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Manel Filali

Manel Filali (Arabic: منال فلالي‎) (born December 11, 1982 in Hussein Dey, Algiers Province), better known by her stage name Honey, is an Algerian singer in the German pop music duo Milk & Honey. Manel Filali is a singer and songwriter, who hold the German and Algerian citizenship. Manel (Nour El Houda Filali) was born on December 11, 1981, in Hussein-Dey Algiers (Algeria.). She is the daughter of a respected government employee (Filali, Namane) and his wife Nadia Bachir Bey. In naming the newborn, Nadia chose the name Manel but for religious reasons Namane, Manel's father changed her name to Nour El Houda which means the light of guidance. Her father was very severe and religious; he lost his parents during the French Algerian war, when he was 10 years old. Her mother, on the contrary, was full of the joys of life. Manel has three brothers and one sister. Manel holds an Algerian and a German university-entrance diploma, she studied law in Algeria, oriental sic at the LMU Germany and film directing at the MFA Spain. 2005 she worked as an assistant director on a Hollywood movie “butterfly, a Grimm Love Story“ with Thomas Kretschmann and Kerri Russell. In 2006 Manel founded, together with the German top producer Uwe Fahrenkrog-Petersen, the German pop music duo MILK AND HONEY, consisting of her and singer Anne Ross. Her goal was to connect eastern and western cultures. Their first single, "Habibi (je t´aime)", which is co-written by Manel, reached 16th place on the German single-charts (Nr.1 on the “ring tone”-charts) and remained for 12 weeks in the Top 100. "Habibi (je t´aime)" was released by Warner Music in Europe as well as in the U.S.A. MILK AND Honey’s first album (Elbi) was successfully released by EMI /Virgin in the Middle East, North Africa and Eastern Europe, followed by a wide range of high ranking international TV appearances, which turned them into a truly international pop act. Their music videos have more than 4 millions views on "Youtube" from all over the world. Manel is known for experimenting with different instruments, sounds, genres, languages, and vocal styles; this diversity has been influenced by her wide ranging musical taste and experiences and her interest in different cultures. Manel speaks French, English, German, and Arabic. She married Algerian footballer Karim Matmour in 2009.