Richard Abicair (born 17 August 1989 in Melbourne, Australia), better known by his stage name Richii (
Arabic
Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
: ريتشى) is a singer, dancer, songwriter, and music producer. He sings in Arabic in a Western style, and incorporates western
electropop
Electropop is a popular music fusion genre combining elements of the electronic and pop styles. It has been described as a variant of synth-pop with emphasis on a hard electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a rev ...
elements heavily into his music. His first two singles both spent multiple weeks at #1 in the Lebanese charts in the weeks after their releases.
Musical career
After signing a management contract with producer Hadii Sharara and moving from Australia to Lebanon during his teens, Richii released his first single "Dayeb Wehyatik" with an accompanying music video. The track became the most requested song on the MelodyArabia charts for a number of weeks in the summer of 2009. "Dayeb Wehyatik" was featured in an episode of the
LBC TV
The Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation International (), widely known as LBCI (), Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation () or LBC () is a private television station in Lebanon. LBCI was founded in 1992 by acquiring the assets, liabilities and logo of ...
drama series ''No2tet 7ub''. Because of his young image and pop style, some people described him as the "Lebanese
Justin Bieber
Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Regarded as a pop icon, he is recognized for his multi-genre musical performances. He was discovered by record executive Scooter Braun in 2008 and subsequently brought to the U ...
".
Richii released his second single "Ana Lubnaneyoun", a patriotic dance track, in December 2009. The video, which came almost a year later, met with both acclaim and criticism due to its Western-influenced video, but the song received heavy rotation on radio as a result. Due to its heavy play in nightclubs and patriotic lyrics, it was dubbed "the official club anthem of
Beirut
Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...
’s nightlife". Richii, with his director May Elias (chief editor of the Arts section in Elaph.com) premiered the video for "Ana Lubnaneyoun" on
Orbit TV's ''Al Youm'' during the "3youn Beirut" or "Eyes on Beirut" segment.
On Valentine's Day, Richii released a promotional single to select radio stations called "Valentine", which he dedicated to his fans.
His single "Gowa Hodny" was released in June 2011 and features a summer-styled dance video.
Article about 'Gowa Hodny' Video Shooting
Retrieved July 10, 2011.
Richii has performed at two large concert events: Byblos Festival in 2010 and Dhour El Choueir 'immigrants festival' in 2009, which celebrated the diversity and vitality immigrants brought to Lebanon.
Discography
* Insane
* Gowa
* Hodny
* Dayeb
* Wehyatek
* Valentine
* Ana Lubnanyoun
* Eternity (June 2013)
Video clips
References
External links
RICHII Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Richii
Australian emigrants to Lebanon
21st-century Lebanese male singers
1989 births
Living people