Camélia Jordana Riad-Aliouane was born on September 15, 1992, in Toulon, France, to French parents of Algerian descent. Her father, Hachemi, is of Berber Kabyle origin, and her mother, Zélihka, is from Oran. She grew up in La Londe-les-Maures with her older sister and younger brother.
At the age of sixteen, Jordana decided to audition for the seventh season of Nouvelle Star in Marseille, and her performance of Louis Armstrong's "What a wonderful world" convinced the jury. Although she finished in third place, she signed a record deal with Sony Music and released her debut album on March 29, 2010. The album sold 10,169 copies in its first week and entered the French SNEP Album Chart at number nine.
Jordana's debut single "Non Non Non (Écouter Barbara)" was released as a download single in France and peaked at number three on the French digital chart. It also charted at number three in Belgium and number forty-eight in Switzerland.
She participated in a song for the album "So in Love" by Nouvelle Star judge André Manoukian in April 2010. Jordana was interviewed and performed several songs on the TV5Monde program "Acoustic" on November 7, 2010.
Jordana was a member of the jury for the Semaine de la Critique section at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival. On November 27, 2015, she participated in a national memorial day for the victims of the November 2015 Paris attacks, singing the song "Quand on n'a que l'amour" by Jacques Brel, along with Nolwenn Leroy and Yael Naim.
