Jan Luyken's three-part illustration of the rapture described in Matthew 24:40, from the 1795 Bowyer Bible.

The Rapture is a term in Christian eschatology which refers to the "being caught up" discussed in 1 Thessalonians 4:17, when the "dead in Christ" and "we who are alive and remain" will be "caught up in the clouds" to meet "the Lord".^[1] The Rapture is used in at least two senses in modern traditions of Christian eschatology: in pre-tribulationist views, in which a group of people will be "left behind", and as a synonym for the final resurrection generally.^[2][3][4]

There are many views among Christians regarding the timing of Christ's return (including whether it will occur in one event or two), and various views regarding the destination of the aerial gathering described in 1 Thessalonians 4. Denominations such as Roman Catholics,^[5] Orthodox Christians,^[6] Lutheran Christians,^[7] and Reformed Christians^[8] believe in a rapture only in the sense of a general final resurrection, when Christ returns a single time.

Pre-tribulation rapture theology was developed in the 1830s by John Nelson Darby and the Plymouth Brethren,^[9] and popularized in the United States in the early 20th century by the wide circulation of the Scofield Reference Bible.^[10]

Etymology[link]

"Rapture" is derived from Middle French rapture, via the Medieval Latin raptura ("seizure, rape, kidnapping"), which derives from the Latin raptus ("a carrying off").^[11]

Greek[link]

The Koine Greek of 1 Thessalonians 4:17 uses the verb form ἁρπαγησόμεθα (harpagēsometha), which means "we shall be caught up" or "taken away", with the connotation that this is a sudden event. The dictionary form of this Greek verb is harpazō (ἁρπάζω).^[12] This use is also seen in such texts as Acts 8:39, 2Corinthians 12:2-4 and Revelation 12:5.

Latin[link]

The Latin Vulgate translates the Greek ἁρπαγησόμεθα as rapiemur,^[13] from the verb rapio meaning "to catch up" or "take away".^[14]

English Bible versions[link]

English versions of the Bible have translated rapiemur in various ways:

• The Wycliffe Bible (1395), translated from the Latin Vulgate, uses "rushed".^[15]
• The Tyndale New Testament (1525), the Bishop's Bible (1568), the Geneva Bible (1587) and the King James Version (1611) use "caught up".^[16]
• The New English Bible, translated from the Greek,^[17] uses "suddenly caught up" with this footnote: "Or “snatched up.” The Greek verb ἁρπάζω implies that the action is quick or forceful, so the translation supplied the adverb “suddenly” to make this implicit notion clear."

Doctrinal history[link]

The concept of the rapture, in connection with premillennialism, was expressed by the 17th-century American Puritan father and son Increase and Cotton Mather. They held to the idea that believers would be caught up in the air, followed by judgments on the Earth, and then the millennium.^[18][19] The term rapture was used by Philip Doddridge^[20] and John Gill^[21] in their New Testament commentaries, with the idea that believers would be caught up prior to judgment on the Earth and Jesus' second coming.

There exists at least one 18th century and two 19th century pre-tribulation references: in an essay published in 1788 in Philadelphia by the Baptist Morgan Edwards which articulated the concept of a pre-tribulation rapture,^[22] in the writings of Catholic priest Emmanuel Lacunza in 1812,^[23] and by John Nelson Darby in 1827.^[24] However, both the book published in 1788 and the writings of Lacunza have opposing views regarding their interpretations.^{[citation needed]} Emmanuel Lacunza (1731–1801), a Jesuit priest, (under the pseudonym Juan Josafat Ben Ezra) wrote an apocalyptic work entitled La venida del Mesías en gloria y majestad (The Coming of the Messiah in Glory and Majesty). The book appeared first in 1811, 10 years after his death. In 1827, it was translated into English by the Scottish minister Edward Irving.^{[citation needed]}

Dr. Samuel Prideaux Tregelles (1813-1875), a prominent English theologian and biblical scholar, wrote a pamphlet in 1866 tracing the concept of the rapture through the works of John Darby back to Edward Irving.^[25]

Although not using the term "rapture", the idea was more fully developed by Edward Irving (1792–1834). In ? (first volume published in 1706) Henry, M. (1994). Matthew Henry's commentary on the whole Bible : Complete and unabridged in one volume. Peabody: Hendrickson. Matthew Henry used the term in his commentary of 1 Thessalonians 4.^{[26][Full citation needed]} Irving directed his attention to the study of prophecy and eventually accepted the one-man Antichrist idea of James Henthorn Todd, Samuel Roffey Maitland, Robert Bellarmine, and Francisco Ribera, yet he went a step further. Irving began to teach the idea of a two-phase return of Christ, the first phase being a secret rapture prior to the rise of the Antichrist. According to Irving, “There are three gatherings: – First, of the first-fruits of the harvest, the wise virgins who follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth; next, the abundant harvest gathered afterwards by God; and lastly, the assembling of the wicked for punishment.”^[27]

John Nelson Darby first proposed and popularized the pre-tribulation rapture in 1827.^[28] This view was accepted among many other Plymouth Brethren movements in England. Darby and other prominent Brethren were part of the Brethren Movement which impacted American Christianity, especially with movements and teachings associated with Christian eschatology and fundamentalism, primarily through their writings. Influences included the Bible Conference Movement, starting in 1878 with the Niagara Bible Conference. These conferences, which were initially inclusive of historicist and futurist premillennialism, led to an increasing acceptance of futurist premillennial views and the pre-tribulation rapture especially among Presbyterian, Baptist and Congregational members.^[29] Popular books also contributed to acceptance of the pre-tribulation rapture, including William Eugene Blackstone's book Jesus is Coming published in 1878^[30] and which sold more than 1.3 million copies and the Scofield Reference Bible, published in 1909 and 1919 and revised in 1967.^{[Full citation needed]}

The early original Christian church,^[31] as well as the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox churches,^[32] the Anglican Communion and many Protestant Calvinist denominations, have no tradition of a preliminary return of Christ and reject the doctrine. The Orthodox Church, for example, rejects it because the Protestant doctrine of the rapture depends on a millennial interpretation of prophetic scriptures, rather than an amillennial or postmillennial fashion.^[33]

Some proponents of a preliminary rapture believe the doctrine of amillennialism originated with Alexandrian scholars such as Clement and Origen^[34] and later became Catholic dogma through Augustine.^[35] Thus^{[citation needed]} the church until then held to premillennial views, which see an impending apocalypse from which the church will be rescued after being raptured by the Lord. This is even extrapolated by some^[which?] to mean that the early church espoused pre-tribulationism.^{[citation needed]}

Some^[who?] pre-tribulation proponents maintain that the earliest known extra-Biblical reference to the pre-tribulation rapture is from a 7th-century tract known as the Apocalypse of Pseudo-Ephraem the Syrian, which says, "For all the saints and Elect of God are gathered, prior to the tribulation that is to come, and are taken to the Lord lest they see the confusion that is to overwhelm the world because of our sins."^[36]"^[37] However, the interpretation of this writing as supporting a pre-tribulation rapture is debated.^[38][39]

The rise in belief in the pre-tribulation rapture is often wrongly attributed to a 15-year old Scottish-Irish girl named Margaret McDonald (a follower of Edward Irving), who in 1830 had a vision of the end times which describes a post-tribulation view of the rapture that was first published in 1840. It was published again in 1861, but two important passages demonstrating a post-tribulation view were removed to encourage confusion concerning the timing of the rapture. The two removed segments were, "This is the fiery trial which is to try us. - It will be for the purging and purifying of the real members of the body of Jesus" and "The trial of the Church is from Antichrist. It is by being filled with the Spirit that we shall be kept".^[40]

In 1957, John Walvoord, a theologian at Dallas Theological Seminary, authored a book, The Rapture Question,^{[Full citation needed]} that gave theological support to the pre-tribulation rapture; this book eventually sold over 65,000 copies. In 1958, J. Dwight Pentecost authored another book supporting the pre-tribulation rapture, Things to Come: A Study in Biblical Eschatology^{[Full citation needed]}, which sold 215,000 copies.

During the 1970s, belief in the rapture became popular in wider circles, in part due to the books of Hal Lindsey, including The Late Great Planet Earth, which has reportedly sold between 15 million and 35 million copies, and the movie A Thief in the Night, which based its title on the scriptural reference 1 Thessalonians 5:2.^[41] Lindsey proclaimed that the rapture was imminent, based on world conditions at the time. The Cold War figured prominently in his predictions of impending Armageddon. Other aspects of 1970s global politics were seen as having been predicted in the Bible. Lindsey suggested, for example, that the seven-headed beast with ten horns, cited in the Book of Revelation, was the European Economic Community, a forebear of the European Union, which between 1981 and 1986 had ten member states; it now has 27 member states.

In 1995, the doctrine of the pre-tribulation rapture was further popularized by Tim LaHaye's Left Behind series of books, which sold tens of millions of copies and were made into several movies.

The doctrine of the rapture continues to be an important component of American evangelical Christian eschatology.^{[citation needed]}

Views[link]

One event or two[link]

Some dispensationalist premillennialists (including many Evangelicals) hold the return of Christ to be two distinct events, or one second coming in two stages. 1 Thessalonians 4:15–17 is seen to be a description of a preliminary event to the return described in Matthew 24:29–31. Although both describe a return of Jesus, these are seen to be separated in time by more than a brief period. The first event may or may not be seen (which is not a primary issue), and is called the rapture, when the saved are to be 'caught up,' from whence the term "rapture" is taken. The "second coming" is a public event, wherein Christ's presence is prophesied to be clearly seen by all, as he returns to end a battle staged at Armageddon, though possibly fought at the Valley of Jehoshaphat. The majority of dispensationalists hold that the first event precedes the period of tribulation, even if not immediately (see chart for additional dispensationalist timing views);

Amillennialists deny the interpretation of a literal 1,000-year rule of Christ, and as such amillennialism does not necessarily imply much difference between itself and other forms of millennialism besides that denial. However, there is considerable overlap in the beliefs of Amillenialists (including most Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Anglicans, and Lutherans), postmillennialists (including Presbyterians), and historic premillennialists (including some Calvinistic Baptists, among others) with those who hold that the return of Christ will be a single, public event. Those who identify the rapture with the second coming are likely to emphasize mutual similarities between passages of scripture where clouds, trumpets, angels or the archangel, resurrection, and gathering are mentioned. Although some (particularly some amillennialists) may take the rapture to be figurative, rather than literal, these three groups are likely to maintain that the passages regarding the return of Christ describe a single event.

Some^[who?] also claim that the "word of the Lord" cited by Paul in 1 Thessalonians 4:15–17 is the Olivet Discourse which Matthew separately describes in Matthew 24:29-31. Although the doctrinal relationship between the rapture and the second coming is the same in these three groups, Historic premillennialists are more likely to use the term "rapture" to clarify their position in distinction from dispensationalists.

Destination[link]

Dispensationalists see the immediate destination of the raptured Christians as being Heaven, with an eventual return to Earth. Roman Catholic commentators, such as Walter Drum (1912), identify the destination of the 1 Thessalonians 4:17 gathering as Heaven.^[42]

While Anglicans have many views, some Anglican commentators, such as N. T. Wright, identify the destination as a specific place on Earth.^[43][44] Often the destination identified is Jerusalem.^{[45][not in citation given]} This interpretation may sometimes be connected to Christian environmentalist concerns.^[46]

Timing[link]

Comparison of Christian tribulation views

In the amillennial and postmillennial views, as well as in the post-tribulation premillennial position, there are no distinctions in the timing of the rapture. These views regard the rapture, as it is described in 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17, as being either identical to the second coming of Jesus as described in Matthew 24:29-31, or as a meeting in the air with Jesus that immediately precedes his return to the Earth. Within premillennialism, the pre-tribulation position is the predominant view that distinguishes between the rapture and second coming as two events. There are also two minor positions within premillennialism that differ with regard to the timing of the rapture, the mid-tribulation view and the partial-rapture view.^[47]

Pre-tribulation[link]

The pre-tribulation position advocates that the rapture will occur before the beginning of the seven-year tribulation period, while the second coming will occur at the end of the seven-year tribulation period. Pre-tribulationists often describe the rapture as Jesus coming for the church and the second coming as Jesus coming with the church. Pre-tribulation educators and preachers include Jimmy Swaggart, J. Dwight Pentecost, Tim LaHaye, J. Vernon McGee, Perry Stone, Chuck Smith, Hal Lindsey, Chuck Missler, Jack Van Impe, Grant Jeffrey, Thomas Ice, David Reagan, and David Jeremiah.^[48] While many pre-tribulationists are also dispensationalists, not all pre-tribulationists are dispensationalists.^[49]

Mid-tribulation[link]

The mid-tribulation position espouses that the rapture will occur at some point in the middle of what is popularly called the tribulation period, or during Daniel's 70th Week. However, since the Bible only uses "tribulation" to refer to the second half of Daniel's 70th week, from a mid-tribulationist's point of view he is a pre-tribulationist. The tribulation is typically divided into two periods of 3.5 years each. Mid-tribulationists hold that the saints will go through the first period (Beginning of Travail, which is not "the tribulation"), but will be raptured into Heaven before the severe outpouring of God's wrath in the second half of what is popularly called the tribulation. Mid-tribulationists appeal to Daniel 7:25 which says the saints will be given over to tribulation for "time, times, and half a time," - interpreted to mean 3.5 years. At the halfway point of the tribulation, the Antichrist will commit the "abomination of desolation" by desecrating the Jerusalem temple (to be built on what is now called the Temple Mount, see Third Temple). Mid-tribulationist teachers include Harold Ockenga, James O. Buswell (a reformed, Calvinistic Presbyterian), and Norman Harrison.^[50] This position is a minority view among premillennialists.^[51]

Prewrath[link]

The prewrath rapture view also places the rapture at some point during the tribulation period before the second coming. This view holds that the tribulation of the church begins toward the latter part of the seven-year period, being Daniel's 70th week, when the Antichrist is revealed in the temple. This latter half of the seven-year period is defined as the great tribulation, although the exact duration is not known. References from Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21 are used as evidence that this tribulation will be cut short by the coming of Christ to deliver the righteous by means of the rapture, which will occur after specific events in Revelation, in particular after the sixth seal is opened and the sun is darkened and the moon is turned to blood.^[52] However, by this point many Christians will have been slaughtered as martyrs by the Antichrist. After the rapture will come God's seventh-seal wrath of trumpets and bowls (a.k.a. "the Day of the Lord"). The Day of the Lord's wrath against the ungodly will follow for the remainder of the seven years.^[53] Marvin Rosenthal, author of The Prewrath Rapture of the Church, is a primary proponent for the prewrath rapture view.^{[citation needed]} His belief is founded on the work of Robert D. Van Kampen (1938–1999); his books "The Sign", "The Rapture Question Answered" and "The Fourth Reich" detail his pre-wrath rapture doctrine.

Partial[link]

The partial rapture theory holds that true Christians will be raptured before, in the midst of, or after the tribulation depending on one's genuine conversion to the faith.^[54][55] Therefore, the rapture of a believer is determined by the timing of his conversion during the tribulation. The proponents of this theory hold that only those who are faithful in the church will be raptured or translated and the rest will either be raptured sometime during the tribulation or at its end. As stated by Ira David (a proponent of this view): “The saints will be raptured in groups during the tribulation as they are prepared to go.”^[56]

Post-tribulation[link]

The post-tribulation position places the rapture at the end of the tribulation period. Post-tribulation writers define the tribulation period in a generic sense as the entire present age, or in a specific sense of a period of time preceding the second coming of Christ.^[57] The emphasis in this view is that the church will undergo the tribulation — even though the church will be spared the wrath of God.^[58] Matthew 24:29–31 - "Immediately after the Tribulation of those days...they shall gather together his elect..." - is cited as a foundational scripture for this view. Post-tribulationists perceive the rapture as occurring simultaneously with the second coming of Christ. Upon Jesus' return, believers will meet him in the air and will then accompany him in his return to the Earth. In the Epistles of Paul, most notably in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 and 1 Corinthians 15:51-52, a trumpet is described as blowing at the end of the tribulation to herald the return of Christ; Revelation 11:15 further supports this view.

Authors and teachers who support the post-tribulational view include Pat Robertson, Walter R. Martin, John Piper, George E. Ladd,^[59] Robert H. Gundry,^[60] and Douglas Moo.

Date[link]

Since the origin of the concept, many believers in the rapture have made predictions regarding the date of the event. The primary scriptural reference cited against this position is Matthew 24:36, where Jesus is quoted as saying; "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only" (RSV). Another potential problem for those attempting to set a date for the rapture arises from Matthew 24:34, where Jesus is quoted as saying "Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled" (KJV).

Any individual or religious group that has dogmatically predicted the day of the rapture, a practise referred to as "date setting", has been thoroughly embarrassed and discredited, as the predicted date of fulfillment has invariably come and gone without event.^[61][62] Some of these individuals and groups have offered excuses and "corrected" target dates, while others have simply released a reinterpretation of the meaning of the scripture to fit their current predicament, and then explained that although the prediction appeared to have not come true, in reality it had been completely accurate and fulfilled, albeit in a different way than many had expected.

Conversely, many of those who believe that the precise date of the rapture cannot be known, do affirm that the specific time frame that immediately precedes the rapture event can be known. This time frame is often referred to as "the season". The primary section of scripture cited for this position is Matthew 24:32-35; where Jesus is quoted teaching the parable of the fig tree, which is proposed as the key that unlocks the understanding of the general timing of the rapture, as well as the surrounding prophecies listed in the sections of scripture that precede and follow this parable.

Predictions[link]

Some notable predictions of the date of the rapture include the following:

• 70 AD – According to some, Jesus, speaking to his disciples, predicted his return within the span of a single generation.^[63] A number of Christian scholars, beginning with Luis del Alcázar in 1614, concluded that Jesus ushered in a spiritual kingdom at that time, and that a future physical return is not required to satisfy biblical prophecy.^[64]
• 1844 – William Miller predicted that Christ would return between March 21, 1843 and March 21, 1844, then revised his prediction, claiming to have miscalculated Scripture, to October 22, 1844. The realization that the predictions were incorrect resulted in a Great Disappointment. Miller's theology gave rise to the Advent movement. The Baha'is believe that Christ did return as Miller predicted in 1844, with the advent of the Báb, and numerous Miller-like prophetic predictions from many religions are given in William Sears' book, Thief in The Night.^[65]
• 1914,^[66] 1918,^[67] 1925,^[68] 1942^[69] – Various dates predicted for the rapture by the Jehovah's Witnesses.
• 1981 – Chuck Smith predicted that Jesus would probably return by 1981.^[70]
• 1988 – Publication of 88 Reasons why the Rapture is in 1988, by Edgar C. Whisenant.
• 1989 – Publication of The final shout: Rapture report 1989, by Edgar Whisenant. This author made further predictions of the rapture for 1992, 1995, and other years.
• 1992 - A Korean group, the Mission for the Coming Days, predicted that the rapture would occur on October 28, 1992.^[71]
• 1993 – Multiple predictions were given for 1993, seven years before the year 2000; the rapture would have to start to allow for seven years of the tribulation before the return in 2000.
• 1994 – Pastor John Hinkle of Christ Church in Los Angeles predicted that the rapture would occur on June 9, 1994. Radio evangelist Harold Camping predicted September 6, 1994.^[72]
• 2011 – Harold Camping's revised prediction had May 21, 2011 as the date of the rapture.^[73][74] After this prediction proved inaccurate, he claimed that a non-visible "spiritual judgment" had taken place, and that the physical rapture would occur on October 21, 2011. The physical rapture prediction also proved inaccurate.^[75]
• 2060 – in 1704, Sir Isaac Newton proposed that, based upon his calculations using figures from the Book of Daniel, the Apocalypse could happen no earlier than 2060.^[76][77]

Cultural references[link]

In "Thank God, It's Doomsday", episode 354 of The Simpsons, Homer Simpson predicts the rapture to occur within the week. Homer gets the date wrong and ends up being the only person taken up. Everything is then reversed after Homer vandalizes Heaven. In the American Dad episode "Rapture's Delight", the rapture occurs and Stan Smith helps Christ with his final battle with the Antichrist. In the Supernatural episode "The Rapture", the angel Castiel is taken back to Heaven by his fellow angels to be "reeducated", leaving his vessel Jimmy and the Winchester brothers behind.

The first feature-length cinematic treatment of the rapture was the 1972 film A Thief in the Night. That film was followed by three sequels and a novel, and set up the genre of the rapture film. With only a few exceptions, the genre died out by the end of the 1970s, only to resurface again in the 1990s with such films as Apocalypse, Revelation, The Rapture, Left Behind: The Movie, and The Omega Code. Cloud Ten Pictures specializes in making end-time films. The 2009 film Knowing, starring Nicolas Cage, has thematic elements that parallel the rapture, although the term "Rapture" is not used.

• In 1950, the novel Raptured by Ernest Angley was published, based on the accounts in the books of Daniel and Revelation. The novel focuses on a man whose mother is raptured along with other Christians, while he is left behind in the tribulation period.^[78]
• Robert Heinlein's 1984 book Job: A Comedy of Justice describes the troubles of a Christian man called Alex, who is moved from parallel world to parallel world, accompanied by his lover Margrethe. Halfway through the book, the rapture occurs and Alex is taken up, but Margrethe is left behind because she is a pagan. The rest of the book describes Alex's attempts to bypass the rules and save his true love.
• In 1995, Left Behind was published. The rapture is a major component of the premise of the book and its various spin-offs. The plot of the book was used as a basis for a movie series and a video game series.
• At the height of the Jesus Movement in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the rapture figured prominently in popular songs by secular artists, such as "Are You Ready?" by Pacific Gas & Electric (#14 in August 1970). Also at that time, the song "I Wish We'd All Been Ready" was written and performed by Larry Norman, one of the founders of the nascent "Jesus Rock" movement in the early 1970s. Other examples of apocalyptic themes like the rapture, the Antichrist, Armageddon and the Second coming of Christ in Larry Norman's writing are "U.F.O." from the 1976 album In Another Land, "Six Sixty Six" from the same album and "Messiah" from Stop This Flight.
• Examples of apocalyptic themes in Bob Dylan's writing are "When He Returns", from the 1979 album Slow Train Coming and — quoting 1 Corinthians 15:49–55 —Ye Shall Be Changed, released on The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961–1991.
• Other songs about the Christian end times include "Goin' by the Book," "The Man Comes Around" by Johnny Cash, from the album American IV: The Man Comes Around, released in 2002, and "Tribulation" by Charlie Daniels. Noel Gallagher refers to the rapture twice on the Oasis album Dig Out Your Soul, first in "The Turning" ("Then come on, when the Rapture takes me, Will you be by my side?") and also on the following track "Waiting For The Rapture."
• FFH's popular song "Fly Away" asks what it will be like when the rapture occurs.
• Crystal Lewis' song "People Get Ready Jesus Is Coming."
• Sonic Youth's song "Do You Believe in Rapture?", on their album Rather Ripped
• Siouxsie And The Banshees' song "The Rapture", from their 1995 album of the same name, lyrically describes the supposed experience of being raptured.
• Hurt's 2006 debut song "Rapture" references the rapture directly at the end with "...Rest in peace, until the rapture comes to meet us."

On August 2, 2001, humorist Elroy Willis posted a Usenet article titled "Mistaken Rapture Kills Arkansas Woman". This fictional, satirical story about a woman who causes a traffic accident and is killed when she believes the rapture has started, circulated widely on the Internet and was believed by many people to be a description of an actual incident. Elements of the story appeared in an episode of the HBO television drama Six Feet Under, and a slightly modified version of the story was reprinted in the US tabloid newspaper Weekly World News. The story continues to circulate by electronic mail as a chain letter.^[79]

• The 2007 video game BioShock is set in the destroyed utopian underwater city of Rapture. The city was to house the best and brightest people on Earth in a completely free society. The city was named Rapture because those chosen by the city's founder disappeared to live in his utopia, mirroring God calling the faithful to Heaven.
• The Left Behind series of games takes place after the rapture.

See also[link]

Christianity portal

References[link]

External links[link]

Nadia Ali
Nadia Ali in 2011
Background information
Birth name	Nadia Ali
Born	(1980-08-03) August 3, 1980 (age 31) Libya
Origin	Queens, New York, U.S.
Genres	Electronic dance music, trance, house
Occupations	Singer-songwriter
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	2001–present
Labels	Smile in Bed
Associated acts	iiO, Armin van Buuren, Morgan Page, Avicii, Starkillers, Sultan & Ned Shepard
Website	nadiaali.com

Nadia Ali (Urdu: نادیہ علی; born August 3, 1980) is a Pakistani American singer-songwriter, born in Libya and raised in Queens, New York. She gained attention as the frontwoman and songwriter of the band iiO, after their 2001 hit "Rapture" reached No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart.^[1] The song also charted across several countries in Europe.^[2] Their 2006 single, "Is It Love?", reached the top of the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play Chart.^[3]

After embarking on a solo career in 2005, Ali became successful as an oft-requested vocalist in electronic dance music. She released her debut album Embers in 2009. Critics praised her unique songwriting, which combined electronica with ballads, Eastern and acoustic music. Three singles from the album reached the top-ten of the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play Chart, including the No. 1 hit, "Love Story".^[4][5][6] The song was also nominated at the 25th International Dance Music Awards at the Winter Music Conference, while "Fantasy" was nominated for a Grammy award.^[7][8]

In 2010, she released a remix compilation titled Queen of Clubs Trilogy to mark her decade-long career as a singer-songwriter. "Rapture" was re-released as the only single from the compilation and the song was once again a chart success in Europe.^[9] Ali released the single "Pressure" with Starkillers and Alex Kenji in 2011, which became a club and festival anthem and received an International Dance Music Award.^[10] She has also collaborated with several notable producers and DJs, such as Armin van Buuren, Schiller, BT and John Creamer & Stephane K. Ali is currently working on her second studio album titled Phoenix, which is due to be released in 2012.

Life and career[link]

1980–2005: Early life and iiO[link]

Nadia Ali was born in Libya to Pakistani parents in 1980. The family relocated when she was five years old and she was subsequently raised in Queens, New York.^[11][12] An eight year old Ali used any opportunity she could get to sing after a friend heard her humming a Madonna song at school and complimented her.^[13] While continuing singing as a hobby and for the thrill of performing and receiving no formal vocal training, she had also started writing poems and songs for her friends by the time she was 15.^[11] As a teenager her interest in dance music developed after visiting nightclubs in Manhattan and inspired her to dream that she would one day be featured on one of the records playing in the club.^[14]

Ali started working in the New York offices of Versace when she was 17, where she attracted attention by singing at the Christmas parties.^[11] A colleague from Versace introduced her to producer Markus Moser, who was looking for a female singer to collaborate on some of his original production for a girl group in Germany.^[13] The two teamed up with Moser working on production, while Ali wrote the lyrics and vocals for the songs.^[15] Her first song was the single "Rapture", which she wrote in 30 minutes based on an encounter with an Australian nightclub patron.^[16] A demo of the song was first played at the New York club Twilo in 2001 and received early support from influential DJ Pete Tong who played the demo on his show on BBC Radio 1. The song eventually became an Ibiza favourite after support from prominent DJ's such as Sasha, Danny Tenaglia and Sander Kleinenberg during the summer season.^[17] Released in late 2001 by Ministry of Sound, the single became a commercial success peaking at No. 2 on UK Singles Chart and Billboard's Hot Dance Club Play Chart, while charting in several countries in Europe.^[1][2][3] The success of "Rapture", Ali said, caused the formation of iiO as the music they were initially working on was quite different from dance music and were asked to come up with a project name to promote the single.^[18] They originally named themselves Vaiio after the Sony VAIO laptop Ali used to write the lyrics on.^[2] The duo toured internationally and released several more singles, including "At the End", "Runaway", "Smooth", and "Kiss You". Their first studio album, Poetica followed in 2005.^[4]

Ali left the group in 2005 to pursue a solo career, while Moser continued to release iiO material featuring her on vocals. Most notably, these releases include the 2006 single "Is It Love?", which reached No. 1 in America on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play Chart,^[3] the 2007 remix album Reconstruction Time: The Best Of iiO Remixed^[4] and the 2011 studio album Exit 110.^[4] When asked about her decision to pursue a solo career, she said her time with iiO was a great learning experience but she decided to leave because she didn't want to restrict herself to one style of music but explore her creativity and also to have the freedom to collaborate with others artists.^[19]

Her decision to pursue a career as a singer was not initially encouraged by her Pakistani parents who were academically inclined and wanted her to pursue a more stable career. She has said since then they have evolved and are one of her biggest supporters.^[12] Speaking of her identity as a Pakistani and Muslim woman, she has said it is very important to her to set an example that they are able to contribute positively and capable of taking their career into their own hands. Explaining further, she said that she feels it as her responsibility to any women who are sometimes stereotyped to show that they can contribute to arts or any professional field.^[11] Her ethnicity, she has stated, has been an advantage and helped her stand out in the entertainment industry.^[20] She has said that over the years, she has met South Asian women who have told her that her story has inspired them to pursue something they loved.^[21]

[edit] 2006–09: Embers

Nadia Ali performing at Avalon, Boston in 2006

Ali started working on her debut solo album soon after leaving iiO, a process which took her four years. She attributed the delay to her busy tour schedule and the fact that she was still learning and "trying to establish her identity as a songwriter and co-producer".^[18][22] Her first solo release was the 2006 single, "Who is Watching?", a collaboration with Dutch DJ Armin van Buuren, which appeared on his album Shivers.^[23] She has described "Who is Watching?" as one of her most meaningful songs, the song described one's struggle to reach the top, only to realise once one is there how lonely it is and how one has forgotten their priorities and the important people in their life.^[24] This was followed by "Something to Lose" in 2006, a duet with singer-songwriter Rosko, produced by John Creamer & Stephane K and released by Ultra Records. The track was licensed to Roger Sanchez's Release Yourself, Vol. 5, as well as Sharam Tayebi of Deep Dish for his Global Underground debut Dubai.^[25][26]

In June 2008, she released "Crash and Burn", the first single from her solo album. The single became a club success peaking at No. 6 on Billboard's Hot Dance Club Play Chart.^[5] She released the second single, "Love Story" from the as-yet untitled album in February 2009. It topped Billboard Hot Dance Club Play Chart in April 2009 and was nominated for the Best Progressive/House Track at the 2010 International Dance Music Awards at the Winter Music Conference.^[6][7] Ali was featured on MTV Iggy in March 2009, where she recorded three live acoustic videos, performing "Rapture", "Crash and Burn" and "Love Story".^[27]