Nour Ardakani: The Lebanese singer finding her own way in LA

In 2020, international pop group Now United chose eighteen-year-old Nour Ardakani from 10,000 hopefuls across the MENA region. A Zoom call changed her life, taking her from posting bedroom covers in Lebanon to performing before crowds of 40,000 in Brazil.

I was posting covers on social media, like many boys and girls in Lebanon attempting to do something. Then everything changed when I received the direct message on Instagram.

The leap

Now United, sponsored by Pepsi, brought together performers from countries spanning Brazil to China. Joining the group introduced Nour to the international music industry and gave her a first-hand education in performing at scale.

“I entered the domain and decided to get as much as I can out of this experience”. After five years with the troupe, she chose to direct all the knowledge she gained towards her career and focus on what she wants to accomplish.

The 24-year-old singer/songwriter has gained a huge following on Instagram with 1.5 million followers. Originally from Mansourieh, Lebanon, she has called Los Angeles home for the past four years. Since she was six years old, she’s had a passion for singing. “In Lebanon, if you go tell your parents I want to be a popstar, they’d look at you as if you were crazy”.

Thinking it was an impossible dream, she focused on her studies by going to Sagesse High School then AUB. She expected to find a job after graduation, leaving music on the back burner. Today, singing takes priority as she pursues acting in Los Angeles.

“I’m proud that I come from Lebanon. In LA, there are people from all over. Being from Lebanon gives me an advantage, be it due to the culture or the knowledge”. She believes her parents trusted her to carry their values and traditions with her.

Whether I’m in Dubai or in LA, I’m the girl from Lebanon who was able to accomplish things internationally.

Whether it’s art, singing, songwriting or acting, Nour is relishing this phase of exploration. She is willing to try anything that challenges her. Nowadays, creating and releasing her own music is her priority. Her solo debut, “Keep up”, offers a glimpse into her identity as an artist, trying to carve out her path in Hollywood as a Middle Eastern woman. The song blends Middle Eastern instrumentation with contemporary pop. “You know the hips don't lie from the east, dark hair, dark eyes, but I'm sweet, from the left to the right on the beat, sayin': She must be Lebanese”.

The struggles of a budding artist

Although she’s become somewhat accustomed to the entertainment industry, it wasn’t always the case. She went into it at only 18 years old, feeling that she knew everything there is to know. “I was naive. I didn’t know what to expect. It taught me to be independent and mature at a young age. I couldn’t come to my parents in the sitting room and tell them this or that went wrong”. They were sleeping and she was on another continent.

She was thrust into a professional world of managers, directors, and choreographers, many older and more experienced than she was. “I used to put limitations on myself and think I couldn’t take on something for being too difficult or needing a lot of energy. When I pushed myself, especially when it came to something I loved, nothing stood in my way. This courage came from being Lebanese and witnessing the resilience around me”, says Nour.

Not only that but she suffered from imposter syndrome when she first joined the group. Many of her fellow performers had trained at performing arts schools and some had even been professional ballet dancers since childhood. “I was a normal university girl in Lebanon, and I'd never had access to training at that level”, says Nour.

Being on camera every day and shooting music videos almost every week, she had to manage her emotions and stay focused. “My biggest challenge was really me against myself: my own thoughts, and constantly comparing myself to others”, confesses Nour.

Being Middle Eastern, and particularly Lebanese, presented another challenge. As Lebanon went through another period of turmoil, she felt a responsibility to represent her country and fight perceptions of the Middle East. Managing the worry and stress and still showing up every day to the best of her abilities was one of the hardest things she had to do.

Despite pursuing the career she has dreamed of since childhood, Nour still struggles with being far from home. She wakes up every day and calls her parents with a lump in her throat. She had just missed her father’s birthday at the time of the interview, which was the day before.

Her brother is eleven years younger and every time she returns home, she feels he has grown up so much and she’s missing his life. With her other brother Jad leaving for Texas a few years back, her parents are suffering from a nearly empty nest syndrome. “I always try to come at Christmas and in the Summer”, Nour shares with tears in her eyes.

Beyond Now United

On her final tour with the group, Nour wanted to push her limits and prove the doubters wrong, but mostly she wanted to show herself the extent of her capacity. “I learned that I'm mentally strong and that I have so much stamina”, says Nour.

What came as a surprise was her own dedication. Every day she would wake up early, make breakfast, then rehearse for nine to ten hours, dancing and singing. Then she would carve out the time for her own rehearsals and workouts, all while eating healthy.

“Some days I struggled mentally and some days physically. I wasn't getting enough sleep, and other health issues came up along the way. I probably pushed further than my body should have gone. But I pushed through, and I'm proud of that”, admits Nour.

Having spent five years performing within a group, Nour now wants the freedom to explore what kind of artist she can become. In an ideal world, with the pressure to be commercially successful cast aside, Nour would experiment freely in music with new genres, sounds, and maybe other languages. She'd love to spend time focusing on Arabic music.

Cinematically, I'd dive fully into acting and film. I'd explore different genres, like horror and drama, to see where I fit, and I'd audition as much as I could. Acting is a big part of who I am as an artist.