The TV sTar: Jad abi haidar

from shower singer to The Voice semi-finalist Lebanese soul singer Jad Abi Haidar competed on the Arabic version of The Voice last year and made it to the semi-finals. Which is even more impressive, when you find out he doesn’t perform Arabic songs. “I’m an old school rocker with a raspy voice,” Haidar tells What’s On.

A self-described “shower singer”, Haidar didn’t realise how good his voice was until he entered a school competition at 16 and walked away with the first place prize.

He almost didn’t do the show – not because of a bad audition – but due to an overloaded work schedule. “They called me and I declined it because I had a lot of work, but I eventually accepted as it was such good exposure.” Recording took place in Lebanon from June to December and saw Haidar fly back and forth every week.

While the TV judges (Lebanese singer Assi El Helani, Tunisian composer Saber Rebaï, Egyptian pop star Sherine and Iraqi singer Kazem Al Saher) knew most of the English pop stars on the charts now, old-school rockers like Meatloaf and Aerosmith are not as well known. Haidar says, “I felt like I was being taught and was teaching at the same time.”

You can catch the fan favourite playing gigs at Iris Yas Island and Iris Dubai, doing covers from James Brown, Toto to Bon Jovi and Queen. Expect some original tunes from Jad later this summer.

Iris Yas Island, Yas Marina, Yas Island, Abu Dhabi. Tel: (055) 1605636. Taxi: Yas Marina. irisabudhabi. com, facebook.com/ jadabihaidar