For the village in Azerbaijan, see F?rras; for the violinist, see Christian Ferras.
Ferras Alqaisi
(Arabic: ???? ??????; born 1982), known as Ferras
, is an American Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter who has signed with EMI as part of Capitol Records.
|
FERRAS TICKETS
|
Career
Ferras grew up feeling out of place in a small, southern
Illinois town called Gillespie. This feeling was only compounded when, shortly after his parents' divorce, his father took him to the airport, promising him a trip to
Disneyland, but instead he actually spirited him away to his homeland of
Amman, Jordan, an experience he often jokes about but also says was fairly "traumatic" at the time. While there, Ferras took solace in the small
Casio keyboard that his father bought him and began writing his own songs. His mother eventually succeeded in bringing him back to the
United States, but his sense of alienation persisted until they moved to
Southern California, where Ferras began pursuing a music career in earnest
Ferras was eventually signed to
EMI's
Capitol Music Group after an audition for the label's chairman
Jason Flom while on Spring Break from the
Berklee College of Music. After being signed by Flom, Ferras then flew to
New York City to record demo versions of his songs, which would eventually form his debut album.
[1]
In April 2008, Ferras released his major record label debut with
Aliens & Rainbows
via
Capitol Records. The album was produced by
The Matrix (who has co-written and produced with the likes of
Avril Lavigne,
Shakira,
Heather Nova,
Jason Mraz,
Korn,
Liz Phair,
Hilary Duff,
Britney Spears and
Skye Sweetnam) and
Gary Clark (who's worked with
Natalie Imbruglia and
Lloyd Cole). The album features the lead single "
Hollywood's Not America," which was to be used as the "exit song" during the seventh season of the American reality series
American Idol
before being replaced by a single from
Ruben Studdard. The choice gave Ferras a moderate amount of exposure and publicity for the song.
[2]
Ferras made his first national television performance on
The Today Show
.
[3]
Personal life
Ferras currently resides in
Los Angeles, California. His mother Gigi and younger sister Katie live in Santa Barbara.
Ferras is
openly gay.
[4]
Discography
Albums
| Album information
|
Aliens & Rainbows
- Release Date: April 1, 2008
|
Singles
| Year
| Title
| Album
|
| 2008
| "Hollywood's Not America" Produced and engineered by the Matrix
| Aliens & Rainbows
|
| 2008
| "Liberation Day"
|
| 2008
| "Rush" - Produced and engineered by Latisha Van Simon
|
References
- Capitol Music Group. [1]
- Ferras’ “Hollywood’s Not America” selected as American Idol 7’s exit song
- YouTube: Ferras on The Today Show
- Boys of Summer: Ferras