Kuwaiti singer Hassan (second left), Sheikh Duaij Al-Khalifa (third left) and Manager Rabab Mouhamad Hamadi (right) are seen cutting the cake during the press conference

Kuwaiti singer Hassan released his first single “ Ba’aalak Dam’ah” (one tear left for you). This announcement came during a press conference held on Saturday at Sheraton Hotel, which was attended by large media presence and Shiekh Duag Al-KHalifa. During the press conference, Hassan spoke in details about his single, the music video and his new works that are still in production.

When he was only nine years old, 18 year old Hassan used to sing many of the inveterate majestic Arabic songs of Um Kulthoom, Mohammed Abdul Wahab, Fairooz, Thekra, Warda, Mayyada Al-Hennawi, Mohammed Abdo, Abdul kareem Abdul Qadir, Abu Bakr Salem and others. Hassan also sings in many accents and languages like Turkish, French and English. He adores singing for Dalida, Nina Simone and other foreign singing stars. He learnt their style so well that he became professional.

Currently he is a student at the American Baccalaureate School of Kuwait but also studied in USA where he has recently won in an inter-state school opera singing competition in which seven states took part. He returned to Kuwait with that award and ever since his father decided that he should go into singing. Kuwait Times had the pleasure to speak with Hassan in an exclusive interview. Some excerpts from the interview.

KT: How old are you when you started singing?

Hassan: I started singing when I was nine years old .

KT: Was is it easy for you to get support from your family?

Hassan: Absolutely, my family is my number one support system financially and emotionally.

KT: Who was your inspiration?

Hassan: My inspiration was actually a lot of people that motivated me to do the best. I don’t have a specific person.

KT: Do you play any musical instrument?

Hassan: No, I don’t play but I’m planning to take lessons to play the piano soon.

KT: What does singing and music mean to you?

Hassan: Everything, I was preparing myself to be a singer for five years now. I went to the USA to study abroad and I won the first place in the national competition in seven states and I was the first non-American to win this prize in years.

KT: In how many languages do you sing?

Hassan: I sing in four languages . French, English, Turkish and Arabic.

KT: Do you prefer to sing in English or Arabic

Hassan: I actually enjoy singing in both because every language has its own rhythm and spirit.

KT: Other than singing what are your hobbies?

Hassan: I used to ride horses for about nine years and I love swimming and skiing too.

KT: Who is your favorite artist? And which artist would you like to follow his path?

Hassan: I love Majed Al-Mohandis because he does not only have an amazing voice but also he have a great personality , very modern and he is very classy in his choices in everything he does.

KT: If you can collaborate with any artist who would it be?

Hassan: I would love to collaborate with Myriam Fares, Sherine Abdulawahab, Angham and Asala.

KT: Tell us more about your single? What is it about?

Hassan: My single is called “Ba’aalak Dam’ah” which means “one tear left for you”. It’s about a person talking to his lover and asking him to walk away because he couldn’t bare it anymore. The music composer is Fahad Al-Nasser, written by Abdullah Al-Omani and the video clip was directed by Abdullah Al-Arrak and produced by my father Bader Al-Attar.

KT: Tell us more about the your video clip.

Hassan: It was directed by Abdullah Al-Arrak and I loved the collaboration with him because he is a real artist and extremely creative. We wanted to go out of the box and shoot the video like we were in Broadway. We had extreme make up for the dancers and the backup actors. Arrak used high quality technology while directing the music video, showing me in a special way based on a simple yet deep method. He was able to give the music video a dimension despite its simple idea.

KT: Who was your designer in the video clip?

Hassan: I had two designers, Fahad Al-Ayoubi and Nizar Romani. They were quite humble and great to work with.

KT: What are your future plans and dreams and where do you hope to reach?

Hassan: I hope that I can make a difference in music industry today because as we all know we are facing a new generation of music and everyone is starting to forget the old school songs. So, in my next move I will try to mix the both worlds in my music in which everyone can relate to it.

KT: When can we expect to hear another song from you?

Hassan: I hope in the coming months i will be recording a new song with a video clip. I still didn’t choose anything.

“Ba’aalak Dam’ah” (one tear left for you), is set to be broadcasted on ‘Qanawati’ and other radio stations, including Marina FM. Hassan is scheduled to meet with various composers and poets from all over the Arab world to select his next song. He said that he met with several writers, and will select some songs to release next year.

By Sahar Moussa