Lara Scandar

Lara Scandar (Arabic:لارا اسكندر) is an Egyptian singer and songwriter who rose to fame in 2009 after being a semi-finalist in the Pan Arab talent show, Star Academy.^[1]

Early life

Lara was born on December 18, 1990, in Santa Monica, California to an Egyptian-Italian father , and she is a Christian.^[2] Her family moved back to Cairo, Egypt right after her birth. Scandar grew up in music-loving family where both her father and grandfather enjoyed singing as a hobby. Her sister Tamara and her were always encouraged to perform in school plays and musicals as well as out of school activities.

Lara’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, Lara 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 having graduated from high school, Lara auditioned for Star Academy, a Pan-Arab talent show based in Lebanon that brings together young talents from all over the Arab world that have to live together and compete for the “Star” title. Lara was one of the three Egyptians chosen to represent her country on the sixth season of the show, which debuted in February 2009. Lara received heavy criticism due to her weak Arabic (her first language being English, and second French) as well as her Westernized image. Throughout the 4 months of the show, Lara stood out by singing several languages (English, French, Spanish and Italian) and managed to be the last Egyptian in the competition and reached the semi-finals.

Post-Star Academy

After her popularity in Star Academy 6, award-winning Lebanese producer and composer Jean-Marie Riachi who she has been working with ever since approached Scandar. She released her first single Mission Is You on February 3, 2010, for which she won the MENA (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 Lara 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, Lara 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 as well as 6 other tracks. The success of Lara’s 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

Lara teamed up with Herbal Essences Arabia one last time 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 Lara during the concert and be the first to listen to her new single Love Birds. Lara is currently working on her new album set to be released this year.

Discography

As featured artist

Awards

References