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Published and distributed monthly by ITP Media Group by permission of Hearst Communications Inc, New York, United States of America EDITOR IN CHIEF Milli Midwood GROUP ART DIRECTOR Cate Warde DIGITAL EDITOR Sara AlHumiri BEAUTY EDITOR Lauren O’Connell CONTENT PRODUCER Twinkle Stanly CONTENT WRITER - ITP RIYADH Lama Aleidan COLUMNISTS & CONTRIBUTORS Rouhana El Hage Blanche Dmello JUNIOR ASSISTANTS Blanche Dmello Ivana Togher Fernanda Tronco Janice Crasto ITP MEDIA GROUP CEO Ali Akawi CFO Toby Jay Spencer-Davies Managing Director Marne Schwartz ADVERTISING Brand Director Farrah Taylor +971 4 444 3523 farrah.taylor@itp.com Advertising Director Nadia Musa +971 4 444 3171 nadia.musa@itp.com Brand Manager Molly Slevin +971 4 444 3517 molly.slevin@itp.com MARKETING & CIRCULATION Distribution Coordinator Avinash Pereira Circulation Executive Rajesh Pillai DIGITAL General Manager ITP Live Ahmad Bashour PHOTOGRAPHY Senior Photographers Efraim Evidor, Adel Rashid PRODUCTION & DISTRIBUTION Group Production & Distribution Director Kyle Smith Production Manager Denny Kollannoor Production Coordinator Balasubramanian P Image Editor Jemima Joy ITP MEDIA GROUP PO BOX 500024, DUBAI, UAE. TEL: +971 4 444 3000. ITP.COM` HEARST MAGAZINES INTERNATIONAL President/Hearst Magazines International Jonathan Wright SVP/Global Editorial & Brand Director Kim St. Clair Bodden Global Editorial & Brand Director, Young Women’s Group, Wellness Group, Enthusiast Group, Lifestyle Group Chloe O’Brien Editor-in-Chief, Cosmopolitan (1965-1997): Helen Gurley Brown international editions Bulgaria China Czech Republic France Germany Hong Kong Hungary India Indonesia Italy Japan Korea Mexico Middle East The Netherlands Philippines Slovenia Spain Taiwan Ukraine United Kingdom United States ON THE COVER Elyanna shot by Maria Kordzadze Elyanna wears FendiTHE VIRAL SPIRAL Back in March, my (very, very Gen Z) team and I were brainstorming which TikTok audio to use for our International Women’s Day content. “How about Shania Twain’s ‘Man I Feel Like A Woman’?” I suggested. I was met with a room of incredulous faces. “What’s a Shania Twain?” they responded. Like pretty much everyone else on the platform, we wanted our videos to go viral. Virality on TikTok is powerful yet unpredictable. Behind these uploads you’ll nd dance challenges and lip-synced duets in the millions – all promoted by TikTok via hashtags. “Good songs with a good sentiment don’t age,” I tried to argue. But it was anarchy against the Millennials in the meeting room and my decision was overthrown. Gen Z can make anything cool again. Their social media superiority not stopping at the ability to turn buttery clips and uffy bucket hats into 2022’s answer to a Tumblr aesthetic. They account for 44% of users on TikTok and, somehow, have the ability to bring artists from Fleetwood Mac to Kate Bush crashing back into the mainstream just by instigating a new 15-second video trend. Like it or not, this demographic’s aptitude to control TikTok trends has become one of the most powerful promotional tools in the business. Between them, they have the ability to launch, cancel, and, in some cases, relaunch music careers; they are the new cohort of social media marketers. And so, when we started putting together The Music Issue, we couldn’t ignore the micro-video app and its role in catapulting certain artists into superstardom. From Issam AlNajjar (pg 15) to cover star Elyanna (pg 54), we meet the breakout stars who owe their chart success to serendipitously being discovered on the “For You” page. The now-ubiquitous social media platform has become the most fertile source for birthing the nouveau celebrity. But in a digital sphere where attention spans are ever-shortening and mass opinions change in seconds, this issue also explores the future of fame in music, and how having a smartphone instantly makes everyone a stakeholder in the in uencer sausage factory (pg 82). And it’s not just through score or written word where sound is amplied. Musicians have of cially taken over the beauty space, too (pg 34). So much so that your Sephora and your Spotify cart are starting to look a lot alike… As for Shania Twain? That still don’t impress them much. Yet. Milli Midwood Editor-in-Chief 12 Ed’s LetterW AT C H When you’ve got so many video series, you gotta put them all in one place NAILED IT! Hey girlies, we’re coming in clutch this summer with our brand-new TikTok series ‘NAILED IT!’ where we help you discover the trendiest salons in Dubai. Get ready to have the most fire manicure this summer. Beki Reinvents Sleeping Beauty We don’t need a prince to rescue us, we need silk garments. Head over to IG to watch our shoot with Beki Ksouri come to life. Up your beauty sleep game with silky slips that are absolutely *chef’s kiss*. You can thank us later. Quick Fire with Chiara King From spilling the beans about her wildest fan encounters, to her best Dubai memories and more, catch Chiara King just being her usual, regal self singing in *Spanish* on our YouTube channel. This or That with Issam Al Najjar Who doesn’t love a guy who can get a crowd moving with just his guitar and ~angelic~ voice? Vibe with the ‘Hadal Ahbek’ star while he plays a game of This or That with Cosmo. Meet The Series We’re uploading daily on Snap, TikTok, IG Reels and YouTube, btw. COSMO Originals Like, comment, share, follow, subscribe Cover Story Want to watch our cover star recreate a ‘90s Arab Superstar look? Head over to our IGTV - @CosmoMiddle East 14WO RD S BY SA RA A LH U MIRI Where did you grow up? I was born in Jordan and grew up in Amman. How old were you when you wrote your ürst song? I was only 17 when the first song I wrote ‘Hadal Ahbek’ was professionally released. What was your initial reaction after you went viral? It literally happened overnight. The song went viral on the 15th of March last year, and I was so excited. Its success exceeded my expectations. It was crazy and I felt so overwhelmed. Who would you say your top three music inspirations are? I generally prefer Western music rather than traditional Arabic music. I studied pop artists like Justin Bieber, Shawn Mendes, and Ed Sheeran. I also always admired the creativity of iconic artists like Queen and The Weeknd, whom I consider a true source of inspiration. How do you deal with pressure and keeping your mental health in check? I try to stay down to earth. The support I get from my family at home and my second family at Universal Arabic Music help me face my fears a lot. They shield me from the downsides of fame. What advice would you give to young Arab artists that want to make it big in the music industry? I hope I can inspire them to do what they love. Believe in your dreams, because if I can achieve this level of success, so can you. How do you feel representing the Arab region in Hollywood. Do you feel like there is a lack of Arab representation on the music scene? I do feel like there is a lack of representation, which is why I feel like I have a responsibility on behalf of Arab artists eveywhere. One of my goals is to keep making music and keep building my fanbase who can bring awareness to Arab artists around the world. What do you have planned for the rest of 2022? I kicked off my very-first music tour, “Hadal Ahbek”, by opening for Maroon 5 in Giza and then in Abu Dhabi. I’ll also be performing 14 solo shows throughout the summer. And finally, following my debut album “Baree”, I’ve been working hard on the production for a new album–it’ll be slightly darker than my previous one, which is more about my love stories. Issam Al Najjar is only just getting started Ever wondered how Universal Arabic Music’s singing sensation felt after ‘Hadal Ahbek’ went viral on TikTok, catapulting him into super stardom? Get ready to take notes… “It literally happened overnight. The song went viral on the 15th of March last year, and I was so excited. Its success exceeded my expectations.” Shirt, Shorts and Shoes all by Yoox PHO T OGRAPHY B Y ADEL RA SHID , S T YLING B Y W ALAA ALA QRA Quick FireIn defence of the They are the women we systematically degrade without feeling bad, but here’s why Bravo’s programming powerhouse might just be the feminist franchise we all need to watch. Hear me out… WO RD S BY MILLI MIDWO O D Watch 16Watch 17When I confess my deep love – nay – obsession - with The Real Housewives franchise, the reactions range from disgust to rage to total agreement. The occasional few admit that they appreciate these types of shows as a “guilty pleasure”, but I’m also often met with an incredulous, “What is a Lisa Vanderpump?” from others. For years they’ve provided North America with an outlet to foster a seething hatred of rich women, but as the now-ubiquitous Housewives franchise continues to grow – and makes its way to Dubai – the reality reveals something different. Real Housewives is many things – it’s entertainment, it’s escapism, it’s a sociological experiment – but ‘bad for feminism’ it ain’t. The show has been a lucrative endeavour for Bravo, the scope not stopping at the boundaries of the United States. Its success prompted the network to go global and expand to the Middle East, and thus The Real Housewives of Dubai was born. Airing on June 1, Nina Ali, Chanel Ayan, Caroline Brooks, Dr. Sara Al Madani, Lesa Milan, and Caroline Stanbury graced our screens as the newest cast of this undeniable institution. With viewers in the millions, spin-off shows, merchandise, and cast appearances that extend far beyond Bravo, the presence of the franchise and its “ladies who lunch” cannot be ignored. Admittedly, The Real Housewives doesn’t have the intellectual dexterity of a documentary feature, but it’s no less intelligent than shows viewers readily admit to loving without guilt – And Just Like That, Schitt’s Creek or Friends, anyone? Any fans of the franchise who have watched a full episode can attest: these women aren’t just featured shopping all day or talking behind each other’s backs. It’s a show about friendship; it’s a show about being a mother; it’s a show about women building an empire – with the occasional gala dinner thrown in, obvs. Making women the entire focus of any TV program is something that deserves recognition. Housewives is a show about women, for women. And that makes people uncomfortable. Will we ever move towards a culture in which women are not punished for putting their lives in the public sphere on their own terms? Many think this genre of TV is harming the world, making us more stupid and setting women back 20 years. Feminised art forms like ‘chick lit’, gossip, celebrity, pop culture, and, of course, reality shows, are looked down on, but the hard fact is The Real Housewives is one of the biggest, glitziest, and most pro table reality shows on TV. There are many facets of this formidable force that prove it can be an empowering take on two traditionally mutually exclusive terms: feminism and femininity. Let’s take it back to 2005 when The Real Housewives of Orange County aired. There were few television shows that featured all- female casts, telling real stories – their stories – that showed us messy houses, divorce, domestic abuse, addiction, and nancial collapse. The portrayal of problems that were not much talked about, and even less so in the context of wealthy women, was powerful and palpable. As the show went on and the franchise grew, so did the housewives’ income. They now have brand opportunities and mega media exposure can be translated into dollars. Andy Cohen once said that the term “Housewives” is meant to be tongue-in-cheek. Because, in fact, most of the women featured in the franchise are not housewives at all, many are the breadwinners with extremely successful careers as entrepreneurs (Bethenny Frankel), actresses (Denise Richards), and models (Yolanda Hadid). In some instances, the show even offers a lucrative top-up for the PHOTO BY CHRIS HASTON/BRAVO 18 Watchalready famous (Kathy Hilton). But let’s just say, for a moment, that they were ‘just’ a housewife. Let’s say they are the stay-at-home mum whose sole responsibility is to raise the kids. What, exactly, is the problem with that? How, in 2022, are we allowing The Real Housewives to be space for misogynistic discourse to thrive, where the value we place on an individual is based on their earning potential and equality becomes synonymous with pay? God forbid we think about all the things that women offer within the home as something that can be teachable and important for posterity… It’s still easy to visualize those two clichés—the feminist and the housewife—in clean opposition to each other, yet the lexicon around both of these terms have radically changed over the years. The word “housewife” is now just as likely to evoke extravagance, indulgence and freedom as it is domestic servitude. In fact, the cast of Bravo’s franchise is so far removed from housewifery that the word exudes more ironic satire than it does perpetuate stereotypical gender norms. Reality TV has been sanctioned a feminized property to be consumed only by women and marginalized demographics. The ritualistic tweeting and sharing housewife memes that runs adjacent to the show have made it a source of sweet relief and entertainment for viewers – how is this any different to, let’s say, the Champion’s League? To say my social media feeds are awash with impassioned men whenever there’s a big sporting match going on is the understatement of the year. But us? Well we’re just feminine and frivolous, of course. Sports – reality TV’s closest counterpart within the binary – is for big, strong men, but reality TV is for the emotional. I’ve grown used to defending my passion for The Real Housewives to men who can think of nothing better than watching people kick a ball up and down a pitch for hours on end, or race very fast cars around in circles, or throw punches at each other for rounds of ve minutes until someone drops to the oor unconcious. Yes, I say resignedly, I’m sooo embarrassing. Yes, much of the discourse in the show largely surrounds the housewives obsessions with looking young and beautiful, but newsash: women in the real word are taught unequivocally to age gracefully, and to do it quietly. Amongst our growing admiration of plus-size models, our protests against diet culture, and our education around Photoshop machinations like FaceTune, we’ve forgotten about the glorication of feminine youth. The Real Housewives is one of the rst reality franchises I’ve watched that normalizes conversations about female aging. It’s an ironic twist of fate, really, having to point out to people: if reality TV has at times been archaic and anti-feminist, it’s largely because those were and are the times we live in. The Real Housewives is a format that facilitates dif cult but necessary discussions. The focus of these shows is not—despite how it may seem to the outsider—exclusively on appearance, wealth, and class. The density and nuance of these housewives’ lives, consumed by those who love to see a powerful, shameless women do and say what she wants, is what makes this franchise so damn successful. Sports – reality’s closest counterpart within the binary – is for big, strong men, but reality TV is for the emotional. 19 WatchNext >