headlined a concert in Dubai as a part of the festivities for the luxury brand Louis Vuitton's 200th anniversary.
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In February 2023, Hiba Tawaji released Habibi Khalas, second single from her upcoming album.
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Hiba Tawaji released her studio album Baad Sneen in May 2023, her first one under her Universal deal.
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Hiba Tawaji has received much praise for her versatile vocal abilities, as she has performed in numerous genres such as opera, Arabic pop, Western pop, jazz, blues, Tarab, Latin genres, and French variete, as well as religious hymns.
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Hiba Tawaji cites Dalida, Lara Fabian, Celine Dion, Whitney Houston, Leo Ferre, Daniel Levi, and Charles Aznavour as her influences since childhood, alongside her personal favorite Mariah Carey, but stated she has never limited her music preferences to one genre.
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Hiba Tawaji is known to shoot spontaneous behind-the-scenes documentaries of her projects and concerts, directed by Nader Mousally and released on YouTube.