Cheb Khaled (Thursday 18/7/2002) Born in 1960 in Oran, Algeria, King of Raï Cheb Khaled made Algerian music part of the world scene. He began singing with his first group, the Five Stars, at age 10 and, at 14, he recorded his first song. By the mid-1970s, his Raï (Opinion) cassettes had become immensely popular with the young generation. In 1985, he organized the immensely successful first Festival of Raï in Algeria, but shortly thereafter he moved to France, where his career truly began to blossom. In 1992, N’ssi N’ssi and Didi became huge French and international hits.

Sahra (named after his daughter) established him as a major star, with the single Aïcha being the biggest hit of the year in France. Khaled has won over a dozen awards, including a World Music Award, a Lion D’or Award, Chanteur L’annee, the Medal of Honor from the French Ministry of Culture and the Chevalier des Arts et des Letters. In the wake of the 9/11 tragedy, Khaled became the first North African/Arab artist to headline a North American tour, breaking attendance records throughout the U.S. in February 2002.    Watch Video  (1124.08KB)