Ali Pahlavan

Ali Pahlavan
Background information
Born (1975-05-01) 1 May 1975 (age 51)
Tehran, Iran
GenrePop
OccupationsMusician, songwriter, music producer
InstrumentsGuitar, vocals
Years active1999–present
Formerly ofArian
Websitewww.alipahlavan.com

Ali Pahlavan (Persian: علی پهلوان) is an Iranian-Australian singer, songwriter, composer and music producer. He co-founded the pop group Arian in 1999 and was one of its lead singers and guitarists. Arian was among the first officially approved Iranian pop groups after the 1979 revolution to feature both male and female members.

After Arian ended its regular activity, Pahlavan continued as a solo musician in Australia. His song “Naab” received the People's Voice prize at the 2018 International Songwriting Competition, while “Rahaa Dar Baad” received an honorable mention in the competition's World Music category in 2023. In 2025, he appeared with Chris de Burgh at the Sydney Opera House, where they performed their earlier collaboration live together for the first time.

Personal life

Ali Pahlavan was born on 1 May 1975, thirteen years before his younger brother, in Tehran, Iran. Although Pahlavan's primary instrument was the Daf (Persian: دف), a traditional musical instrument from Iran, he decided to continue his musical life with the Guitar. He started learning guitar from Vafa Faraji when he was 17. He studied Industrial Engineering at university and in addition to his music career, works as a project management consultant. Ali immigrated to Australia and became an Australian citizen.

With the Arian band (1998–2015)

Ali and Payam Salehi, the other vocalist of Arian decided to create the first Iranian mixed-gender pop band and have a concert together. This decision resulted in a concert in Qeshm island one year later in 1998. This concert was the biggest leap for the group, where they met a producer who asked them to create an album, and things went bigger than they expected. Pahlavan and other members of Arian published 6 albums:

Being on top of the charts in Iran, Arian decided to go beyond the borders and hold concerts worldwide. They traveled to Canada, Europe, USA and some Asian countries. They performed a lot of successful concerts world wide. At one point, the band sold more than 54,000 tickets for one of their concerts in less than six hours. Touring Europe, they met Chris De Burgh and produced a Persian-English version of his song "The Words I Love You".

Ali also published a book containing the chords and vocal notes of the Arian Band's songs. The book is called: The Arian Band Easy Guitar Songs.

Solo career

Pahlavan moved to Australia in 2012 and continued recording as an independent artist. In September 2014, ISNA reported the release of his first independent single, “Khaterehaye Soot-o-Koor”, while Arian was preparing its farewell album.

Pahlavan's “Naab” received the People's Voice prize in the 2018 International Songwriting Competition. His 2023 song “Rahaa Dar Baad” was named a finalist in the World Music category of the John Lennon Songwriting Contest and received an honorable mention in the same category of the International Songwriting Competition.

In 2025, Pahlavan joined Chris de Burgh during a concert at the Sydney Opera House. They performed “The Words 'I Love You'”, which had previously appeared on Arian's fourth album.

Songwriting recognition

Year Work Recognition
2018 “Naab” People's Voice prize, International Songwriting Competition
2023 “Rahaa Dar Baad” Finalist, John Lennon Songwriting Contest, World Music category
2023 “Rahaa Dar Baad” Honorable mention, International Songwriting Competition, World Music category

Achievements

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Kashani, Mojdeh (5 June 2025). "علی پهلوان پس از ۱۳ سال، با تحقق رویای کودکی‌اش روی صحنه رفت: اجرای مشترک با کریس دی برگ" [Ali Pahlavan performs with Chris de Burgh after 13 years]. SBS Persian (in Persian). Special Broadcasting Service. Retrieved 17 September 2026.
  2. ↑ Hodgson, Martin (22 April 2007). "Iran's other face". The Observer. Retrieved 17 September 2026.
  3. ↑ Kahl, Corinna (3 January 2004). "Tanz den Tschador" [Dance the chador]. WELT (in German). Retrieved 17 September 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "Previous winners". International Songwriting Competition. Retrieved 17 September 2026.
  5. ↑ "Ali Pahlavan's Linkedin – Project Management Career".[permanent dead link]
  6. ↑ "Arian Band". Spotify. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  7. ↑ "Ali Pahlavan's Discography".
  8. 1 2 "BBC – Arian nominated for BBC Award".
  9. ↑ Chris de Burgh (14 September 2010), Chris de Burgh – The Words 'I Love You' / Nori Ta Abadiat – Dostet Daram (Official), retrieved 3 March 2019
  10. ↑ cctvupload (7 February 2010), Arian – Iran's best-selling pop band – CCTV 100208, retrieved 3 March 2019
  11. ↑ "Ali Pahlavan's live Performances".
  12. ↑ BBC News (December 2004). "Iran's first pop revolutionaries". Retrieved 10 April 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  13. ↑ The Words 'I Love You' - Radio Edit, retrieved 18 August 2019
  14. ↑ The Arian Band Easy Guitar Songs: Volume 1 eBook: Ali Pahlavan, Mohammadreza Tajik: Amazon.com.au: Kindle Store. 2 October 2015. Retrieved 3 March 2019 – via www.amazon.com.au.
  15. ↑ "تک‌آهنگ علی پهلوان؛ پایان گروه «آریان»" [Ali Pahlavan's single and the end of Arian]. Iranian Students' News Agency (in Persian). 16 September 2014. Retrieved 17 September 2026.
  16. 1 2 "2023 Session II finalists". John Lennon Songwriting Contest. 2024. Retrieved 17 September 2026.
  17. ↑ "Alipahlavan". Alipahlavan. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  18. ↑ AMCOS, APRA. "International Song Comp 2018 winners featuring The Presets, Sarah Aarons and more". apraamcos.com.au. Retrieved 18 August 2019.