Saudi pop star Mishaal Tamer feels ‘honored and grateful’ ahead of sold-out London gig

Mishaal Tamer is a Saudi singer. (Supplied)
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Updated 17 May 2024
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Saudi pop star Mishaal Tamer feels ‘honored and grateful’ ahead of sold-out London gig

  • Singer tells Arab News his fans in the city have a special place in his heart but he owes his success to people all over the world who have embraced his music
  • He says his debut album, “Home is Changing,” out in October, is a tribute to the changes and reforms that have swept through the Kingdom in recent years

LONDON: Saudi singer Mishaal Tamer said he feels honored to be performing his first headline show outside Saudi Arabia in London and is grateful to his fans there for their support.

Speaking to Arab News ahead of his sold-out gig on Friday at Camden Assembly, a live music venue and nightclub in Chalk Farm, Tamer said his fans in London will always have a special place in his heart.

“The people attending the show in London have been with me from before the starting line and I really appreciate that,” he said of the 220 people who will attend the event. “I will love those people forever and they will be in my heart forever.”

Tamer also thanked his fans in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere in the world, saying he owes his success as an independent artist to them.

“The kids that are back home and the ones abroad that have found me have been supporting me,” he said. “This would be impossible without them. I am grateful to the fans for listening to the music and sharing it.

He told how he was approached by two fans in a restaurant after arriving in the UK, which helped him realize how his profile was growing.

“One of them was Saudi, the other wasn’t,” Tamer said. “When I looked at that, it made me realize that not only was this bigger than I expected for me, as an artist, but that what we’re doing is bigger than me.”

His debut album, “Home is Changing,” is due for release in October and he said it is a tribute to the changes and reforms that swept through the Kingdom in recent years.

“There are so many opportunities that keep popping up, so many cool new things,” he added. “People have the freedom and creativity to make the world around them and the environment around them, to shape it into what they see in their heads.

“It feels almost like every other country is decaying whereas the Kingdom is growing and that feeling makes me proud.”

The evolution of Saudi Arabia “sets an example of always being hopeful for the future and having a positive attitude,” Tamer said. “And I think the optimism that we have right now in the Kingdom is a beautiful thing.”


Jessica Kahawaty to narrate London concert paying tribute to Arab music icons

Updated 24 February 2026
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Jessica Kahawaty to narrate London concert paying tribute to Arab music icons

DUBAI: Australian Lebanese model and entrepreneur Jessica Kahawaty this week announced that she will serve as the storyteller for “A Night With The Legends,” a one-night musical tribute celebrating iconic women of Arabic music, taking place at London’s Royal Albert Hall on March 5.

Kahawaty will portray Scheherazade and deliver spoken narration during the program.

The evening will pay tribute to the legacies of Umm Kulthum, Fairuz, Warda, Sabah, Asmahan and Layla Mourad.

Vocals will be performed by Lebanese vocalist Abeer Nehme, accompanied by the UK-based London Arab Orchestra under the direction of conductor Basel Saleh, alongside the London-based Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra. The program will also feature a 70-member all-female choir.

“I’m incredibly humbled,” Kahawaty wrote to her 1.8 million followers on Instagram. “As storyteller, I’ll be weaving history, memory and meaning into the musical experience in a one-night tribute celebrating the iconic women of the golden era of Arabic music.”

“I cannot wait to see you all there,” she added.

Kahawaty is also an entrepreneur. She co-founded fine jewelry label Kahawaty Jewels with her father, master jeweler Ghassan Kahawaty, launching the Dubai-based brand last year as a continuation of the family’s longstanding craftsmanship tradition.

“I grew up watching my father in his jewelry trade. I saw how happy he made people when he created these beautiful pieces,” Kahawaty previously told Arab News. “I’ve always wanted to continue my father’s legacy and my grandfather’s trade. I felt like this is the perfect time to launch Kahawaty Jewels in Dubai, which is a city I’ve been in for over 13 years.”

Kahawaty and her mother are also behind UAE-based food delivery business Mama Rita. In July last year, the pair expanded the venture with the launch of a cookbook, which featured a cover endorsement from Hollywood actress and producer Courteney Cox.

Writing on Instagram at the time, Kahawaty said: “The moment we held the Mama Rita cookbook in our hands for the very first time … after two years of pouring our hearts into it. And we’re beyond thrilled to share a special surprise on the cover — a quote from the one and only (Courteney Cox). Her iconic role as Monica in ‘Friends’ — the talented chef, perfectionist and loving control freak — mirrors so much of the dynamic between mum and me. And her true persona is even more beautiful, warm and generous.”