Lara Scandar
{{Short description|Egyptian singer and songwriter (born 1990)}}
{{BLP sources|date=December 2013}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Lara Scandar
| image =Lara Scandar, OOTB, EP1 (0145).jpg
| caption = Lara Scandar as she appeared in "Journey" by Out of the Blue, 2017
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1990|12|18}}
| birth_place = Santa Monica, California, U.S.
| occupation = singer, songwriter, model
| genre = Pop
| years_active = 2009–present
| label = JMR Studios
| website = [http://www.larascandar.com/ larascandar.com]
}}
Lara Scandar ({{langx|ar|لارا إسكندر}}; born 18 December 1990) is an Egyptian-Lebanese singer and songwriter who rose to fame in 2009 after participating in the Pan Arab talent show, Star Academy.{{cite web|url=http://www.7days.ae/storydetails.php?id=90976%20%20%20%20&page=local%20news&title=Lovely%20Lara%E2%80%99s%20on%20a%20mission|title=Lovely Lara's on a mission|date=February 23, 2010|work=7days|accessdate=May 28, 2010}}
Life and career
=Early life=
Scandar was born on December 18, 1990, in Santa Monica, California to an Egyptian-Italian father and a Lebanese mother. Lara comes from a Christian family.{{Cite web|url=https://gololy.com/2013/07/14/96059/لارا-اسكندر-أنا-مسيحية-ولكن-شهر-رمضان-ي.html|title=لارا اسكندر: أنا مسيحية ولكن شهر رمضان يمثلني|date=14 July 2013|website=gololy.com|accessdate=27 June 2023}} Her family moved back to Cairo, Egypt right after her birth. Scandar grew up in a music-loving family where both her father and grandfather enjoyed singing as a hobby. She and her sister Tamara were always encouraged to perform in school plays and musicals as well as out-of-school activities.
Scandar’s parents enrolled her in ballet classes at the age of 4, which she continued to study until the age of 15. At age 6, she began modeling in catwalks for kids’ clothing brands as well as TV and print ads. She continued to model until the age of 17, right before her admission to Star Academy.
=''Star Academy''=
After graduating from high school, Scandar auditioned for Star Academy, a Pan-Arab talent show based in Lebanon that brings together young talents from all over the Arab world who have to live together and compete for the "Star" title. She was one of three Egyptians chosen to represent her country on the sixth season of the show, which debuted in February 2009. Scandar stood out by singing in several languages (English, French, Spanish, and Italian). She was the last Egyptian remaining in the competition and reached the semi-finals.
=Post-''Star Academy''=
After Scandar's popularity in Star Academy 6, award-winning Lebanese producer and composer Jean-Marie Riachi approached her, and they have worked together since then. She released her first single "Mission Is You" on February 3, 2010, for which she won the MEMA (Middle East Music Award) for the Encouragement Award given to rising artists with evident potential to succeed. Her second and third singles followed within the next year.
=Herbal Essences=
In 2011, it was announced that Scandar had been chosen to be the face of Herbal Essences Arabia. She wrote her third single, "See The Beauty", specifically for the brand’s advertising campaign.
=''About A Girl''=
In 2012, Scandar released her first studio album About A Girl, which included three songs written by her, one Arabic track, a dance cover of Toto Cutugno’s "L'Italiano" and six other tracks. The success of her single "Taalou Ghannou Maaya" (Toto Cutugno’s cover) garnered a larger Arabic-speaking audience and helped gain more recognition in the Arab world as well as several other music awards and nominations.
=2014–present=
Scandar teamed up with Herbal Essences Arabia for the first online interactive concert in the Middle East, covering popular Egyptian classics as well as originals and other covers in English. The concert allowed fans to interact with the musician during the concert and be the first to listen to her new single "Love Birds".
Scandar is currently{{when|date=December 2020}} working on her new album. She released "Khalas Khalas", her first Lebanese single, in April 2017 and its video clip in May 2017.
She participated in the opening ceremony of Rams road in luxor by singing a duet with the star mohamed hamaki called "baladna helwa".
She also participated as an actress in "al thamania" series and in "kera wel gen" movie which was a blockbuster in Egypt.
Discography
| class="wikitable" |
| rowspan="2" style="width:230px; text-align:center;"| Single
! rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;"| Year ! style="text-align:center;"| Peak chart positions ! rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;"| Album |
|---|
| style="width:2em;font-size:80%"| LEB |
| "Mission Is You"
| style="text-align:center;"| 2010 | style="text-align:center;"| 19 |rowspan="5"| About A Girl |
| "Chains"
| style="text-align:center;"| 2011 |
| "See The Beauty"
| style="text-align:center;"| 2011 |
| "Falling Out Of Love"
| style="text-align:center;"| 2012 |
| "Taalou Ghannou Maaya (تعالوا غنّوا معاي׳)"
| style="text-align:center;"| 2012 | style="text-align:center;"| 4 |
| colspan="21" style="text-align:center; font-size:8pt;"| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. |
| class="wikitable" |
| rowspan="2" style="width:230px; text-align:center;"| Album
! rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;"| Year ! colspan="3" style="text-align:center;"| Peak chart positions |
|---|
| style="width:2em;font-size:80%"| LEBANON
!style="width:2em;font-size:80%"| EGYPT !style="width:2em;font-size:80%"| DUBAI |
| "About a Girl"
| style="text-align:center;"| 2012 | style="text-align:center;"| 1{{cite tweet|user=raykazan|author=Ray Kazan|number=180953727971246080|date=17 March 2012|title=@LaraCScandar number 1 @VirginLeb :D awesome album!!}} | style="text-align:center;"| 1 |
As featured artist
Awards
References
{{Reflist}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scandar, Lara}}
Category:21st-century Egyptian women singers
Category:American people of Italian descent
Category:American people of Lebanese descent
Category:American people of Egyptian descent
Category:Egyptian people of Italian descent
Category:Egyptian people of Lebanese descent
Category:Star Academy participants