Talk about a great start. Musician Issam Alnajjar will begin his world tour supporting Maroon 5 at the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt and Abu Dhabi's Etihad Arena.
The Jordanian teenager announced the prized slots on social media accounts, in addition to the rest of the dates of his first world tour.
Named after his breakthrough song Hadal Ahbek, the global outing begins with warming up the stage for Maroon 5 in Giza and Abu Dhabi on May 3 and May 6, respectively, before beginning a run of 14 solo shows extending until July 15.
The tour includes what should be a number of memorable events, including a homecoming show at Amman Citadel on May 10, followed by Nui Beirut in Lebanon on June 12, and The Camden Assembly in London on June 22. This is in addition to a run of US dates including performances at the LPR in New York and the historic Roxy Theatre in Los Angeles on July 15.
The news marks the latest milestone in what has been a skyrocketing career for Alnajjar, 18, after Hadal Ahbek topped Spotify's Viral 50 – Global chart in 2020 — which measures how songs are shared on the platform, blogs and social media.
As a result of the hype, Alnajjar recently signed a deal as the face of Universal Arabic Music, a fledgling boutique label co-launched by Wassim "Sal" Slaiby, the Lebanese-Canadian record executive and manager of The Weeknd.
The high profile move resulted in Alnajjar getting his biggest exposure yet, appearing on a Spotify billboard in New York City last year to promote Turning Me Up (Hadal Ahbek), a club-ready remix featuring Canadian artists Ali Gatie and the DJ duo Loud Luxury.
This was followed by the release of his debut album Baree? featuring the well-received lead single Hada Ghareeb, a collaboration with Palestinian-Chilean singer Elyanna.
In an interview with The National, the young singer expressed astonishment at his career rise.
"What can I say, man? A few months ago I was just that really ordinary teenager happy to sing cover songs by people like Ed Sheeran and Shawn Mendes," he said.
"To have one song just change your life like that is just unbelievable."
Maroon 5 and Issam Alnajjar perform at Etihad Arena, Abu Dhabi on May 6. Doors open at 7pm; tickets from Dh300 are available at etihadarena.ae
Notable Yas events in 2017/18
October 13-14 KartZone (complimentary trials)
December 14-16 The Gulf 12 Hours Endurance race
March 5 Yas Marina Circuit Karting Enduro event
March 8-9 UAE Rotax Max Challenge
57%20Seconds
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Western Region Asia Cup Qualifier
Results
UAE beat Saudi Arabia by 12 runs
Kuwait beat Iran by eight wickets
Oman beat Maldives by 10 wickets
Bahrain beat Qatar by six wickets
Semi-finals
UAE v Qatar
Bahrain v Kuwait
Switching%20sides
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Start-up hopes to end Japan's love affair with cash
Across most of Asia, people pay for taxi rides, restaurant meals and merchandise with smartphone-readable barcodes — except in Japan, where cash still rules. Now, as the country’s biggest web companies race to dominate the payments market, one Tokyo-based startup says it has a fighting chance to win with its QR app.
Origami had a head start when it introduced a QR-code payment service in late 2015 and has since signed up fast-food chain KFC, Tokyo’s largest cab company Nihon Kotsu and convenience store operator Lawson. The company raised $66 million in September to expand nationwide and plans to more than double its staff of about 100 employees, says founder Yoshiki Yasui.
Origami is betting that stores, which until now relied on direct mail and email newsletters, will pay for the ability to reach customers on their smartphones. For example, a hair salon using Origami’s payment app would be able to send a message to past customers with a coupon for their next haircut.
Quick Response codes, the dotted squares that can be read by smartphone cameras, were invented in the 1990s by a unit of Toyota Motor to track automotive parts. But when the Japanese pioneered digital payments almost two decades ago with contactless cards for train fares, they chose the so-called near-field communications technology. The high cost of rolling out NFC payments, convenient ATMs and a culture where lost wallets are often returned have all been cited as reasons why cash remains king in the archipelago. In China, however, QR codes dominate.
Cashless payments, which includes credit cards, accounted for just 20 per cent of total consumer spending in Japan during 2016, compared with 60 per cent in China and 89 per cent in South Korea, according to a report by the Bank of Japan.
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Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
