Here is a rewritten biography of Yanis Sahraoui, using fresh language while preserving all key facts.
Yanis Sahraoui, born 16 September 1988 in Saint-Étienne, France, is a French pop singer-songwriter who first gained fame under the stage name Sliimy. Of Moroccan and Algerian heritage, Sahraoui grew up in the Vivaraize neighborhood with three sisters and a brother. A passion for music emerged early; after winning a singing contest in 2005, Sahraoui recorded a first song and began sharing it online.
Using the alias Sliimy—a playful twist on "slim" reflecting a slender frame—Sahraoui posted original tracks on social networks like Myspace. The breakthrough came in late 2008 when American blogger Perez Hilton featured a cover of Britney Spears’s "Womanizer." This led to a contract with Warner Music Group. The debut single "Wake Up" and album *Paint Your Face* arrived in 2009, climbing to number 2 on the French charts. Recorded at home and mixed in New York by Bryce Goggin, the album showcased Sahraoui’s androgynous style, falsetto voice, and "mockney" accent, drawing comparisons to Mika and Prince.
That same year, Sliimy opened for Britney Spears’s Circus Tour in Paris and joined Katy Perry’s Hello Katy Tour in Switzerland and England. A cameo in The Black Eyed Peas’ "I Gotta Feeling" video followed. In 2015, Sahraoui dropped the stage name, performing simply as Yanis, and released the EP *L'heure Bleue* in 2016.
Yanis Sahraoui, born 16 September 1988 in Saint-Étienne, France, is a French pop singer-songwriter who first gained fame under the stage name Sliimy. Of Moroccan and Algerian heritage, Sahraoui grew up in the Vivaraize neighborhood with three sisters and a brother. A passion for music emerged early; after winning a singing contest in 2005, Sahraoui recorded a first song and began sharing it online.
Using the alias Sliimy—a playful twist on "slim" reflecting a slender frame—Sahraoui posted original tracks on social networks like Myspace. The breakthrough came in late 2008 when American blogger Perez Hilton featured a cover of Britney Spears’s "Womanizer." This led to a contract with Warner Music Group. The debut single "Wake Up" and album *Paint Your Face* arrived in 2009, climbing to number 2 on the French charts. Recorded at home and mixed in New York by Bryce Goggin, the album showcased Sahraoui’s androgynous style, falsetto voice, and "mockney" accent, drawing comparisons to Mika and Prince.
That same year, Sliimy opened for Britney Spears’s Circus Tour in Paris and joined Katy Perry’s Hello Katy Tour in Switzerland and England. A cameo in The Black Eyed Peas’ "I Gotta Feeling" video followed. In 2015, Sahraoui dropped the stage name, performing simply as Yanis, and released the EP *L'heure Bleue* in 2016.
