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Jeddah: For as long as Tamtam can remember, music has been a passion. As a young child she spent countless hours singing karaoke at home without realising the scope of her talent.
When she was 13, she received a standing ovation after performing Michael Jackson’s Thriller on stage at her school’s talent show in Riyadh.
“I remember feeling the energy of the crowd and realised my passion for performing. It was then that I decided to pursue music as a career,” the 25-year-old Los Angeles-based Saudi singer and songwriter told Gulf News.
But for Tamtam making a career in music was anything but easy.
Born and raised in Riyadh, her family and friends had some reservations about Tamtam becoming a singer and appearing in music videos because of the conservative nature of society.
As a result of this Tamtam has never revealed her real name.
Instead, she became known as Tamtam — a nickname given to her by Kuwaiti music producer Zahed Sultan, which means African Drum.
“I used the name once and it stuck with me,” she says.
She released her first music video at the age of 17 on YouTube in 2012, for a song she wrote called “Little Girl” about a young girl growing up who wants to be taken seriously.
Her parents eventually supported her decision to become a singer but asked her to blur her face in the music video.
She says she has never personally faced any backlash from society, but even if she did, she would not let it deter her from her passion.
As a progressive Muslim Saudi woman, Tamtam was determined to further pursue her career in music, and in 2014 she wrote and released her second single Gender Game.
The lyrics particularly struck a chord with women in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East.
In the song, which addresses gender disparities, she sings: “What hurts the most is if she were...a boy it would be fine...But doing it when you’re a girl...You really cross the line.”
Within 24 hours of its release the song went viral around the world.
“I was so surprised to see such support coming from the women of my country because they felt what I did, too. I was inspired to write this song because I was thinking about why I had been afraid to show my face and to share my name with the world, and would I have been afraid if I were a guy instead?” said Tamtam.
When Oscar-winning actress Geena Davis heard Gender Games, she invited Tamtam to perform at three symposiums in New York, Washington, and Los Angeles for Davis’ non-profit organisation promoting gender-equality in media.
In 2015, Tamtam released her third single We’ve Got Wings, which was inspired by her aunt — a breast cancer survivor.
The song which talks about not giving up hope and emerging victorious after being stricken with cancer is aimed at promoting breast cancer awareness in Saudi Arabia.
The song was also used as a soundtrack when 8,264 women in Riyadh formed the world’s largest human pink ribbon to support the breast awareness cause in the kingdom.
Among her other song releases are Blue, about a romantic breakup and her latest, Drive, an anthem to Saudi women’s right to drive.
Tamtam says her songs are all inspired by her own experiences.
While Arabic is her first language, she feels she can express herself more poetically in English, which is why she hasn’t released any songs in her mother tongue.
She now has around 13,000 followers globally on Instagram, and her fans come from different countries.
“Singing is a way of freely expressing myself. I always write when I’m inspired because that’s when the lyrics flow the easiest for me. I love writing songs that people can relate to. I also collaborate with other writers because having two different perspectives turn into one sounds amazing, and is such a fun and enlightening process,” she said.
Tamtam, who is mostly a self-taught singer, started taking vocal lessons when she moved to Los Angeles for her higher studies.
Despite the grueling schedule filled with music productions and gigs, Tamtam makes sure she practices her vocals for 20 minutes everyday.
Michael Jackson remains her top music inspiration.
“I was drawn to Michael Jackson’s music because he’s literally telling a story through his songs like They Don’t Care About Us; Heal The World; and Thriller, and makes you want to know what happens at the end. Just listening to his voice and the emotion behind each word, each pronunciation is just amazing. I can feel what he was saying,” said Tamtam.
Commenting on the surge of entertainment activities and concerts in Saudi Arabia, the high-spirited and optimistic singer excitedly said, “I’m so happy to see my country progressing, and that it is becoming more acceptable to express oneself through art. It’s amazing and inspiring. I can’t wait to perform there.”
