  
Elissa was born in Deir Alahmar and raised in the spectacular nature of the Bekaa valley. She gained a degree in Political Science from the Lebanese University. Her first forays into art and artistic activities were in political critique theaters, namely "Wassim Tebarah theatre" and the "10 O'clock theatre." This was her first contact with an audience, the overwhelming warmth of which she immediately took to.
Her theatrical beginings motivated her to make the move into singing, which she did in 1992-3 on "Studio Al'Fan", broadcasted on LBCI, the top TV station in the Middle East, resulting in the win of a silver medal. Following this she performed in concert tierlessly until 1999 when the production company LIDO released her first album entitled, "< a href="elbaddoubb.html">Baddy Doub." Elissa's debut on the commercial music scene was no small event, as even her first album included a smash hit with the famous French Gypsy act, Gerard Ferrer. The release of this first album took her straight to Canns to participate in the International Music Festival in 2000.
Following this success, Elissa released her second album, "W'akherta Maak" which included the hit duo "Bitghib Betrouh" with Arabic superstar Agheb Alameh. "Bitghib Betrouh" was such a massive hit, it is still being played on TV and Radio today, three years after its release.
Elissa's current album "Aayshalak", has been the number one selling album in the Middle East since its release in June 2002.
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