There are phases in every playlist. You go through your sad-girl era, your “I only listen to music that makes me feel like I’m in a movie” era, your questionable 2000s throwback era, and then, somehow, Arabic music starts taking over. Not just one or two songs either. Suddenly you have an entire rotation, favourites, songs for specific moods and that one track you will defend with your life. And honestly? We’re not complaining.
Because Arab music has been bringing the vibes lately. From Saint Levant’s effortless cool to DYSTINCT making every late-night drive feel like a music video, Elyanna giving old favourites a whole new life, and the classics from Khaled and Amr Diab that simply refuse to leave the playlist, these are the artists currently getting a very generous amount of our streaming time.
1. Marwan Aka Saint Levant: The Man Has It All
Saint Levant has the good looks, the charm, the effortless style — and then he goes and makes music that is somehow just as addictive. Moving between Arabic, French and English like switching languages is the easiest thing in the world, he has carved out a sound that feels completely his. And honestly, we are obsessed. His new album AFANDI? Please, someone inject it into my veins. We are not exaggerating when we say it has been getting the kind of replay treatment usually reserved for songs we pretend we discovered before everyone else.
And then there is Nari Nari Nari. Oh, I am obsessed obsessed. It is one of those songs where you hear it and immediately understand that you are going to be playing it far more than you probably should. Saint Levant somehow manages to make everything look and sound effortless, which is slightly irritating considering the rest of us are just trying to keep up.
2. DYSTINCT: Turn It Up, We’re Driving
DYSTINCT brings the vibes. That is really the only way to put it. Put his music on during a late-night drive with your friends, get YAMA playing somewhere in the background, and suddenly nobody is interested in having a normal conversation anymore. The volume is going up, somebody is singing along, someone else is probably filming the moment, and the night has officially become a lot more fun.
And the best part? DYSTINCT knows he is good. There is a confidence to his music and the way he carries himself that says yes, I know you’re going to play this again. Annoyingly, he is right. We will.
3. Elyanna: Somehow, We Always Find Our Way Back
Somehow, no matter how many new artists we add to the playlist, we always find our way back to Elyanna. Maybe it is the voice, maybe it is the dreamy quality she brings to everything, or maybe she just knows exactly how to make a song feel like a memory you have not actually lived yet. Either way, she has become one of those artists who always has a place in the rotation.
And Calling U (Tamally Maak)? That rendition has us coming back yet again. Taking a song so deeply familiar and giving it that unmistakably Elyanna touch somehow makes it feel fresh without losing what made the original so special. It is nostalgic, dreamy and exactly the kind of song you put on once and then wonder why you have been listening to it for the past hour.
4. Khaled: C’est La Vie Still Rules The Playlist
There are new songs, there are viral songs, there are songs we swear are going to be our entire personality for two weeks — and then there is C’est La Vie. Khaled made a song that simply refuses to leave. Years later, it still has the ability to come on and immediately change the mood. You could be doing absolutely nothing and suddenly you are singing along like you have been waiting all day for this exact moment.
It is one of those tracks that has completely outlived whatever musical moment it came from. C’est La Vie still rules our playlist, and at this point, we have accepted that it probably always will. Some songs become classics. This one apparently decided it was going to become permanent.
5. Amr Diab: Because Obviously
Can we really talk about Arab music and leave Amr Diab out? Absolutely not. That would be like making a playlist and forgetting music exists. His songs have been around for generations, somehow managing to feel nostalgic, romantic, catchy and completely timeless all at once. You do not have to be an Amr Diab superfan to know the songs. Put one on and chances are someone nearby is immediately singing along.
That is what makes his music so special — it feels bigger than a playlist. It is woven into the soundtrack of Arab pop culture itself. New artists can come and go, trends can change overnight, but there will always be an Amr Diab song waiting somewhere in the queue. Arab music is simply incomplete without him.
And maybe that is exactly why this playlist is so much fun. There is no one sound, no one mood and definitely no rulebook. We can go from Saint Levant’s AFANDI to DYSTINCT on a late-night drive, fall back into Elyanna’s Tamally Maak, scream along to C’est La Vie and then somehow end up with Amr Diab playing like that was always the plan. It makes absolutely no sense — and somehow, it is the perfect playlist.