Melhem Barakat is the subject of Sunday's Google Doodle, as the search engine's homepage shows an illustration of the star on what would have been his 76th birthday.
The singer-songwriter was born on August 15 and is widely regarded as one of Lebanon’s most distinguished musicians. He is acclaimed for his unique musical style and his sensational live performances.
The regional Doodle can be viewed in Morocco, Algeria, Libya, Egypt, Iraq, Somalia, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Oman, Australia and New Zealand.
Barakat, who died in 2016, is seen holding a microphone and wearing a white suit while singing, in the illustration.
Who was Melhem Barakat?
Barakat was born in 1945 in Kfarshima, Lebanon.
He inherited his love for music from his father, who also taught him how to play the oud. When he was 18, he dropped out of school and enrolled in the National Institute of Music without his father’s knowledge. However, he would eventually drop out of that school, too.
Barakat started his career in the 1960s as an actor and singer in musical theatre productions. As his career progressed, he began to compose original music that combined classical elements with improvisation.
He established a huge fan base in the Arab world and appeared in several Lebanese films in the 1980s. He also began touring internationally, from Australia to the US. Since the 1990s, he had several popular song releases, including Habibi Enta, Keef and Ya Hobi Elly Ghab. He has also collaborated with fellow stars Najwa Karam, Karol Sakr and Shatha Hassoun.
In 2008, he received the lifetime achievement award at Lebanon’s annual Murex D'or ceremony.
Kevin Laughlin, who created the illustration, explains the inspiration behind it. "I began by watching old recordings of Barakat’s performances, trying to get a sense of the singer’s stage presence, performance style and how his fans might have seen him on screen or at home," he explains.
“There were two main inspirations, stylistically, for this Doodle. The first were stills from the recordings I mentioned above. There’s a kind of washed-out quality to the image, which results in blown highlights and highly saturated shadows.
“The second inspiration was pulp fiction covers from the 1940s and 1950s. The artists who illustrated those covers had a knack for creating lifelike portraits with very few colours, which could sometimes add to a heightened sense of drama.”
Scroll through below to see some of the most recent regional Google Doodles:
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A Google Doodle celebrating Egyptian actress Karima Mokhtar's 89th birthday. All images: Google -
Egyptian writer Ihsan Abdel Quddous -
Kuwaiti actor and comedian Abdulhussain Abdulredha's 83rd birthday -
UAE National Day 2022 Google Doodle. -
Ousha Al Suwaidi was a poetess from the United Arab Emirates. -
Prof. Hamed Abdel Fattah Goher was an Egyptian oceanographer, scientist and TV presenter. -
Tunisia's Tawhida Ben Cheikh was a pioneer in women's medicine. -
Google Doodle of Egyptian actor and director Nour El-Sherif honours him on what would have been his 75th birthday. -
Google celebrates Syrian-Egyptian composer and actor Farid Al Atrash with a Google Doodle to mark what would have been his 110th birthday. -
Children's author Notaila Rashed is honoured with a special Google Doodle to mark her 86th birthday. -
Egyptian actress, producer, writer and filmmaker Bahiga Hafez was born 112 years ago, on August 4. -
The Google Doodle for January 20, 2020, celebrates Mufidah Abdul Rahman, Egypt's first female lawyer. -
A Google Doodle on June 10, 2019, celebrates Egyptian author Ahmed Khaled Towfik. -
Google Doodle honours Persian mathematician, poet and astronomer Omar Khayyam on what would have been his 971st birthday. -
Mary Mounib was a renowned actress in the Egyptian cinema scene. Her 114th birthday is marked in a Google Doodle on February 11, 2019. -
Egyptian poet Gamila El Alaily is honoured in a Google Doodle on March 20, 2019. -
Syrian artist Louay Kayali is the subject of Google's doodle on January 20, 2019. -
Egyptian-French singer and actress Dalida is honoured on her birthday by Google Doodle, on January 17, 2019. -
Egyptian actress Hind Rostom is celebrated in a Google Doodle on her 87th birthday, on November 12, 2018. -
Ibn Sina, one of the greatest thinkers of Islam's golden age, is honoured on August 7, 2018. -
A Google Doodle honours Saudi musician Talal Maddah on what would have been his 78th birthday, on August 5, 2018. -
A Google Doodle gif marks Egyptian actor Omar Sharif's birthday on April 10, 2018. -
Egyptian poet Farouk Shousha is honoured by Google on what would have been his 82nd birthday, on January 9, 2018. -
Google celebrates Lebanese singer Sabah's 90th birthday on November 10, 2017. -
Egyptian painter Inji Aflatoun's Google Doodle pays homage to her style of bold brushstrokes. -
Google celebrates the birthday of Algerian painter Mohammed Khadda, who was born on March 14, 1930. -
Lebanese singer-songwriter Melham Barakat is honoured by Google on his birthday.
