Loading ...Saad Lamjarred Breaking the Record in the Middle East and North Africa with 100M Views on YouTube in 3 Months
Super Stars BioBy: Ala Abed-Rabbo/Arab America Contributing Writer
Saad Lamjarred
Born on April 7, 1985, Saad Lamjarred is a Moroccan pop singer-songwriter, record producer, and dancer. In 2007, season four, he took part in Super Star, a broadly popular Arab talent TV show, and was came in second place; his contribution earned him popularity.
He is best recognized for his Moroccan Darija vocals, which is most common among the Moroccan Arabic population.
Moreover, in 2011, in a Moroccan soap opera, Ahlam Nassim, Lamjarred began his acting career by playing the male lead. Soon after, in 2013, he released an album, labeled Wala Aalik (Do not Worry). During the same year, he released two more Extended Play Records, specifically “Salina” and “Enty.”
The title song of the concluding, “Enty,” became one of Lamjarred’s major hits and in 2014, gained him an award at the Méditel Morocco Music Award. Also, a nomination for the Best Middle East Act at the 2014 MTV Europe Music Awards.
Lamjarred Breaks the Record in the Middle East and North Africa
Al BawabaBecause of his released song on May 2, 2015, “Lm3allem” (“The Boss”), Saad is also the holder of a Guinness World Record. It was the first song to break 100M views in less than three months. His musical legacy also involves two other multi-million view hits.
In six months, his YouTube channel has grown by +500K subscribers and amassed more than 182M views. “Lm3allem” is the top viewed Arabic song on YouTube, with over 785 million views as of 2019.
Saad Lamjarred’s Fame Journey
He studied music theory at the National Conservatory of Music in Rabat, Morocco. He launched his journey singing his father’s songs.
In 2007, after placing second place on “Arab Super Star,” Saad spent a few years in the U.S., performing famous Arabic songs in nightclubs and restaurants in Washington D.C. and New York before returning to Morocco to build his career.
Moreover, fast-forward, more than a decade later, and Saad Lamjarred, 34, is one of the most popular vocalists in North Africa. In the Middle East, he has a strong fan base because of blending the Moroccan dialect with a style of classical Arabic that is not often used by famous singers. However, it is merely comprehensible across the Arab world.
Saad’s Song Fusions
His song “Enty” fuses a khaliji dance and a call to the Saudi community that showcased his work to a larger Arab audience. When producing “Lm3allem,” Lamjarred mixed both traditional and modern with national and international types by introducing his track with khaliji beats (preference in the Persian Gulf) and dub step inspirations. This new technique granted him to cross borders, first to an enlarged Arab community, and then further across many countries.
Popularizing Moroccan Music
Al Arabiya EnglishSaad’s approach to attracting his fan base is through the easiness of the words and the music and the composition of his songs. He tries to make easy music, so the young, the old, and everyone understands and dances to it.
Moreover, Saad has promoted Moroccan music by clearing the language barrier and focusing on a wider audience. Lamjarred is a trained dancer that appeals to the millennials. His dance skills fuse hip-hop, pop, and rock-and-roll with North African and Eastern tones and beats.
The Western Influence
On March 9, 2018, Saad released the song “Ghazali” (“Beautiful One”). The music video included a dance featuring a Michael Jackson look-alike, traditional Moroccan clothes, and jeans-clad performers. Within two days, it drew the attention of five million viewers days and has more than 172M as of 2019.
Saad sang “Ghazali” in his native language, which intends to highlight and honor the beauty of Moroccan women. He worked hard for the release of the song to spread a smile on his fans’ faces. It was filmed in Paris and featured short scenes focusing on the late ‘King of Pop’ singer Michael Jackson.
Singing in French and Collaborating with Arab Artists
Lamjarred’s musical style is very versatile. On July 31, 2018, he released his song, “Casablanca,” in which he sings in French. He also sang English lyrics in his song, “Let Go.”
Also, on November 9, 2019, the song “Ensay” (“Forget”), was released. He collaborated with the famous Egyptian actor and singer Mohamed Ramadan. In the music video, Mohammad Ramadan portrays a chef at a restaurant in Paris, and his friend Saad is a waiter as both are surprised when they see their former lovers with other men.
The song “Ensay,” is sung by Saad in the Moroccan while Ramadan sings in the Egyptian dialect.