There’s a commotion in Sony Music Middle East’s Dubai office. What’s normally a peaceful and spacious area has now been taken over by five guys who are not really letting anyone get their work done for the day. A few are singing, another’s playing guitar, and there’s a lot of selfie taking. When The 5 are around, they will certainly let it be known.
It has been a whirlwind few months for the fivesome, who found each other on 2015’s X Factor Arabia. Originally entering as solo or double acts, The 5 were put together by judges Ragheb Alama, Elissa and Donia Sameer Ganem after they saw potential in them as a group. Although they reached the final, they were pipped to the title by Saudi Arabia’s Hamza Hawsawi. Regardless, both acts have emerged as winners after they were offered recording deals with Sony Music Entertainment Middle East in partnership with Platinum Records.
Now the Middle East’s answer to One Direction has just released its first single, Al Donia Shabab, said to be dedicated to their fans. A music video — which was shot in Dubai — will be released any day now on their official YouTube channel. A teaser was posted on Friday night.
As tabloid! took a seat with the band to find out more, it’s apparent that they all have very different personalities. Egyptian Ahmad Hassan, 22, comes across as the friendliest and chattiest, followed by 21-year-old rapper Mohammad Bouhezza, aka BMD. The same can’t be said for his fellow Algerian (and former duo partner) Said Karmouz, 19, who spends 99 per cent of the interview playing on his phone. It’s actually a miracle we managed to get him to say anything at all.
The 5 is rounded off with 19-year-old Kazem Chamas from Lebanon — who’s quite shy to begin with then really comes into his own — and finally, Moroccan Adil Echbiy, who at 29, is the mature one and happy to take a backseat and only speak when spoken to. Here’s what they had to say.
Your first single is finally here. Are you surprised at how big your fanbase has grown?
Ahmad: It’s funny, because we didn’t realise just how big it had become when we were shooting X Factor in Beirut. The voting figures were amazing; however, even though we were in the final, whenever we went out in Beirut people didn’t recognise us. It properly hit us when we each went to our countries post-finale.
Kazem: I’ll tell you something about our fans — I’ve never seen anyone like them in my life. For example, when there’s a photo going around online, even if I am in the background or you can’t see me that well, they will still spot me and put a circle around me. It surprises me every time I look at my tags, and every time I see a circle I have to go to that photo and see what it is about! The funniest one was when there was a picture of me, where I am standing in front of a glass window. If you focus very hard you’ll see Said’s reflection in the window — and the fans spotted it and circled it! Their attention to detail is mind blowing.
How long do you spend on social media at the moment?
All: All the time.
Ahmad: We try and catch up as much as we can. We personally update our individual accounts.
Do you know who has the most followers?
[All four point to Said.]
All: Said! It’s all about Said!
Adil: During the show, Elissa gave us all attention until Said came along and then it was KO for the rest of us!
Ahmad: Elissa had something nice to say about all of us as we went in. She said that BMD had a nice physique, she said Adil looked like a model, she said that Said had nice eyes, and she liked my smile. Poor Kazem didn’t get any attention at the beginning [at this point they start to cheekily poke fun at Kazem]. But during the live shows, she then said he was cute.
Obviously, there are downsides to fame. Do you every worry that all the attention will become too much to handle?
BMD: Giving up our privacy is a concern obviously. When I returned home I had exams to finish, so when I went to take them the moderators who were supervising the exams brought their kids to take photos with me. That was crazy. I cannot run normal errands anymore. It’s a strange feeling.
Adil: When Mohammad and I went back home, we went shopping at Morocco Mall, and it got so crazy that security asked us to leave the mall. You forget that you can no longer do normal day-to-day things, like taking the public bus, for instance.
Has the show highlighted who your real friends are?
Kazem: Definitely! When you return, you really get to know who’s there for you and who’s not; who you can mess around and joke around with, and whom you can’t do that with. After the show, I’d go out with friends in Beirut, and sometimes bump into someone who’s not a close acquaintance; someone I haven’t seen in years. All of a sudden, they’re like: “Wow, I’ve not seen you in ages… long time”, yet they would never have asked about me before.
Ahmad: When I went back to Cairo, I couldn’t do anything. I couldn’t even go meet my friends for a coffee. So many people came out of the woodwork, with ‘friends’ texting me asking to hang out. When I respond saying that I’m busy, they say things like “Oh, check you out, is your ego getting too big for us now?” and so on. Or like, “Let’s meet up to take a photo together for my Facebook page”.
Do you live together at the moment?
Ahmad: No, at the moment we all live separately in our own country; however, whenever we have work we end up getting together, usually in Dubai.
Kazem: It’s a temporary thing; in the future we plan on being based in one country the majority of the time.
Ahmed: The funny thing is that we’re actually closer than before. When we left to go to our own countries, we really missed each other. We spoke every day; in fact, we have our very own WhatsApp group.
Onto our quick-answer segment, which songs or albums have had an influence on you?
Ahmad: I don’t have a favourite album of all time, but standout releases for me this year have been by Amr Diab, Mohammad Hamaky and Saad Lamjarred — his song is the song of 2015.
BMD: No Love by Eminem with Lil Wayne. When I heard No Love for the first time, I was like “I’ve got to write an album, right here, right now!” Recovery is a fantastic album.
Kazem: I loved Wael Kafoury’s 2012 album, Ya Dale Ya Rohy. I spent 18 months listening to the same songs day in, day out.
Adil: I like Amr Diab’s classics; songs from the late 1990s to early 2000s.
Said: I’m into music by Jesse McCartney and Justin Bieber.
Who would you love to share a stage with?
Ahmad: We’d all love to share the stage with Cheb Khaled. He’s an amazing artist and he’s been really good to us. Every time we post a pic, we find that he would like or comment on the photo.
BMD: Imagine checking your notifications and seeing the legend that is Cheb Khaled liking your photos. It’s an amazing feeling!
Ahmad: He really likes us, because he believes in the concept of uniting the region through music. No one is looking at us individually... Egyptian, Moroccan, Algerian, Lebanese... everyone views as one unit. So he really likes this idea — this type of [multiple country] group is the future.
So, come on then… anyone dating at the moment?
[All at the same time]: All of us are single.
If you say so! Which celebrity do you have a crush on then?
Ahmad: Paris Hilton or Sara Paxton.
BMD: Arianna Grande. She’s so tiny and delicate.
Kazem: I don’t really have anyone in particular, but if I had to choose one it would be Megan Fox.
Said: I like them all! Ok, I’d choose Priyanka Chopra.
Adil: Scarlett Johansson. She has the hottest voice ever.
Before wrapping up, what do you want to do next?
Ahmad: We’re itching to get back on the stage to be honest. We haven’t performed since the X Factor in June.
Mohammad: Yeah, we really miss it.
Adil: And it will be a huge difference... performing professionally as opposed to performing to win a competition. We’ll feel freer! People will see us more relaxed.
