Nazareth-Born Singer Elyanna Performs at Canada’s World Cup Opener
Elyanna, a 24-year-old singer who was born and raised in Nazareth, performed on the eve of the Canada-Bosnia match in Toronto, an event that effectively served as Canada’s opening ceremony for the 2026 World Cup. The match ended 1-1 at BMO Field, while the tournament’s official major opening ceremony had been held in Mexico a day earlier.
She performed with Canadian singer Jessie Reyez on “Illuminate,” one of the tournament’s official soundtrack songs. Elyanna appeared in a culturally inspired outfit and delivered a high-energy set with choreography and a powerful voice. International coverage highlighted that she is the only artist of Middle Eastern and North African origin on FIFA’s official soundtrack.
Elyanna, whose full name is Elianna Amer Marjieh, was born on January 22, 2002, in Nazareth to a Christian Israeli family. She grew up in Israel’s largest Arab city, exposed from an early age to traditional Arabic music. Her maternal grandfather performed zajal, a Lebanese folk poetry form, and her paternal grandmother was a pianist from Chile. She began singing at age 7 and cites Oum Kalthoum, Sabah Fakhri, Beyoncé and Aretha Franklin among her influences.
In 2017, at 15, she moved with her family to the United States, first to San Diego and later Los Angeles, to pursue an international career. There she was discovered by Canadian producer Nasri Atweh, signed with Universal Arabic Music and developed her self-described style of “experimental Arabic pop,” blending Arabic, pop, R&B and Latin music. She broke through in 2023 as the first artist to perform a full set in Arabic at Coachella, later appeared with Coldplay and on Stephen Colbert’s show, and released her debut album, “Woledto” (“I Was Born”), in 2024. She says she identifies as Palestinian-Chilean and calls herself “Your Pali girl,” while maintaining that Nazareth remains central to her story. “Illuminate,” co-written with Reyez, also moves between English and Arabic and was part of the broader multicultural showcase that included Alanis Morissette, Michael Bublé and Alessia Cara.
