Xriss Jor is a Lebanese-American singer born in the small town of Yahchouch, Lebanon. Raised in Nigeria, she used to spend her summers in Lebanon and is now ready to take the world by storm. A music lover from an early age, this petite singer has a voice that’s full of surprises and stage presence that's truly captivating. Her path to fame has not been easy even though she won the Lebanese Karaoke Championship a few years ago, making it to the top 10 at the World Competition, and stole the hearts of many fans when she reached the quarter-finals of The Voice [Arabia] . It wasn’t really until the Dubai Music Week Talent Search (2014), that she started to get the recognition she deserves when she blew away legendary producers and musicians Quincy Jones, will.i.am. and Timbaland. Now Quincy Jones and Badr Jafar’s joint venture G3 (Global Gumbo Group) has signed Xriss as a management client. The result? Xriss is working on a new single and music video that is being overseen by Quincy Jones and is also working on other new songs.
Xriss Jor took some time out from her busy schedule to talk to StepFeed:
Making it big has not been easy. What were your main obstacles and more importantly, what kept you going and pushed you to continue trying?
"I wouldn’t exactly say I’ve made it big at all. I couldn’t even say that I’ve accomplished anything significantly important yet but I do feel like I’m on my way. Slowly but surely. I CAN however comfortably say that I’ve made it farther than I ever imagined I would, even though my dream is to sing in front of a million people who came to see me. What kept pushing me forward was the fact that I keep feeling like I'm in fact moving… and even if it’s slow, it’s still nothing but forward."
You originally come from small village in Lebanon but have traveled the world. How has coming from the Middle East shaped who you are artistically? And how have your travels shaped you as a singer?
"Here’s the thing. Wherever I go, whether it’s Lebanon or the USA, I’ll always be looked at as the different one. In Lebanon I’m not Lebanese enough (I still sometimes ask what certain words mean and I don’t sing in Arabic) and in America I’m not American enough (I don’t use American terms and I don’t know my way around). I’m always in “no-man’s land” and it’s not a bad thing at all. I feel like an exotic alien, let’s just put it like that."
What does singing mean to you? And how would you define talent?
"My whole life revolves around music and singing. I’ve become so dependent and used to singing that just a couple days of not doing it makes me feel like I’m about to go through some kind of mild cold-turkey…Talent is something someone has that flabbergasts people, that puts them on the edge of their seats and makes them want more or whatever it is you made them feel."
What can we expect now that you're working with the famous Quincy Jones and other American producers?
"I don’t want to ruin the surprise so I won’t say anything but the only thing that I CAN tell you is that it’s all (all, not just being the EP) happening in June and I’m loving it all."
What advice or words of encouragement would you give to other young aspiring artists keen to make it big on the international arena?
"If you love what you do, someone significant is bound to love it as much as you do and help you as much as they can."
If you can't wait till June 2015 to hear Xriss's powerful yet highly expressive voice giving life to her very own songs, then you can check out these covers: