Kurdish pop star Helly Luv
Kurdish pop star Helly Luv has taken on the Islamic State, releasing a new music video this week filmed on the Peshmerga frontlines where the war against the extremists rages on.
The sometimes graphic video begins with actors dressed as ISIS terrorists riding atop tanks as terrified extras run for cover.
Wearing gold stilettos with handgun heels and her face obscured by a red keffiyeh scarf, Luv walks through the fleeing throngs to confront the fighters.
In one scene, she fires an AK-47 assault rifle and in others waves a Kurdish flag. Fist held aloft Luv sings: “Stand up, we are united, together we can survive it”.
Luv told Rudaw her intention with the song was to encourage the Kurds in their fight against ISIS.
“I needed to give the people a song that would tell the story of what happened, and how the Peshmerga are fighting, the story of the people,” Luv said.
Filmed on the frontlines near Khazar village south of Erbil, Luv said she was just kilometers from ISIS and her film crew was forced to flee several times as fighting broke out.
“You're not just going there to shoot a video. You're thinking, am I coming back alive?”
Luv achieved fame in 2013 for her first music video “Risk It All,” which was also filmed in Kurdistan. In that video, a veiled Luv in a sparkly dress threw a Molotov cocktail, draped herself over lions, and danced in front of Erbil's citadel.
The video went viral, with over 3.8 million views on YouTube, but sparked backlash from conservative groups. Luv said she received death threats from Islamist groups who decried her dance moves and skimpy clothing.
Even so, millions of people soon followed her on social media, and thousands of her fans – or her “Luvs” as she calls them – comment on each of her posts. Many have applauded her for being a role model to young Kurds.
Luv was born Hellan Abdullah in an Iranian refugee camp to Iraqi Kurdish parents. Her mother had been a Peshmerga fighter before she was married.
When Luv was nine months old her parents walked over the mountains to Turkey. When she was two, her family was granted asylum in Finland where Luv grew up.
When she was 18 she moved to Los Angeles, California, to pursue her dream of becoming a pop star.
“I was alone. I didn't know anybody and didn't know where to start,” Luv said. “I just had this big dream and one suitcase.”
She returned to Kurdistan in 2013 to create a career as a pop singer, attempting to embrace both her Kurdish and Western influences.
Luv sees some opportunity amid the difficult circumstances the Kurdistan region is now facing.
“What's happening now is that we're uniting and that's the most beautiful thing – showing that love and peace can win.”
As she sings in the song: “It's a revolution. We're going to keep on fighting. People all around the world don't be scared, come together let them you're know we are right there.”
The sometimes graphic video begins with actors dressed as ISIS terrorists riding atop tanks as terrified extras run for cover.
Wearing gold stilettos with handgun heels and her face obscured by a red keffiyeh scarf, Luv walks through the fleeing throngs to confront the fighters.
In one scene, she fires an AK-47 assault rifle and in others waves a Kurdish flag. Fist held aloft Luv sings: “Stand up, we are united, together we can survive it”.
Luv told Rudaw her intention with the song was to encourage the Kurds in their fight against ISIS.
“I needed to give the people a song that would tell the story of what happened, and how the Peshmerga are fighting, the story of the people,” Luv said.
Filmed on the frontlines near Khazar village south of Erbil, Luv said she was just kilometers from ISIS and her film crew was forced to flee several times as fighting broke out.
“You're not just going there to shoot a video. You're thinking, am I coming back alive?”
Luv achieved fame in 2013 for her first music video “Risk It All,” which was also filmed in Kurdistan. In that video, a veiled Luv in a sparkly dress threw a Molotov cocktail, draped herself over lions, and danced in front of Erbil's citadel.
The video went viral, with over 3.8 million views on YouTube, but sparked backlash from conservative groups. Luv said she received death threats from Islamist groups who decried her dance moves and skimpy clothing.
Even so, millions of people soon followed her on social media, and thousands of her fans – or her “Luvs” as she calls them – comment on each of her posts. Many have applauded her for being a role model to young Kurds.
Luv was born Hellan Abdullah in an Iranian refugee camp to Iraqi Kurdish parents. Her mother had been a Peshmerga fighter before she was married.
When Luv was nine months old her parents walked over the mountains to Turkey. When she was two, her family was granted asylum in Finland where Luv grew up.
When she was 18 she moved to Los Angeles, California, to pursue her dream of becoming a pop star.
“I was alone. I didn't know anybody and didn't know where to start,” Luv said. “I just had this big dream and one suitcase.”
She returned to Kurdistan in 2013 to create a career as a pop singer, attempting to embrace both her Kurdish and Western influences.
Luv sees some opportunity amid the difficult circumstances the Kurdistan region is now facing.
“What's happening now is that we're uniting and that's the most beautiful thing – showing that love and peace can win.”
As she sings in the song: “It's a revolution. We're going to keep on fighting. People all around the world don't be scared, come together let them you're know we are right there.”
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