ERITREAN NAMES AND THEIR MEANING

Names                   Meaning of Name                            Gender
 Tesfay                   My hope                                        Male 


Haile                  Strength; Power of                              Male


Osman                  Tender youth                                   Male


Kidane                My Vow, My Covenant                       Male 


Asmara             "United" ( Eritrea's capital)                    Male 


Asmarina           "United" ( Eritrea's capital)                   Female 

EriAm Sisters

The Eriam Sisters (Eritrean American Sisters) is a music group who became known after their appearance on America's Got Talent 2009. There, they sang Michael Jackson's song "I Want You Back" which aired just a day before he died. The sisters were seen as the next Destiny's Child by the judges of America Got Talent. Specially Piers Morgan was very excited and told the girls "you are the future". He said this after the girls performed the song "crazy in love" by Beyonce. Although their name was known mainly because of America's Got Talent show, the girls were performing for years together. Some of the songs they recorded when Haben was only 8 years old. These songs are found on Reverbnation site. The released a couple original songs, including "BFF" and "Diary". The song "Diary" is written by the 12 year old member (Haben Abraham) and made it to number one on Hot Radio 105.7 for 5 weeks. The song apparently was not formally released but leaked to radio stations. Without any promotional effort the song couldn't keep the momentum and dropped off the radio chart after 9 weeks. They also wrote a song called "No more" about sisterhood love which was widely seen as an indication of the love the girls have for each other. Seattle Theater Group featured the girls as the best young artist of the year 2009 and Mayor Denis Low handed the girls a key to the city for their extraordinary contribution to music at such a young age. They are also admired for their contribution to support many local charity organizations. In 2010 the sisters received another award from the king county executives for excellence in music". Haben's talent was discovered by her school music teacher, and the musical abilities of her two older sisters were noticed shortly after that. The sisters are not signed by a label but have a large number of fans on YouTube and MySpace. They have performed at Disney World and on The Maury Povich "Most Talented Kids" Show. Their song Diary which has been playing in Alabama on Radio 105.7 has been number #1 on the play list for 4 weeks. The EriAm Sisters first major concert was in Montgomery (Alabama) on May 28 at the Jubilee festival. The EriAm Sisters also released a rendition of "I want you back" on Aug 29/2011 under the label KingdomGate Music Group. The King 5 TV show "new day" reported that in the summer of 2010, the EriAm Sisters conducted for the first time a limited international tour including the cities Stockholm, Asmara, Sawa, Washington DC, Oakland, Salt lake city and Montgomery. And in the summer of 2011 to Frankfurt, Stockholm, Oakland and more. The EriAm sisters are very talented girls and they are known all across America. Their Talent is known and some day they will become something big. The girls are believed to work with multi-platinum producer Andrew Lane and DJ Steve Freestyle who is the official DJ of Timbaland. [edit]External links Official website Dantedlievery Montgomery Advertiser King 5 TV show report EriAm Sisters receive key to the city King county executive awards excelence for music

R.I.P Abraham Afwerqi

Abraham Afewerki (1966–2006), an Eritrean singer, song writer,and music producer drowned in the Red Sea at the age of 40. In addition to his humble personality, Abraham was one of the most gifted contemporary Eritrean musical artists. A genius of Tigrinya music writing, and a unique Tigrinya lyricist, Abraham was one of the most recognized figures among Eritrean musicians and celebrities. [edit]Biography Abraham Afewerki is described as an Eritrean musical tour-de-force. Held in high regard by his fellow Eritrean artists his work garners appreciation and admiration from his peers. His musical influence also crosses borders to Eritrea’s neighboring countries where his music is reproduced by other musicians singing in a different language other than his native Tigrinya. Abraham was born in Asmara, Eritrea. From an early age Abraham was fascinated with musical instruments and by age nine had learned to play a musical instrument independently. Due to the Eritrean War of Independence Abraham, with his family, fled to Sudan and soon after to Italy where he further pursued his dream to be a professional musician. While studying in Rome, Abraham continued to expand his musical skills by working with internationally known musical celebrities in live performances as well as recordings.[citation needed] Abraham’s first CD, Kozli Gaba was released in 1991, which was produced and distributed by Virgin Records in Europe. The album was the first by an Eritrean artist that was produced by an International recording company and made available to the global audience. Abraham’s music, in due course, was covered by a number of International media outlets. During the following 15 years Abraham released two more albums which further propelled his popularity among Eritreans. His songs were popular because his lyrics expressed strong and poetic images of Eritrea’s culture. His socially conscious words were evocative and his fans often described his music as inspiring. Abraham is also credited with being one of Eritrea’s master live entertainers. In his newest CD titled Semai ("Sky" in Tigrinya), Abraham collaborates with several Eritrean musicians, the result of which was an exquisite sound. Abraham continued to blend his music with jazz, R&B, and Reggae rhythms at the same time maintaining his music’s originality and authenticity. He died in 2006, when he drowned while swimming in Massawa whilst filming his next music video. [edit]Albums He released the following albums in Eritrea: "Wegahta"(Sunrise) - 1991 "Tesfa'iya snqey"(Hope is my supply or kit) - 1994 "MsTir fQri"(Secret of Love) - 1998 "Hadera" (Promise) - 2000 "semai" (Sky - aka The Sky is My Limit ) - 2006 Zeru

HELEN MELES

Helen Meles Background information Origin Eritrea Genres Eritrean music Occupations Lead singer and Actress Instruments vocals Years active 1990's-present Helen Meles is a prominent Eritrean Singer and Actress. She has released several albums and appeared in many top-rated Eritrean films.[1] Contents [hide] 1 Biography 2 Discography and Acting Career 3 National Awards 4 See also 5 References [edit]Biography "Helen Meles - Soulful voice which sends strong vibes all over" Helen Meles' biography is the story one of the biggest African stars of the early 21st century. She established herself as a talented singer, bona fide diva during her two decade long musical career. She has become one of the biggest selling Eritrean artists of all time, and has captured the hearts and minds of Eritreans and neighbouring African countries alike. Her Musical Career started in her early years at the age of 8 when she joined the Kassala RED FLOWERS band (ቀያሕቲ ዕምባባ) which was formed by the EPLF's Education Branch of Kassala. With the band she performed in different places of Sudan as a Lead Singer. Her friends describe her as a free-spirited and rebellious individual who was not afraid to show her ‘other’ sides of her personalities. Helen is a highly passionate artist who reads and is responsive to her own feelings, a trait which is not clearly exhibited in many artists, especially those from the fighter community. One can feel the throbbing of her soulful voice which sends strong vibes all over. Her beauty is mesmerising and it can be described by her proud and majestic posture and her profile can be sketched by her captivating facial expressions while doing her dance routines.Strangely, if one is not familiar with her history, she does not exhibit any indication of the harsh life she led in the battlefields of Eritrea in her looks. Indeed, she was a combatant with a strong touch of music in her. Although somewhat camouflaged, perhaps carefully depicted, she seems to elegantly include her past experiences in her some of her songs. Helen's expertise lies in popular music which encompasses a wide range of styles of both local and international origins. She takes Tigrinya music to a different level by mixing traditional and modern music which is influenced by European, Arabic and African music. For instance, (only junior to the Creator) “ምንኣስ ፈጣሪ’’, can be described as one of the most interesting songs from the ‘ResAni’ CD because of its new style which Helen introduces in the song – a mixture of South African beat accompanied by a gospel-like sound. Helen can easily be compared to the diva of the Eritrean music scene of the sixties and seventies, Mrs Tberh Tesfahunegn, who instilled (ዘስረጸት) a strong patriotic feeling in many young Eritreans of the time. Both Tberh and Helen sing from the heart and their musical styles, although separated by decades of events and technological developments, are interestingly similar. It is vague how deep Helen’s knowledge of Teberh is, as there exists a generational divide between them. One can feel that there is a controversy in her style, as opposed to her lyricists’ and composer/producers’ input in her songs. It is bit confusing to tell whether they complement each other or simply tear each other apart beautifully. Whether they are at odds or complement each other, the end product is highly interesting. It would be interesting to see how Helen Meles’s confident demeanour, her untamed passion, her eloquent language of the heart, and most of all, her powerful voice can yet again transform Eritrean music into another level in the coming decade. [edit]Discography and Acting Career 1. CD ALBUMS Vol. 1 - Kuhulay Segen - 1997 Vol. 2 - 'Ti Gezana - 1998 (Remix of Tebereh Tesfahuney Oldies) Mamina (Remix of Amleset Abay Oldies) feat. Amleset Abay Vol. 3 - Remix Of Kuhulay Segen - 2000 Vol. 4. - Res'ani - 2003 Vol. 5 - Halewat - 2006 2. Single Hit Releases Abey keydu silimatki (1990),* Eza adey (1998),* Warsay (1998),* Shabai /AKA/ Aba Selie (1999),* Debdabieu (1999), * Mesilka we (2000),* Sham (2000),* Betey (2001),* Gagyeka (2002),* Nacfa (2003),* Nibat fikri (2003),* Likie (2003),* Nisa tinber (2003),* Kewhi lubu (2004),* Manta Fikri (2004),* Ertrawit ade (2004),* Halime Ember (2005),* Fir Fir (2006),* Nihnan nisikin (2006),* Abaka Ember (2006),* Tsetser (2008),* Menesey (2010),* Rahsi (2011). 3. Acting Career Fikrin Kunatn (1997), * Debdabieu (1999), * Mesilka'we (2000), * Rahel (2002), * Manta Fikri (2004), * Tuwyo Netsela (2006), * Menyu Tehatati (2007) [edit]National Awards 1. 2000 3rd AbaSelie (Shabay) EriTv Award National Songs 2. 2001 4th Sham Raimoc Eritrean Artistic Award 3. 2001 1st Sham EriTv Award Top Ten Love Songs 4. 2003 3rd Res’Ani, 4th Nib’At Fikri, 7th NisiHa Fikri Top Ten Eri-Festival Artistic Award 5. 2005 1st Halime Ember Top Ten Eri-Festival Artistic Award 6. 2006 2nd Fir Fir Top Ten Eri-Festival Artistic Award 7. 2007 7th Beleni’ta Top Ten Eri-Festival Artistic Award