Meet the young Palestinian Frank Sinatra

Nablus - Omar Kamal is the newest musical talent to emerge from the Palestinian ter­ritories. With a voice and demeanour uncannily similar to that of the American sing­er and actor who sold more than 150 million records, it is for good reason that Kamal has been called the Pal­estinian Frank Sinatra.

Over coffee at a café in his home city of Nablus, in impeccable Eng­lish, Kamal spoke about the world of music, the challenges he faces and his hopes for the future.

The 24-year-old singer credits his parents for his love of music. His mother, who has a degree in English literature, is a fan of Leba­nese diva Fairuz, whose music Ka­mal describes as having a tinge of a Western influence. His father, an engineer, often returned from busi­ness trips abroad with recordings by Western artists.

“It was mostly my father’s musi­cal taste — Frank Sinatra, Tom Jones and Dean Martin — that inspired me,” Kamal said.

One of three siblings, he was 8 years old when the second intifada began in 2000, forcing him to spend a lot of time indoors with not much to do. Music became an escape, he said. He took up the piano and, soon after that, the violin. By the age of 16, he had participated in two music festivals — one in Germany and the other in Spain.

He attended Cardiff University in Wales. Music, however, did not take a back seat to his studies. “I earned a spot as the lead vocalist for the university’s big band, a 20-piece brass orchestra, which toured the United Kingdom,” he said.

In 2015, Kamal was awarded a master’s degree in architectural en­gineering and had to decide what career path to choose. Sometimes, Kamal said, one just has to listen to one’s heart — and that is just what he did.

His decision not to follow in the footsteps of his father and brother but instead to pursue a career in music, which is often unpredictable and financially precarious, wor­ried his parents. “I knew that suc­cess would make them change their minds and give me the green light,” he said. “After all, they are my big­gest supporters.”

It was not long before he got his big break.

In 2014, while organising con­certs in the Palestinian territories, representatives of Sony Music En­tertainment Middle East heard Kamal perform and recognised his talent. Soon after, he signed a recording deal with the com­pany.

Kamal’s debut single, Love Never Felt So Good — his rendi­tion of the Michael Jackson song — was released in October 2016. With the accompanying video, Ka­mal’s voice and suave appearance take listeners back to another era. “Being called the Pal­estinian Sinatra doesn’t bother me,” Kamal said. “He is one of the best entertain­ers ever and there will never be an­other Sinatra.

“I never intend­ed to follow one genre only. Eve­ry artist has to start somewhere and from there develop his own identity,” he said. “As a young musician you want some­one to look up to. It’s all about developing your own identity and that comes from an accumulation of all the different styles you come across.”

Kamal’s first album, Serenade, which was recorded in Hol­lywood in coordi­nation with top engineers and musicians of various musical backgrounds, was released Jan­uary 12th. On it, he covers a wide range of songs from the 1970s, ‘80s and ‘90s, all of which he “has added a modern, revolutionary twist to”.

Kamal does sing in Arabic at times but admitted: “I am more comfort­able singing in English.” It is when he sings in Arabic, he is often told, that he best expresses the emotions in his songs. “I guess it’s the music that connects with my core because I’m singing in my own language,” he said. “Maybe it’s a subconscious thing.”

Kamal does not want to rely on his Palestinian nationality for suc­cess. “If I am going to make it as an artist just because I am Palestinian, then I don’t deserve to succeed,” he said.

His biggest challenge is to “car­ry across my artistry or vision as quickly as possible and develop that identity without being pres­sured by record labels”.

“I just want to make beautiful music and reach as many people as I can,” he said.

“The biggest question is how can one have reach and recogni­tion and have really good quality music? I think that is the chal­lenge for every artist that does not just want to get out and make it big.”

Serenade is available on iTunes or Apple Music.