( راية ەلال ) Raya Hilal's mother is Brazilian. but she was born in France and, according to one report, grew up on the French island of Réunion in the Indian Ocean. As an adult she moved to Belgium to study or work as an artist, before recognising her true vocation as a singer of Arabic popular music.

Once this realisation occurred, she set about getting herself some proper vocal training and a thorough grounding in Arabic music. It was not until 2006 that she was ready to make her debut.

Raya Hilal has a website (www.rayahilal.com). There is a lot more information there about her background, plus you can listen to whole tracks online.

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