AMMAN — Jordanian singer-songwriter Bader Khatib, mononymously
known as ‘Llunr’, took a leap of faith when he quit his stable job to pursue
his passion for music.
اضافة اعلان
Khatib found it difficult to convince people of the switch. He was
told that quitting his job would be a mistake and that he would need a “plan B.”
However, the one person he thought would also disparage his dream had the
opposite reaction.
“My dad is a very “go study” kind of person, the ‘you have to get
your certificate’ kind of strict in a sense, typical Arab dad,” he told Jordan
News.
Khatib explained that his father’s supportive words ultimately
convinced him that he could pursue his dream successfully. “And that’s all I
needed. My mom, my brothers, my friends all said ‘no’, but my dad said to go
and do it and that’s all I needed,” he recalled.
Khatib now believes that
quitting his job was the best decision he has ever made. “It’s clear to me that
leaving my job and pursuing something that I love, I’ll be happy with, even if
I’m failing at it.”
Ever since Khatib fully immersed himself in the music scene, he
started producing and writing as many songs he can at any chance given. Whether
it’s in the car or shower, Khatib turns his “time-consuming” thoughts into
music.
“I would try to find what’s going on with me right now and then
write lyrics to that melody,” he said. “I could hear the whole sound, the whole
song and everything.”
He explained that his lyrical inspiration comes from both his own
experiences and the experiences of others. His song “Young River” was written
during a livestream on Instagram in which hundreds of fans shared their own feelings
and thoughts.
“I had a song already produced and I knew what I wanted it to be
about but I couldn’t find the right lyrics, so people would send me things that
they’ve gone through and I’d realize like yeah, I’ve been feeling or felt this
way too before.”
Khatib, who grew up in the United States and is generally more
comfortable speaking in English, explained his struggle in trying to reach an
Arab audience with English lyrics. “I’m trying to send a message in a song,
writing English lyrics, and people are just not resonating with it,” he said. “I
think when it comes to English artists in the region, or in Jordan at least,
there are very few. I think it’s very difficult to write English music for an
Arabic audience.”
However, the popular video sharing app
TikTok came to the rescue in
the singer’s time of need. With over 100,000 followers and 1 million likes on
his TikTok account ‘
Llunr’, Khatib was able to find an audience for his original
music, remixes, and humorous content. He explained that on TikTok, he was able
to reach a bigger audience that allowed his music to “shine,” and recommended the
app as a starting point for anyone who has a talent or has an idea and wants to
put themselves out there.
Despite his growing success with his English lyrics, Khatib still
intends to write music in Arabic or at least incorporating some Arabic lyrics
into his songs.
“I feel like I have to test the waters a bit, first as an artist
and at the same time to be true to my origin,” he said. “Hopefully in my next
song or the one after that, there’s going to be some Arabic music involved.”
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