…It all began since the moment I came into this world…To my father,music was a dream he couldn’t accomplish, and in no time I chose to make it mine.
I am lebanese born in Senegal (west Africa) and raised in the Gambia; a small country bordering Senegal. Ever since I was born, my parents experienced my unusual passion for music .
On my second birthday, I asked for nothing else but a microphone, and the photo of this great moment I keep till now.
My father owned a recording studio in Gambia, where most famous African singers like Youssou Ndour, and Maure Kante, who are now world famous, used to come to record their music.. and of course ,I was the first one to be in that room, waiting quietly for that moment when I could steal the microphone to sing a song. Daddy is a singer , pianist, guitarist, arranger and sound engineer .His influences were western ,and so were mine.. Music was our daily prayer.
At the age of ten, when we came to live in beirut, my parents enrolled me in piano lessons. Dad also opened a recording studio in Elissar , in which, later on, teamed up with Hady Charara.
When I was young ,teachers used to ask every single one of us in class what we wanted to be when we grow up, and my answers never changed : A FAMOUS SINGER.. My classmates still remember that persistence till now.
In 1994, My school chose me to represent it in a music festival organized by Sami Clark, featuring Fidof International. The competition took place at St’Joseph School stadium for three months. Over 20,000 viewers assisted,and more than 15 judges were there to chose a winner among 1500 lebanese singers. Among the judges were Ghassan Saliba, Minister Micheal Daher, Sami Clark,Pascale Saker,Ghassan Rahbani,Walid Gholmiye.. and it gave me more confidence in my talent,when they chose me to be the winner of that great Fidof international competion aired on LBC weekly..I won the gold cup for singing I will always love you by Whitney Houston.They also awarded me for best stage entertainer and presence by Pepsi..I was also invited to the Presidential palace in Baabda by President Elias el Hrawi to be awarded.
In order to have a stronger base in singing I was offered a scholarship to enter the conservatory ,and there I studied opera for almost two years, and vocal lessons with Opera singer, Edgar Aoun.. In my school ,Saint Joseph, Kornet Chehwan,I was always the first to take part in our drama club and acting classes with Miss Boula Rahbani.
I also took part yearly in Christmas concerts and recitals conducted by Edgard Aoun.
After winning the fidof competition , school was a something I wanted to finish in no time in order to take the great journey into music seriously. After I graduated in Experimental sciences , I started my major in Radio/TV, and before I realized it ,destiny made a call ..I decided to go after my dream , and make it my life..I left my family ,my friends ,my country, and traveled to Los Angeles ,the land of opportunities, where I took part in a singing competition in Hollywood ,and won three medals among 1500 international contestants ; one Gold medal for singing “I wanna run to you” ,by Whitney Houston, in the Soul category, another silver medal for singing in the Gospel Category, a soundtrack from the movie “ The Preacher’s Wife” for Whitney Houston,and a silver medal for Singing for Mariah Carey.
Soon After that ,I was offered a recording deal with Sony, by one of its agents, Cory Patrick Brown .I got enrolled into stage choreography ,and vocal trainer, Buddy Mix, in North Hollywood .I couldn’t believe my eyes or ears, when I had the honor of being produced by Maurice White ,former lead vocalist from “Earth wind and Fire” band, which were known as the legends of soul music during the 70’s..I soon got the attention of the great song writers Diane Warren, Sean Fischer. and many other big names, like Trevor Lawrence (Former producer of Stevie Wonder).During that time I also worked as an arranger/ song writer, with Lilo Fadidas,and Samuel Torres.I also took part in many singing events,and gigs,one of which was a concert with Cheb Nasro and Rashid Taha .Another was a karaoke Competition in Ontario,CA,which I also won.
But before I even enjoyed the thrill of finishing the recording of my first album, my career faced a dead end when September 11 shook the United States, and caused all businesses to halt,and shut down. Nevertheless being a Lebanese, and for safety reasons, I found it more suitable to return home to my parents and homeland .While I was still there, destiny joined me with Take 5 music, a record & distribution label who believed in me so much that they offered me a production deal, and they decided to open an office 4me in Beirut.. With Take5Music, I recorded my first album, 3Alatoul, between LA and Beirut, an experience I will never forget, due to their efforts and hard work. The album was signed to EMI, which was another great name added to mine. The album was an exotic mixture of two backgrounds; the music was totally western (pop ,soul ,techno ,dance ), and the words were Arabic. The album’s #1 hit song was 3Alatoul.

Once again, due to many diverse reasons, the company had to shut down its operations in Beirut, and return to L.A..
I will not be ashamed to say that this really shook my walls, and I was professionally lost for a while, until Ghad CO took charge of my career and put me on the right track again. Now I am in and out of the greatest studio’s working with nothing but the best. I recorded and shot a clip for my first song “ya rayt bshoufak”, which I composed and wrote, and it was arranged by not only a great musician, but a childhood friend , Michel Fadel .

After all what I have been through, I could now describe it as a tough journey that just began.. But the love of my fans , family and friends who never stopped believing in me, are worth the tears I cried, and provide me with all the joy I need to carry on to reach the stars, until then the game is never over..