Ferras Alquasi, known mononymously as Ferras, was born on July 2, 1982, in Illinois, United States. As a singer-songwriter and pianist, he moved to Amman, Jordan with his father after his parents' divorce, before being reunited with his mother in Southern California. His musical journey began with a small keyboard given by his father; Ferras honed his skills in Jordan and decided at 17 to pursue a music career. Ferras submitted a demo tape which led him to Florida, where he signed with a manager and moved to Los Angeles. He appeared as Elton John on the reality show Performing As... and was introduced to Fred Durst, who signed him before Ferras joined the Berklee College of Music. His breakthrough came in 2008 with his debut album Aliens & Rainbows, released via Capitol Records under EMI. The lead single "Hollywood's Not America" gained exposure as the exit song for American Idol’s seventh season semi-final, reaching number 62 on Billboard Hot 100. Ferras also performed this single during his first national television appearance on The Today Show. He released an independent EP titled Interim in July 2010 with five original acoustic songs. In June 2014, he released a self-titled EP through Katy Perry's Metamorphosis Music and appeared as the support artist for her Prismatic World Tour.
