Mohamed Ahmed Ali (Arabic: محمد أحمد علي; born 7 September 1993), also known by the mononym Mohamed, is a Danish singer. Ali was born in Nørresundby, Aalborg. In 2009, he took part in Season 2 of The X Factor, coming third after winner Linda Andrews and runners up Alien Beat Club. After the series, he signed a contract with Sony Music.[1] On the occasion, Karina Foss Fenn of Sony Music Entertainment Denmark was quoted as saying: "It is rare that we in the music industry encounter a natural talent like Mohamed Ali. Both in his vocals and his physique, he oozes musicality – and his voice has both power and a sweetness that makes his rhythm quite unique."[2] The music will no doubt to reflect Mohamed's personality". This contract resulted in a debut album Keep It Simple of 12 original songs and his single "Rocket" became one of the best downloaded songs.[3]
Mohamed Ali | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Mohamed Ahmed Ali |
| Also known as | Mohamed |
| Born | 7 September 1993 Nørresundby, Aalborg Municipality, Denmark |
| Genres | Pop, dance |
| Occupation | Singer |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | 2007–present |
| Labels | Sony (2009–present) |
| Website | www |
Beginnings
editMohamed Ali was born in Denmark to an Egyptian father and Iraqi mother.[4] He started early through an appearance in "Scenen er din" (translated as "the stage is yours), in 2007. His parents had been divorced one year earlier in 2006. He lived with his mother Ahlam and three older sisters Fatima, Meriam and Asia.
X Factor
editHe applied for the Danish version of The X Factor singing competition in 2009 where he reached the Final 3 and was a clear favorite to win.[5] He sang the following songs:
| Date | Theme | Performer | Song | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 February 2009 | Hits | Amerie | "1 Thing" | Safe to next round |
| 20 February 2009 | Made in Denmark | OneTwo | "Det er sent nu" | Safe to next round |
| 27 February 2009 | Motown | The Jackson 5 | "I Want You Back" | Safe to next round |
| 6 March 2009 | ABBA songs | ABBA | "SOS" | Safe to next round |
| 13 March 2009 | DR Bigband | Beyoncé feat. Jay-Z | "Crazy in Love" | Bottom 2, Saved |
| 20 March 2009 | Sanne Salomonsen songs | Sneakers | "Efter Festen" | Bottom 2, Saved by public |
| Dedication | Michael Jackson | "Dirty Diana" | ||
| 27 March 2009 | Free choice | Daniel Bedingfield / Katy Perry | "If You're Not the One" / "Hot n Cold" | Finished third |
- In the finals, he got fewest SMS votes in a closely run race in which he lagged by just 2% of the votes to the runner-up in Top 3 and was able to amass big number of fans through his Facebook site (more than 70,000 friends).[6]
After X Factor
editIn May 2009, he appeared as an opening act for Beyoncé when she sang in Denmark.
Having signed a contract with Sony Music, he had a debut hit with "Rocket" a song that entered the Danish Singles Chart in week 10/2009. The single peaked at No. 12 in the charts and spent a total of 20 weeks on the Danish charts.[7]
He had a comeback through a release on disco:wax record label and distribution by Sony with the song "Den du er".
In 2010, he recorded with Swedish singer Ola Svensson and Norwegian singer Endre Nordvik the song "Fire" for the Scandinavian Nordic version of the film Camp Rock 2. The song appeared on the soundtrack album Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam
Dansk Melodi Grand Prix
editIn 2013, he came back to take part in Dansk Melodi Grand Prix in a bid to represent Denmark in Eurovision Song Contest 2013 with the song "Unbreakable" written by Morten Friis, Michael Parsberg, Peter Bjørnskov, Lene Dissing. He was one of ten contestants to take part and qualified for the final 3 alongside Simone with "Stay Awake" and Emmelie de Forest with "Only Teardrops". Mohamed Ali finished second overall with de Forest winning the bid to sing the Danish entry to Eurovision 2013. Despite his failure to win the contest, "Unbreakable" proved popular and was released as a single and is only his second charted single after "Rocket".
- The Superfinal
| Draw | Artist | Song | Cutfather | Lis Sørensen | Jørgen de Mylius | Maria Lucia | Kato | SMS voting | Total | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | Simone | "Stay Awake" | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 15 | 3 |
| 8 | Emmelie de Forest | "Only Teardrops" | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 15 | 26 | 1 |
| 10 | Mohamed Ali | "Unbreakable" | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 19 | 2 |
Discography
editAlbums
edit| Year | Title | Peak position |
Certification |
|---|---|---|---|
| DAN [8] | |||
| 2009 | Keep It Simple | 2 |
Singles
edit| Year | Single | Peak position | Album | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DAN [8] | ||||
| 2009 | "Rocket" | 12 | Keep It Simple | |
| 2012 | "Den du er" | – | Non-album release | |
| 2013 | "Unbreakable" | 4 | Non-album release | From Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 2013 |
- Other (non-charting)
- 2009: "Holla!"
- 2010: "Fire" (with Ola and Endre Nordvik)
- 2012: "Ser dig"
Collaboration
edit- 2009: "All About Love" by Anna David feat. Mohamed Ali [1]
References
edit- ^ Presswire: Sony Music Entertainment Denmark A/S communique (in Danish)
- ^ WebShop Magazinet: Muhammed Ali fra X Factor I aftale med SONY Music Archived 19 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine (in Danish)
- ^ "GL Music Production: Mohamed Ali page". Archived from the original on 8 March 2011. Retrieved 24 May 2010.
- ^ TV2: X Factor gavner integration (in Danish)
- ^ MetroXpress: Portræt af Mohamed Ali (in Danish)
- ^ MusikPlaten: Mohamed Ali fra X Factor indgår pladekontrakt med Sony Archived 9 September 2012 at archive.today (in Danish)
- ^ aCharts.us Page for "Rocket" by Mohamed Ali
- ^ a b danishcharts.dk: Mohamed Ali discography page