User:BetweenCupsOfTea/Nour Al Huda

Nour Al Huda (born Alexandra Nicola Badran; 24 December 1924 – 9 June 1998) was a Lebanese singer and actress known for singing traditional music as well as muwashahat. Her music contained religious influence as well, hence being given her stage name (lit. "Light of Guidance) by director Youssef Wahbi. She has also been dubbed "The Um Kulthoum of Lebanon".

Life
Nour Al Huda was born in Marsin, Turkey. Her father discovered her talent for singing from a young age. She would sing in school events and private parties and eventually acquired the title "Um Kulthum of Lebanon". She rose to fame after prominent director Youssef Wehbi attended a concert of hers in Rubu'-Al-Sham and was impressed by her voice. He asked her to return with him to Egypt, where she would work with the stars of her time including Farid El Atrash, Mohamed Abdel Wahab, and Mohamed Fawzi. She also because acquainted with King Faruk and Al-Nahhas Pasha, the former for whom she sang at a party in the Syrian embassy in Cairo.

She quit singing in the 1950s and returned to Lebanon, but kept giving interviews until her death in 1998.