Fairuz

Fairuz
فيروز
Fairuz ; فيروز
	Fairuz performing at a concert in July 2001.
Background information
Birth name	Nouhad Wadi Haddad
Born	November 21, 1935 (age 88); Beirut, Lebanese Republic
Origin	Lebanon
Genres	Arabic Music; Lebanese Music
Occupation(s)	Singer
Years active	1950–present
Website	http://www.fairouz.com

Fairuz (born Nouhad Haddad (Arabic: نهاد حداد, November 21, 1935) is a Lebanese singer. She is considered among the best singers in Arab world. She has been performing for over 50 years all over the world. Her vocal range is contralto. Her first album was released in 1952. She has released 98 more albums since then.

Early Life

Fairuz in 1945

Nuhad Haddad was born in 1935 in Beirut, Lebanon to a Lebanese Christian Maronite family. She was the eldest child in the family. Her father worked as a typesetter at a print shop.^[1] In 1940's, Mohammed Flayfel, a musician and a teacher at the Lebanese Conservatory, discovered her when he was searching different schools for singers to perform in a newly opened radio station. He attended a show at the school where Nuhad was to sing. He was very impressed with her voice and adviced her family to enroll her in his conservatory. Her father allowed her to be enrolled but only on a condition that her brother would also go with her.^[2] Flayfel along with other staff at Lebanese Conservatory trained her for 5 years. She began singing for the Palestinian Cause and also sang for various Arab Capitals including Beirut. Soon, she was hired at the National Radio Station as a Chorus singer. During that time, many singers used stage names. Halim Al-Rumi, who wrote songs for her, recommended that Nahud Haddad perform under the name Fairuz, means "turquoise" in Arabic, which she accepted. in 1954, she married Assi Rahbani, who was a policeman and a part time composer.^[3]