- Maher Zain
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Maher Zain
ماهر زين
Background information Born March 16, 1981 Origin Sweden Genres R&B, Soul music, Pop music, World music, Acoustic music, Nasheed Occupations Singer, musician, songwriter, composer Instruments Guitar, piano, keyboard, percussion, synthesizers Years active 2009–present Labels Awakening Records
Sony MusicAssociated acts Irfan Makki
Mesut KurtisWebsite Maher Zain Twitter Maher Zain (Arabic: ماهر زين ; born March 16, 1981 in Tripoli, Lebanon) is a Muslim Swedish R&B singer, songwriter and music producer of Lebanese origin. His debut album Thank You Allah, an internationally successful album with strong Muslim religious influences, was released in 2009.
Contents
Career
Maher Zain and his family moved to Sweden when he was eight years old. He completed his schooling there gaining a Bachelors degree in Aeronautical Engineering. After university he entered the music industry in Sweden and linked up with RedOne, the Moroccan born Swedish producer.[1]
When RedOne moved to New York in 2006 Maher Zain followed soon after to continue his music industry career in the USA producing for artists such as Kat DeLuna.[2] On a visit home to Sweden he became engaged once more with his Islamic faith and decided to move away from a career as a music producer to become a singer/songwriter of contemporary R&B music with a strong Muslim religious influence.[3]
Breakthrough success and Thank You Allah
In January 2009, Maher Zain began working on an album with Awakening Records. His debut album was Thank You Allah, with 13 songs and two bonus tracks was released on 1 November 2009 with percussion versions and French versions of some tracks released shortly afterwards.[4]
Zain and Awakening Records successfully used new media such as Facebook, YouTube[5] and iTunes to promote tracks from the album.[6][7] In early 2010 his music very quickly gathered a huge online following in Arabic speaking and Islamic countries as well as among young Muslims in western countries.[8] By the end of 2010 he was the most Googled celebrity in Malaysia for that year.[7] Malaysia is also the country where he has had the most commercial success. The album Thank You Allah received 8 Platinum awards from Warner Music Malaysia as the highest selling album of 2010.[9] In 2011, Thank You Allah earned a double platinum award from Sony Music Indonesia.[1]
Zain sings mainly in English but has released some of his most popular songs in other languages. The song "Insha Allah", for example, is now available in English, French, Arabic, Turkish, Malay and Indonesian versions. Another song, “Allahi Allah Kiya Karo” (“Continuously Saying Allah”), is sung in Urdu and features the Pakistan born Canadian singer Irfan Makki.[6]
In March 2011, Maher Zain released "Freedom",[6] a song inspired by the events and the actions of the people taking part in the Arab Spring. In July 2011 he featured on the cover of the UK Muslim lifestyle magazine Emel.[10]
Zain was featured on Irfan Makki's track "I Believe" from his debut studio album of the same name.[11]
Discography
Albums
Year Title Certification 2009 Thank You Allah 8X platinum in Malaysia[citation needed]
2X platinum in Indonesia[citation needed]Singles
- 2009: "Insha Allah"
- Featured in
- 2011: "I Believe" (Irfan Makki feat. Maher Zain)
Awards
- In January 2010, Maher Zain won Best Religious Song for 'Ya Nabi Salam Alayka', on Nujoom FM, the Middle East's biggest mainstream music station. He beat other prominent singers including Hussein Al-Jismi, Mohammed Mounir and Sami Yusuf.[12]
References
- ^ a b Entertainment (2011-08-10). Maher Zain's Hip but Pious Soundtrack to the Arab Spring. The Atlantic retrieved October 10, 2011
- ^ Eena Houzyama (2010-10-11). Thank God for Maher Zain. The Malay Mail, retrieved October 10, 2011
- ^ Maher Zain. IslamicLyrics Website, retrieved October 10, 2011
- ^ Music & Festivals Maher Zain Interview. Time Out Beirut, retrieved October 14, 2011
- ^ Admin (2010-11-16). Muslim Singer Maher Zain. NXT News, retrieved October 14, 2011
- ^ a b c Lisa Siregar (2011-05-02). A Portrait of the Artist As a Young Muslim. Jakarta Globe, retrieved October 14, 2011
- ^ a b 2011-08-26 Being pious in the heat of modernity. New Straits Time, retrieved October 14, 2011[dead link]
- ^ Sundus Awan (Transcribed) 2010-11-29. Maher Zain Interview. The Muslim Youth Voice Website, retrieved October 14, 2011
- ^ News Summary (January 2011). Awakening artist Maher Zain receives 8 platinums. Awakening Worldwide retrieved October 14, 2011
- ^ Issue 82 (July 2011). Maher Zain digital issue - OUT NOW! The Emel Website, retrieved October 18, 2011
- ^ I Believe Lyrics. IslamicLyrics Website, retrieved October 18, 2011
- ^ News Summary (January 2010). Maher Zain wins Nugoom FM's Best Song Award. Awakening Worldwide retrieved September 2, 2011
External links
Categories:- Living people
- 1981 births
- Lebanese male singers
- Swedish male singers
- Performers of Islamic music
- Lebanese musicians
- Lebanese Sunni Muslims
- Swedish Muslims
- Swedish people of Lebanese descent
- Lebanese engineers
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