Biography
Who is Omar Naber?
Early life and background
Omar Naber Kareem Naber was born on July 7, 1981, in Ljubljana, Slovenia, which was part of Yugoslavia at the time. His father, Samir, works as a dentist, and his mother, Alenka, is a piano teacher. He finished high school with a diploma as a dental technician and worked a six-month internship before deciding to pursue music instead. His musical path began at age 16 when he joined a mixed choir named Veter.
Influenced by the band Green Day, Omar formed a rock band in 1999 that continues to play today. Over the years, he performed in more than 800 gigs with his band alongside numerous charity event appearances. In 2001, he placed second at a local song contest titled Kdo bo osvojil Triglav and secured a record deal with Nika Records. Following this contract, he worked as a backing vocalist on studio sessions and live performances for various artists.
Rise to fame and Eurovision
Omar gained national recognition in late 2004 after winning Bitka talentov, which is the Slovenian version of the Battle of the Talents. He recorded his first song and video titled Vse kar si želiš that same year. As the winner of the talent show, he triumphed at the EMA 2005 national selection. This victory earned him the chance to represent Slovenia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 in Kyiv, where he performed his self-composed song Stop in the Slovene language.
Although he did not advance to the final in 2005, finishing in 12th place with 69 points, he released his debut studio album titled Omar in 2005. He spent the following year touring both domestically and internationally before recording his second album with his band Kareem. This second record was released in 2007. In 2011, Omar was sentenced to serve seven months in prison for sexually assaulting a woman in a Ljubljana club.
Later career and Eurovision return
In 2014, Omar released his third album titled Na glavo in Slovenia, followed by an English version named No Helmet in England a few months later. He also entered several other national selections for Eurovision over the years, including entries for Switzerland and Slovenia with songs such as I Still Carry On, Bistvo skrito je očem, I Won't Give Up, and Take Me Far.
Omar won the national selection once again at EMA 2017, earning the right to represent Slovenia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 with the song On My Way. He performed in Kyiv for a second time but failed to reach the final once more, finishing in 17th place during the first semi-final with 36 points.
Birthday and age
Omar Naber was born on July 7, 1981, which makes Omar 45 years old today. That birthday falls under the Cancer sign. Omar shares the date with 30 other famous people.
Explore more
