SCRIPT: “A Little Closer to Egyptian Singer Malak El Husseiny”
Salma El-Saeed
May 17, 2015
MUSIC: FADE IN: Malak El Husseiny – Sweater Weather (0-32 seconds from
start of song)
This is the story of Malak El Husseiny, an Egyptian singer and AUC alumna.
MALAK EL HUSSEINY (MH): “Hi I’m Malak El Husseiny, I’m 22 years old, I
was born in Cairo, in Egypt.” (:07)
At the age of 22, Malak has already hit some major milestones in her musical career,
including getting signed with a record label, releasing her first Extended Play album,
and making it onto the X Factor Arabia. While most people know about these
achievements, not everyone knows Malak behind the scenes.
NAT SOUND: FADE IN [at “achievements, not everyone…”]: Conversation
with Malak El Husseiny from interview (:17)
Although she was bubbly and cheerful while we were chatting on her living room
couch, Malak’s musical sound isn’t quite the same.
MUSIC: FAD IN [at “like very cinematic…”: Malak El Husseiny – A Little
Closer (30 seconds from start of song)
MH: “Right now, like what I released so far, it’s all like very cinematic, like
dark but light at the same time, you know what I mean? Like, basically, I
wanted my music to feel like a journey, not like an up-and-down, up-anddown, up-and-down. I want it to be like very mellow and cinematic.” (:28)
And a journey it has been. The singer, who dropped her family name for the stage,
actually began performing a long time ago.
MUSIC: FADE IN [at “with hip-hop dancing…”]: Ciara featuring Missy
Elliott – 1, 2 Step (16 seconds from beginning of song)
MH: “I was obsessed with dancing, with hip-hop dancing. I used to
always…me and my friends in school we used to always perform at like school
carnivals and…in every single one, every single one, and in Funyard also we
always used to dance. I don’t know, I just love performing and being on stage,
it’s so comfortable for me and it’s…I don’t know, I found myself there.” (:23)
NAT SOUND: FADE IN [at “I found myself…”]: Malak El Husseiny –
Rolling in the Deep (Live cover performance – 20 seconds)
Performing came so easily to Malak that it was only natural that she moved from
performing as a part of groups to being in the spotlight all on her own.
MUSIC: FADE IN [at “Every time we…”]: Cascada – Every time We Touch
(Instrumental - 17 seconds from start)
MH: “The first time I was singing solo was in school, in a talent show, I sang
‘Every time we touch, I get this feeling,’ yeah, it was such a cheesy song but
that was the first time I ever sang on stage like alone and…but it was fun.”
(:15)
NAT SOUND: FADE IN [at “opportunities for growth…”]: Malak El
Husseiny – Empire of the Rising Sun (Live cover performance - 60 seconds)
Although Malak always enjoyed herself while performing, she was constantly on the
lookout for opportunities for growth, including joining various singing competitions.
MH: “I applied to a singing competition called ‘Sing Egyptian Women’ in…I
was 18 at the time, four years ago. That was the first competition I found in
Egypt where I can actually, like, find myself. All the other ones are like talent
shows, bla bla bla, stuff that just goes away in a day.” (:23)
But her talent took a professional turn when Subspace, a new record label in Egypt,
discovered her sultry voice.
MH: “We used to audition through videos and we used to post videos and
people voted through Facebook, so Subspace at the time had just formed and
they found me through the competition and they contacted me and they told me
‘We’re an up-and-coming label and we wanna sign with you, we see a lot of
potential there, bla bla, we provide artist development.’ I was eighteen. I was
such a kid.”(:25)
MUSIC: FADE IN: Malak El Husseiny – Somebody Told Me (2:22 from start
of song)
Despite her being so young, both Malak and Subspace felt like joining forces was the
right choice. After signing on, it was time for the real work to begin - it was a
grueling process and Malak definitely felt the pressure.
MH: “We started with artist development. At the time, I didn’t write at all, so I
began writing. I used to write a song every single day for like 3 months. I used
to write a song every single day and it was so hard because like some days I
wasn’t inspired at all, I was still starting to learn the guitar so like my skills
weren’t really helping me and it was so hard. But I kept going because I knew
like it just needed practice.” (:26)
Eventually, it was time for Malak to emerge from the shadows and she released her
first album, Alters, early in 2014.
MH: “I began writing music for Alters and I wrote around like 20 songs and
then I picked only 5 of them, the ones that I thought would actually like be
well-received. Bas [That’s it]. So then I started looking for producers to work
with.” (:17)
All those around Malak also saw the effort that she put into her work, including Nada
Hedia, one of Malak’s best friends.
Nada Hedia: “She worked so hard on it; I remember she used to work in the
studio for, like, for hours. I was so proud of her and I thought, like, I didn’t
understand how such a thing could take a lot of her time, but when I heard it,
like, I understood.” (:19)
That’s when Malak really began to demand attention and build her fanbase.
NAT SOUND: FADE IN: Malak El Husseiny thanking fans on Facebook (8
seconds)
Her Facebook page currently boasts more than 84 thousand likes, while she has nearly
4 thousand followers on SoundCloud, where she posts her covers, performances, and
original tracks. But her mother says that these seeds for fame were planted a long time
ago, when Malak was still a child.
Dina Naeem: “Malak...she used to love singing since she was, like, 4 or 5, she
hated any kind of sports. I tried my best, but every time, she tried, like, 1 or 2
classes, she’d start crying and refuse to go again. So actually ‘ya3ni’ I gave
up on sport ‘belnesbalha’ [for her] when she started singing, singing,
singing.” (:24)
Malak also identified her upbringing as an important factor that influenced her taste in
and ideas about music.
MUSIC: FADE IN: The Beatles – Oh! Darling (1:04 from start of song)
MH: “My mom used to play the guitar when she was young and we always…I
was always listening to their music, to my parents’ music, they always listened
to like 60s rock [and that kind of thing] so it really influenced my taste in
music and the way I viewed like the whole thing.” (:18)
DN: “We, in general, at home, we listened to music a lot. So we’re not, like,
sort of...we hear it in parties or in birthdays, no. Every day. And I sing a lot at
home.” (:13)
Malak’s friendships and personal experiences away from home also profoundly
impacted her life.
MH: “Yeah, Nada…Nada, she was with me…like I was…I met her in school,
like she was always with me in school but we weren’t close friends and then
we became friends around 2005, and ever since then we’ve been so, so close
and she’s seen me going through like a huge transformation.” (:19)
NH: “I’ve been there from the start…singing in the shower when she sleeps
over, from recording and posting them on YouTube, to school talent shows, to
releasing her first EP, and then now X Factor.” (:14)
NAT SOUND: FADE IN: X Factor Theme Music (:20)
Malak joined the popular TV show, X Factor Arabia, as a contestant early in 2015.
But what the singer thought would be a big break for her career turned out to be what
she called “the biggest disappointment of her life.”
MH: “The X Factor was a major fail…The show itself was so fake, like
they...they tell you like, ‘Act as if you’re nervous!’ and you’re like [exhales
deeply].” (:09)
Nevertheless, the cheerful singer managed to find the silver lining and turn her time
with the X Factor into a learning experience.
NAT SOUND: FADE IN [at “to do Arabic…”]: Malak El Husseiny – Ya
Mayla 3al Ghusoon (Cover - 15 seconds)
MH: “But ‘ya3ni’ it was an amazing experience because I met a lot of people
and it just made me go out of my bubble and like when I came back I was so
like determined to do Arabic and stuff, and like I saw so many different
people, [so] it just changed me a lot.” (:16)
Malak may have taken note of how she changed during the X Factor, but those closest
to her know that she’s actually been developing for a long time.
MUSIC: FADE IN: Malak El Husseiny – Moving (1:14 from start of song)
NH: “Back then, when she used to first go on stage, she’d be so stressed out
and she goes like, ‘Nada I don’t know what to do; I’m so stressed out,’ and
she’s so confused, and now...it’s like, it became very easy to her.” (:16)
DN: “She was very shy when she...sometimes in concerts, when she was
singing, but…she develops very quickly and she know what she needs so she
makes sure she’s getting better every time.” (:15)
Malak clearly has the talent and perseverance to continue being successful, but that
doesn’t mean that she knows exactly what the future holds.
MH: “’Begad’ [Really] I have...I have no idea what’s gonna happen. Like the
worst thing about this job is it being so unstable. But right now I’m doing a lot
of different things. I’m trying more like chill out music and I’m doing Arabic
songs. Ever since I graduated I was so determined to make music my career –
my only career – so ever since then I tried so hard to do that with singing in
English. But it didn’t work. Like it’s not…I don’t think it’s going to work
unless I sing in Arabic as well, so I’m gonna do both.” (:35)
With a few ideas up her sleeve and all the time and talent to try them all out, all I can
say for sure is that Malak is just getting started.
This audio documentary was produced by Salma El-Saeed for the audio production
course at The American University in Cairo taught by Professor Kim Fox in Spring
2015.
Special thanks to Malak El Husseiny, Dina Naeem, and Nada Hedia for the
interviews.
Music was collected from SoundCloud and Facebook videos. The songs are The
Neighborhood’s Sweater Weather, covered by Malak El Husseiny, 1, 2 Step by Ciara
featuring Missy Elliott, Every time We Touch by Cascada instrumental, Oh Darling
by The Beatles, A Little Closer by Malak El Husseiny, and Moving by Malak El
Husseiny. Nat sounds were collected from Malak El Husseiny’s SoundCloud page,
the US Embassy’s Facebook page, and by me.