Norwegian multi-platinum artist Alan Walker releases a brand new version of his single “Land Of The Heroes,” featuring Sophie Stray, this time bringing a leading female Arabic artist Zena Emad to the global spotlight. The track features a stunning performance by Emad singing the uplifting vocals in both Arabic and English, and pays homage to her culture with the addition of the oud instrument (a stringed instrument developed during the Islamic Golden Age between 8th and 13th century). Its mesmerizing notes will give Western listeners a taste of the rich Arabic music scene, which is rapidly evolving despite being incredibly taboo just a few years ago, especially for women. Walker and Emad together have created a rich blend of Western and Eastern cultures, and Alan Walker is a strong supporter of lifting young Saudi artists and bringing them to the international musical scene. With the continued partnership of global artists – especially in areas where expression by females has been restricted for generations – talent of all nationalities, origins, and orientations can have equal opportunity for their music to be heard. Walker‘s deep reverence for Middle Eastern culture began when he visited Saudi Arabia this summer for Gamers8‘s PUBG Mobile World Invitational, which eventually brought him to spend time at the renowned Merwas. As the world’s largest art and entertainment factory in the Arab world, it includes 22 international studios, which allow visitors of Riyadh Season to explore the world of content industry, films, and cinematography through famous international production companies. He was so inspired by the people he met there and the art and music he was exposed to that the new version of “Land Of The Heroes” was born. Zena Emad, thanks to Alan Walker, is paving the way for the next powerful Arabic female artists to show their talents on the world stage. To peek behind the scenes of Alan Walker‘s visit at Merwas and how the collaboration with Zena came together, check out the 43rd episode of Alan’s Unmasked Vlog here. This episode also served as a platform for Alan Walker‘s “Fund Your Dream” campaign, whose goal was to identify, promote, and reward a young creator – a dreamer with a heartwarming story needing help and striving to take their next big step and have their dream funded by Alan himself. What’s also worth mentioning is that “Land Of The Heroes,” featuring Sophie Stray and Zena Emad, is the official closing song for the world’s biggest, 2-month gaming event organized by Gamers8 in Saudi Arabia.
“It was an unusual experience to expand to new musical cultures and a unique opportunity to do this creative work and build something new in a place like this. Working on the Arabic version of ‘Land Of The Heroes‘ with such a talented team here in Saudi Arabia has been really exciting and fun. The Chance to mix two different cultures in one song has taught me a lot, and I can’t wait to be back to work on and release more music with Saudi artists in the future. It’s been a pleasure to work with Zena, and I think that the difference between Western and Eastern cultures, their cultural heritages, social norms, and ethical values, should always be perceived as potential for artists’ personal growth, expanding our horizons, learn one from another, not as boundaries that set us apart, and what Zena and I delivered is the best example of this” – Alan Walker
“The experience was wonderful, and a great honor to work with Alan Walker in this huge studio. It’s a great opportunity for me to work on a big project such as ‘Land Of The Heroes‘ and merge the Arab and foreign cultures to spread them to the world. I look forward to this work reaching every corner of the globe. Everything was different, from the musical instruments used to the multiple languages in the work. This was a different experience for me, and I can see that it will achieve dazzling success in the future, especially since I am at the beginning of my artistic journey and especially after working with a renowned producer like Alan Walker. The work was smooth, and I had a lot of fun. It was a great honor for me to work with a huge music producer and his dedicated team.” – Zena Emad
Alan Walker
Continuously delivering thumping beats and hypnotic records, 26-year-old Norwegian producer and DJ Alan Walker is truly a force to be reckoned with. With over 120 million followers across his social platforms, 9 billion YouTube views, and over 50 billion audio and video streams, the young artist from Bergen, Norway, is nowhere near kicking his feet up anytime soon. Alan Walker arrived on the music scene in late 2015 with his debut hit single “Faded,” garnering over 1.7 billion Spotify streams and a massive 3.5 billion YouTube video views. Being the 19th most-watched music video on YouTube, the single also left him with a BRIT Awards nomination for Song Of The Year, as well as a Norwegian Grammy win in the same category. After building a massive social following and releasing a string of successful singles like “Alone” and “Darkside,” collaborating with artists like Ava Max, Noah Cyrus, Sia, Bruno Mars, and Coldplay, the chart-topping debut album “Different World” arrived in late 2018 and is currently approaching 5 billion streams on Spotify alone. While holding a pristine track record, Alan has played over 700 headlining shows and festivals to date, including Coachella and Tomorrowland, in addition to selling out his worldwide arena tours, Aviation Tour, and Walkerverse Tour. In 2022 Alan released his third album, “Walkerverse Pt. I & II.”
Zena Emad
Saudi Arabian young female artist renowned for her ability to create alternative versions of famous songs that have captured the hearts of fans all over the world, Zena Emad, is a passionate artist who has earned the recognition and love of her fans in the past 5 years with over 5.6M across her social media platforms and over 300M of views on her Youtube channel. She delivered her famous masterpiece “Hamaki Medley” in 2021, which gained over 200M YouTube views. Zena is not only successful with the covers she made so far, but she’s also brilliant with making her own music, starting from the year 2019 and the song “Ejrah.” With the art she creates, Zena won Riyadh’s Joy Awards in 2021 as the best upcoming artist. Nominated for the Best Female Artist in 2022, she could cut way through by singing side by side with the greatest artists in the Middle East. Besides concerts all over the Middle East, she achieved worldwide popularity for her music and magical voice. She’s an ambitious young singer who keeps impressing her audience over the years and dreaming of achieving way more in the future.
