Mohamed El Maghraby (Exclusive Interview)

 A BOOMING STAR –  

Interviewing Mohamed El Maghraby was lots of fun and inspiration, because behind this calm and decent character lies lots of dreams and hopes of becoming one of the best artists not only in Egypt but in the middle east. He was one of the candidates competing in Star Academy, and even though he did not win the title, he won the love of so many of his fans which are supporting and loving him endlessly. And In order to know more about this young artist, that happens to sing, play the guitar, compose and write songs we interviewed him.

 

At the beginning, Why do you think you gained all this love and fame in such a shot period of time?

I believe that people’s love is a gift from GOD. My mom always prays for me that people love me, and this is exactly what happened.

 

What made you think of applying to Star Academy at the start?

Any young man trying to understand more about his talent, and looking for opportunities to highlight that talent goes through searching for different paths. I believed that if I got accepted in Star Academy, it will make things easier for me and decrease a lot of the necessary steps I may have needed with it. I believe that if I did not follow my dream, I am a passive person and that is why I used to fill in applications for any of those shows.

 

How do you evaluate your experience of around two months in this show?

My original personality did not change, yet a lot of other traits have been added. I benefited a great deal from interacting with people from different cultures, and speaking different languages. I have never traveled to any other country outside Egypt therefore this has given my independency and taught me a lot of patience. Also the teachers taught me a lot of new things.

 

How were you as a child?

I really do not remember, but I think I was always after making sure I do not cause my parents any trouble. I was a normal child who worries that his mother or father get upset from him.

 

Who had the greatest influence on you as a child?

My mother had the biggest impact on me as a child. She always searched for positive talents in me, and always worked on developing them. Her encouragement was a huge lift to me growing up. She even used to write for me to help me sing more, everything she did to me made me develop myself more and continue more in music.

 

When did you realize you had a musical talent, and what did you start doing?

I started out singing, I used to memorize the songs easily and always sang at home. My mum and family members, encouraged me to sing because they believed I had a nice voice. At that age I did not realize that, but then I continued singing and then researched what singing is. And it started out in high school when I joined the choir.

 

We know you sing, write and compose. What is the closest to you?

Singing is a major thing in my life, But sometimes you have feelings either of sadness or happiness that you want to transform into words. And this is when I write or compose, It is a nice feeling because when I hear those songs later I remember the situation that made me write this song.

 

Who did you listen to the most growing up?

I adore Angham so much, because she has the highest feelings while singing, beautiful ideas and words. From the old singers I love Mohamed Kandil, Mohamed Fawzy and Abdel Halim Hafez.

 

 

 

 

What did you do to nurture this talent?

Nobody taught me how to play the guitar, I took the basics from a friend and then I researched over the internet and watched online videos and this developed me. I did not get the opportunity to actually learn, but it was all based on personal researches.

 

What were your musical achievements before Star Academy?

I am part of a band, which consists of a group of friends who love music and play different instruments. The band is called 3ala Wara2 and it includes, Anas Mokhtar who plays base guitar, Mostafa Daif plays Electric Lead guitar, Mostafa Khamees (Ghost) plays electric lead guitar,Abdel razik plays drums,  Amir Ali plays classic guitar ,Hazem Ezzat plays the organ and piano and I am the singer. Our band is team work, since most of the people in the band write and compose.

We made three shows, In Jesuit and Abdel Menim Gaber. Our songs rotate around social problems, because this is how we wanted to portray our art to people. We stayed preparing for the band and the songs around 4 months, and then when we introduced them to the people they received us with great feedback and admiration due to the uniqueness of the subjects. The band was very successful until one of our friends entered the army, and finding an alternative at that time was difficult since we are one big family.

 

Now, that you are back and knowing it’s been such a short period. What shocked you the most from the feedback and reactions you got.

People welcoming me home in the airport was a great happy shocking situation. I was shocked to see the amount of loving people waiting for me in the airport. I am from their country, and they made me feel like a national hero. To the extent I really wished I could hug and kiss everyone who took the trouble to come for me.  One of the most touching situations that touched me personally was of a police major, who came to me and called me by my name and prayed for me. On this day I felt related to everyone and part of everyone’s family.

 

What are your ideas and plans for the coming period?

I do not like to talk about my coming plans in case they do not happen, I also do not want to rush something because I want to present the best I can to my great fans who I consider family. They have been very supportive and loving, so I want to offer them something that makes them happy and proudJ

 

How are you distinctive to other new stars reaching for their way in the market?

I believe that there are many people with lovely voices, but long ago people used to say this singer has great feelings and this is exactly why I love angham. And I perceive myself as trying hard to reach my audience through feeling the song and delivering its meanings.

 

Do you think you will act, especially that you have taken acting classes in the academy?

I do not mind the idea, since I discovered this side of me inside the academy. But I have to feel the role, and it has to be suitable to the stage I am at.

 

Mohamed this issue is about Addiction in its different forms, and since you are with us I wanted to ask you a couple of questions about that.

 

Why do you think is the reason behind the youth getting so addicted to shows such as Star Academy?

I really do not know the real reason, I ask myself the same question. But I believe people should be moderate. Such shows should not interfere with our lives, or our main priorities.

 

 

 

 

Mohamed what are your addictive hobbies other than the music?

I love sports very much and played all sorts of different games, such as football, Handball, basketball and I also like going to the gym. This helped me stay away from smoking and many dangerous or even bad habits.

 

So, you advise youth to practice sports in order to stay away from addiction?

If I were a father, the first thing I would do if I have a child is make sure he plays sports because this will help build his character in many aspects. It will also build his character and keep him away for any harmful habits. It will increase his number of good friends, and make him a sociable person as well.

 

Now we are at the end, what message would you like to tell your fans?

I never deal with my as fans, I deal with you as family. Since what you are saying is out of love and concern that could only happen from family members.

 

Who else would you like to deliver a message to?

Khaled Selim is someone I want to send lots of thanks for supporting me, and standing by me. I also want to thank Angham for talking about me it is a great honor. I want to thank my mum for her constant support and care, there is nothing to describe the amount of love and care she has given . I want to thank my friends who were there for me always. I also hope that I was a good representative of Egypt in this show.