Deeyah

Deepika "Deeyah" Thathaal (born August 7, 1977 in Oslo, Norway), is a Pakistani-Norwegian singer, composer and human rights activist of Punjabi/Pathan descent. Born to Sunni Muslim Pakistani parents. She is often dubbed the “Muslim Madonna” a term coined by the British press tabloid The Sun.

Her style contains elements of pop, metal, electronica and world music particularly fusion of Pakistani pop and classical sounds.

In her early days, she trained under the great music maestro Ustad Bade Fateh Ali Khan. She would later be signed by the largest independent record company Kirkelig Kulturverksted where she recorded two earlier albums with her mentors and other ustads and maestros from the subcontinent. It was then that the Muslim community got outraged and she left the country for London, United Kingdom.

Deepika has since then produced controversial tracks usually talking about free speech and women's rights and has appeared in several music videos in collaboration with various producers and singers. She adopted the name Deeyah in 2002.

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