Ghada Sheri might not be a household name just yet, but when a quick scan of her Instagram profile results in an hour sat spellbound watching every one of her live music performances, you realise she is a star in the making.
The singer-songwriter from Jeddah has racked up tens of thousands of views across her social media, and over four million streams of her silky, soulful tones on music platforms. “I would say I’m still at the beginning of my journey,” says Ghada, who sings in both English and Arabic with an easy agility.
What’s immediately evident is how incredibly talented Ghada is, and how her music has the power to captivate you, regardless of which language she sings in. What’s trickier to ascertain, however, is where in the smorgasbord of musical genres Ghada’s vocals sit. It’s something that has confused the Saudi singer herself. “I keep trying to work it out, but I keep changing my music,” she says. Her repertoire includes power ballads that show off Ghada’s impressive vocal range, slow and smooth R’n’B numbers, and even a touch of alternative indie, which features more ‘haunting’ vocals. The emerging Saudi talent has certainly mastered much already, despite her career being relatively embryonic.
Dress: SemSem
Top: Erika Cavallini at THAT Concept Store
Shoes: Malone Souliers
The 28-year-old only made the full-scale transition into music just over two years ago. While she started writing songs in her late teens, her studies followed by a career in PR and marketing started to take precedence. “I realised I was progressing in my career, but I was not progressing in music, and I realised that I wanted to focus on that,” Ghada explains of her decision to leave the security of her full-time job. “I wanted to dedicate most of my time to my craft, even though, at the time, I didn’t have many opportunities in music. It was a risk for me, but it’s a decision that I don’t regret.”
Ghada has dedicated the last two years to realising her dreams of becoming a fully-fledged artist, playing alongside other Saudi talent at local events and live shows, appearing on various TV shows and documentaries, and singing in theatre productions. Whilst her love for her craft grows stronger with every passing year, her passion for music, and the ensuing journey to become an artist, began decades earlier.
“I started singing when I was six or seven years old, but it was a passion I mostly kept to myself,” Ghada reveals. “I always found myself humming or singing whatever I could hear on the TV or radio at home. It was mainly classical Arabic music like Umm Kulthum and Fairuz, and my family also used to play a lot of Khaleeji music from artists like Mohammed Abdo and Talal Maddah. I would listen, and then memorise those songs and sing them all the time.”
Jacket and trousers: Mona Alshebil
Top: Erika Cavallini at THAT Concept Store
Shoes: Jimmy Choo
Then, as she hit her teens, Ghada realised, “‘Oh, I can sing’, and I thought maybe this was the thing for me. I did it so naturally, and I sang all the time.” Ghada, who is self-taught, had also developed an affection for female vocal powerhouses. “I really love the pop divas. I love any artist who is vocally strong and capable,” she recalls. “I grew up listening to Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey and Celine Dion. I wanted to learn how to sing like them. I think listening to them helped me in learning how to sing well. As for Arabic artists, I loved Warda, Thekra, Assala and Samira Said. I still do.”
Ghada’s father was also a music enthusiast. Although he sadly passed away when she was around four years old, she holds their common thread close. “He loved music and he was a musician. He played the guitar and the piano, and used to sing as well,” she says. “I didn’t know that until I was a little bit older. Even though I didn’t really get to know him much, or take this talent, or love for music, from him directly, I love this part of me because I know that we share this musical connection.”
Ghada and her father’s taste in music showed similarities for a while though. “He liked British rock bands, and I did have a very rock phase for a long time, and then, thank God, I moved on,” she laughs, before explaining how being the youngest of six sisters also played its part in what she would listen to growing up. “When I was very young, I didn’t really have much access to the Internet, so I used to listen to the same music that my sisters did. They listened to a lot of hip hop and R’n’B, and while I enjoyed it at the time, I then realised, it wasn’t for me. I became very interested in the ’90s classics or I liked pop music from the Middle East.”
Jacket and trousers: Mona Alshebil
Top: Erika Cavallini at THAT Concept Store
When Ghada turned 16, she started singing and posting covers on Soundcloud, Instagram and Twitter (now X), quickly receiving positive feedback for her renditions of everything from Miley Cyrus and Adele – “I know every Adele song” – to more classical Arabic songs. At 18, she started to teach herself how to play the piano and keyboard, and would later study music theory, too.
“After I started posting covers, I got to know more about the music community in Saudi. I made a couple of friends and we started making songs and producing together,” recalls Ghada, who spent the next few years penning more songs in her spare time and learning the full process of producing a song from start to finish. She also started performing live about five years ago while still in her full-time job.
“I did have times when I thought I wasn’t going anywhere, because I didn’t see much live performances happening in the country, or much of a music scene or industry. And then, as time passed, things started to change very quickly in the last four to five years.”
Ghada is talking about the momentum that has been building since the Kingdom’s General Entertainment Authority was founded in 2016. And, more specifically, about the unprecedented evolution in Saudi’s music scene since The Music Commission was established in February 2020, as one of the Ministry of Culture’s 11 sector-specific Commissions. “Once things started to change with the Ministry, they changed very fast,” Ghada remembers. “We didn’t even have time to doubt what was happening, or think, maybe this is not going to continue. Things started to progress very quickly, and every artist in Saudi, no matter how diverse or different, kind of found their way to fit in a genre or within the industry.”
Ghada goes on to explain the monumental change the Commission has made. “The most important thing was to find this ecosystem, this industry, that could try to help you understand the process of how to become a musician – because a lot of musicians here aren’t sure how they want to pursue this as a career. So, one of the biggest roles that the Commission is playing, is paving the way for artists to understand that you actually can have a career by doing music.”
Jacket, waistcoat and skirt: Tods
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Shoes: & Other Stories
Ghada has also attended a Theater and Performing Arts Commission course, which helped land her major singing roles in two productions in Jeddah. The 33 performances she has since given, sometimes starring in two shows a day, helped build her confidence when performing live. “I’ve never really loved musicals but now, I’m definitely interested in doing more theatre in the future,” she adds.
For now, it’s Ghada’s own music that is reaping of the rewards her undivided attention, and after years of trying to categorise her sound by a specific genre, she’s realised that perhaps there’s no need. “I used to describe [my music] as a dream pop, but I don’t think that fits anymore,” she muses. “It’s very diverse, and it changes constantly over time. I get more into classical ballads, then suddenly I’m into R’n’B again, and then I’m into indie and alternative music. I listen to such diverse music, and I think I produce the same.”
However, there is one thing the Saudi artist is certain about: “All my new music is very influenced by my heritage and by my culture. I think I want to portray that in a modern way,” she explains. “I’m influenced by a lot of artists from different genres. And while I used to think that wasn’t right for an artist and it made it harder to find my genre, it’s now starting to make sense. I want to create a new sound consisting of all the things that I’ve been influenced by.”
She takes inspiration for her writing from general life experiences, “and what I go through in a day,” she says. “I’m not a concept writer, so usually, when I go to write a song, I don’t have a specific concept in my mind. I just go with different emotions, and then I go to my piano and start writing, which kind of helps me understand what I’m feeling. If I’m happy, I feel like I want to express this happiness, so I write a happy song. If I’m feeling frustrated or I don’t know how I’m feeling, it helps me understand. The main driver is emotions and internal conflict, and just trying to understand myself, and in turn try to express myself.”
Dress: L’idée at Tryano
Top: Proenza Schouler at THAT Concept Store
Earrings: Mango
There is one song of Ghada’s in particular that embodies this theme of trying to understand mixed emotions, Ana Mawjood. It has struck a chord with audiences, especially through Ghada’s live performances. “Their reaction for this one is something different,” the singer explains. “When I sing this specific song, I feel like they just relate to it so much.”
Naturally, this positive reception builds Ghada’s confidence, but there is still some lingering self-doubt. “I feel like most of the artists who practice music have internal challenges within themselves – about how they want to portray themselves and how they want to write music,” she explains. “These self-doubts always come and go. You have times when you think you’re the best artist in the world, and then the next day, you feel like ‘Oh, what have I done? What kind of music am I doing? I need to do this, I need to do that. I need to be better’.”
Ghada says her ‘busy brain’ is full of constant thought but finds quietude when immersed in nature. “I love the beach – I go whenever I need to disconnect my brain. It only shuts off at the beach, nowhere else,” she says. “Actually, I like to work out, too. I think that’s a way for me to kind of cool down and blow off some steam, and just maintain my mental health.”
With a good handle on her mental health, Ghada can pour her efforts into the future. And she’s a woman with a plan. “I’d like to see myself performing abroad and doing international shows in the next couple of years,” says the artist who has headlined 10 shows in the Kingdom. She’s used to preparing vocally for her performances, but also has an eye for the aesthetics, too. “I have Pinterest boards of looks I want to try out at my shows,” she says.
Luckily for her followers, there’s new music on the horizon. “I’m very excited for everything that’s going to happen,” Ghada smiles. “You’ll see more of me in theatre and on TV, and although I can’t say much when it comes to what music is coming next, I can say that you’ll hear more from me soon!” The main thing is, she says, that she’s come full circle in her acceptance of her talent. “I’ve accepted the fact that I’m a diverse artist, and I don’t mind putting out different music,” she concludes. Well, they do say that variety is the spice of life, after all.
Featured image:
Abaya and scarf: 1309 Studios
Trousers: Noon By Noor
Interview: Devinder Bains
Photography: Amina Zaher @aminazaher
Styling: Seher Khan @seherkhanp
Hair Stylist: Sarah Sequeria @ssequeiramakeup
Make Up Artist: Sarah Sequeria @ssequeiramakeup
Senior Producer: Steff Hawker @steff.producer
Production Coordinator: Chloe Christodoulou @chloe_christodoulou
Photography Assistant: Ahmed Taha @ahmedd.ta
Styling Assistant: Omnia Yonis @omnviia
Special thanks to The Saudi Music Hub Jeddah