From Al Ain to the world: Syrian singer-songwriter Ghaliaa finds success without compromise

As the Israeli military's bombardments of Gaza intensified in October 2023, Syrian singer Ghaliaa Chaker got on a plane and headed to the Jordanian capital Amman. There, she gathered with two dozen of her peers across the Arab world in a studio to record Rajieen, a Palestinian solidarity anthem and plaintive call for peace.

“That was the fastest project I’ve ever worked on,” she tells The National. “I got the call from [Jordanian music producer] Nasir Al Bashir and when he explained the concept, I was like ‘yes, I am all in'.”

Featuring an eclectic array of artists, from Egyptian hip-hop heavyweights Afroto and Marwan Pablo to Jordanian viral sensation Issam Alnajjar, Ghaliaa, who is more popularly known by her first name, remembers not knowing everyone in the room. Not that it mattered, because it was all about the collective spirit for a worthy cause.

“We were 25 people, just listening, giving ideas. We seriously crafted this whole thing in two days," she recalls. "We filmed for almost 26 hours in this huge warehouse, and we were all sitting, eating and sleeping in the same place because we just wanted to finish the song and put it out.”

That same instinct and conviction has shaped Ghaliaa’s rise from a little-known singer-songwriter in Al Ain to a regional favourite. Her Saturday concert at the Dubai World Trade Centre will be followed by a headline slot at Beirut’s Aley Festival on July 18.

Born to Syrian parents, she recalls a childhood in Al Ain, dubbed the UAE’s Garden City, where music inspired and was practiced.

“My dad just loved everything about music. He specifically loved Umm Kulthum and he would play her songs every night before we went to sleep,” Ghaliaa says. “He would bring home different instruments, from drums to violin and even a saxophone. These were my toys, literally.”

Her mother, a fan of western pop such as The Beach Boys and The Beatles, preferred Ghaliaa’s music passion to remain a hobby and take up a more "secure career" as a psychologist.

While she may have graduated with a degree in communications, the real education came at home. She built her own bedroom studio and signed up for online masterclasses by producer Timbaland and singer Charlie Puth. “I was a nerd. I spent so much time on the laptop. I consumed a lot of information. I studied a lot, watched a lot of videos. I signed up for a bunch of courses. I just kept going.”

The move to Dubai to pursue a full-time music career, including appearing in many of the city’s open-mic nights, had an inauspicious start. “I visited all the labels that were in Dubai at the time and there weren’t many,” she says. “It was a very hopeless situation for me and I remember thinking: 'Am I even in the right place? Should I fly somewhere else to do this, or should I just stick to mass comm?'”

Her early singles, such as 2019’s Why, were written in English, built around minimal and atmospheric production and emotionally direct lyrics that would go on to define her craft. However, what caught people’s attention wasn’t the material, but her image.

“I think me being this songwriter, who happened to wear a hijab was super new to them,” she says. “While I felt the music was easy to relate to, once people started putting a face to the song, that’s when the shock came.”

Criticism and ill advice followed from the industry and the internet. “Sometimes it would be about the way I wear my hijab. Sometimes I’d hear that maybe I should cover my tattoos or show more skin. It was always: 'how about you do this, how about you try that',” she says.

“And you know what, it’s so freaking tempting to say yes ‘I can do that’ because these people in the industry know exactly what to say to make you say yes.”

It was enough for Ghaliaa to retreat to her own circle of friends and collaborators and double down on her approach. As a result, her confidence grew to meld her evocative songwriting with Arabic lyricism. The results were a string of winning tracks such as A’bali and Elak w Bass that would eventually get the attention of US record label Empire, who Ghaliaa says encouraged her to be herself.

Even with her new release Orchestra Sessions, a collection of original works lavishly reimagined by the all-female Firdaus Orchestra, Ghaliaa says she is still drawn towards the stripped-back sounds found in some of the UAE’s smaller music venues.

“I still go to these open mics and look forward to the feeling of being surprised,” she says. “I am telling you there is still so much talent out there who are working hard for the opportunity to be found.”

Ghaliaa will perform at Dubai World Trade Centre on Saturday as part of the Beat the Heat DXB concert series. Show starts at 6pm; tickets cost from Dh105