Forbes Middle East Releases Celebrity List Of The Middle East’s Arab Music Stars

Forbes Middle East has unveiled a celebrity list featuring 50 active Arab music stars—including singers, bands, and rappers—that were among the region’s most streamed and followed in 2020. 

Industry veteran Amr Diab was last year's most-streamed Arab singer in MENA on Anghami, Deezer, and Spotify. Whereas on social media, Lebanon's Nancy Ajram was the most followed singer, boasting more than 71 million followers on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram at the end of 2020. Moroccan singer Saad Lamjarred stands as the most followed Arab artist on YouTube, with over 12.4 million subscribers to his channel. 

Overall, the 50 artists represent 11 nationalities. Egyptians dominate with 20 entries, followed by 12 Lebanese artists. 

Streaming platforms have benefitted greatly over the last year from the skyrocketing digital consumption of music. While global leader Spotify was already worth over $54 billion 2020, in the Middle East Anghami grabbed headlines in March this year by announcing a merger with a blank-check SPAC that will see it become the first regional tech company to launch an IPO on the U.S. stock exchange, Nasdaq, at a valuation of $220 million. Meanwhile, Paris-headquartered music streaming app Deezer has capitalized on interest from local backers, including Saudi tycoon Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, which has helped propel the global company’s market valuation past $1 billion. 

To construct this list, Forbes Middle East analyzed detailed data from Anghami and Deezer and considered the top 50 most-streamed active singers and artists on both platforms between January 1 and December 31, 2020, as well as numbers of YouTube views, subscribers, and social media followers.
Click here to view the complete Arab Music Stars 2021 list.