Sevda Alizadeh , known professionally as Sevdaliza, is an Iranian-Dutch singer and songwriter. Born in Iran and based in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, she was originally a professional basketball player before embarking upon a music career.
Sevdaliza was born in Tehran, Iran in 1987, but moved to the Netherlands at a young age. She left home at 16 on a basketball scholarship and played as part of the Dutch national team. She continued with basketball and her studies, but chose to start making music when she was 24. Not trained to read music or play instruments, she taught herself how to sing and how to use Ableton, drawing on the reserve of discipline that drove her time in sports.
Her debut full-length album, titled ISON, was released in April 2017. It includes 16 tracks, among which earlier releases such as “Marilyn Monroe” and “Amandine Insensible”, as well as new songs. The album cover features an image of a hyperrealistic sculpture of Sevdaliza by artist Sarah Sitkin.
Play the music (one of my favorites) and look at how gorgeous she is.