Qatar
‘Like football, music connects and unifies...I want to inspire girls and women across the region’
‘Like football, music connects and unifies...I want to inspire girls and women across the region’
* How did you feel performing alongside Davido and Trinidad?It was very surreal. I would say it was a dream come true, but I like I said, I never thought I would ever be able to sing with such big stars in the industry at such an early stage of my career. As you can imagine, everything has been very fast-paced and very unexpected, but it has been a blessing. I felt very proud and excited to be able to work with distinguished artists from the industry.* Tell us about how you felt while performing during the Final Draw.Performing in front of that many people, and this is excluding the people who were watching from around the world, is naturally scary for anyone. Leading up to the performance, I felt very nervous. What helped was the morning before the performance was the release of the song, so I was occupied with the positive reception we were getting. I was ecstatic and it made me feel calmer about the performance. It is my first song to ever be released so that made it even more meaningful for me. Before going on stage, as expected, my heart was beating fast. I was both nervous and excited. So I took a deep breath and let the adrenaline rush take over. When I got on stage, I just connected with the music and began feeling more confident. From there, it became a completely different experience. I was just enjoying every minute of it.
* What do you hope audiences from around the world learned about Qatar through your work?I hope that this song starts a new narrative about Qatar being a hub of talent and a place where people can be and are creative. I also hope it shifts any negative perspectives people might have about the region and gives them a closer look into our culture and traditions, and also highlights the great strides we are making on the global stage. Everybody on stage that day was representing Qatar to the world. I am confident that this performance has made people more excited about coming here.
* What impact do you hope your involvement makes in the region and around the world?Having a Qatari woman featured in a World Cup song is a huge step for the country as well as the whole world because it's something that hasn't been done before. An entire album for the World Cup is also something that hasn't been done before. This soundtrack is no exception to Qatar's promise to break the status quo and amaze the world. I hope that my involvement inspires girls and women in the region, or any other artist out there that might have the same aspirations as me, to reach upwards. I want girls and women around the world to look at my achievements and say: 'if it's possible for her, it can also be for me’. Additionally, I hope my contribution to the song will add a different flavour to the music industry. The song is definitely not something that the world is used to hearing, so I'm hoping that it opens up a new genre of music that includes Arabic voices and their stories.
* What has the reaction to the song been like?It’s been amazing. As I mentioned, because this is the first song I've ever been featured on, I was really curious to see how it was doing. I spent some time going through comments and I was thrilled to see how much people liked it. It was incredibly rewarding and it makes me more excited to share my own music soon. My family and friends have been also been very supportive and loving. It's funny because I couldn't disclose that I was doing this until the release, so many of my friends were very surprised to find out that I was a part of this project.'Hayya Hayya (Better Together)', released by Def Jam Recordings and produced by RedOne, is streaming on all platforms. One can watch the full music video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7X9UfcDj1gM