Khaled
He may not be that well known in the English-speaking west, but Khaled is an unparalleled force of nature in the Arabic world. A musician of exceptional talent, his unique style of Raï – an Arabic form of folk music with its roots in rural Algeria – has elevated Khaled to god-like status in northern Africa, Europe and much of Asia.
Born in Oran, Algeria in 1960, it wasn’t until the early 1990s that Khaled’s career really began to take off. Previously calling himself Cheb Khaled, the singer spent much of the 1980s releasing bootleg cassette recordings, although the later part of the decade saw the release of his first three ‘official’ albums. In 1992 he dropped ‘Cheb’ from his name, and released a self-titled album under his new moniker. Spurred by the success of headline track ‘Didi’, a smash hit in France among the North African immigrant population, ‘Khaled’ propelled the singer to almost instantaneous super-stardom, selling over 7 million copies worldwide. His popularity rapidly grew across Europe, Asia and Arabic countries, and it was estimated in the wake of ‘Didi’ that Khaled was more popular in India than Michael Jackson. Four years later, Khaled cemented his status as an international superstar with the release of ‘Aïcha’, a love song from his 1996 album ‘Sahra’. His first recording in French, the track sold over 700,000 copies in France alone, and remained at the top of the French singles chart for a number of months.
During the rest of the 1990s, Khaled collaborated with a number of hip hop artists, and also featured on the soundtrack for 1997’s ‘The Fifth Element’, as well as the Bertrand Blier movie ‘Un, deux, trios… Soleil’. In 1999, Khaled released solo album ‘Kenza’, and appeared in concert with two other Algerian Raï masters, Rachid Taha and Faudel. The live performance, known as ‘1,2,3 Soleils’, was recorded and released as an album, and went on to sell over 5 million copies worldwide.
Since the turn of the millennium, Khaled has continued to keep himself busy, releasing albums ‘Ya-Rayi’ in 2004 and ‘Liberté’ in 2009. He has also maintained a busy live performance schedule, appearing in recent years at the Liverpool Arabic Arts Festival in 2008, the Montreal Jazz Festival in 2009, and at the opening ceremony of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in Johannesburg, South Africa. With over 46 million in worldwide album sales, Khaled remains the biggest musical star in the Arab world, and looks set to hold on to that title for some time to come
