Off The Charts
In a fairy tale fit for Gen Z, singer-songwriter Issam Alnajjar has been propelled from a humble life in Jordan to the recording studios of LA since sharing a video of himself singing on Instagram last year. As he helps showcase Arabic music to a global audience, the teenager is staying true to his roots while collaborating with international artists.
In a fairy tale fit for Gen Z, singer-songwriter Issam Alnajjar has been propelled from a humble life in Jordan to the recording studios of LA since sharing a video of himself singing on Instagram last year. As he helps showcase Arabic music to a global audience, the teenager is staying true to his roots while collaborating with international artists.
IIt’s 11 pm in Los Angeles, but Issam Alnajjar is brimming with adolescent energy, disarmingly fresh after a trip down to Mexico for a music video shoot. As we start to chat over Zoom, the Jordanian singer-songwriter is keen to talk about the month he has just spent in the U.S. working on his first album, but he's keeping details close to his chest. “I can only tell you that I'm not going to be singing it alone,” he cautiously reveals. “I think this is the only thing I can talk to you about, but I'm so excited to release the album. I have a few singles that are going to be dropped before the album. So, this is pretty exciting.”
There's a lot to be excited about. The 18-yearold initially went public with his break-out single “Hadal Ahbek”—which loosely translates to “I'll Keep Loving You” in English—on social media while in Jordan in the midst of the pandemic last year. With its infectious hooks and pop and folk influences, the track has enjoyed considerable global success over the last 18 months. What's so unusual about this? Alnajjar sings in Arabic, but non-Arabic-speakers are listening in their millions.
Since its official release in September 2020, “Hadal Ahbek” peaked at number one on Spotify's U.S. and Global Viral 50 charts and was in the Top 20 on Apple Music's Global Hits and Viral Hits playlists. It topped Spotify's Viral Chart in 25 local markets, including Germany, France, the U.K., Canada, and Mexico. And it also hit number one on Shazam's Global Chart and number two on its U.S. charts.
This has unsurprisingly won Alnajjar some valuable attention. In early 2021, he signed with
The Weeknd's manager, Wassim “SAL” Slaiby, and his new Universal Arabic Music (UAM) record label. By April, the teen sensation's face was emblazoned across a billboard in Times Square. As of August 2021, a simple yet captivating video of Alnajjar performing “Hadal Ahbek” live had racked up more than 87 million views on YouTube, while the singer had over 81,000 followers and 5.5 million plays on Anghami's music streaming platform.
Now he is building on his success, releasing his second track “Mn Gheirik Enti” in July 2021. “I'm trying to make music that has never been done in Arabic, talking about a lot of relatable subjects, things that I'm going through and from experience,” says Alnajjar on the stellar reaction from fans and critics. It's this experience that could make him stand out among the usual popstar crowd in LA.
Despite his demonstrable talents, Alnajjar is no stage-school brat. While growing up in Jordan, apart from his U.S.-based parents and siblings for the last four years, he found solace in music as a form of expression. “It always allowed me to escape my problems and stress and daily challenges in my life,” he confesses. With no musical upbringing, he self-studied songwriting and began creating his own music a couple of years ago, inspired by artists such Shawn Mendes, Ed Sheeran, Queen, and Michael Jackson. “It just feels normal to me,” he says. “In a way, it's like I was born for this.”
Inspiration for “Hadal Ahbek” was sparked in a typically Gen Z fashion. Alnajjar was on a FaceTime call with one of his friends when the idea came to him. “I was on my guitar, just chilling, and the first thing that came up to my mind was ‘hateh rassik aal mkhadeh,' which means ‘lay your head on the pillow'. And it just felt so strong; it felt like it was something. And we just started writing out of fun,” he reveals candidly. In April 2020, he posted a video of himself singing the song in Arabic on Instagram—it proved to be a hit among his peers, accumulating numerous views and likes.
Encouraged, Alnajjar entered a “Rush Local Music” competition run by Jordan-based music company Rush Production House. Having been established in June 2020, the company was fairly new at the time, but co-founder Luay Hijazeen spotted something special in Alnajjar and “Hadal Ahbek.” As a songwriter, composer, and producer,
he played a role in the single's success. “I decided to revamp the idea he had with a different style,” Hijazeen recalls. Sarah Shalabi is also credited as a songwriter on the track.
Things escalated once the revamped song hit TikTok, with influencers quickly adopting the track, including Addison Rae, TikTok's top earner and second mostfollowed celebrity according to Forbes. As the trending tune went viral, one user created a slower version of the track—within a day, her video had garnered over 47 million views. The track quickly saw similar success on YouTube. “I personally wanted like 10,000 views in total for the song,” says Alnajjar. “We were able to get that in a day.” As of August this year, #hadal_ahbek had amassed around 501.5 million views on TikTok.
Having become a TikTok creator in November 2018 and a music creator in October 2019, Alnajjar is today one of the platform's biggest Middle East success stories. “Following the release of ‘Hadal Ahbek' in September 2020, the song went viral regionally and globally in November 2020. The official sounds on TikTok have generated over two million video creations to date,” reveals Hani Kamel, Content Operations Director at TikTok MENA. “The song proved to be very popular in MENA and Southeast Asia, with most videos published from users from these regions.” Streaming dominated in the Middle East and Africa in general last year, with a 36.4% increase in revenues in 2020, according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry's annual report.
Alnajjar has now accumulated more than 1.5 million TikTok followers. The teen sensation believes his biggest hit's appeal lies in its accessibility. “The song is so simple,” he insists. “I'm talking about something that everyone can relate to, and also because of the ‘ra-papa-pa-ra-pa-ra-pa' part, which has a very nice and very sweet melody, it was very easy for other countries to sing that part and to actually listen to the song.”
Today, Alnajjar is continuing to learn and develop his songwriting skills under the watchful eye of Slaiby and UAM, a newly-created label dedicated to promoting MENA artists globally. “I first heard [Hadal Ahbek] on social media, and I reached out to him directly,” reveals Slaiby. “There was an instant connection when we jumped on a call. We spoke for hours, and it all really clicked from there.” Alnajjar was the first artist to be signed under UAM in early 2021.
The team rereleased “Hadal Ahbek” in February 2021 to give it a global push, alongside selective remixes. In March 2021, Alnajjar virtually collaborated with Iraqi-Canadian singersongwriter Ali Gatie and Canadian DJ duo Loud Luxury for the release of “Turning Me Up” (Hadal Ahbek) as part of the second installment of RADAR MENA, an emerging artist program highlighting rising Arab talent worldwide. In June, R3hab—a Dutch producer and DJ of Moroccan descent—remixed his own version of the song.
“An artist always needs a team to understand their vision, to support and fight for them,” says Slaiby. “I hope what I'm trying to do motivates everyone to keep Arabic music growing on a global level.” The approach seems to be working. “I just feel so comfortable with him, and this team has been a blessing for me,” reveals Alnajjar sincerely.
As he secures his foothold as a global Arab artist, Alnajjar's rising star is proof that with the right support Arabic music can go mainstream outside of MENA's borders. For his part, the humble teen wants to help pave the way for others like him to grab their own slice of opportunity. “There are so many talents in Jordan and in the Arab world who just need a little recognition. Maybe my success will open doors,” he says hopefully. “We really have something to offer.”