“I got inspired to do covers by Justin Bieber. I taught myself to play the guitar because of him,” says Maro of his musical inspiration. He is a self-proclaimed Belieber, and has modeled his career trajectory on that of the Canadian pop star. A steady stream of YouTube covers lead to a fateful upload in 2018, when he sent a cover of Falling Down by Lil Peep and XXXTentacion into the cloud. Maro – real name Marwan Daou – must have known his life was about to change.
Soon that cover would have more views than he’d ever imagined – and he’d start to have the music industry come knocking. “I kept uploading covers in my room and those got millions of views.” The move from a trickle of attention to millions of views must have happened for a reason. “I think I had just turned 18 and my voice was getting better. And maybe my long hair?” he says laughing.
But don’t make the mistake of thinking the YouTube-to-label journey means Maro has had an easy time of things. After all, he’s Ukrainian-Lebanese. It’s hard to imagine a more challenging combination of places to be from in 2022. Maro has channeled a lot of the angst that comes from that DNA into his smooth vocals. “I have a song that talks about the loss of a person, and it was written when the war in Ukraine started,” he says.
As we talk, Maro is in Oslo, where he now lives. “I don’t like the cold, I’m used to warm weather. But otherwise people are chill,” says Maro about his new home. Beyond the inhospitable weather, the stability of a place like Norway must provide respite – and a compelling base to tour around Europe. Maro’s first live performances were busking on the streets of Beirut and Kyiv. Because he blew up during the pandemic, those are still his main experiences of live music. It’s an odd position to be in for someone who has millions of views and tens of thousands of streams a month. “I’m very excited to be on stage asap.”
It doesn’t feel like a random occurrence that Maro’s heroes like Bieber and Harry Styles have global reach. Speaking to Maro today – he doesn’t seem phased by the pressures awaiting him. Being from where he’s from, he’s had more than his fair of challenges for someone so young – becoming a global pop star will be a breeze in comparison.
Maro’s album Words From My Bedroom is out now. Check it out here.
Check Maro out on YouTube and Spotify