Mansour (singer)
Encyclopedia
Mansour is a contemporary Persian musical artist
. From a new generation of rising singers of the exiled Iranian
community based in Southern California
, he is now ranked as one of the top male singers of the Iranian music scene. Beside Iran
, he also has a fan base in [Afghanistan], Tajikistan
and to a limited extent Iraq
, Uzbekistan
and Russia
.
Despite the Iranian government’s restrictions on pop music, he has nevertheless been able to eclipse other singers in gaining a wide recognition in the country. Equally popular among both men and women, his songs now serve various ceremonial openings of events, such as soccer games, weddings and private parties. Due to the lively nature of his music that has engaged and absorbed the youth of Iran
, he is now permanently banned from returning or performing for any reason in that country.
, Iran
. Little is known of his early childhood years, though he was said to be an artistic child. Nothing is said of his propensity for music or singing at this time; however, it is speculated that with the war with Iraq
at its climax, the psychology
of most Iranians, young and old, was inhibited. With the devastating effects of the war and the restrictions of the clerical regime, small part of his family immigrated to the United States
when Mansour was young.
and vocal techniques under rigorous training lessons. He also insisted on hand-picking the producers, lyricists and arrangers for this album, all of which he financed from the revenues of a pager
and cell phone store that he owned. He was later married to Maryam Gordpour, in 2009. They now have two kids living in the hills.
music of similar type and thus easily accepted this mode of style into the Iranian music. In this album , Mansour works with some of the greatest Persian musicians
such as: Siavash Ghomayshi, Abdi Yamini, Hassan Shamaeizadeh and Manouchehr Cheshmazar. And also famous lyricists like : Shahyar Ghanbari
, Homayoun Hooshyarnejad and Masoud Fardmanesh .
and embarked on task of songwriting and compiled his fifth album: Only For You (Faghat Be Khatereh To). When the album was officially released in March 2000, it was as much a commercial success as it was a critical success. Surprising the critics who had dismissed the notion of the singer as a professional songwriter, he garnered positive reviews from venues around the world. The title song of this album became a huge hit, creating a trend among Iranian men of dedicating this song to their beloved
. Thanks to Brian Wayy who changed his entire sound by his productions, he produced over 60 CDs for the most popular Persian singers including American artists like Diana Ross
, Rod Stewart
, Paula Abdul
, Stevie B
and many others.
Supported by its lively, vivid videos, this album officially introduced Mansour's face to the public and made all his CDs household
items. Almost an overnight celebrity
both to Iranians inside and outside of Iran, his name became synonymous with jubilation. His voice omnipresent at parties, TV and radio stations, stadiums and even presiding over nightclubs of LA's and Europe's dance clubs, he shot to fame with acceleration as fans enthusiastically searched the Internet for scraps of the singer's photographs. The album has a number of hit songs such as: "Faghat Be Khatereh To" (also the album's title), "Eshgheh Atashy" (composed by Persian pop singer/musician legend Siavash Ghomayshi), "Entezaar" and "Vaghty Nisti", and also an Afghan Music
theme song titled : "Chashmaan Siah" that is so popular across Afghanistan
.
was gaining momentum in 1999, independent filmmaker Babak Shokrian approached the singer to play the lead in the film America So Beautiful. The filming of this movie overlapped his work on his fifth album, and he talks of this period of his life as one of the most stressful as he took on the challenge of acting and singing full course. America So Beautiful played at film festivals in Berlin
, Marrakech
, Gothenburg
and Los Angeles
, gaining positive reviews and accolades .
. (It was Mansour's comeback to Taraneh Records
after working with Caltex Records
for three years and two albums.) Growing long hair with a beard
and moustache
(the Jesus look), he had reinvented his image. Surprising his fans, who could barely distinguish the singer's soft features, he indicated that he had based his look on the requirements of the film work in which he was concurrently participating. In Zendegi, Mansour tries elements of Spanish music
on tracks like "Dooset Daram", "Bebin", and "Khodi"; he tries a rock
sound on his hit "Yeki Bood Yeki Nabood", and even adds some Indian music
in the greatest hit of the album, "Zendegi" (the album's title track).
speaking countries, notably Tajikistan
and Afghanistan
. Two huge hit singles of this album, "Azize Delami" and "Divooneh," written by Brian Wayy & Mansour (music) and Paksima Zakipour (lyrics) attracted audiences from as far away as Bahrain
, UAE, Qatar
, Kuwait
and Turkey
. The album was the most highly successful album, in both commercial and critical sides, of the year and one of the most favorite and successful albums of the Persian music industry ever. This album is Mansour's best-selling album of his career to date and also second best-selling album of his record label (Taraneh Records
) ever, behind the classic album of Persian music legend Moein
, titled Bibi Gol
(1988). All the songs were greatest hits of 2002-2003 in the Persian music industry. The hits of this album include: "Divooneh", one of the most successful hits in the Persian industry that is even used as pep music for soccer teams in Iran's stadium
s;written and produced by Brian Wayy "Bezan Berim," a great dance hit;by Brian Wayy most emotional song in the album with Rock music
and Guitar
theme : "Ghararemoon Yadet Nareh," Afghan music theme song: "Azize Delami," Highly successful hit of the album with Arabic music theme: "Mano Bebakhsh;" 6/8 Persian Dance Beat: "Bad Akhlagh" and great Techno
, Trance
and Disco
tracks, even with some elements of Arabic music Instruments : "Delam Faghat Toro Mikhad." There's also a track titled "Taraneh Bi Taraneh" that was written by famous and popular Persian musician Babak Bayat (R.I.P.) and the lyrics of Babak Sahraee, but this song wasn't successful like other tracks of the album because Mansour did not complete making of the song's music video
for unknown reasons (this is the only song on the album that doesn't have a music video).
in southwestern Iran, Mansour co-wrote the song "Eidi Nadaram" with words by Babak Rouzbeh and arrangement
by Fred Mirza and released the accompanying video in spring of 2004. The song was intended to be only a direct-to-video release but due to overwhelming audience response, he decided to include it in his upcoming album, Faraari.
, Manoochehr Cheshmazar and Fred Mirza.
Faraari was one of the top sellers in Persian industry that year, reaching #4 at Virgin Megastores' Top 5 across the Middle East, after names such as 50 Cent
, Moby
and Jennifer Lopez
. However, the album was not received well by critics or by his diehard fans, panned as a weaker imitation of Divooneh and lacking in creativity. Nonetheless, the album did have many hits: "Arezoomeh", "Faraari", "Shirin", "Mikhamet" as well as the successful Turkish Music theme hit, "Mara Beboos", and Azaadi (Freedom) which was taken as a political song because it's lyric, although Mansour denied it.
s and other things that will available soon are all under his business agreement with Mansour USA Company. Mansour released his own fragrance on 29 December 2006 at Dubai's Paris Gallery.
and producer
of all tracks on the album for the first time in his career. The album was well received by critics (better than Faraari but not like Divooneh, Zendegi Or Faghat Be Khatereh To) and also had huge commercial success. This album made a record and was the #1 seller on Eworldrecords Online Store http://Eworldrecords.com for over 9 months, and one year after release, the album went back on top10 at #8. Mansour used some new genres on this album such as Indian music
("On Dooneh Dooneh" and "Ghashangeh") or Brazilian music ("On Daado Bidaad") and disco
/trance
("On Baazi") beside his regular rock and 6/8 themed songs.
, for over one year. They went to many cities across Europe
, the USA and Canada
, including cities such as Washington
, New York
, Atlanta, Ohio
, Orlando
, San Francisco, Frankfurt
, Stockholm
, Vancouver
and others. They sold out most of the concert halls in this successful tour. They also sold out famous Greek Theater in Los Angeles
with over 5,700 seats and also Dubai
's Tennis Stadium with over 8,000 capacity. The tour was one of most successful tours of the past years in the Persian music industry. The tour ended in early 2008.
The first single (music video) of the album titled Mobaarakeh released In October 2009, the lyrics and music video were referred to Mansour's wedding that he celebrated early that month and considered as a personal song among his fans, the music video of this song reached number 8 on PMC
Top20. next single was Bikhaabi (Insomnia), a whole different song than Mobaarakeh. this song had a smiliar theme with Nemitouni on his past album and both of these songs are with arrangements of Erwin Khachikian, famous arranger of Persian music industry. the high budget music video of the song was directed by Mehran Ravi and helped this song to be a huge hit in lately 2008 and early 2009 in Iranian music industry, Mansour himself described this music video as a "Cinematic Experience". Bikhaabis music video was listed among PMC
Top20 music videos (only official Persian music chart that based on viewers vote) more than 10 weeks and also 2 weeks at Number One spot. next music videos were Janjaali and Maahi Joon. Maahi Joon is a symbolic song about freedom and social issues, the music video was directed by Siros Kerdouni and like it's critical lyrics has a symbolic and meaningful music video, some of his fans compare this song to Azaadi (Freedom) song in Faraari (the album), Maahi Joon music video reached number 11 on PMC
Top20. Mansour also dedicates Daveedamo Daveedam (Mojeh Geraan) (the song) from this album to his wife Sogol. Until September 2009, Mansour also released music videos for the songs Movaazebeh Khodet Baash and Nadidi Too Khaabam from this album. Movaazebeh Khodet Baash music video which was directed by Siros Kerdouni reached number one spot on PMC
Top20 music videos, Nadidi Too Khaabam music video was also reached number 11 on Top20.
, Mansour recorded a song titled "Nedaye Eshgh". The word "Neda" in the title of this song was used as a symbolic meaning of "calling" for freedom and hope, and also it was the first name of one of the assassinated people in these protests: Neda Agha-Soltan. Mansour also participated in some of the protests that were held in Los Angeles, California.
Despite his involvement in these causes, when Mansour began promotions for his concert at Club Nokia in Los Angeles on 26 September 2009, many people criticized his decision to perform at a place with the name of the Nokia
Company, which had sold monitoring technology devices to Iran's government after protests against election outcomes. Mansour reacted against this criticism, saying, "Nokia Club is owned by AEG
Company and had nothing to do with Nokia" and "the people who started these rumors should respect these holy activities [protests] in Iran and stop playing games with people's emotions." Despite this comments, Club Nokia is actually owned by both AEG
and Nokia
, but the planning for the concert was done months before the Iran's Green Movements and Nokia's part against the protesters. Nokia was not the sponsor of Mansour's concert; the program was presented by Century Records and Goldenvoice Company. Nevertheless, the opinion of the people who were objecting against Mansour's decision to hold the program in this place was: "Whether Club Nokia is owned by Nokia or not is irrelevant. The name Nokia has been used for this venue as a way to promote the company, and every piece of print, internet or video/audio advertisement for this concert is a form of promotion for Nokia. By booking this concert at this venue, Mansour (whether deliberately or not) is involved in promoting a company that contributed to the crackdown of peaceful demonstrations in Iran." The concert was done successfully and Mansour performed the above-mentioned song "Nedaaye Eshgh" onstage.
With Caltex Records
With Century Records USA
Singles
ŁÁİĿÁ
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
. From a new generation of rising singers of the exiled Iranian
Iranian peoples
The Iranian peoples are an Indo-European ethnic-linguistic group, consisting of the speakers of Iranian languages, a major branch of the Indo-European language family, as such forming a branch of Indo-European-speaking peoples...
community based in Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
, he is now ranked as one of the top male singers of the Iranian music scene. Beside Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, he also has a fan base in [Afghanistan], Tajikistan
Tajikistan
Tajikistan , officially the Republic of Tajikistan , is a mountainous landlocked country in Central Asia. Afghanistan borders it to the south, Uzbekistan to the west, Kyrgyzstan to the north, and China to the east....
and to a limited extent Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....
and Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
.
Despite the Iranian government’s restrictions on pop music, he has nevertheless been able to eclipse other singers in gaining a wide recognition in the country. Equally popular among both men and women, his songs now serve various ceremonial openings of events, such as soccer games, weddings and private parties. Due to the lively nature of his music that has engaged and absorbed the youth of Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, he is now permanently banned from returning or performing for any reason in that country.
Early years
Mansour was born in TehranTehran
Tehran , sometimes spelled Teheran, is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With an estimated population of 8,429,807; it is also Iran's largest urban area and city, one of the largest cities in Western Asia, and is the world's 19th largest city.In the 20th century, Tehran was subject to...
, Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
. Little is known of his early childhood years, though he was said to be an artistic child. Nothing is said of his propensity for music or singing at this time; however, it is speculated that with the war with Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
at its climax, the psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
of most Iranians, young and old, was inhibited. With the devastating effects of the war and the restrictions of the clerical regime, small part of his family immigrated to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
when Mansour was young.
Initiation
In 1991, Mansour embarked on recording his first album. A project that would eventually take three years to complete, the debutante is said to spend much time in preparation to refine his voiceVoice
Voice may refer to:* Human voice* Voice control or voice activation* Writer's voice* Voice acting* Voice vote* Voice message-In film:* Voice , a 2005 South Korean film* The Voice , a 2010 Turkish horror film directed by Ümit Ünal...
and vocal techniques under rigorous training lessons. He also insisted on hand-picking the producers, lyricists and arrangers for this album, all of which he financed from the revenues of a pager
Pager
A pager is a simple personal telecommunications device for short messages. A one-way numeric pager can only receive a message consisting of a few digits, typically a phone number that the user is then requested to call...
and cell phone store that he owned. He was later married to Maryam Gordpour, in 2009. They now have two kids living in the hills.
First album
In August 1994, Mansour’s debut album Ferferehayeh Bi Baad (started in 1991) was released through Caltex Records. Labeled as fresh and different for its upbeat and electronic pop textures, it garnered the attention of the new generation of Persian speaking youths of exiled Iranians who had become accustomed to WesternWestern world
The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...
music of similar type and thus easily accepted this mode of style into the Iranian music. In this album , Mansour works with some of the greatest Persian musicians
Music of Iran
The music of Iran has thousands of years of history, as seen in the archeological documents of Elam, one of the earliest world cultures,which was located in southwestern Iran...
such as: Siavash Ghomayshi, Abdi Yamini, Hassan Shamaeizadeh and Manouchehr Cheshmazar. And also famous lyricists like : Shahyar Ghanbari
Shahyar Ghanbari
Shahyar Ghanbari is an Iranian lyricist, songwriter and singer of Persian pop music.Shahyar is the son of Hamid Ghanbari; Iranian actor, dubber and singer. He writes and sings in Persian, English and French...
, Homayoun Hooshyarnejad and Masoud Fardmanesh .
Other albums
With the success of his first album, the pace for the singer picked up with the release of three other albums: Tasvir Akhar (1996), Daricheh (1997) and Ghayegheh Kaghazi (1998). All of these were similar to his initial work in emphasizing upbeat pop and a few number of singles from these albums became dance club hits. Some of the better known tracks of his career in this period were: "Sokooteh Shekasteh" and "Tasvireh Akhar" (from Tasvireh Akhar). "Jashneh Setarehaa" , "Daricheh" and "Aghousheh To" (from Daricheh) and "Parandehaaye Bi Vataan" (also known as "Nazanin") , "Chashmeh Siat" and "Yaadeh To" (from Ghayegheh Kaghazi).Faghat Be Khatereh To (Only For You)
In 1999, Mansour started his collaboration with Brian Wayy composer/producer and Paksima Zakipour as the lyricistLyricist
A lyricist is a songwriter who specializes in lyrics. A singer who writes the lyrics to songs is a singer-lyricist. This differentiates from a singer-composer, who composes the song's melody.-Collaboration:...
and embarked on task of songwriting and compiled his fifth album: Only For You (Faghat Be Khatereh To). When the album was officially released in March 2000, it was as much a commercial success as it was a critical success. Surprising the critics who had dismissed the notion of the singer as a professional songwriter, he garnered positive reviews from venues around the world. The title song of this album became a huge hit, creating a trend among Iranian men of dedicating this song to their beloved
Intimate relationship
An intimate relationship is a particularly close interpersonal relationship that involves physical or emotional intimacy. Physical intimacy is characterized by romantic or passionate love and attachment, or sexual activity. The term is also sometimes used euphemistically for a sexual...
. Thanks to Brian Wayy who changed his entire sound by his productions, he produced over 60 CDs for the most popular Persian singers including American artists like Diana Ross
Diana Ross
Diana Ernestine Earle Ross is an American singer, record producer, and actress. Ross was lead singer of the Motown group The Supremes during the 1960s. After leaving the group in 1970, Ross began a solo career that included successful ventures into film and Broadway...
, Rod Stewart
Rod Stewart
Roderick David "Rod" Stewart, CBE is a British singer-songwriter and musician, born and raised in North London, England and currently residing in Epping. He is of Scottish and English ancestry....
, Paula Abdul
Paula Abdul
Paula Julie Abdul is an American singer-songwriter, dancer, choreographer, actress and television personality.In the 1980s, Abdul rose from cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers to highly sought-after choreographer at the height of the music video era before scoring a string of pop music-R&B hits...
, Stevie B
Stevie B
Stevie B is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer who was influential in the Latin freestyle and High-Energy, mostly from Miami dance music scene of the late 1980s...
and many others.
Supported by its lively, vivid videos, this album officially introduced Mansour's face to the public and made all his CDs household
Household
The household is "the basic residential unit in which economic production, consumption, inheritance, child rearing, and shelter are organized and carried out"; [the household] "may or may not be synonymous with family"....
items. Almost an overnight celebrity
Celebrity
A celebrity, also referred to as a celeb in popular culture, is a person who has a prominent profile and commands a great degree of public fascination and influence in day-to-day media...
both to Iranians inside and outside of Iran, his name became synonymous with jubilation. His voice omnipresent at parties, TV and radio stations, stadiums and even presiding over nightclubs of LA's and Europe's dance clubs, he shot to fame with acceleration as fans enthusiastically searched the Internet for scraps of the singer's photographs. The album has a number of hit songs such as: "Faghat Be Khatereh To" (also the album's title), "Eshgheh Atashy" (composed by Persian pop singer/musician legend Siavash Ghomayshi), "Entezaar" and "Vaghty Nisti", and also an Afghan Music
Music of Afghanistan
The music of Afghanistan has existed for a long time, but since the late 1970s the country has been involved in constant wars and people were less concerned about music...
theme song titled : "Chashmaan Siah" that is so popular across Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
.
America So Beautiful
Just when Mansour’s fameCelebrity
A celebrity, also referred to as a celeb in popular culture, is a person who has a prominent profile and commands a great degree of public fascination and influence in day-to-day media...
was gaining momentum in 1999, independent filmmaker Babak Shokrian approached the singer to play the lead in the film America So Beautiful. The filming of this movie overlapped his work on his fifth album, and he talks of this period of his life as one of the most stressful as he took on the challenge of acting and singing full course. America So Beautiful played at film festivals in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, Marrakech
Marrakech
Marrakech or Marrakesh , known as the "Ochre city", is the most important former imperial city in Morocco's history...
, Gothenburg
Gothenburg
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
and Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, gaining positive reviews and accolades .
Zendegi (Life)
December 2001 saw the release of Mansour's sixth album, Zendegi (Life). This was his second collaboration with Brian Wayy and Paksima Zakipour and his third album release with Taraneh RecordsTaraneh Records
Taraneh Records is an Iranian record label in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in the early 80s after the Islamic Revolution. In the past two decades it has distributed many albums from some of the most famous Iranian artists. Some of the first signings to Taraneh were Hayedeh, Farhad...
. (It was Mansour's comeback to Taraneh Records
Taraneh Records
Taraneh Records is an Iranian record label in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in the early 80s after the Islamic Revolution. In the past two decades it has distributed many albums from some of the most famous Iranian artists. Some of the first signings to Taraneh were Hayedeh, Farhad...
after working with Caltex Records
Caltex Records
Caltex Records is a record label based in Los Angeles, California. The label is run mostly by Iranian-Americans and was one of the first Iranian record labels to be established in the United States after the Iranian Revolution. Caltex has a long history of many successful acts and has made stars...
for three years and two albums.) Growing long hair with a beard
Beard
A beard is the collection of hair that grows on the chin, cheeks and neck of human beings. Usually, only pubescent or adult males are able to grow beards. However, women with hirsutism may develop a beard...
and moustache
Moustache
A moustache is facial hair grown on the outer surface of the upper lip. It may or may not be accompanied by a type of beard, a facial hair style grown and cropped to cover most of the lower half of the face.-Etymology:...
(the Jesus look), he had reinvented his image. Surprising his fans, who could barely distinguish the singer's soft features, he indicated that he had based his look on the requirements of the film work in which he was concurrently participating. In Zendegi, Mansour tries elements of Spanish music
Music of Spain
The Music of Spain has a long history and has played an important part in the development of western music. It has had a particularly strong influence upon Latin American music. The music of Spain is often associated abroad with traditions like flamenco and the classical guitar but Spanish music...
on tracks like "Dooset Daram", "Bebin", and "Khodi"; he tries a rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
sound on his hit "Yeki Bood Yeki Nabood", and even adds some Indian music
Music of India
The music of India includes multiple varieties of folk, popular, pop, classical music and R&B. India's classical music tradition, including Carnatic and Hindustani music, has a history spanning millennia and developed over several eras. It remains fundamental to the lives of Indians today as...
in the greatest hit of the album, "Zendegi" (the album's title track).
Divooneh and international fame
In November 2002, Mansour's seventh music album Divooneh (Crazy) was released and spilled his popularity into other PersianPersian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
speaking countries, notably Tajikistan
Tajikistan
Tajikistan , officially the Republic of Tajikistan , is a mountainous landlocked country in Central Asia. Afghanistan borders it to the south, Uzbekistan to the west, Kyrgyzstan to the north, and China to the east....
and Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
. Two huge hit singles of this album, "Azize Delami" and "Divooneh," written by Brian Wayy & Mansour (music) and Paksima Zakipour (lyrics) attracted audiences from as far away as Bahrain
Bahrain
' , officially the Kingdom of Bahrain , is a small island state near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. The population in 2010 stood at 1,214,705, including 235,108 non-nationals. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a kingdom in 2002.Bahrain is...
, UAE, Qatar
Qatar
Qatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its...
, Kuwait
Kuwait
The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...
and Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
. The album was the most highly successful album, in both commercial and critical sides, of the year and one of the most favorite and successful albums of the Persian music industry ever. This album is Mansour's best-selling album of his career to date and also second best-selling album of his record label (Taraneh Records
Taraneh Records
Taraneh Records is an Iranian record label in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in the early 80s after the Islamic Revolution. In the past two decades it has distributed many albums from some of the most famous Iranian artists. Some of the first signings to Taraneh were Hayedeh, Farhad...
) ever, behind the classic album of Persian music legend Moein
Moein
Nasrollah Moein known as Moein is an Iranian singer known for his love songs. Born in 1951 in Najaf Abad in Esfahan, he has played lots of concerts across the world...
, titled Bibi Gol
Moein
Nasrollah Moein known as Moein is an Iranian singer known for his love songs. Born in 1951 in Najaf Abad in Esfahan, he has played lots of concerts across the world...
(1988). All the songs were greatest hits of 2002-2003 in the Persian music industry. The hits of this album include: "Divooneh", one of the most successful hits in the Persian industry that is even used as pep music for soccer teams in Iran's stadium
Stadium
A modern stadium is a place or venue for outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event.)Pausanias noted that for about half a century the only event...
s;written and produced by Brian Wayy "Bezan Berim," a great dance hit;by Brian Wayy most emotional song in the album with Rock music
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
and Guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
theme : "Ghararemoon Yadet Nareh," Afghan music theme song: "Azize Delami," Highly successful hit of the album with Arabic music theme: "Mano Bebakhsh;" 6/8 Persian Dance Beat: "Bad Akhlagh" and great Techno
Techno
Techno is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in Detroit, Michigan in the United States during the mid to late 1980s. The first recorded use of the word techno, in reference to a genre of music, was in 1988...
, Trance
Trance music
Trance is a genre of electronic dance music that developed in the 1990s.:251 It is generally characterized by a tempo of between 125 and 150 bpm,:252 repeating melodic synthesizer phrases, and a musical form that builds up and breaks down throughout a track...
and Disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
tracks, even with some elements of Arabic music Instruments : "Delam Faghat Toro Mikhad." There's also a track titled "Taraneh Bi Taraneh" that was written by famous and popular Persian musician Babak Bayat (R.I.P.) and the lyrics of Babak Sahraee, but this song wasn't successful like other tracks of the album because Mansour did not complete making of the song's music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for unknown reasons (this is the only song on the album that doesn't have a music video).
Patriotism and recent involvements
In memory of the 2003 Bam earthquake2003 Bam earthquake
The 2003 Bam earthquake was a major earthquake that struck Bam and the surroundingKerman province of southeastern Iran at 1:56 AM UTC on Friday, December 26, 2003. The most widely accepted estimate for the magnitude of the earthquake is a moment magnitude of 6.6; estimated by the United...
in southwestern Iran, Mansour co-wrote the song "Eidi Nadaram" with words by Babak Rouzbeh and arrangement
Arrangement
The American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
by Fred Mirza and released the accompanying video in spring of 2004. The song was intended to be only a direct-to-video release but due to overwhelming audience response, he decided to include it in his upcoming album, Faraari.
Faraari
After three highly successful albums (Faghat Be Khatereh To, Zendegi and Divooneh) Mansour released his long awaited Faraari (The Fugitive) in March 2005. The lyrics were by Babak Rouzbeh (five songs), Homa Mirafshar (two) and Babak Sahraee (one), with arrangements by Elton AhiElton Ahi
Elton Ahi is a Persian music producer, born on August 6, 1964, in Iran. He has been credited with music production/editing/sound engineering for over 100 Hollywood major motion pictures including: xXx, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, 27 Dresses, and The Last of the Mohicans, which won an...
, Manoochehr Cheshmazar and Fred Mirza.
Faraari was one of the top sellers in Persian industry that year, reaching #4 at Virgin Megastores' Top 5 across the Middle East, after names such as 50 Cent
50 Cent
Curtis James Jackson III , better known by his stage name 50 Cent, is an American rapper, entrepreneur, investor, record producer, and actor. He rose to fame with the release of his albums Get Rich or Die Tryin and The Massacre . Get Rich or Die Tryin has been certified eight times platinum by...
, Moby
Moby
Richard Melville Hall , better known by his stage name Moby, is an American musician, DJ, and photographer. He is known mainly for his sample-based electronic music and his outspoken liberal political views, including his support of veganism and animal rights.Moby gained attention in the early...
and Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lynn Lopez is an American actress, singer, record producer, dancer, television personality, and fashion designer. Lopez began her career as a dancer on the television comedy program In Living Color. Subsequently venturing into acting, she gained recognition in the 1995 action-thriller...
. However, the album was not received well by critics or by his diehard fans, panned as a weaker imitation of Divooneh and lacking in creativity. Nonetheless, the album did have many hits: "Arezoomeh", "Faraari", "Shirin", "Mikhamet" as well as the successful Turkish Music theme hit, "Mara Beboos", and Azaadi (Freedom) which was taken as a political song because it's lyric, although Mansour denied it.
Mansour's Essentials
Mansour is working on his own fragrances too, Mansour Fragrances (For Men and Women), T-shirtT-shirt
A T-shirt is a style of shirt. A T-shirt is buttonless and collarless, with short sleeves and frequently a round neck line....
s and other things that will available soon are all under his business agreement with Mansour USA Company. Mansour released his own fragrance on 29 December 2006 at Dubai's Paris Gallery.
Beautiful (Ghashangeh)
Mansour released his ninth album (Ghashangeh-Beautiful) with lyrics by Babak Rouzbeh and arrangements by his longtime partners Fred Mirza and Manouchehr Cheshmazar, and for the first time Erwin Khachikian (arranger of the most successful hits of Persian pop legend Siavash Ghomayshi and member of the famous American-Armenian rock band Slow Motion Reign) and Schubert Avakian (one of the most famous Persian hitmakers and member of the successful Persian pop group Black Cats). Mansour was composerComposer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
and producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
of all tracks on the album for the first time in his career. The album was well received by critics (better than Faraari but not like Divooneh, Zendegi Or Faghat Be Khatereh To) and also had huge commercial success. This album made a record and was the #1 seller on Eworldrecords Online Store http://Eworldrecords.com for over 9 months, and one year after release, the album went back on top10 at #8. Mansour used some new genres on this album such as Indian music
Music of India
The music of India includes multiple varieties of folk, popular, pop, classical music and R&B. India's classical music tradition, including Carnatic and Hindustani music, has a history spanning millennia and developed over several eras. It remains fundamental to the lives of Indians today as...
("On Dooneh Dooneh" and "Ghashangeh") or Brazilian music ("On Daado Bidaad") and disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
/trance
Trance music
Trance is a genre of electronic dance music that developed in the 1990s.:251 It is generally characterized by a tempo of between 125 and 150 bpm,:252 repeating melodic synthesizer phrases, and a musical form that builds up and breaks down throughout a track...
("On Baazi") beside his regular rock and 6/8 themed songs.
Dariush tour
After success of Ghashangeh Album , Mansour went on a concert tour with one of Persian music's legends, Dariush EghbaliDariush Eghbali
Dariush Eghbali better known by his stage name Dariush is a famous Iranian pop singer best known for his warm and plaintive bass voice heard in both ballads and political songs. He is also a social activist who directs a recovery center.-Early life:...
, for over one year. They went to many cities across Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, the USA and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, including cities such as Washington
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Atlanta, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, Orlando
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
, San Francisco, Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
, Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
and others. They sold out most of the concert halls in this successful tour. They also sold out famous Greek Theater in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
with over 5,700 seats and also Dubai
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
's Tennis Stadium with over 8,000 capacity. The tour was one of most successful tours of the past years in the Persian music industry. The tour ended in early 2008.
Janjaali
Mansour's 10th studio album with 10 new tracks was released on March 13, 2009. In this album he collaborated again with Paksima Zakipour (Mansour's longtime partner who had not appeared on his albums since Divooneh) on the lyrics of two songs entitled "Be Sedaaye Ghalbeh Man Goosh Bedeh" and "Donyaa Haminjouri Nemimouneh". The album's other lyricists are Masoud Fardmanesh, Babak Rouzbeh and Ashkan Rahimi. Mansour composed 9 of 10 songs on the album; one song was composed and arranged by Schubert Avakian, and the other arrangements are by Erwin Khachikian, Fred Mirza, Manouchehr Cheshmazar and Vanik Panosian. This album represents Vanik Panosian's first official appearance in Persian music; Mansour introduces him with four arrangements on the album Janjaali.The first single (music video) of the album titled Mobaarakeh released In October 2009, the lyrics and music video were referred to Mansour's wedding that he celebrated early that month and considered as a personal song among his fans, the music video of this song reached number 8 on PMC
Persian Music Channel
PMC is a free-to-air satellite TV network owned by Persian Media Corporation and headquartered in Dubai Media City. Launched in 2003, the network is devoted to Persian music videos from ex-pat Iranian singers and also Iranian singers in Iran. Arabic, Kurdish and Turkish hit songs are also shown on...
Top20. next single was Bikhaabi (Insomnia), a whole different song than Mobaarakeh. this song had a smiliar theme with Nemitouni on his past album and both of these songs are with arrangements of Erwin Khachikian, famous arranger of Persian music industry. the high budget music video of the song was directed by Mehran Ravi and helped this song to be a huge hit in lately 2008 and early 2009 in Iranian music industry, Mansour himself described this music video as a "Cinematic Experience". Bikhaabis music video was listed among PMC
Persian Music Channel
PMC is a free-to-air satellite TV network owned by Persian Media Corporation and headquartered in Dubai Media City. Launched in 2003, the network is devoted to Persian music videos from ex-pat Iranian singers and also Iranian singers in Iran. Arabic, Kurdish and Turkish hit songs are also shown on...
Top20 music videos (only official Persian music chart that based on viewers vote) more than 10 weeks and also 2 weeks at Number One spot. next music videos were Janjaali and Maahi Joon. Maahi Joon is a symbolic song about freedom and social issues, the music video was directed by Siros Kerdouni and like it's critical lyrics has a symbolic and meaningful music video, some of his fans compare this song to Azaadi (Freedom) song in Faraari (the album), Maahi Joon music video reached number 11 on PMC
Persian Music Channel
PMC is a free-to-air satellite TV network owned by Persian Media Corporation and headquartered in Dubai Media City. Launched in 2003, the network is devoted to Persian music videos from ex-pat Iranian singers and also Iranian singers in Iran. Arabic, Kurdish and Turkish hit songs are also shown on...
Top20. Mansour also dedicates Daveedamo Daveedam (Mojeh Geraan) (the song) from this album to his wife Sogol. Until September 2009, Mansour also released music videos for the songs Movaazebeh Khodet Baash and Nadidi Too Khaabam from this album. Movaazebeh Khodet Baash music video which was directed by Siros Kerdouni reached number one spot on PMC
Persian Music Channel
PMC is a free-to-air satellite TV network owned by Persian Media Corporation and headquartered in Dubai Media City. Launched in 2003, the network is devoted to Persian music videos from ex-pat Iranian singers and also Iranian singers in Iran. Arabic, Kurdish and Turkish hit songs are also shown on...
Top20 music videos, Nadidi Too Khaabam music video was also reached number 11 on Top20.
Iran's Green Movement and Nokia Club controversy
After the Iranian presidential election in June 2009 and protests against its results2009 Iranian election protests
Protests following the 2009 Iranian presidential election against the disputed victory of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and in support of opposition candidates Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi occurred in major cities in Iran and around the world starting June 13, 2009...
, Mansour recorded a song titled "Nedaye Eshgh". The word "Neda" in the title of this song was used as a symbolic meaning of "calling" for freedom and hope, and also it was the first name of one of the assassinated people in these protests: Neda Agha-Soltan. Mansour also participated in some of the protests that were held in Los Angeles, California.
Despite his involvement in these causes, when Mansour began promotions for his concert at Club Nokia in Los Angeles on 26 September 2009, many people criticized his decision to perform at a place with the name of the Nokia
Nokia
Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational communications corporation that is headquartered in Keilaniemi, Espoo, a city neighbouring Finland's capital Helsinki...
Company, which had sold monitoring technology devices to Iran's government after protests against election outcomes. Mansour reacted against this criticism, saying, "Nokia Club is owned by AEG
AEG
Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft was a German producer of electrical equipment founded in 1883 by Emil Rathenau....
Company and had nothing to do with Nokia" and "the people who started these rumors should respect these holy activities [protests] in Iran and stop playing games with people's emotions." Despite this comments, Club Nokia is actually owned by both AEG
AEG
Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft was a German producer of electrical equipment founded in 1883 by Emil Rathenau....
and Nokia
Nokia
Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational communications corporation that is headquartered in Keilaniemi, Espoo, a city neighbouring Finland's capital Helsinki...
, but the planning for the concert was done months before the Iran's Green Movements and Nokia's part against the protesters. Nokia was not the sponsor of Mansour's concert; the program was presented by Century Records and Goldenvoice Company. Nevertheless, the opinion of the people who were objecting against Mansour's decision to hold the program in this place was: "Whether Club Nokia is owned by Nokia or not is irrelevant. The name Nokia has been used for this venue as a way to promote the company, and every piece of print, internet or video/audio advertisement for this concert is a form of promotion for Nokia. By booking this concert at this venue, Mansour (whether deliberately or not) is involved in promoting a company that contributed to the crackdown of peaceful demonstrations in Iran." The concert was done successfully and Mansour performed the above-mentioned song "Nedaaye Eshgh" onstage.
Mansour Norooz Concert Tour
After success of Janjaali Album , Mansour has arranged a Norooz Concert Tour, for this year. he has planned too travel to many cities such as Europe,Asia,including cities such as London, Turkey, ,Austria, Dubai ,Malaysia and Germany. Hes sold out for most of the concert in his upcoming tour. Hes sold out in London Hmv Forum with 3,000 seats and also Dubai's Tennis Stadium with over 8,000 capacity. This tour was the one most successful tour of the past years in the Persian music industry. The tour ended on March 28, 2011.Studio albums
With Taraneh RecordsTaraneh Records
Taraneh Records is an Iranian record label in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in the early 80s after the Islamic Revolution. In the past two decades it has distributed many albums from some of the most famous Iranian artists. Some of the first signings to Taraneh were Hayedeh, Farhad...
- 1996: Tasvir Akhar
- 1997: Daricheh
- 2001: Zendegi (Life)
- 2002: Divooneh (Crazy)
- 2005: Farari (Fugitive)
- 2007: Ghashangeh (Beautiful)
With Caltex Records
Caltex Records
Caltex Records is a record label based in Los Angeles, California. The label is run mostly by Iranian-Americans and was one of the first Iranian record labels to be established in the United States after the Iranian Revolution. Caltex has a long history of many successful acts and has made stars...
- 1994: Ferferehayeh Bibaad
- 1998: Ghayegh Kaghazi
- 2000: Faghat Bekhatareh To (Only For You)
With Century Records USA
- 2009: Janjaali
Singles
Singles
Singles may refer to:In society:* Single persons and associated businesses and discussionsIn retail commerce:* United States one-dollar bills, particularly when requesting change from, or implicitly comparing to, larger denomination bills...
- 2009: Nedaye Eshgh
- 2010: Mikhaam Bahat Beraghsam
- 2010: Zendegi Chist
- 2011: Bari Bakh
- 2011: Beshkan
Live albums
With MZM Records- 1996: Mansour Live In Concert
- 2010: Mansour Live in Concert Club Nokia (Audio CD)
DVDs/music videos
- 2001: Life ... On The Road DVD (music videos Of "Zendegi" album)
- 2005: Farari DVD (music videos Of "Divooneh" and some music videos from "Farari" , include In "Farari" Album Package)
- 2007: Only For You DVD (music videos of "Faghat Be Khatereh To" album)
- 2010: Mansour Live in Concert Club Nokia DVD (includes videos of songs performed at club nokia concert)
Guest appearances
- Black Cats (Featuring Mansour) - Gole Yakh (remake of Persian famous song with the same name, the original singer Is Kourosh Yaghmaei).
- MahastiMahastiMahasti bornEftekhar Dadehbala was a legendary Persian Pop and classical singer and diva and the younger sister of singer Hayedeh.- Background :...
and HayedehHayedehHayedeh born Ma'soumeh Dadehbala , was a Persian classical and Pop singer with a contralto vocal range. In a career spanning more than 20 years, she had many hits...
(Featuring Mansour) - Vedaa (Shabeh Eshgh) (remake of song by HayedehHayedehHayedeh born Ma'soumeh Dadehbala , was a Persian classical and Pop singer with a contralto vocal range. In a career spanning more than 20 years, she had many hits...
and her sister MahastiMahastiMahasti bornEftekhar Dadehbala was a legendary Persian Pop and classical singer and diva and the younger sister of singer Hayedeh.- Background :...
. She sings this song in the memory of her late sister, after her death. In this song Mansour just sang in the chorusesRefrainA refrain is the line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse; the "chorus" of a song...
, Mansour's part in original song was performed by Persian pop legend EbiEbiEbi is a Persian Singer-songwriter and performer currently living in Marbella, Spain. He has combined musical influences from traditional Persian music, western pop and sometimes Latino style rhythms and is a major name in Persian music...
).
External links
ŁÁİĿÁ