At the 28,000-capacity Franso Hariri Stadium, world-famous Swedish-Lebanese singer Maher Zain performed in Erbil for the first time on Friday night.
Around a thousand of Zain's fans attended the concert, many of whom were holding his portraits.
"It was a great party. Everybody was cheering," concert attendee Baxt Yar commented on Rudaw Sorani's social media coverage of the event.
In the late-2000s, singer, songwriter and music producer Zain was rising to mainstream musical prominence working alongside Swedish-Moroccan producer RedOne, an early collaborator with Lady Gaga. As his relationship with Islam strengthened, Zain’s music became more faith-centered.
He released his debut, internationally successful album Thank You Allah in 2009.
Zain has since garnered a massive following across the Muslim world, with a staggering 5.8 billion YouTube views, 25 million Facebook page likes and performances in more than 35 countries worldwide.
His sophomore album Forgive Me was released in April 2012, followed by One in 2016. He is currently working on a new album, according to his record label's website. https://awakening.org/artists/maher.htm
Murad Ahmad, commenting on Rudaw Sorani's post-concert story, said "Muslim countries are proud to have Zain."
Zain arrived in Erbil from Sweden on August 29. On the same day, he visited Rassan Jalil Zada, a boy with autism spectrum disorder who had been asking to see him but was unable to attend the concert for health resons.
"I am very happy that I met him," Zain told Rudaw while sitting next to Rassan as he played a piano.
With attendance well below the venue's capacity, some of his fans criticized the concert's ticket pricing of 30,000 to 60,000 dinars (approximately $25 to $50) per person on social media.
"Unfortunately, the price of the tickets was too high, not suitable for the current economic situation of Kurdistan. The price should have been lower so that a large number of the singer's fans would have been able to afford it," Baran Gull said.
Photos by Mohammed Shwani