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Amina Annabi

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Amina Annabi
Born(1962-03-05)5 March 1962(age 62)
Carthage,Tunisia
GenresPop
Occupation(s)Singer-songwriter, actress
Years active1978–present
Websitewww.myspace/annabiamina

Amina Annabi(Arabic:أمينة العنابي,romanized:Amīna al-ʿAnnābī;born 5 March 1962) is a French-Tunisian singer-songwriter and actress. She finished second in the tied1991 Eurovision Song Contest,held in Rome, after a countback,[1]scoring equal 146 points alongsideCarolafrom Sweden.

Early life

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Amina was born into a family of musicians. Her father is French and her mother isTunisian.Her grandmother was a musician and one of her uncles was involved in setting up theTabarka FestivalinTunisia,so Amina got the chance to see a number of music stars, going along to concerts byJoan Baez,James Brownand the famous Algerian divaWarda.It was at the Tabarka music festival that Amina would get to meet the young Senegalese starWasis Diop.They became friends and they had the opportunity to work together some years later. In 1975, Amina and her mother, a talented musician and composer, moved together to Paris.

Three years later Amina formed her own group, after showing her talent in singing and dancing a variety of music styles, from soul to traditional aigypt songs. The group made appearances in many local schools but it was in 1982 when Amina started to build her solo career. By that time she got involved withRadio Nova,Paris' leading radio station in world music. One of the producers of the station wasMartin Meissonnier.He started to work with Amina and soon they became a couple—their daughter was born in 1986. In 1983 she won a music contest with arapsong, "Shehérazade", influenced by Arab rhythms. It was released as a CD single. Amina began performing in Paris around this time.

Career

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Music

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After recording an album with the Japanese musicianYasuaki Shimizu,she became extremely popular in Japan where she even toured in 1987. She did lead vocals on a track byHaruomi Hosonoand she launched a career in cinema.

The same year she recorded her debut album,Yalil(Night) produced by Martin Meissonnier. The album received excellent reviews and it was released in 22 countries around the world. It was also released in the USA where it peaked at No. 5 at theBillboardworld music charts.

In 1991, Amina won 'Le prix Piaf' asBest Female Singer of the Year,then she went on to get involved inPeter Gabriel's peace project during the Gulf War. Joining a host of international stars in the studio, Amina took part in the recording of an EP which featured a new version ofJohn Lennon's "Give Peace a Chance".The same year she participated in theEurovision Song Contestheld in Rome with one song of her own, entitled "Le Dernier qui a parlé...".She tied with the Swedish participant for the first place but due toEBU's rules, the French entry ranked 2nd and the award went to Sweden.

Right after the Eurovision Contest, Amina recorded her second album,Wa di yé(Love is Unique) and she toured around France to promote it.

In 1994Malcolm McLarenasked Amina to guest on his album,Paris,along withCatherine DeneuveandFrançoise Hardy.After that Amina took a long break travelling to her homeland and she was back in 1999 with new albums and concerts around the globe.[2][3]

She read the French jury's votes during the final of Sweden's Eurovision qualifierMelodifestivalen 2010.

Cinema

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Amina's first film credit was as a supporting role in the 1990 filmMaman.Later that same year she joined an international cast led byJohn MalkovichandDebra Winger,where she played the role of a naked prostitute in theBernardo BertoluccimovieThe Sheltering Sky.

In 1992 she took part in Claude Lelouch's great frescoLa Belle Histoire,where she played a sister toJesus Christ.In 1993 she appeared in Nicholas Klotz'The Sacred Night.

In 1993 Amina got her first lead female role opposite Spanish starMiguel BoséinLa Nuit sacrée.

Later that year she got involved with an English film entitledThe Hour of the Pig(released in the US asThe Advocate) where she plays a Moor that strips naked to offer herself to the movie's main character, the lawyer defending animals accused of witchcraft, in order to save a pig that is their only source of food for the coming winter.

Russian directorAndrei Konchalovskychose Amina to play in his filmUlysse,which was broadcast on US networks.[citation needed]

Discography

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Albums

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  • 1990,Yalil
  • 1992,Wa di yé
  • 1999,Annabi
  • 2001,Nomad
  • 2015,Unveil(EP)

Songs

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  • 3ada El Ghazal
  • Allah Ya Moulena
  • Atame
  • Belly Dancer
  • Le dernier qui a parlé
  • Dis moi pourquoi
  • Ederlezi
  • Ezzayakoum
  • Habibi 2
  • La mauvaise graine
  • Lirrili
  • Mektoubi
  • My Man
  • Waadileh
  • Ya baba
  • Zahra

Soundtracks

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Filmography

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References

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  1. ^"Eurovision Song Contest 1991 | Year page | Eurovision Song Contest".Eurovision.tv. 4 May 1991.Retrieved17 December2015.
  2. ^"VIDEO. Comment Amina a presque remporté l'Eurovision pour la France en 1991".5 May 2017.
  3. ^Paris by Malcolm Mclaren, Catherine Deneuve, Francoise Hardy, Amina (1994) Audio CD,Bmg,retrieved21 April2020
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Preceded by France in the Eurovision Song Contest
1991 		Succeeded by

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