George Wassouf

 
George Wassouf (; born 23 December 1961, nicknamed Abou-Wadie (ابو وديع) and Sultan El-Tarab (سلطان الطرب)) is a Syrian singer. In a career spanning more than four decades, he has released more than 30 albums. With a significantly large audience of fans in Lebanon, Syria, throughout the Arab world and abroad, he is one of the most successful Arab singers selling over 60 million records worldwide.
Early life and career.
Wassouf was born in Kafroun, Syria to a Greek Orthodox Christian family. Wassouf started singing at the age of 10 in his hometown Kafroun. He was discovered by his first manager and producer George Yazbeck at a wedding party that Wassouf was performing at, aged 12 years old. At the age of 16 he was called "Sultan El-Tarab" by the Lebanese journalist George Ibrahim El Khoury, a magazine director, Arabic for "The Sultan of Music", with his classic song "el-Hawa Sultan". He became famous after appearing on the Lebanese show "Studio El Fan" 1980 when he was 19 years old as "Sultan of Tarab". Wassouf holds the Lebanese passport in addition to the Syrian passport.
Wassouf preferred not to shoot music videos for his songs saying: "I don't feel I can act... I really can't... I only find myself when I'm on the stage... singing, but the video clip forces me to act".
Personal life.
George Wassouf married his first wife, Shalimar, at the age of 21. They have three children: Hatem Wassouf, George Jr. Wassouf, Wadie Wassouf. The couple separated after 28 years of marriage in 2009.
He was married to Qatar rally champion Nada Zeidan, his second wife. They divorced in 2016. Their daughter, Oyoon, was born in October 2015. 
Wassouf has been a prominent supporter of President Bashar al-Assad's government throughout the Syrian Civil War.