Forget standard pop charts and hot playlists, to really get the lowdown on who the next big music thing is, you need to dig deeper into streaming sites.
There you will find niche yet influential polls charting the most buzzing tracks online.
This includes Spotify's Global Viral 50, a chart measuring how songs are shared on the platform, blogs and social media.
In a two-week stretch beginning from mid-January, Jordanian teenager Issam Alnajjar ruled over that list with his song Hadal Ahbek.
Not only was the Arabic folk tune one of most streamed in similar country specific charts, including in the US, UK, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia and India, but the track was also one of the most-searched titles on music discovery app Shazzam, with 1.7 million hits. Elsewhere, its associated TikTok hashtag #hadal_ahbek came up with more than 300 million results.
A moment of inspiration
Such numbers capture the industry's attention. Now, he is the face of Universal Arabic Music, a fledgling boutique label co-launched by Wassim "Sal" Slaiby, the Lebanese-Canadian record executive and manager of superstar The Weeknd.
Next up is a bilingual remix of the hit track, now called Turning Me Up (Hadal Ahbek), which was released today on Spotify.
As part of the platform’s emerging artist initiative, Radar, the new version carries a distinctly Canadian flavour with a guest verse provided from Ontario artists: the Iraqi singer Ali Gatie and DJ duo Loud Luxury.
“What can I say, man?” says Alnajjar, genuinely stumped by his new circumstances.
"A few months ago I was just that really ordinary teenager happy to sing covers songs by people like Ed Sheeran and Shawn Mendes," he tells The National from his home in Amman. "To have one song just change your life like that is just unbelievable."
That incredulity stems from the low-key manner in which the song was composed.
With Jordan battling its first wave of Covid-19 in March 2020, a period necessitating the first of a number of social restrictions put in place to help curb the spread of the virus, Alnajjar came up with the key hook and opening lines during a video chat with a friend.
“I was on a FaceTime call and she had her head on the pillow,” he recalls.
“So that’s how the first lyric came, which is ‘put your head on the pillow’. We thought it was a powerful beginning because it was so simple.
“Then the melody just came to me and the song took only like an hour to finish.”
That Arabic touch
This was the first time Alnajjar had written a song in Arabic.
Less than a year into his career at the time, he only had three songs on YouTube: the bluesy original One of a Kind and breezy covers of Nat King Cole's L.O.V.E and Alec Benjamin's Let Me Down Slowly.
His small but dedicated following at the time were keen to hear an Arabic tune by him, so Alnajjar decided to try his luck.
He didn’t wait too long for the feedback.
“I posted the song not long after and people went crazy over it,” he says. “Six months later I won this competition to record the song for free and shoot a music video here in Jordan and we worked on this song.
“It is unbelievable how it turned out. All of it was me being in the right place at the right time.”
And the fact that Hadal Ahbek is a sublime piece in the pop folk genre helps, too. Built on an elegant arrangement reminiscent of singers such as Ed Sheeran or Jason Mraz, the song exudes a gentle melancholy and nostalgia.
With a mixture of candour and conviction, Alnajjar’s lyrics directly address a distressed loved one.
“I will always be with you,” he croons. “Even if everyone is against you I'll keep loving you.”
The best part of all is the ingeniously simple scatting chorus ("Ra-pa-pa-pa-ra-pa-ra-pa"), which makes it hummable from Amman to Amsterdam.
Bringing light amid the gloom
Alnajjar says the song is an ode to friendship, hence why it resonated with people so far and wide.
"What I am saying in the song is 'just rest and everything will be OK and I will always be by your side'," he says.
"Because of the pandemic, we all feel a little bit down and the song is there to give us, let’s say, some kind of hope and good vibes."
And those vibes reached the ears of one of the pop music industry’s most powerful personalities. Enamoured by the tune, and perhaps even stunned that a little-known teenager could out-stream The Weeknd on the Global Viral 50, Slaiby reached out to Alnajjar through Instagram.
Now, as one of the lead artists on his new label, Alnajjar is living the dream.
“I wake up, take a shower and then I go straight to the studio from midday to 7pm,” he says.
“I honestly feel like I am part of an A-list team. Working with (Slaiby) is great because he tells me to stay focused on making music and that’s the only thing I should worry about.
“He cares a lot about my feelings, and gives me advice to make sure I am in the right mental place to make music.”
In addition to today's new song, Alnajjar says there is more music on the way, although he can’t reveal too much about the new tunes or collaborators – yet.
“I can only say that it will be good and different. I am working every day on it and when the time comes it will be a surprise.”
The specs
Engine: Direct injection 4-cylinder 1.4-litre
Power: 150hp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: From Dh139,000
On sale: Now
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Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere
Director: Scott Cooper
Starring: Jeremy Allen White, Odessa Young, Jeremy Strong
Rating: 4/5
In Full Flight: A Story of Africa and Atonement
John Heminway, Knopff
Friday's schedule in Madrid
Men's quarter-finals
Novak Djokivic (1) v Marin Cilic (9) from 2pm UAE time
Roger Federer (4) v Dominic Thiem (5) from 7pm
Stefanos Tsitsipas (8) v Alexander Zverev (3) from 9.30pm
Stan Wawrinka v Rafael Nadal (2) from 11.30pm
Women's semi-finals
Belinda Bencic v Simona Halep (3) from 4.30pm
Sloane Stephens (8) v Kiki Bertens (7) from 10pm
The%20US%20Congress%20explained
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The Vile
Starring: Bdoor Mohammad, Jasem Alkharraz, Iman Tarik, Sarah Taibah
Director: Majid Al Ansari
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How Islam's view of posthumous transplant surgery changed
Transplants from the deceased have been carried out in hospitals across the globe for decades, but in some countries in the Middle East, including the UAE, the practise was banned until relatively recently.
Opinion has been divided as to whether organ donations from a deceased person is permissible in Islam.
The body is viewed as sacred, during and after death, thus prohibiting cremation and tattoos.
One school of thought viewed the removal of organs after death as equally impermissible.
That view has largely changed, and among scholars and indeed many in society, to be seen as permissible to save another life.
Married Malala
Malala Yousafzai is enjoying married life, her father said.
The 24-year-old married Pakistan cricket executive Asser Malik last year in a small ceremony in the UK.
Ziauddin Yousafzai told The National his daughter was ‘very happy’ with her husband.
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
If you go...
Fly from Dubai or Abu Dhabi to Chiang Mai in Thailand, via Bangkok, before taking a five-hour bus ride across the Laos border to Huay Xai. The land border crossing at Huay Xai is a well-trodden route, meaning entry is swift, though travellers should be aware of visa requirements for both countries.
Flights from Dubai start at Dh4,000 return with Emirates, while Etihad flights from Abu Dhabi start at Dh2,000. Local buses can be booked in Chiang Mai from around Dh50
Essentials
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct from the UAE to Geneva from Dh2,845 return, including taxes. The flight takes 6 hours.
The package
Clinique La Prairie offers a variety of programmes. A six-night Master Detox costs from 14,900 Swiss francs (Dh57,655), including all food, accommodation and a set schedule of medical consultations and spa treatments.
Silent Hill f
Publisher: Konami
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Rating: 4.5/5
High profile Al Shabab attacks
- 2010: A restaurant attack in Kampala Uganda kills 74 people watching a Fifa World Cup final football match.
- 2013: The Westgate shopping mall attack, 62 civilians, five Kenyan soldiers and four gunmen are killed.
- 2014: A series of bombings and shootings across Kenya sees scores of civilians killed.
- 2015: Four gunmen attack Garissa University College in northeastern Kenya and take over 700 students hostage, killing those who identified as Christian; 148 die and 79 more are injured.
- 2016: An attack on a Kenyan military base in El Adde Somalia kills 180 soldiers.
- 2017: A suicide truck bombing outside the Safari Hotel in Mogadishu kills 587 people and destroys several city blocks, making it the deadliest attack by the group and the worst in Somalia’s history.
Results:
Men's 100m T34: 1. Walid Ktila (TUN) 15 sec; 2. Rheed McCracken (AUS) 15.40; 3. Mohammed Al Hammadi (UAE) 15.75. Men's 400m T34: 1. Walid Ktila (TUN) 50.56; 2. Mohammed Al Hammadi (UAE) 50.94; 3. Henry Manni (FIN) 52.24.
Pearls on a Branch: Oral Tales
Najlaa Khoury, Archipelago Books
First Person
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Chatto & Windus
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