Biography

Assala Mostafa Hatem Nasri (Arabic: أصالة مصطفى حاتم نصري‎‎ aka Asala, Asalah and Assalah; born 15 May 1969) is a Syrian musical artist

Early life and career

Assala was born in Damascus, Syria to a middle class couple. Mostafa Nasri, Assala's father, was a revered composer and singer. Assala began her musical career by performing patriotic, religious, and children's songs when she was four years old. She sang the theme song "Qessas Al Sho'oub" (Arabic: قصص الشعوب), of the cartoon show, Hekayat Alamiyah(Arabic: حكايات عالمية). In 1986, Mostafa Nasri died after suffering from internal bleeding caused by a car accident. Aged 17 she helped care for her siblings, Reem, Amani, Ayman and Ayham with her mother.

Assala's commercial musical career debuted in 1991 with the Egyptian song hit Law Ta'rafou (Egyptian Arabic: لو تعرفو). The album had 4 Egyptian songs in the oriental operatic Classic Egyptian tarab style. The album was an instant hit in Egypt back at that time with heartbreaking songs like "Ya Sabra Yana" and "Samehtak Ketir". She quickly cemented her presence in the Arabic world a growing industry brimming with singers like Angham, Najwa Karam, Latifa, and Abdelmajeed Abdullah.

Ever since the beginning of the Syrian Civil War, in 2011, Assala Nasri claimed her support for the Syrian rebels and her commitment against Bashar al Assad. Her positions towards the Civil War are human : she wants the conflict to end for the sake of the Syrian civilians. She had her first composing experience in the writing of one song, released in 2011. For her commitment in the conflict, Assala sang at the International Peace day as a new ambassador for "Peace Building Through Music."

She was arrested on Monday, June 26, 2017 in Beirut International Airport for carrying Cocaine. She denied knowledge of the substances found in her possession; However a drug test performed by the Lebanese authorities found traces of drugs in her blood.

Television

Assala hosts a television program which is called Soula (Arabic: صولا‎‎), on Al Hayat TV and Dubai TV. The show presents guest musicians as though they were visiting Assala in her home in Cairo, Egypt.

Personal life

Assala has four children, two from her first marriage to Ayman Al Dahabi, and twins from her second marriage to a Palestinian-American director Tarek Al Eryan. She currently has custody of both their children, Sham and Khaled. She was pregnant with Tarek's child in early 2007, but suffered a miscarriage halfway through the pregnancy. Assala is a Sunni Muslim. She was granted Bahraini citizenship by Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa a few days after she gave a performance in the operetta Love and Loyalty in celebration of Bahrain’s Independence Day. Assala holds two citizenships; Syrian (primary nationality) and Bahraini (second nationality) .

Discography

Studio Albums

• Ya Sabra Yana (Patient Me) (1992)
• Assala Performs Umm Kulthum (1992)
• O'zorni (Forgive Me) (1991)
• Ghayar Awi (He's So Jealous) (1993)
• Taw'am Al Rouh (My Soul's Twin) (1994)
• Ighdab (Be Angry) (1994)
• Wala Tessadda' (Don't Believe It) (1995)
• Rahal (He Left) (1996)
• Erja' Laha (Return to Her) (1996)
• Al Mushtaka (The Complaint) (1997)
• Albi Biyertahlak (My Heart Is Comfortable For You) (1998)
• Ya Magnoun (O Madman) (1999)
• Moshtaqah (I'm Missing You) (2001)
• Ya Akhi Es'al (Ask About Me) (2002)
• Yamin Allah/Haqiqat Waqe'i (I Swear/My Reality) (2001)
• Ad El Horouf (As much as the number of letters) (2003)
• Awgat (Sometimes) (2004)
• Aadi (Ordinary) (2005)
• Hayati (My Life) (2006)
• Sawaha Galbi (My Heart Has Done It) (2007), debuted at number 1, stayed for 4 weeks at number 1 beating Amr Diab's new album on Rotana's PEPSI Top 5 Albums
• Nos Halah (Half State) (2008), debuted at #1 of Rotana's Top 5 albums on both Egypt and Lebanon, stayed in the charts the following week. In its third week it peaked back at number 1 at Egypt Top 5 albums charts. In the following weeks it peaked at number 2 on the Khaleeji, the making it the first album to be in the top 2 of all charts.
• Qanoun Kaifik (Law of your fancy) (2010)
• Shakhsiya Aneeda (A Stubborn Personality) (2012)
  • "60 De'ee'a Hayah" (60 Minutes of Life) (2015)
• "Alleg El Deneia" (I hang the world) (2016)