Name and spellings
Hailu Amerga is the spelling used on his verified YouTube channel, on Apple Music and in the English Wikipedia article on Jano Band. In Amharic, his channel’s video titles and The Reporter’s March 2026 interview with him write ኃይሉ አመርጋ; some older uploads on the same channel write ሀይሉ አመርጋ, with a different first letter. His channel handle is @hailujano, and several of his older uploads call him “Hailu Amerga Jano,” after the band. He is a different musician from Hailu Mergia, the keyboardist of the 1970s Walias Band.
Introduction
Hailu Amerga is an Ethiopian singer and melody writer from Addis Ababa. He was one of the two male lead vocalists of Jano Band, the Addis Ababa group that combined Ethiopian music with rock, and he now releases music on his own YouTube channel, including the 13-song album Ahun (“Now”) in October 2025.
Three documented points explain why listeners are finding him now. A concert video of “Keteraraw Mado”, a song from Jano’s 2018 album on which Deezer lists him as one of three composers, was posted on his channel in August 2026, reached No. 1 on the ethio.music Amharic Secular chart in September and had passed 10 million views by 9 November 2026. He also writes melodies for other singers: he told The Reporter that he wrote three for Eyob Mekonnen and one for Hana Girma. And Ahun has drawn written attention of its own, including a reader’s commentary on its lyrics published by The Reporter in February 2026.
Biography: a sourced chronology
Dates are Gregorian unless marked E.C. (Ethiopian calendar). Most details of his early life come from one source, his March 2026 interview with The Reporter, and are attributed to it. ethio.music has not found a published date of birth, so none is given.
- Early years in Addis Ababa. The Reporter says he was born and grew up in the Flamingo neighbourhood near the Addis Ababa Exhibition Center, finished secondary school at Bole School, and spent a year in technical and vocational training before turning to music. He told the paper he began by singing English-language songs, and named the Ethiopian songs of “the 90s” that he heard as a child, Michael Jackson, Michael Bolton and Bob Marley as the music that shaped his melodies and rhythms. The interview does not say whether “the 90s” means the Ethiopian or the Gregorian calendar.
- Before Jano. In the same interview he says he sang with the Yeha Band, the Mehari Brothers and other bands, and before that in nightclubs such as Roha Bar and Restaurant. He also mentions singles of his own: “Reggae Kemise”, made with his friend Semere Kiros, and a reworked version of “Konjo”, a song by Teshome Wolde. No years are given for these.
- 2011–2012: Jano Band and Ertale. Wikipedia dates the band’s formation to 2011, and Music In Africa and Bandcamp Daily credit the manager Addis Gessesse with assembling it. Hailu told The Reporter that he and Dibekulu Tafesse won their places through a competition; Bandcamp Daily describes a nationwide talent search. Wikipedia dates the debut album, Ertale, to 26 June 2012. His own channel presents “Marye” and “Irikum” from that album as his work with the band.
- 2015–2016: “Yinegal”. Wikipedia names him as the vocalist on “Yinegal”, a non-album single released in 2015 that it says was nominated for a Leza radio listeners’ choice award in 2016, and on “Erikum”, which he sang at a Jano concert at Club H2O in Addis Ababa in September 2015.
- 2017–2018: dispute and Lerasih New. In September 2017 Music In Africa, citing the Ethiopia Observer, reported that the band was breaking up over money and ownership; in February 2018 Tadias reported that the band had disputed those reports through its manager, Sammy Tefera. Jano’s second album, Lerasih New, came out on 1 February 2018. Its song “Keteraraw Mado” is credited on Deezer to three composers: Wondwesen Yihub, Michael Hailu and Hailu Amerga.
- Melodies for other singers. He told The Reporter that he wrote the melodies of three songs on Eyob Mekonnen’s second album, “Erotalehu”, “Wede Enate Bet” and “Tikikil Nesh”, and of the single “Keteme” for Hana Girma. ethio.music has not yet checked these credits against the releases themselves.
- After the band. Wikipedia says several Jano vocalists began solo careers from 2020. Neither Wikipedia nor the interview gives a date for Hailu’s departure; he told The Reporter that the idea for his own album took shape after he left the band. Apple Music lists a single, “Fiker Yelem Atbey”, dated 23 March 2025.
- October–November 2025: Ahun. On 18 October 2025 he announced on his YouTube channel that his new album would be released there on Tikimt 21, 2018 E.C., which is 31 October 2025. Apple Music lists Ahun as a 13-track album dated 30 October 2025, while the 13 official lyric videos on his channel are dated 31 October; ethio.music has not resolved the one-day difference. The lyric videos checked credit the melodies to him and the lyrics to Aklilu Gebremedhin and Hailu Amerga, with arrangements by musicians including Ermias Molla, Bruk Afework and Bereket Tesfaegzi; the full-album video credits distribution to Geez Creative. An official video for the title track, directed by Kibralem Fanta, followed on 7 November 2025.
- What he says about the album. He told The Reporter that he released Ahun on his own channel to keep control of it, rather than selling it to other YouTube channels. He described “Man Ale Endanchi” as a song about mother, country and community, “Emegnalehu” as a wish for unity, and “Zim Ale” as a reflection on taking care with words in the internet age.
- August–September 2026: concert videos. Between 22 August and 25 September 2026 his channel posted five concert videos: “Keteraraw Mado” with the singer Dawit Tsige, “Zemedua Zemede”, “Yinegal”, “Konjo” and “Man Ale Endanchi”. Their descriptions credit Aklilu Gebremedhin and Kibralem Fanta as producers and list a band that includes guitarist Michael Hailu, a horn section and backing singers. They do not name the venue or the date of the concert.
- Chart run. The “Keteraraw Mado” concert video was No. 1 on the ethio.music Official Video Chart (Amharic Secular) for the weeks ending 10 and 17 September 2026, and No. 2 for the week ending 2 November 2026. On 9 November 2026 YouTube showed it with more than 10.2 million views.
Spelling note: song titles appear in several Latin spellings, for example “Zemedwa Zemede” and “Zemedua Zemede”, or “Erikum” and “Irrekum”. This page uses the spelling of the source cited, and the uploader’s own spelling for each recording below.
Start listening
These five picks are ethio.music’s editorial suggestions, separate from the sourced chronology above. The first plays from the automatically generated Jano Band Topic channel, supplied by the distributor CD Baby; the other four play from Hailu Amerga’s own verified YouTube channel. Each is embedded, with a plain link underneath.
1. “Keteraraw Mado” (Jano Band, 2018). The studio version from Lerasih New, on which he is one of three credited composers. Start here to hear the song in its band arrangement.
Listen to “Keteraraw Mado” (2018) on YouTube (Jano Band Topic channel)
2. “Yinegal” (concert video, 2026). The 2015 Jano single that Wikipedia credits to his voice, performed with his own band a decade later.
Watch “Yinegal” (live) on YouTube (official Hailu Amerga channel)
3. “Ahun” (official video, 2025). The title track of his solo album, with a melody credited to him and lyrics to Aklilu Gebremedhin and himself.
Watch the official “Ahun” video on YouTube (official Hailu Amerga channel)
4. “Zemedwa Zemede” (lyric video, 2025). Track 5 of Ahun, arranged by Ermias Molla. His channel posted a concert version in August 2026, so it is easy to compare the two.
Watch “Zemedwa Zemede” on YouTube (official Hailu Amerga channel)
5. “Keteraraw Mado” with Dawit Tsige (concert video, 2026). The recording behind his 2026 chart run. Play it after pick 1 to hear how the song changed on stage, eight years after the studio version.
Watch the 2026 “Keteraraw Mado” concert video on YouTube (official Hailu Amerga channel)
Selected work and related links
Releases, with dates as sourced above:
- Jano Band, Ertale (album, 2012)
- Jano Band, “Yinegal” (single, 2015), vocals Hailu Amerga
- Jano Band, Lerasih New (album, 1 February 2018), including “Keteraraw Mado”
- “Fiker Yelem Atbey” (single, 2025)
- Ahun (album, 13 tracks, October 2025)
- Concert videos on his YouTube channel (August–September 2026)
Related links:
- Hailu Amerga in the ethio.music Artist register
- Keteraraw Mado: release record and chart history
- Hailu Amerga’s “Keteraraw Mado” tops YouTube Ethiopia (September 2026)
- Official Video Chart, week ending 2 November 2026
- Hewan Gebrewold, also formerly of Jano, releases three live recordings
- Hana Girma in the Artist register
- Hailu Amerga on YouTube (verified channel)
Sources
- The Reporter (Amharic), interview with Hailu Amerga by Ebsinet Kebenesa and Emnet Seifu, 25 March 2026 (early life, bands before Jano, singles, melodies for other singers, Ahun). Reporter interview
- The Reporter (Amharic), Teshale Kebede, reader’s commentary on the lyrics of Ahun, 1 February 2026. Reporter commentary
- Wikipedia, “Jano Band” (formation, members, Ertale, “Yinegal”, “Erikum”, Lerasih New, solo careers), checked 9 November 2026. Wikipedia: Jano Band
- Lucy Ilado, “Ethiopia’s Jano Band ‘breaks up’,” Music In Africa, 19 September 2017. Music In Africa report
- “Interview: Jano Band Talks New Album,” Tadias, 7 February 2018. Tadias interview
- Jared Proudfoot, “Ten Years Ago, the East African Band Jano Pioneered an Explosive New Sound,” Bandcamp Daily, 30 March 2022. Bandcamp Daily feature
- Deezer, “Keteraraw Mado” track page (Lerasih New, 1 February 2018; composer credits). Deezer track credits
- Apple Music, Hailu Amerga artist page (Ahun, 30 October 2025, 13 tracks; “Fiker Yelem Atbey”, 23 March 2025). Apple Music artist page
- YouTube, Hailu Amerga verified channel: album announcement of 18 October 2025, lyric-video and music-video credits, concert-video descriptions and view counts, checked 9 November 2026. Hailu Amerga channel
- YouTube, Jano Band Topic channel: “Keteraraw Mado” (provided by CD Baby, ℗ 2018 Jano Band, released 1 February 2018). Jano Band Topic track
- ethio.music Official Video Chart, Amharic Secular: weeks ending 10 and 17 September and 2 November 2026. Chart week of 10 Sept 2026
- Wikipedia, “Hailu Mergia” (to distinguish the two musicians). Wikipedia: Hailu Mergia
Last fact-checked: November 9, 2026.
