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Rania Zeriri
Youth fair YOU, Berlin, October 2008
Background information
Birth name	Rania Zeriri
Also known as	Rania
Born	(1986-01-06) 6 January 1986 (age 38)
Origin	Enschede, Netherlands
Genres	Pop music
Occupation	Singer
Years active	2005–present
Labels	Kontor Records, EMI
Website	www.raniazeriri.de

Rania Zeriri (born 6 January 1986 in Enschede, Netherlands) is a Dutch singer.

Personal life

Rania Zeriri grew up in the Netherlands as the daughter of a Dutch mother and an Algerian father who left the family when she was still very young. After finishing school with a General Certificate of Secondary Education (Mittlere Reife), she moved at the age of 17 to Salamanca to study Spanish. Later, she acquired a hotel animation diploma and then worked mainly on Ibiza and Fuerteventura where she also started to perform as a singer in hotels. After she reached the Top 10 of the fifth season of the German television contest Deutschland sucht den Superstar (DSDS), she resigned from her job and moved to Gronau-Epe in Germany to live with her mother.

Zeriri was born with holes in her vocal cords. Her dark voice is the result of an operation which was necessary to close the inborn holes using laser treatment. This caused her difficulties to sing high notes and in the falsetto register.

In 2010, Zeriri started to study at the Enschede Conservatory a branch of ArtEZ. She also works as a reporter with the regional broadcaster TV Enschede FM.

Music career

Rania Zeriri gained national recognition as contestant and 'Top 5' finalist in the 2008 German "Idol" version Deutschland sucht den Superstar (DSDS) broadcast by RTL. She finished in fifth place.

After the DSDS show Zeriri performed throughout Germany and performed before the final of the European Football Championship at the fan area at the Brandenburg Gate, Berlin, in front of several hundred thousand visitors. Zeriris debut solo maxi single Crying Undercover was released on 14 November 2008 by the record label Kontor Records. The title song was written for the singer by Achim Jannsen, a writer who produced several cover-songs for Jan Wayne, together with the musician Claas P. Jambor, a member of the Zeichen der Zeit project. The CD contains also the song Cursed And Blessed written by Zeriri in 2006 and the video of the title song.

DSDS controversies

Although Rania Zeriri started the last phase of the competition as one of the favourites she received later controversial press coverage, especially from the German newspaper Bild. On 24 April 2008 Bild appeared with an article suggesting that contestants of the show might have used drugs in the dressing room area singling out Zeriri as potential culprit. However, the accusation was never proven and Zeriri made new headlines when she publicly voiced her opinion that a requested drug test should not only include the contestants but also the jury, openly stated her increasing discomfort in participating in the show and directly criticised the juror Dieter Bohlen.

Discography

Sampler

• 2008 Fly Alone (joined release of all finale participants of Deutschland sucht den Superstar)

Maxi single

• 2008 Crying Undercover

References

1. RTL Drama um die hübsche Rania Zeriri Archived September 24, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
2. Westfälische Nachrichten
3. Tubantia – De Twentsche Courant – Online issue 9. August 2010
4. Stars2meet.de Archived September 27, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
5. Deutscher Depeschendienst GmbH
6. Amazon
7. Böse Entertainment Veranstaltungsagentur Archived September 21, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
8. Achim Jannsen discography Archived November 7, 2008, at Wikiwix
9. Burgsee Kurier, October 2008
10. Roccatune Magazin interview
11. Drama um rauchige Stimme
12. Drei Supertops drei Superflops
13. Küsschen für Bohlen und 100 000 Euro Strafe für RTL
14. Alle Superstars zum Drogentest?
15. Ich gehe zum Drogen-Test ... aber nur, wenn die Jury mitmacht!
16. Er will mich nur weg haben
17. Zeriri räumt das DSDS Feld Die Welt

External links

• Biography at agency site (in German)
• Rania Zeriri at IMDb
• Official fan site (in German)

• 1986 births
• Living people
• Dutch people of Algerian descent
• Deutschland sucht den Superstar participants
• Dutch pop singers
• People from Enschede
• 21st-century Dutch women singers
• 21st-century Dutch singers
• English-language singers from the Netherlands