Review Fix chats with singer/songwriter Jaafar, who discusses his new single “Sixteen†and more. A member of the Jordanian royal family and quickly climbing the Billboard Top 40, Jaafar charts about his goals for the future as well.
Review Fix: What have the last few months been like for you?
Jaafar: These last few months have been especially busy for me. Between finishing up the album and finding the time to rehearse for the shows I’ve been playing. It’s been hectic, but I love it.
Review Fix: How important is success in the United States for you?
Jaafar: America is a great platform for musicians to get recognized globally and have their music be heard. This album, in terms of subject matter, is very relevant to what’s going on around the world right now. I’m hoping people will connect to that aspect of it and not just to its sonic attraction. Even for people who are a little bit more removed from, or oblivious to what’s going on in the world, perhaps open their eyes to it a little.
Review Fix: What acts inspire you?
Jaafar: I grew up listening to Middle Eastern music, that’s my first love. I’ve also always been intrigued by Rai music too which originates from Algeria. Cheb Mami is one of the most incredible singers in the world; it blows my mind what he can do. He and Sting did a song called ‘Desert Rose’ together, and that opened my eyes to Rock. After I heard that song I started listening to The Police, Tom Petty, The Beatles. Sonically, I’ve always been drawn to Eastern music, but my songwriting is also heavily inspired by Western pop and rock.
Review Fix: What songs do you love but are ashamed to admit because no one would expect it?
Jaafar: I’m not ashamed to admit that I quite like ‘Shake it off’ by Taylor Swift. It’s a great pop song and I like that it’s a feel-good song and has a great message. I think that might not be something people expected.
Review Fix: What do you think makes you special?
Jaafar: I make music that I myself would like to listen to, and it comes from a real place. I think that authenticity, as well as the allure and mystery of fusing Middle Eastern music into my songs, are things that people are responding to.
Review Fix: How was “16” written?
Jaafar: The hook to Sixteen actually started out as a verse in another song I had written. When I took it into the studio to start recording it, my producer suggested we make that the chorus, and so I wrote a new verse and we kind of took it from there. Lyrically, it tells of a Sixteen-year-old girl in a war-stricken country who’s dreaming of making it to her seventeenth and eighteenth birthdays. It’s a heavy subject, but I tried to make ‘Layla’, who represents every girl and every child in the same situation, hopeful instead of demoralized.
Review Fix: How do you want this song to affect people?
Jaafar: I hope that my song can open people’s eyes and hearts to what’s going on around the world.
Review Fix: Bottom line, why should someone listen to your music?
Jaafar: A song is like a person, in that the way it sounds equates to physical appearance and the lyrics represent its personality. This album is quite alluring in terms of how it sounds and that’s what draws people into it, but I’m hoping what keeps their interest are the lyrics. If for no other reason, listen to this album because you can’t stand hearing one more song about being in the club!
Review Fix: What’s next?
Jaafar: The plan is to put a second single out this January, followed by my album “Folktales of Spring†in the first quarter of 2016. Hopefully get a tour going shortly after that. I’m very excited for next year and can’t wait for everyone to hear what I’ve been working on this past year and a half.
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