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Mansour (Template:PerB, born June 17?, 1970?) is a popular Iranian singer. From a new generation of rising singers of the exiled Iranian community based in Southern California, he is now ranked as one of the top male singers of the Iranian music scene. Beside Iran, he also has a fan base in Afghanistan, Iraq, Tajikistan and to a limited extent Uzbekistan and Russia.

Despite the Iranian government’s restrictions, of Pop music, he has nevertheless been able to eclipse other singers in gaining a wide recognition in that country. Equally popular among both men and women, his songs now serve various ceremonial openings of events, such as soccer games, weddings and private parties. Due to the lively nature of his music that has engaged and absorbed the youth of Iran, he is now permanently banned from returning or performing for any reason in that country.^{[citation needed]}

His newest album called Beautiful was released in February 2007. [1]

Background

Early years

Mansour was born in Tehran, Iran. Little is known of his early childhood years, though he was said to be an artistic child. Nothing is said of his propensity for music or singing at this time; however, it is speculated that with the war with Iraq at its climax, the psychology of most Iranians, young and old, was inhibited. With the devastating effects of the war and the restrictions of the clerical regime, his large family immigrated to the United States when Mansour was young.

According to his official website, Mansour couldn't sing in his school choir after he and his family re-established their life in California. He was said to take every opportunity to sing traditional Iranian songs that he said gave him inspiration. Besides his school performances, he is also said to be active among his circle of friends and also the exiled community of Southern California for whom he performed at various events gaining recognition as an amateur singer.

Initiation

Before high school, Mansour decided to pursue singing professionally. He started providing backup vocals on stage and in the studio for other professional recording artists. From the experience of participating in a recording studio, he learned about album recording processes and also music industry as a whole. It was also here that he met composers, writers and music arrangers who later would compile music for the amateur singer.

In 1991, Mansour embarked on recording his first album. A project that would eventually take three years to complete, the debutante is said to spend much time in preparation to refine his voice and vocal techniques under rigorous training lessons. He also insisted on hand-picking the producers, lyricists and arrangers for this album, all of which he financed from the revenues of a pager and cell phone store that he owned.

First album

In August 1994, Mansour’s debut album Ferferehayeh Bi Baad (started in 1991) was released through Caltex Records. Labeled as fresh and different for its upbeat and electronic pop textures, it garnered the attention of the new generation of Persian speaking youths of exiled Iranians who had become accustomed to Western music of similar type and thus easily accepted this mode of style into the Iranian music.

With the success of his first album, the pace for the singer picked up with the release of three other albums: Tasvir Akhar, Daricheh and Ghayegh Kaghazi. All of these were similar to his initial work in emphasizing upbeat pop and a number of singles from these albums became dance club hits.

In 1999, Mansour embarked on task of songwriting and compiled his fifth album: Only For You. When the album was officially released in March of 2000, it was as much a commercial success as it was a critical acclaim. Surprising the critics who had dismissed the notion of the singer as a professional songwriter, he garnered positive reviews from venues around the world. The title song of this album became a huge hit, creating a trend among Iranian men of dedicating this song to their beloved.

Supported by its lively, vivid videos, this album officially introduced Mansour’s face to the public and made all his Cds household items. Almost an overnight celebrity both to Iranians inside and outside of Iran, his name became synonymous with jubilation. His voice omnipresent at parties, TV and radio stations, stadiums and even presiding over nightclubs of LA’s and Europe’s dance clubs, he shot to fame with acceleration as fans enthusiastically searched the internet for scraps of the singer's photographs.

December 2001 saw the release of Mansour’s sixth album Life. This was the third album release with Taraneh Records. Growing long hair coupled with a beard and moustache(the jesus look) , he had reinvented himself with a new image. Surprising his fans who could barely distinguish the soft features of the singer, he indicated he had based his look on the requirement of his film work that he was also concurrently following.

"Beautiful"

Just when Mansour’s fame was gaining momentum in 1999, independent filmmaker Babak Shokrian approached the singer to play the lead in the film America So Beautiful. The filming of this movie overlapped his work on his fifth album, and he talks of this period of his life as one of the most stressful as he took on the challenge of acting and singing full course. America So Beautiful played at film festivals in Berlin, Marrakech, Gothenburg and Los Angeles, gaining positive reviews and accolades.

"Divooneh" the album and international fame

In November 2002, Mansour seventh music album Divooneh (Crazy) was released and spilled his popularity into other Persian speaking countries, notably Tajikistan and Afghanistan. Two huge hit singles of this album “Aziz-e-Delami” and “Divooneh” attracted audiences as far as Bahrain, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait and Turkey.

Patriotism & recent involvements

In memory of the 2003 Bam Earthquake in southwestern Iran, Mansour co-wrote the song “Eidi Nadaram” and released the accompanying video in spring of 2004. The song was intended to be only a direct-to-video release but due to overwhelming audience response, he decided to include it in his upcoming album.

Mansour lives in Los Angeles and continues his music career from there. He often tours the cities of United States and Canada, Europe, Australia and other countries of the Middle East.

References

Tehran Magazine. Choose the Best: Andy, Mansour or Shahram Kashani. Issue 476. Page 72-76.
- [2]

BBC Persian. Seventh Day: Mansour. August 6, 2004.
- [3]

BBC Persian. Picture Album of Dubai's Concert: Mansour. April 2, 2004.
- [4]

Discography

Taraneh Records

2007: Ghashangeh (Beautiful)
2005: Farari (Fugitive)
2002: Divooneh (Crazy)
2001: Zendegi (Life)
1997: Daricheh
1996: Tasvir Akhar

Caltex records

2000: Faghat Bekhatareh Toe (Only For You)
1998: Ghayegh Kaghazi
1994: Ferferehayeh Bi Baad

MZM Records

1996: Mansour Live In Concert

Filmography

1999: America So Beautiful

External links

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 |Name           ={{lang|fa|منصور}}<br />Mansour
 |Background     = solo_singer
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 |Img_capt       = Mansour @ Paris Gallery - Dubai 2006
 |Birth_name     = Mansour Jafari Mamaghani