Palestinian-Chilean singer Elyanna made history on Saturday as the first artist to perform an entire set in Arabic at the 2023 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, held annually in Indio, California.
She presented her Egyptian pop hit “Ana Lahale” and an Arabic cover of “La Vie en Rose” titled “Al Kawn Janni Mawk”. Elyanna also debuted an unreleased single, “Janene Orrr,” which translates to “Drive Me Crazy,” and sang tracks from her two EPs, “Elyanna” and “Elyanna II.”
The singer was accompanied by her brother, who played the keyboard throughout the performance. Together, they performed a cover of the classic Egyptian ballad “Awhak”, a song they used to sing growing up.
The performance was a huge milestone not only for Elyanna's career but also for Palestinians the world over.
She concluded the show by waving a Palestinian keffiyeh, a black and white scarf symbolic of Palestinian nationalism, and then walked offstage to cheers from her fans at Coachella.
"I'm beyond excited. Like everybody knows Coachella. Since I was back home, I knew what Coachella was, so the fact that I'm performing this year is crazy," Elyanna told ABC News Live Prime in an exclusive interview during her rehearsal ahead of the festival, which kicked off Friday.
"It is a big responsibility. I'm representing my culture, but I'm really working very hard," she added.
Elyanna began her career by covering songs on SoundCloud. In 2020, she released “Ana Lahale” in collaboration with Masari.
The Los Angeles-based music sensation has been taking the music industry by storm. Elyanna started singing when she was 7 years old and loved songs by artists like Etta James, Aretha Franklin, Beyoncé, and Amy Winehouse.
The 21-year-old songstress, known for hits like "Ghareeb Alay" and "Ana Lahale," blends genres and cultures in music that she says stays true to her roots.
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