Melhem Barakat
Encyclopedia
Melhem Barakat also known as Melhim Barakat, is a Lebanese singer and song-writer. He is nicknamed by his fans as Abou Majd. Melhem Barakat started his career back in the 1960s, Barakat has arguebly established a genre of his own in both the way he sings and composes, which makes him one of the most esteemed and popular stars in Lebanon today. He has toured Australia
, South America
, Canada
and the USA.
, Jordan
and Lebanon
.
Barakat started singing more than thirty years ago. Barakat participated as an actor and singer in many of the Rahbanis'
musicals, to some Lebanese even saying he has established himself as one of the strongest voices in the country.
He also appeared in many Lebanese movies back in the 1980s. Melhem Barakat hit song from the 80s was called Kboush El Touti and Wahdi Ana (I am alone).
During the 90s Melhem Barakat acted with Lebanese dancer Dani Boustros in a Lebanese theatre play entitled Wemsheet Bee Tariki (I walked my way).
Since the year 2000 Melhem Barakat had several hit songs, such as Habibi Enta, which was later sung by his ex-wife May Hariri
. He has also collaborated with current famous singers such as Najwa Karam
, Karol Sakr
, Shatha Hassoun
, Majida El Roumi
.
, Lebanon.
Melhem Barakat grew up with the sound of Egyptian composer and singer Mohammed Abdel Wahab
. Still a child, Melhem many people around him thought he showed a special talent while singing in school parties. One day, he composed a text from the school journal and sang it first before his classmates and teachers who appreciated a lot his performance and then before leader names of Lebanese musical scene who considered he was an exceptional talent and a charming voice.
Melhem Barakat career was a series of successes. His best works were “Amarine”, “Abouha Radi”, “Farah Ennass” and “Habibi Inta”.
Later on, he entered the Rahbani school that married western classical and folk music with old Lebanese traditional gigs and gave birth to numerous artists.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and the USA.
Career
Melhem Barakat mainly performs in colloquial Lebanese, a feat he has always defended, criticizing his fellow Lebanese peers for favouring the egyptian dialect for commercial purposes. Although his popularity is rather modest in Egypt, where non Egyptian music material generally receives lukewarm mass appeal, Melhem has achieved huge stardom in most Arab world countries, most notably in SyriaSyria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
, Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
and Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
.
Barakat started singing more than thirty years ago. Barakat participated as an actor and singer in many of the Rahbanis'
Rahbani brothers
The Rahbani Brothers , Assi Rahbani and Mansour Rahbani , were Lebanese composers, musicians, songwriters, authors, playwrights/dramatists, philosophers, and poets...
musicals, to some Lebanese even saying he has established himself as one of the strongest voices in the country.
He also appeared in many Lebanese movies back in the 1980s. Melhem Barakat hit song from the 80s was called Kboush El Touti and Wahdi Ana (I am alone).
During the 90s Melhem Barakat acted with Lebanese dancer Dani Boustros in a Lebanese theatre play entitled Wemsheet Bee Tariki (I walked my way).
Since the year 2000 Melhem Barakat had several hit songs, such as Habibi Enta, which was later sung by his ex-wife May Hariri
May Hariri
May Hariri is a Lebanese actress born on December 24, 1972 to a Shia Muslim family in South Lebanon. She is a Lebanese pop artist as well as an actor. She is the ex-wife of singer Melhem Barakat....
. He has also collaborated with current famous singers such as Najwa Karam
Najwa Karam
Najwa Karam is a Multi-Platinum, Best-Selling Lebanese Arab recording artist and Philanthropist. Najwa, widely known for her Mawwal and other musical talents, has surpassed musical and political limits in building her Empire, as she has effectively helped change the Arabic music industry in its...
, Karol Sakr
Karol Sakr
Karol Etienne Sakr also known as Karol Sakr is a famous Lebanese female singer, who was most known for her English songs back in the 1990s. She is the daughter of the Lebanese exiled politician Etienne Sakr, a former member of the Lebanese Forces and leader of the far-right Guardians of the Cedars...
, Shatha Hassoun
Shatha Hassoun
Shada Amjad Nasser Hassoun Alshamery better known as Shatha Hassoun is an Arabic singer from both Iraqi and Moroccan ancestry, who rose to fame as the winner of the 4th season of the pan-Arab television talent show Star Academy Arab World. She was the first female to win the competition...
, Majida El Roumi
Majida El Roumi
Magida El-Roumi was born in Kfarshima, Lebanon, on December 13, 1956. She is a Lebanese singer and a soprano, who started her musical career in the early 1970s when she participated in the talent show, Studio El Fan on Télé Liban and won the gold medal for best female singer...
.
Biography
Melhem Barakat, a Lebanese singer, was born in 1945 in KfarshimaKfarshima
Kfarshima is a town in the Baabda District of the Mount Lebanon Governorate, southeast of Beirut. Kfarshima is the birthplace of the composer and musician, Philemon Wehbi and the singers Melhem Barakat and Majida El Roumi. Also the Birthplace of the Philosopher Shibli Shmayyel...
, Lebanon.
Melhem Barakat grew up with the sound of Egyptian composer and singer Mohammed Abdel Wahab
Mohammed Abdel Wahab
Mohammed Abdel Wahab , also transliterated Mohammed Abd el-Wahaab was a prominent 20th-century Arab Egyptian singer and composer...
. Still a child, Melhem many people around him thought he showed a special talent while singing in school parties. One day, he composed a text from the school journal and sang it first before his classmates and teachers who appreciated a lot his performance and then before leader names of Lebanese musical scene who considered he was an exceptional talent and a charming voice.
Melhem Barakat career was a series of successes. His best works were “Amarine”, “Abouha Radi”, “Farah Ennass” and “Habibi Inta”.
Later on, he entered the Rahbani school that married western classical and folk music with old Lebanese traditional gigs and gave birth to numerous artists.