With his instantly iconic performance of “Dreamers” at the Qatar 2022 Opening Ceremony with BTS member Jung Kook earning him legions of new fans, Fahad Al Kubaisi, the Qatari singer, Grammy member, and FIFA World Cup Ambassador has become the Gulf’s first global music star, thanks in part to that stirring performance.
“I’d always dreamed about singing a song as all the world watched on. Making it come true was, honestly, the best moment of my life. Even now, I’m still living in that dream. I’m not waking up,” Al Kubaisi he tells Esquire for our latest Qatar cover story.
Al Kubaisi also opened up to the publication about how the collaboration with Jung Kook came together, sharing that he never expected to be paired with a Korean singer at first.
“As soon as they informed me about the opening of the World Cup, my immediate question that followed was: ‘Who is the artist who will be performing with me?’ When they told me Jung Kook, it was a big surprise for me, as I was expecting, frankly, an artist from Europe or America. I wasn’t expecting an artist from a different side of the world, with a different audience, a different style,” says Al Kubaisi.
Al Kubaisi ultimately welcomed the addition of Jung Kook.
“Honestly, there was no better choice.”
How Jung Kook and Fahad Al Kubaisi made “Dreamers”
The Qatari star actually wrote the Arabic verse to the song himself, he revealed.
“The composer presented this wonderful melody, with beautiful words and an inspiring idea, and asked that I might write the Arabic passage with a melody that I can present to our people that would work in harmony with Jung Kook’s parts.”
While he and Jung Kook never met in person while they were recording the song, by the time they met in Doha, they had already become great friends and joyous collaborators.
“The effort was worth it. It was one of the most beautiful experiences I’ve had, working with this wonderful artist with a presence, charisma and multiple talents all his own. He recorded in his country, I recorded in mine, and by the time we met to film together in Doha, we had forged an excellent relationship,” says Al Kubaisi about Jung Kook.
Read our full cover story on Al Kubaisi here.