Hussain Al Jassmi has come a long way from humble beginnings in the coastal town of Khor Fakkan, to becoming the first Arab performer to take to the stage at the world’s newest opera house.
This is just the latest highlight of an illustrious career that has spanned 20 years of constant hits.
The Emirati singer and composer attributes his success – he is, perhaps, the UAE’s most popular musical exports and one of the Middle East’s top-selling artists, and has more than 500 million YouTube views – to a passing remark made to him by Sheikh Zayed, the founding President of the UAE.
“It’s my most treasured piece of advice,” says Al Jassmi. “Sheikh Zayed, God rest his soul, said to me: ‘The artist reflects the culture and civilisation of his homeland wherever he goes.’
“He said those words to me when I performed in front of him the first time, not knowing I would get to meet him. His words in that moment became symbolic of the start of my journey and, to me, still serve as a beacon to guide me wherever I go.”
Al Jassmi's voice often breaks with emotion when he speaks about Sheikh Zayed – you can also hear his voice tremble on his 2005 single Zayed in Our Heart, the first song he released after taking a year off from the stage to mourn Sheikh Zayed's death.
This inherent sensitivity has become his trademark to some extent– his voice is characterised by its emotional depth. Listeners can believe Al Jassmi is able to feel absolutely everything – no song is sung without bucketloads of feeling.
In 2008, only six years after releasing his first album, Al Jasmi won a Murex D'Or award for Best Arab Male Singer. He was popular as a judge during the third season of The X Factor Arabia, and was appointed Ambassador of Creativity and Ambassador for Arab Culture in the UAE.
He is also a UN Goodwill Ambassador, and actively promotes the benefits of a healthy lifestyle among youth, speaking publicly about his own weight-loss journey and gastric-bypass surgery.
There really was no other choice when choosing the first Emirati – and the first Arab – to perform at Dubai Opera. He is the first port of call for anyone interested in learning about contemporary music from the Gulf. He is a master of his game, thanks to an ability to fuse musical genres – elements from traditional Arab pop, 1990s R&B and even acid jazz are all present on his first three albums – and seamlessly shift from singing in his native Emirati dialect to Egyptian, Moroccan Rai and even in English.
Al Jassmi's rise to fame began when he won the reality show Layali Dubai during the Dubai Shopping Festival in 1997 and 1998. He released his first album four years later. His unique sound blended elements of bossa nova, soul and funk with traditional Khaleeji music.
Unlike most of his contemporaries, Al Jasmi was chronically overweight, at his heaviest weighing in at 184kg. In a regional music industry dominated by a new generation of singers who rely more on their looks than their talent, Al Jassmi stood out, and his music did the talking.
When he took time off in 2010 for weight-loss surgery and returned 60kg lighter, Al Jassmi was already an established success – but despite this, he insists he is a simple man at heart, and regularly returns to his family home in Khor Fakkan. “I am used to simplicity, and at home, we still live it,” he says. “Khor Fakkan is my ideal vacation place. I still go back home to the simple life and simple food with my friends and family and the people I grew up with, I go back every week if I can.”
He also has clear ideas about he best way to live life.
“‘Whatever makes you sad, leave it. Whatever makes you happy or makes you smile, keep it. This is one of my favourite English sayings,” he says. “If you do work that you are honest about, from your heart, it will achieve success. Maybe the success will not come tomorrow, but it will come.”
• Hussain Al Jassmi is at Dubai Opera tomorrow at 9pm. Ticket prices start at Dh500 from www.dubaiopera.com
artslife@thenational.ae
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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UK%20-%20UAE%20Trade
%3Cp%3ETotal%20trade%20in%20goods%20and%20services%20(exports%20plus%20imports)%20between%20the%20UK%20and%20the%20UAE%20in%202022%20was%20%C2%A321.6%20billion%20(Dh98%20billion).%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EThis%20is%20an%20increase%20of%2063.0%20per%20cent%20or%20%C2%A38.3%20billion%20in%20current%20prices%20from%20the%20four%20quarters%20to%20the%20end%20of%202021.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EThe%20UAE%20was%20the%20UK%E2%80%99s%2019th%20largest%20trading%20partner%20in%20the%20four%20quarters%20to%20the%20end%20of%20Q4%202022%20accounting%20for%201.3%20per%20cent%20of%20total%20UK%20trade.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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'My Son'
Director: Christian Carion
Starring: James McAvoy, Claire Foy, Tom Cullen, Gary Lewis
Rating: 2/5
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Where to buy art books in the UAE
There are a number of speciality art bookshops in the UAE.
In Dubai, The Lighthouse at Dubai Design District has a wonderfully curated selection of art and design books. Alserkal Avenue runs a pop-up shop at their A4 space, and host the art-book fair Fully Booked during Art Week in March. The Third Line, also in Alserkal Avenue, has a strong book-publishing arm and sells copies at its gallery. Kinokuniya, at Dubai Mall, has some good offerings within its broad selection, and you never know what you will find at the House of Prose in Jumeirah. Finally, all of Gulf Photo Plus’s photo books are available for sale at their show.
In Abu Dhabi, Louvre Abu Dhabi has a beautiful selection of catalogues and art books, and Magrudy’s – across the Emirates, but particularly at their NYU Abu Dhabi site – has a great selection in art, fiction and cultural theory.
In Sharjah, the Sharjah Art Museum sells catalogues and art books at its museum shop, and the Sharjah Art Foundation has a bookshop that offers reads on art, theory and cultural history.
Company%20profile
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COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
How to report a beggar
Abu Dhabi – Call 999 or 8002626 (Aman Service)
Dubai – Call 800243
Sharjah – Call 065632222
Ras Al Khaimah - Call 072053372
Ajman – Call 067401616
Umm Al Quwain – Call 999
Fujairah - Call 092051100 or 092224411
Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
The specs: 2017 Ford F-150 Raptor
Price, base / as tested Dh220,000 / Dh320,000
Engine 3.5L V6
Transmission 10-speed automatic
Power 421hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque 678Nm @ 3,750rpm
Fuel economy, combined 14.1L / 100km
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
TERMINAL HIGH ALTITUDE AREA DEFENCE (THAAD)
What is THAAD?
It is considered to be the US's most superior missile defence system.
Production:
It was created in 2008.
Speed:
THAAD missiles can travel at over Mach 8, so fast that it is hypersonic.
Abilities:
THAAD is designed to take out ballistic missiles as they are on their downward trajectory towards their target, otherwise known as the "terminal phase".
Purpose:
To protect high-value strategic sites, such as airfields or population centres.
Range:
THAAD can target projectiles inside and outside the Earth's atmosphere, at an altitude of 150 kilometres above the Earth's surface.
Creators:
Lockheed Martin was originally granted the contract to develop the system in 1992. Defence company Raytheon sub-contracts to develop other major parts of the system, such as ground-based radar.
UAE and THAAD:
In 2011, the UAE became the first country outside of the US to buy two THAAD missile defence systems. It then stationed them in 2016, becoming the first Gulf country to do so.
T20 World Cup Qualifier fixtures
Tuesday, October 29
Qualifier one, 2.10pm – Netherlands v UAE
Qualifier two, 7.30pm – Namibia v Oman
Wednesday, October 30
Qualifier three, 2.10pm – Scotland v loser of qualifier one
Qualifier four, 7.30pm – Hong Kong v loser of qualifier two
Thursday, October 31
Fifth-place playoff, 2.10pm – winner of qualifier three v winner of qualifier four
Friday, November 1
Semi-final one, 2.10pm – Ireland v winner of qualifier one
Semi-final two, 7.30pm – PNG v winner of qualifier two
Saturday, November 2
Third-place playoff, 2.10pm
Final, 7.30pm