Biography
Who is Nadia Ali?
Early life and background
Nadia Ali was born on August 3, 1980, in Tripoli, Libya. Her family moved when she was five years old, and she grew up in Queens, New York City. She is of Pakistani heritage.
As a teenager, she began working at the Versace office in New York. While employed there, she met producer Markus Moser. He was looking for a female vocalist to contribute to his original musical projects for a girl group based in Germany. The two decided to collaborate, with Moser handling production duties while she contributed lyrics and vocals.
Career with iiO
The duo formed the group iiO and recorded the single Rapture. She wrote the song in about 30 minutes after meeting a person at a nightclub in Australia. A demo of this track reached the New York club Twilo in 2001. After receiving support from DJ Pete Tong on BBC Radio 1, the song became very popular in Ibiza during the summer season.
Ministry of Sound released the track in late 2001. It reached the second spot on the UK Singles Chart and performed well on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart. This commercial success led to the formation of the duo, whom they originally named Vaiio after the laptop computer she used to write her lyrics. The pair released several singles, such as At the End, Runaway, Smooth, and Kiss You. Their debut studio album, titled Poetica, arrived in 2005. She left the group that same year to start her solo career, although Moser continued to release iiO material featuring her vocal work.
Solo work and albums
Following her departure from iiO, she focused on solo projects within the electronic dance music scene. Her first solo release was the 2006 single Who Is Watching, a collaboration with Armin van Buuren. She later released the single Something to Lose in 2006 as a duet with Rosko. In 2008, she put out Crash and Burn, which reached the sixth spot on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart.
Her debut solo album, Embers, was released in September 2009 under her own label, Smile in Bed Records. The album featured collaborations with producers like Sultan and Shepard. Three singles from this album achieved top-ten status on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart, including the number-one hit Love Story. In 2010, she released a remix series called Queen of Clubs Trilogy to celebrate her career. This collection featured remixes by artists such as Avicii and Gareth Emery.
Collaborations and later projects
Throughout her career, she has collaborated with many DJs and producers. In 2011, she released the track Pressure with Starkillers and Alex Kenji, which became a popular club anthem. She also worked with Armin van Buuren on the track Feels So Good, which won Best Trance Track at the 27th International Dance Music Awards. In 2012, she worked with artists BT and Arty on the song Must Be the Love.
She continued her career with various projects, including the 2017 song Almost Home with Sultan and Shepard, which reached the fourth spot on the Billboard Dance and Mix Show Airplay chart. By 2018, she launched an experimental project titled HYLLS, moving away from dance music toward an indie pop sound. In 2022, she collaborated with Michael Calfan on a track titled 3, 2, 1.
Birthday and age
Nadia Ali was born on August 3, 1980, which makes Nadia 46 years old today. That birthday falls under the Leo sign. Nadia shares the date with 36 other famous people.
Explore more
