Dana Salah
{{Short description|Jordanian-Palestinian singer-songwriter}}
{{Use American English|date=September 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Dana Salah
| image = Dana Salah in 2025.jpg
| image_size = 180px
| alt =
| caption = Dana Salah in 2025 (Houston, TX)
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1989}}
| birth_place = Amman, Jordan
| partner =
| relatives =
| occupation = {{flatlist|
- Singer
- songwriter
- producer
}}
| other_names = King Deco
| years_active = 2014–present
| education = Duke University
| awards =
| website = {{URL|danasalah.com/}}
| module = {{Infobox musical artist
| embed = yes
| origin = New York City, U.S.
| genre = {{flatlist|
}}
| instrument =
| label = {{flatlist|
}}
| associated_acts =
}}
}}
Dana Salah ({{langx|ar|دانا صلاح}}, {{IPA|apc-PS|ˈdæːnæː ˈsˤlˤɑːħ|link=yes}}; born 1989) is a Jordanian singer, songwriter and producer of Palestinian descent.{{Cite web|title=Dana Salah embraces Arab culture|url=https://www.jordannews.jo/Section-119/Music/Dana-Salah-embraces-Arab-culture-8938|access-date=2022-08-29|website=Jordan News|date=25 October 2021|first=Huda|last=Dabeet}}
Early life and education
Salah was born and raised in Amman, Jordan, where she started writing music at the age of 9. As a child, she was diagnosed with ADHD.{{Cite web|title=We Spoke To Dana Salah: Artistry, ADHD, and Arab Identity|url=https://yallaletstalk.com/we-spoke-to-dana-salah-artistry-adhd-and-arab-identity/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220419114408/https://yallaletstalk.com/we-spoke-to-dana-salah-artistry-adhd-and-arab-identity/|url-status=dead|archive-date=19 April 2022|access-date=2022-08-29|website=Yalla! Let's Talk.|date=21 December 2021}} Following her education at Duke University, North Carolina, she pursued her music career in New York City.{{Cite web|title=Dana Salah: 'Female Empowerment Has Been a Huge Part of My Artistry'|url=https://www.gqmiddleeast.com/culture/dana-salah-musician-weino|date=2022-06-17|access-date=2022-08-29|website=GQ Middle East|first1=Aravin|last1=Sandran|first2=Nicholas|last2=See|url-status=dead|archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20231207212726/https://www.gqmiddleeast.com/culture/dana-salah-musician-weino|archive-date=2023-12-07}} She graduated with a B.S. in Economics and a B.A. in Theater Studies.
Career
Under the stage name King Deco, Salah started her career as a DJ in Brooklyn and as a songwriter for other artists and TV advertising, with one her songs featuring in a Maybelline commercial. She also briefly worked as a model for Bobbi Brown Cosmetics. Her 2017 single "Move That Body" garnered over 11 million streams on Spotify, reached #6 on the US iTunes Dance charts, and peaked at #25 on the Billboard Dance charts.{{Cite web |last=Shtayyeh |first=Suhad |date=2021-08-28 |title=International Pop Sensation Dana Salah Asks, 'Weino?' |url=https://www.ciinmagazine.com/interview/ciin28082101-dana-salah-asks-weino/ |access-date=2024-05-29 |website=Ciin Magazine |language=en}}
In 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic and following the success of her 2019 single "Castaway", Salah returned to Jordan and released her first Arabic single, "Weino", under her own name, incorporating sounds of the daf and other traditional Arab instruments. It generated over 1 million views in 3 months on YouTube and was added to more than 1000 personal playlists on Spotify.{{Cite web|title=Here's Why Dana Salah Shed Her King Deco Moniker to Embrace Her Arab Heritage|url=https://www.savoirflair.com/culture/560220/savoir-flair-exclusive-interview-dana-salah-debuts-weino-music-video|access-date=2022-08-29|website=Savoir Flair|first=Grace|last=Gordon|date=11 August 2021 }} In 2022 Salah became a Spotify Equal ambassador, making her the first female Jordanian artist to be featured on a billboard in Times Square.{{Cite web|title=Arab singer Dana Salah Shines on New York's Times Square Billboard|url=https://www.arabnews.com/node/2107766/lifestyle|access-date=2022-08-29|website=Arab News|date=21 June 2022|first=Hams|last=Saleh}}
In October 2023, in response to the genocide amid the Gaza war, 25 Middle Eastern and North African artists, including Salah, collaborated on the single "Rajieen".{{Cite web |last=Mekkaoui |first=Meeran |date=31 October 2023 |title='Rajieen' Unites 25 MENA Artists in a Resounding Ode to Palestine |url=https://www.gqmiddleeast.com/culture/rajieen-artists-unite-for-palestine |access-date=10 June 2024 |website=GQ Middle East |url-status=dead |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20241208023116/https://www.gqmiddleeast.com/culture/rajieen-artists-unite-for-palestine |archive-date=2024-12-08}} She also released her single "Ya Tal3een"{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmHm8zju41E |title=Dana Salah - Ya Tal3een (full version) يا طالعين |date=2024-01-07 |last=Salah |first=Dana |access-date=2024-09-09 |via=YouTube}} based on the coded Palestinian folk song "{{Transliteration|ar|ALA-LC|Yā Ṭāliʻīn ʻalā l-Jabal|i=no}}" ({{lang|ar|يا طالعين على الجبل}}), traditionally sung by women to men jailed in Israeli prisons.{{Cite web |title=Don't Leave: Reviving the folk songs of Palestinian women |url=https://www.middleeasteye.net/discover/dont-leave-songs-palestinian-women |date=21 December 2021 |access-date=2024-09-09 |website=Middle East Eye |first=Christina |last=Hazboun |language=en}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{official website}}
- {{Instagram}}
- {{Amazon Music artist}}
{{commons category}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Salah, Dana}}
Category:Jordanian people of Palestinian descent
Category:Jordanian women singers
Category:Duke University alumni
Category:Arabic-language singers of Jordan
Category:English-language singers
Category:Women record producers
Category:Women singer-songwriters
Category:People with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder