Born in a Syrian refugee camp after her parents fled Kurdistan, Vivian Nouri arrived in New Zealand aged three.
Now, a little over 20-years-later, she's a pop star in Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait and Palestine, amongst other countries.
Her song Where Do We Go From Here? written in an hour, went to number one in multiple countries in the Middle East rocketing her to fame.
"Palestine, Iran, Kurdistan, it was a bunch of places it literally blew my mind," Nouri told TVNZ1's Seven Sharp.
It wasn't always like this for the young ex-refugee though.
Her earliest memories are of the Syrian refugee camp where she was born.
"We would live in a tent, and when it was raining, honestly, my mum's foot would be outside the tent it was that small."
When Nouri was three, the family arrived in west Auckland.
"Being different was the hardest part. At school you would get teased. Especially after, you know, the whole 9/11 attacks. It was like a whole different experience," the singer said.
"We were taught to survive not to live, and New Zealand opened up their doors for us, and we were able to live."
A grateful ex-refugee happy to sing along the road to success.
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