17-year-old Egyptian singer Nathalie Saba is performing her first major concert since releasing debut single Snow, and she says the audience will be in for a surprise. The soft-spoken songstress, whose husky voice has drawn comparisons to Lana Del Rey and Lorde, will shed her inhibitions on the Dubai Media City Amphitheatre stage at RedFestDXB on Thursday night.
“They’re going to see a different personality. I’m shy in real life, but on stage, I just transform into this wild, dance-y person. I can’t help it when it comes to music. I’m going to be dancing all over the stage,” she said.
“It’s just like partying and enjoying your songs and what you’ve done. And [seeing] that people are enjoying the songs, it’s overwhelming.”
Saba, who was doing press in the city with her mother in tow, said she will perform four songs from her EP — Snow, Blackbirds, and two that have yet to be released. She’ll also pull out a couple of covers: Stay by Rihanna, which is the cover that got her signed by Sony, and one she’s keeping a surprise.
“I’ve done lots of other performances in small venues in Cairo,” she said. “Somehow, I always have to mention how old I am, so people get surprised. It always comes up in the conversation that I’m 17, or 16 or 15. I used to perform since I was 14. People get shocked.”
As for what shocks her, it’s the young following she’s amassed on social media who look up to her.
“On the Facebook page, we get a lot of messages from young musicians or just Egyptians who say they’re really proud that I’m Egyptian, or others who want to be like me one day when they’re my age,” she said.
“It feels very pressuring — someone wants to be like me? That’s crazy. I just want to tell these people to stick to who they are and do their best and they will earn it.”
Saba released her debut single, Snow, in October after writing and recording it in Sweden.
“I listen to a lot of Skrillex and Elephant — I love her — and MIA, and the Prodigy. A lot of trap and electronic music. It’s quite different from what I sing,” she said.
“Snow has got this oriental sound, and you can tell that I’m from Egypt. It sounds very different, so we thought it would grab people’s attention.”
Next up is a remix of the song for UK radios, and someday, she hopes, a full-length album.
*Weekend passes to RedFestDxb (February 11-12) start at Dh700 while day passes start at Dh400. Check out redfestdxb.com for the full line-up.