Asmahan

Asmahan
أسمهان
Background information
Birth nameAmal al-Atrash
آمال الأطرش
Born(1912-11-25)25 November 1912
Died14 July 1944(1944-07-14) (aged 31)
Mansoura, Kingdom of Egypt
GenresArabic music
OccupationSinger
Years active1931–1944
Formerly ofFarid al-Atrash

Amal al-Atrash (Arabic: آمال الأطرش Āmāl al-Aṭrash, North Levantine Arabic pronunciation: [ʔaːˈmaːl elˈʔɑtˤraʃ]; November 25, 1912 – July 14, 1944), known professionally as Asmahan (أسمهان, Arabic pronunciation: [ʔasmaˈhaːn] Asmahān), was a Syrian singer.

Having immigrated to Egypt at the age of three years old from Syria, her family knew the composer Dawood Hosni, and she sang the compositions of Mohamed El Qasabgi and Zakariyya Ahmad. She also sang the compositions of Mohammed Abdel Wahab and her brother Farid al-Atrash, a then rising star musician in his own right. Her voice was one of the few female voices in Arab music world to pose serious competition to that of Umm Kulthum, who is considered to be one of the Arab world's most distinguished singers of the 20th century. Her mysterious death in an automobile accident shocked the public. Journalists spread gossip about her turbulent personal life and an alleged espionage role in World War II.