Egyptian singer Bayou on viral hit Haifa Wehbe and why Arab pop music is in a great place right now

The artist’s new EP, Back Home, is inspired by his life as a third-culture kid

Egyptian singer Bayou at Soundstorm festival in Riyadh. Photo: MDL Beast

Performing at Coachella on the lower end of the bill has its benefits - it gives you something to aim for.

This realisation hit Bayou when he shared the stage as a guest of Palestinian-American artist Saint Levant last year. The Egyptian describes performing their duet Maghreb as exhilarating, with the crowd's enthusiastic response confirming a hunger for fresh sounds from the Arab world - as also evidenced by Palestinian-Chilean singer Elyanna's star-making Coachella set in 2023.

"First of all I have nothing but gratitude for Saint Levant for inviting me and giving me that opportunity," he recalls. "It was definitely a turning point for me in terms of how I approached my career. You get exposed to what being an artist at the top of their game looks like - from Saint Levant to those like Tyler the Creator and many more and its definitely inspiring."

Bayou, whose real name is Adham Bayoumi, recently wrapped up a well-received set at Riyadh’s Soundstorm festival, and has just released his new EP, Never at Home.

Born in Jeddah, Bayou moved to Dubai with his family at the age of one, where he lived for 17 years before relocating to Boston for his studies. He returned to Cairo last year to reconnect with his roots. Never at Home, a six-track bilingual Arabic-English collection, is the result of this journey and offers a distinct interpretation of Egyptian pop, shaped through the lens of a self-described “third-culture kid.”

Opener Neshar Belel has a sprightly guitar riff and playful electro-synth lines, as Bayou's relaxed vocals sing of summer evenings and all its possibilities. Lamouni is more brooding. A muted cello loop weaves through his conversational Egyptian lyrics about a turbulent relationship, all floating over stuttering trap-hiphop beats and sparse keyboard arrangements.

It is all part of a burgeoning wave of Egyptian pop - carried by artists like Tul8te and Mousv – drawing more from the present than the past. Bayou also describes his approach as a natural result of creating music back in Cairo after years abroad.

"I found that my songs were gradually becoming more Egyptian, and people connected with those elements - especially how I represented them through a diaspora lens," says tells The National. "I felt drawn to it too. My family was enjoying it, I was enjoying it, so I decided to dive deeper."

Bayou's evolution doesn’t only draw directly from Egypt’s rich musical traditions, but also the influence of regional cultural figures. An example is Haifa Wehbe, a song named after the Lebanese singer and actress who commands a large fanbase in Egypt.

A regional TikTok hit last summer, Bayou’s lyrics pays homage to Wehbe, while secretly harbouring slim hopes of being her next beau. And in classic third-culture kid fashion, Bayou says the track was inspired by a formula prevalent in western pop music.

“It's like how in the West they have songs referencing cultural icons like Monica Lewinsky by [Guyanese-American rapper] Saint Jhn, I wanted to do something similar in our context," he says. "When you think about Arab pop culture icons, especially for my generation, Haifa Wehbe stands at the top. I wanted to approach it from that angle - who's the Arab 'it girl'? Plus, a lot of women really connect with Haifa, so I wanted to acknowledge that too and tell them that I also see you.”

Bayou notes that being a songwriter primarily from the Arab diaspora doesn't necessarily provide a “wider perspective” on creating Arabic pop - just a different one. "I do have a clear vision in that as an RnB artist I wanted to blend my sound with romantic Egyptian music and emphasising the African elements within that” he says.

It's on trend with what’s happening in greater Arabic popular culture today, he adds.

“I love the localisation of everything happening in the region, from music and fashion to all kinds of visual arts. It's an amazing development and the growth of the music and culture scene in the region is definitely a testament to that."

Although headlining his own set at the Coachella festival may still be a relatively distant goal, Bayou is content to carve his path to the main stage from wherever he chooses to call home.

"Right now, I feel at home in Cairo, where my grandmother lives. And, of course, there’s Dubai, where I grew up, and Boston, where I spent many great years,” he says. “For now, I’m happy living life on the go, while staying consistent with playing many shows and releasing music… 2025 is my year of giving.”