Farhad Darya (Pashto/Dari: فرهاد دریا; born 22 September 1962) is an Afghan singer, composer, music producer, and philanthropist.

Active since the 1980s, Darya has been one of the most renowned[2] and influential Afghan pop musicians of the modern era, contributing to establishing new wave in Afghanistan[3] and blending urban and rural styles.

Darya's career has spanned multiple genres - including semi-classical ghazal, pop, folk, and rock -[4][3] as well as both his native languages Dari Persian and Pashto as well as Uzbek, Hindi and English.

[8] Darya debuted on Radio Television Afghanistan (RTA) as the leader of Goroh-e-Baran (meaning "Rain Band") with Asad Badie, Wahid Saberi, Mokhtar Majid and Jawad Rahi,[10] with a fresh genre of folk-pop.

[11] Throughout his career, Darya produced music that broke with the traditional structure of composition, orchestration, and vocal characterization.

He started recording new content in Paris and Hamburg for his first album while in exile, Begum Jaan, released in 1992,[8] featuring more experimental work.

[14] His next studio album in 1995, called Afghanistan, became a major hit, featuring diverse acclaimed tracks of different traditional Afghan styles.

Up to 45,000 enthusiastic people attended the concert, far above the number of tickets provided, in the first such major event after the Taliban regime when music was banned.

[23] The song appeared on Maffay's album Begegnungen – Eine Allianz für Kinder released by Sony BMG on September 29, 2006.

Darya and the ensemble of other artists in the project performed at a Ein Herz für Kinder programme broadcast on ZDF where 9 million euros were raised for helping children in need.

[32] Darya launched the Life Is Beautiful (Pashto: Zhawand Khkolai Dai) tour in 2010 traveling to different parts of the country to perform in the name of peace.

[36] In 2011 he released a music video of the tour's title song Zhwand Khkolai Dai (ژوند خوکلی دی), and later released Dewhaaye Mast (دیوهای مست).Darya performed at the 7th Annual ATN Awards held in Delhi in 2013 alongside Qais Ulfat, Valy Hedjazi, Latif Nangarhari, Jawid Sharif, Aryana Sayeed and Naghma.

[39] A well-known song, it received some criticism about the language and meaning, though Darya denied that it had to do with politics, describing it as a "personal story".

In 2006 his initiatives led to him earning considerable praise from high figures in Afghanistan, including a Human Rights Award.

[49] In 2020, Darya unsuccessfully wrote an open letter opposing the demolition of Kabul's historic Cinema Park, which went ahead on the order of the First VP Amrullah Saleh.

[52] He's a phenomenon because his songs appeal to all age groups A household name among many Afghans,[53] Darya has been praised for promoting cultural tolerance and peace in the country.

[34] He has also received recognition in the Western media during the 2000s and 2010s amid the International Security Assistance Force presence and the War in the country.