What happens when you achieve everything you dreamed of before turning 23, but there’s no one around to celebrate with? That’s the question Alain Mékani wrestles with in “Quiet,” his introspective new single that dropped August 1st, 2025.

The Dubai-based artist, who grew up in Beirut speaking Arabic with his mom and French with his dad while MTV played in the background, has been carving out his own corner of the Middle Eastern pop scene since his 2023 debut “Fool.” But this latest track hits different. It’s raw, honest, and uncomfortably relatable for anyone who’s ever felt alone in a room full of people.

Written during a period of professional success while living abroad, “Quiet” runs just over three minutes but packs an emotional punch. The track opens with Mékani reflecting on his younger self’s dreams—the car, the new place, all achieved before his 23rd birthday. But here’s where it gets real: “I left it all behind just to find myself / But am I really free?”

The chorus doesn’t pull punches either. When he admits “I’ve been going through some changes and my mind is fucking racing,” you feel that restless energy. It’s not polished pop perfection; it’s someone working through their stuff in real-time. The official music video, which premiered July 31st, visually captures this internal conflict.

Family threads through every verse — and you can feel it. There’s the promise to make his mother proud, the desire to share his victories, and that gut-punch line about missing the people who matter most. The bridge transforms into something between a mantra and a desperate reminder: “Be somebody if you’re nobody.” It’s less motivational poster, more survival mechanism.

Since emerging with tracks like “Awlad El Haram” and his licensed reimagining of the Lebanese classic “Tallou Hbabna” earlier this year, Mékani has built a reputation for blending French, Arabic, and English lyrics with what critics call a “melancholic awakening” sound. Regional outlets including Musivv and Buro 24/7 Middle East have taken notice of his ability to pair cross-cultural production with genuine vulnerability.

The artist, who taught himself guitar after starting on accordion at eight, turned to songwriting as therapy following his father’s death in 2015. While working a marketing day job in Dubai, he spent nights and weekends learning production, eventually creating the demos that would launch his career.

Currently working on collaborations with Rayan Bailouni and Jay Janith, Mékani is pushing further into French territory with his upcoming releases. It’s a natural evolution for someone who grew up switching between languages at home. As he puts it: “I write in three languages because some emotions need more than one passport.”

“Quiet” is now streaming across all major platforms. Connect with Alain Mékani on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music, Anghami, Instagram, TikTok, and at alainmekani.com.

The first thing that hits you about Siren isn’t just her voice—it’s the sheer audacity of someone who taught themselves everything. No formal training, no music theory classes, just pure instinct driving her to create something that sounds like Rammstein got into a late-night conversation with Lana Del Rey while Massive Attack played in the background.

At 24, this LA-based artist has already written around 70 songs, most still unreleased, sitting in her vault like secrets waiting to surface. Born June 13, 2001, Siren started making music in 2019, and what’s emerged since then defies easy categorization. Her sound pulls from trip-hop pioneers like Portishead, the industrial weight of German metal, and the cinematic drama of Tchaikovsky—yes, the Swan Lake composer.

“Every ache must be turned into art,” she says about her approach to music. It’s this philosophy that drives her self-described “raw confessions where melancholy meets beauty.” Her mezzo-soprano voice shifts between whispered vulnerability and soaring intensity, creating what she calls “cold waves of sound that mesmerize like a siren’s voice in the night sea.”

The artist’s journey started unexpectedly early. One of her most vivid childhood memories involves her grandmother singing Russian folk songs on a winter swing—an experience she describes as “blue, cold, wintry, dark, nostalgic, deep, soulful, and melancholic.” By twelve, she’d discovered Rammstein, which she credits with awakening “strength, courage, resistance, and the spirit of a fighter.” The band shaped about 60% of her musical taste, while Lana Del Rey, who she calls her “musical mother,” opened up the other side of her artistic personality.

What’s striking about Siren’s work is how she balances opposing forces. She describes her music as reflecting both her anima and animus—the feminine emotional vulnerability paired with masculine instrumental drive. This duality shows up everywhere in her sound: acoustic piano meets electric guitars, string arrangements collide with rock drums, trip-hop grooves support orchestral swells.

Her latest release, “Devil 2019,” dropped on August 3, 2025, running 3:28 and showcasing her hypnotic vocal control. But it’s just a taste of what’s coming. Her debut single “Siren Heroine,” released on June 13, previews her upcoming album “Blue Blood,” which promises an oceanic, siren-themed concept drawn from songs written three to four years ago.

Beyond music, Siren works as a visual artist, filmmaker, and photographer, creating her own visual concepts exactly as she imagines them. She admits to both loving and fearing the ocean—thalassophobia mixed with an obsession for deep blue imagery. “I reflect what I fear. I am what I fear,” she explains.

When asked about dream collaborations, she mentions Hans Zimmer, Rammstein, and Lana Del Rey—though she notes that most of her musical heroes are dead. Her approach to creation remains uncompromising: “I don’t write for people—I write for myself. Music is how I let you know me.”

For those curious to dive deeper, Siren’s music can be found on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, SoundCloud, and her website. Follow her journey on Instagram and TikTok.

JJ Tyson’s path into music started the way most teenagers’ dreams do — with a drum kit at 15 and some high school friends ready to jam. What’s happened since then reads like a rock autobiography that nobody saw coming.

The Pennsylvania native, who proudly notes his home state produced Poison, Halestorm, and Live, spent years drumming for popular local bands before stepping away for two years to write his own material. That break changed everything. When he reconnected with a former bandmate and released “Walk Away,” the song exploded online, racking up over a million views and birthing Black Water Greed.

“The popularity skyrocketed,” Tyson recalls. “Magazine covers, interviews — it all happened fast.” But success brought its own complications. Internal tensions split the band apart, leaving Tyson at a crossroads.

Rather than retreat, he pivoted. Working with producer David Mobley, he created The Tyson-Mobley Project, an album that performed well enough to convince him solo work was the next step. Four solo albums followed: “Back from the Ashes,” “Digital Mine Crime,” “The Other Side of Me,” and his latest, “Cellar Dweller.”

Released August 1st, 2025, “Cellar Dweller” doesn’t pull punches. The 18-track album stretches over an hour, diving into trauma, betrayal, and personal demons with the help of studio band Crosswindz and co-executive producer Mobley. Songs like “Unleash the Rage” and “Haunted Hallways” tackle isolation and survival head-on — no sugarcoating, no easy answers.

But here’s where Tyson’s story gets interesting. While “Cellar Dweller” delivers hard rock intensity, he’s simultaneously working on his second Christian album, “Army of Faith,” due late September, plus a Christmas album featuring 12-14 original songs scheduled for November. It’s a range that would give most artists whiplash.

The reason becomes clear when Tyson talks about his fans. “I write meaningful lyrics that have touched a lot of hearts,” he says. “Hopefully my message can help them cope with issues they may have.” He shares stories of listeners who’ve told him his music helped them through breakups and toxic relationships. One fan said he “wrote her life in five minutes.”

Looking ahead, there’s talk of touring in mid-2026, though for now, the focus remains on perfecting the music. His message to fans mixes rock attitude with spiritual conviction: “I love my hard rock roots but I love my messages I put in my Christian songs, to spread the word of God to the world. This world is falling apart and we need to pull together and love one another.”

His advice for others cuts through the typical music industry noise. “Just do your own thing and what makes you happy — it reflects on your fans, and they are the ones that make you or break you. Stay focused and loyal.” It’s the kind of wisdom you only get from someone who’s watched a band implode at peak success, rebuilt from scratch, and discovered that authenticity matters more than any genre boundary. The guy making rage-filled tracks about personal demons is the same one writing Christmas songs and Christian albums about bringing people together.

What stands out is how he treats fan loyalty as a two-way street. They’re not just consumers — they’re the reason he keeps pushing boundaries between hard rock and worship music, between anger and healing. When someone tells you your song helped them leave a toxic relationship, that changes how you approach your craft. Tyson gets that. He admits it’s been a long road, crediting the right connections and people along the way, but ultimately his message stays consistent: stay true, stay focused, and remember who you’re really making music for.

Fans can find Tyson’s music across platforms including YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music, Pandora, and connect on Facebook.