The Arab world does not lack talented people. Over the years, Middle East music and Arab or Arab origin artists have gained acceptance on the international musical scene. The list below prove that fact by mentioning some world renowned Arab singers. Whatever the country they come from, the scope of their talent is now spread beyond the boundaries of their home countries.
Egypt – Tamer Hosny
Born in Cairo to a father who was a singer and a Syrian mother, Tamer Hosny is one of the greatest contemporary arab singer. He has multiple talents because he is all at once a singer, an actor and a songwriter. He moves himself ahead to conquer the Middle East audience and to break into the world musical field. He has already worked with famous artists including Akon, Shaggy or Snoop Dog.
Moroco – Saad Lamjarred
Nicknamed “the Moroccan nightingale” in Arab pop music, Saad Lamjarred is an artist in the soul, and he is also known worldwide. His father, Bachir Abdou, is a singer and his mother, Nezha Regragui, is a theatre actress. Both of them are well-known in Morocco. He was attracted by a singing career from an early age and ends up writing and singing international hits.
Saad Lamjared’s video clips now exceed 1 billion views on YouTube. His last song “Lmaâlem” made him enter in the Guinness Book of records with more than 23 million views in three weeks and more than 250 million views today. His fans come from Morocco, Middle East countries, North America and Europe.
Palestine – Mohammed Assaf
The Palestinian singer is adulated in the Arab world. His enormous talent, his amazing voice and his angel face are certainly good reasons for that! In 2013, the young man won Arab Idol competition by singing a patriotic song in the final. For the small story, Mohammed Assaf was late at the first audition in Egypt but was still able to pass his audition because one candidate has dropped out the competition giving him more chance to make it to the final.
Before that, he mainly sang on private concerts or weddings, giving him the surname:”wedding singer”. Since his victory on Arab Idol, he bears proudly the colours of his country. His songs are known by millions of people in the Arab world.
Lebanon – Elissa Khoury
Elissa Khoury or simply Elissa is the queen of sentimental ballads in the Arab world. Her first album “Baddi Doub” was an immediate success. She participated in the International Music Festival in 2000 in Cannes with the famous flamenco French artist Gerard Ferrer. She made after that a duet with Ragheb Alama and then Chris DeBurgh.
The singer carries on her musical career by releasing several successful albums, increasing her success and her audience. She competes against the Middle East best singers like Nancy Ajram, Nawal Zoghbi or Haifa Wehbe.
Syria – Assala Nasri
Assala Nasri owes her success to her singular voice and her iron will. She began to sing from an early age and her determination helps her find her musical style and express her own personality. She has released some hits like Ouala Tssadak, Ighdab, Ghayar Aoui, Alli gara, E3tif Habibi and many more.
Her audience mainly appreciate her extraordinary stage presence, her exceptional singing voice and her amazing talent.
Colombia and Lebanon – Shakira
Even though that may surprise some, the famous Colombian singer has Arabian origin. The international star’s father is Lebanese and she never hides that fact. That’s also why you can hear some Arab tone in her music. And there is the way she dances with her hips, which is most surely is inspired from oriental dance.
Canada and Syria – Paula Abdul
Paula Abdul has built a singer and choreographer career in Canada, but she has Syrian Jew roots by her father Harry Abdul who left Aleppo to go to the United States where Paula was born. She was a jury on “American Idol” between 2002 and 2009 and then on “So You Think You Can Dance” and “The X Factor” after that.