Noura

Fatima Zohra Badji (1942–2014) better known by her stage name of Noura was an Algerian singer. She was the first North African and Algerian to attain a gold record and was the first Algerian to appear on the front page of Paris Match. She received citations and awards from Tunisia, Libya and the Ministry of Culture of Algeria in recognition of her cultural contributions.

Biography Fatima Zohra Badji was born in 1942 in Sidi Amar, a small village near Cherchell, Algeria to a large family. As a shy child, she spent a lot of time listening to the radio and decided in the 1950s to ask for a job at a radio station. She was hired to host a children's program by station manager Saïd Rezzoug, who assigned her to work under the composer Amari Maâmar. Maâmar liked the sound of her voice and introduced her as a singer with the song "El Ouarda" written by Said Hayef. She also performed in many genres including Andalusian classical music, chaabi, chaoui, Kabyle, Sahrawi, covering all types of regional folk music, Some of her early hits included "Ghorba", "Gal-el menfi", and "Hua, hua" and she starred in the operetta أنا الورقة المسكينة Some of her most noted songs were "Ya Rabbi Sidi", "Aïn El Karna", and "Adhrar njarjar eghlayene".

In 1974, she was awarded the Cultural Medal of the Republic of Tunisia by President Habib Bourguiba and the following year was selected as the star of the Arab Song Festival of Libya in 1975. Noura was honored in 2003 by the Algerian Ministry of Culture and Systems and then in 2012, the Office of Riad El-Feth under the direction of the Ministry of Culture honored her in a tribute for her cultural contributions.

Death Noura died on 1 June 2014 in Paris after a lengthy illness. On 3 June 2014 a ceremony attended by the Algerian ambassador to France, Amar Bendjama, was held in Paris before her body was transported to Algiers to be buried with her family in Sidi Yahia Cemetery.