Aziz Abdo

Aziz Abdo (Arabic: عزيز عبدو, born 1977) is a Lebanese singer, actor, model, and beauty pageant titleholder. Abdo's family emigrated to Sweden where he debuted his modeling career. He moved back to Lebanon at the age of 20 where he participated in, and won the title of Mister Lebanon in 2001. He debuted his singing career in 2004, and released a number of albums and upbeat singles that appeal to the younger Arab audience. Aziz Abdo was born in Beirut to a Jordanian mother and a Lebanese father. He was fond of singing as a child and was a fan of Latin and American pop stars such as Ricky Martin, Michael Jackson, Enrique Iglesias, and Jennifer Lopez. The family emigrated to Sweden and settled in Motala to flee the Lebanese civil war. In Sweden, Abdo resumed his schooling and aspired to play professional football, but an accident prevented him from pursuing a sports career. At 16, he was spotted and recruited by Scandinavian Models agency. He participated in a number of fashion shows as a runway model, and was then signed by Stockholmsgruppen Models with whom he walked the runway for Giorgio Armani, Gucci, and Lagerfeld. When 20, Abdo visited Lebanon for the first time since leaving during the war; he grew attached to his home country and decided to move back. In Lebanon, he met and was recruited by Nathalie Fadlallah, the owner of the Lebanese Nathaly's Agency. In 2001, Abdo won the title of Mister Lebanon; the organizers of the pageant proposed that he performs a song with the then-reigning Mister Lebanon as a publicity gimmick to promote the pageant. Jiji Lamara, one of the leading Arab music producers, was present in the studio during the recording session. He gave Abdo the opportunity to launch a career in music. Lamara introduced Abdo to Lebanese music producer Tony Saba; their first collaboration was the hist song Jaw Jnoun. Jaw Jnoun was released in 2006, along with the hit song Wallat El Nar, which gave its name to Abdo's debut album. Enty Tsharrafi followed in 2009. The work was controversial because the artist uncommonly mixed multiple Arab dialects, and due to the unconventional nudity in some of the album's music videos. Abdo released a number of singles afterwards, among which is "One Night", an upbeat English/Spanish song featuring Swedish rapper Moncho. In 2020, he collaborated with Timbaland and co-wrote the lyrics of Zayn Malik's "Too Much". His latest work is Howay Howay, released in 2022.