Mayssa Karaa releases Netla'a Bi Beirut, her second single in two months

The new song by the artistic director of Berklee Abu Dhabi can be interpreted as a nostalgic anthem for her city of birth

Mayssa Karaa, the artistic director of Berklee Abu Dhabi, is an alumni of the Berklee College of Music. DCT

Mayssa Karaa has released a new single, and it is as much a love song as it is a nostalgic ode to Beirut.

Netla'a Bi Beirut was released across the Grammy-nominated singer’s streaming platforms on Wednesday. An official video was also posted on YouTube, directed by Lebanese filmmaker Elie Fahed and featuring sweeping shots of the alleys and rooftops of Beirut.

The song’s title, Netla'a Bi Beirut, translates as We’ll meet in Beirut. Fuelled by longing, the lyrics hint at a relationship grown weary by distance and hopeful reconciliation in Beirut.

The video reflects this sense of reconciliation with solitary individuals who meet and embrace by the end of the song. Netla'a Bi Beirut can also be regarded as a yearning for the city as it was before the mounting economic pressures and the 2020 port blast.

“Where shall we meet?” Karaa – who is also the artistic director of Berklee Abu Dhabi – asks as the song opens with a musing string section. “There’s a distance that separates us. Believe me, I can’t wait for us to reunite.”

Netla'a Bi Beirut is the second song by Karaa to come out in the past two months. On May 19, she released El Adar Byekhtar (Fate Chooses), a reimagining of My Favorite Things from the 1959 Broadway musical The Sound of Music.

In 2021, Karaa took part in the Expo 2020 Dubai opening ceremony, sharing the stage with Arab pop king Hussain Al Jassmi and fellow Emirati rising talent Almas to perform the event's official anthem, This Is Our Time.