Arash (singer)

Arash Labaf (Persian: آرش لباف‎, pronounced [ɒːˈɾæʃ ɛ læˈbbɒːf]; born 23 April 1977), known mononymously as Arash, is an Iranian singer, entertainer and producer.

Arash
Arash in Moscow, Russia (2009)
Background information
Birth nameArash Labaf
Born (1977-04-23) 23 April 1977
Tehran, Iran
GenresPersian pop, hip hop, R&B, dance music, house
Occupation(s)Singer, DJ
Years active2004–present
LabelsWarner Music Scandinavia (WEA)
Websitearash.com

He represented Azerbaijan along with Aysel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009, finishing third with the song "Always". He is also one of the judges of Persia's Got Talent, a Persian franchise of the British talent show Got Talent.[1]

Early life

Arash Labaf was born in Tehran, Iran. He and his parents lived near Mellat Park. At age ten, he and his family moved to Sweden, where he still resides. In an interview with BBC Persian Television, he has mentioned that his mother and father are from the Iranian cities of Shiraz and Isfahan, respectively.[2][3]

Arash has stated in his interviews that he is interested in association football, accordingly, he released songs about association football.[3] Also, In an interview with Deutsche Welle, Arash stated that he had been interested in singing since childhood and he even formed an informal band with his friends.[4]

Career
Arash in Las Vegas (2008)

Arash has said that the reason he chooses to sing in his native language is because of his "deep attachment to Iran and Persian culture."[5]

His debut album, Arash, was released by the Warner Music Sweden in June 2005, after he had finished college. His singles, "Boro Boro" ("Go Away") and "Temptation" (featuring Rebecca) made it to the hit lists around Europe, and their respective videos garnered significant airplay on more than 20 MTV outlets across the world. In addition to successes in his home countries' music charts, namely Sweden and Iran, the platinum-selling singer and producer Arash has had hits notably in Eastern European and South-East European charts like Russia, Ukraine, Greece, Bulgaria, Poland, Hungary, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Romania, Turkey and in Asian music charts like in Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and throughout the Arab Middle Eastern countries. His singles have charted many times on Swiss and Finnish charts and he is especially famous in Poland.

Arash's records were certified gold in 5 countries: his album Arash in Germany, Russia, Slovenia and Greece and single "Boro Boro" in Sweden.[6] This song was also featured in the Hindi Bollywood film Bluffmaster! and he was the featured Artist of the Month on MTV India.

Helena did not take part in the music video of "Pure Love", although her voice was used in it. The video starred Arash, together with the Venezuelan beauty queen, Marianne Puglia.[7]

Arash has produced along with Thomas G:son, Robert Uhlmann, and Johan Bejerholm the Swedish entry to the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2010 "Allt jag vill ha" that was performed by Josefine Ridell.[8][9][10]

Eurovision Song Contest
Aysel and Arash in the Green Room during the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest in Moscow.
Rebecca Zadig and Arash in a concert in Las Vegas, December 2008

In early 2009, it was revealed that the Azerbaijani entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 would be the song "Always" which was written and composed by Arash. The song was performed by Aysel Teymurzadeh and Arash in a duet in Semifinal 2 of the Eurovision competition.[11][12] The song qualified for the Eurovision Song Contest final which took place on 16 May 2009, and was placed third. In one of his interviews Arash explained his decision to represent Azerbaijan in this contest: "Why did I take part in the contest? I'm originally [ethnically] Azerbaijani, and I would like to have a part in this country's confident ascent in the history of Eurovision."[13]

Personal life

Labaf married his longtime fiancée, Behnaz Ansari, in Dubai in May 2011.[14][15]

Discography
Main article: Arash discography

Studio albums

Filmography

References
  1. Faghihi, Rohollah (13 December 2019). "Has Iran's award-winning actress left Iran to escape prosecution?". Al-Monitor. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  2. "Arash's Iranian family from Sweden". BBC (interview by Behzad Bolour). 2008-09-11. Archived from the original on 23 May 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-16.
  3. "BBC Persian". www.bbc.com (in Persian). Retrieved 2020-03-02.
  4. "گپى با آرش خواننده ترانه معروف "برو برو" به بهانه سرايت تب اين ترانه داغ به آلمان | DW | 13.05.2005". DW.COM (in Persian). Retrieved 2020-03-02.
  5. "Iran: Arash Tops European Pop Charts With Persian-Language Hits". RFE/RL. 2005-04-21. Archived from the original on 11 February 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-07.
  6. "AySel & Arash | Participant Profile | Eurovision Song Contest – Baku 2012". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 2012-01-14.
  7. "ARASH – "Pure Love" – Making Of The Video". YouTube. 2008-11-17. Retrieved 2010-03-12.
  8. Niklas Kjellberg/TT Spektra. "Josefine tävlar för Sverige i Minsk – Kultur & Nöje" (in Swedish). www.gp.se. Archived from the original on 2010-10-03. Retrieved 2012-01-14.
  9. "Sweden JESC 2010 Швеция Детское Евровидение 2010". Esckaz.com. Retrieved 2012-01-14.
  10. "Junior/lilla mf/mgp nordic". escsweden.com. Archived from the original on 2011-05-14. Retrieved 2012-01-14.
  11. Brey, Marco (2009-02-05). "Azerbaijani entry written by Arash". Eurovision.tv. Archived from the original on 7 February 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-05.
  12. Siim, Jarmo (2009-02-12). "Azerbaijan to send a duet to Eurovision". Eurovision.tv. Archived from the original on 15 February 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-12.
  13. "Eurovision Azerbaijan: Aysel goes to Eurovision with song by Arash". 2009-02-05. Retrieved 2016-08-18.
  14. "APA – Arash presents $400-thousand necklace to his bride Behnaz at their wedding – PHOTOSESSION". Apa.az. Archived from the original on 2012-07-18. Retrieved 2012-01-14.
  15. "Arash married on May 28 in Dubai". Chuiko.com. 2011-03-16. Archived from the original on December 25, 2011. Retrieved 2012-01-14.
Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Elnur & Samir
with Day After Day		 Azerbaijan in the Eurovision Song Contest
(with AySel)
2009		 Succeeded by
Safura
with Drip Drop
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