Amanda Abizaid
Amanda Jo Abizaid is an American Lebanese singer/songwriter best known for her vocal performance on the theme song of the US TV series The 4400.
Early years
Abizaid was born in Beirut, Lebanon, to an American mother and a Mexican/Lebanese father. She traveled the Middle East and Europe with her family before the age of ten, when she moved with her mother and brother to the United States. Along with her four sisters, she formed a band and developed a talent for harmonies. Her first exposure to music was Middle Eastern music combined with the late 1970s American influences of Alice Cooper, Elton John, Crosby, Stills and Nash, and The Beatles.
After moving to the US, she lived in Poughkeepsie, NY until moving to Great Falls, Virginia for high school. She later attended the Corcoran School of Art in Georgetown and then transferred to The Catholic University of America to study drama and music, while pursuing a career in hairstyling. She dropped out of college to work as a runway model with designers such as Jacques Fath, Nina Ricci, Oscar de la Renta, Alberta Ferretti, Badgley Mischka, Chloe and Bill Blass. She traveled to Paris and Germany and modeled for London designer Zandra Rhodes in the UK. Afterward, she returned to the US to live in Miami, Florida. In Miami, she met musician/songwriter Shane Soloski in the late 90's and decided to move to Los Angeles to form a band with him.