Emirati R&B singer-songwriter Hamdan Al Abri and UAE band Juliana Down have been nominated in the 'Best Middle East Act' at this year's MTV European Music Awards.
Al Abri, a Dubai-born musician with roots in Zanzibar, got into music from an early age and was soon working with bands in the UAE and across the region before forming and fronting the soul band ABRI.
As well as gigging in the UAE, Al Abri has toured in India, Bahrain, UK, and the Maldives supporting the likes of Ziggy Marley, Kanye West and Joss Stone.
In 2011, Al Abri released his eponymous, solo EP - his first - and the singles '(Re) Birth' and 'Falling' have featured in hit US TV shows CSI and Ringer respectively. Currently, Al Abri is in a band called Bull Funk Zoo.
Al Abri expressed delight at his nomination through his Twitter page: “I got nominated for Best MTV Middle East & North Africa act!! Blessed!! So lets Vote so i win :) @MTVMiddleEast @mtvema.”
If you want to vote for Al Abri as the best Middle East act at the MTV EMAs, simply click here.
Rock band Juliana Down have been nominated in the same category. Juliana Down lead singer Dia Hassan told 7DAYS on Wednesday that it would be a dream come true to win the award and asked the band’s fans to vote online.
“We knew about the nomination a week beforehand, but we couldn’t talk about it before the announcement. I’m really glad we can tell people now and ask them to vote,” he said. The band are scheduled to play several times as part of the Aloft Music Festival in Abu Dhabi, culminating with a final show on October 4. On Wednesday night, they were preparing to play an acoustic set on a boat in the capital as part of the festival. Hassan said the band are currently spending most of their time in the studio recording a new album.
You can vote for Juliana Down here.
The MTV awards ceremony will be held in Amsterdam on November 10.
Which act will you be voting for? Please share by commenting below!
