i love youName - Sari Fawasi Abboud
Born - December 10, 1980 in Beirut, Lebanon
Occupation - R&B, pop, and hip hop singer
Massari (real name Sari Abboud) moved to Montreal at the age of 10. At 13, he moved to Ottawa with his younger brothers Sami and Samer, unfortunately no sisters which made sari respect the girls more and love them. He has made Ottawa his home, in 2002 he released his first song "Spitfire" that received local radio airplay on Ottawa's Hot 89.9.
It isn't everyday that Canadian independent urban artists achieve the level of success that Ottawa-based Massari has received in such a short period of time. Massari's debut album was released self-titled album—Massari(2005) And reached Gold record status within six months of release making 2005 the year for Canada's breakthrough R&B recording artist Massari and Ottawa-based independent label Capital Prophet Records. His debut album resulted in four singles, receiving Gold certification in Canada, and he went on to have international success including Europe, Asia, the Middle East and in his home country Lebanon.
Since the debut release early last year, Massari has had his first three singles and videos in the Top 20, two back to back # 1 videos on the MuchMusic Top 30 Countdown, nominations for two 2005 MuchMusic Video Awards (Best Independent Video, MuchVibe Best Rap Video), nominations for two 2005 Canadian Urban Music Awards (Best New Artist, R&B/Soul Recording of the Year), and most recently a 2006 Juno Award nomination in the R&B/Soul Recording of the Year category. Massari is scheduled to perform alongside Coldplay, Michael Buble, Black Eyed Peas and others for the LIVE Juno Broadcast in Halifax, NS on April 2nd, 2006.
The 28-year old Sagittarius, born in Beirut, Lebanon, moved with his family to Montreal at the age of 10 to break out of the unrest within the population at that time. Later, at 13 he moved to Ottawa where he currently resides. The trilingual artist – he speaks English, French and Arabic fluently – cites Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, and Aretha Franklin as musical influences. However, growing up he has been exposed to various styles of music and because of that his biggest influence is legendary Arabic singer George Wassouf.
In 2002, Massari recorded and released “Spitfire” which garnered heavy rotation on Ottawa radio stations. He returned in 2005 with his self-titled debut album release on May 31st, 2005 through MapleNationWide/Universal. For this record, Massari worked closely with Da Heala of the Capital Prophet Records production team. The album, with its upbeat club-style tracks, mid-tempo joints and smooth ballads draws influences from Massari's middle-eastern origins. “Because of my background, my music is heavily influenced with middle-eastern melodies.”, explains Massari.
Massari (pronounced Ma-Sar-ee) - whose Arabic name literally translated means 'money' - has taken the industry by surprise in Canada. A national indie phenomenon Massari's self-titled album debuted on the Top 40 SoundScan Chart at #29, and #6 on the R&B chart selling out nationwide in its first couple days of release. The lead off single, “Smile For Me” features former Bad Boy Entertainment recording artist Loon. “It didn't matter if he was an established artist or not, it was just the quality of the record, the quality of the music that made me want to get involved”, says Loon about his involvement with Massari and Capital Prophet Records. The end result was a hit single that spent 24 weeks on the Top 40 chart, peaking at #18 (BDS CHR) in Canada. Canadian award-winning music video director RT! was responsible for making the “Smile For Me” video one of the hottest urban videos by a Canadian artist. The video was immediately added to heavy rotation at MuchMusic and MuchVibe and received two 2005 MuchMusic Video Award nominations for Best Independent Video and MuchVibe Best Rap Video.
His second single “Be Easy”, bettered his first outing and spent close to four months in the Top 10 (peaking at #4) on the Top 40 Chart (BDS CHR). The video, once again directed by music video director RT!, was instantly added to heavy rotation across the board on video outlets and peaked at the coveted #1 position on the MuchMusic Top 30 Countdown. Riding high on the success of “Be Easy” comes the much-anticipated third single “Real Love”. The romantic ballad shows a softer side to Massari with its beautifully innocent and heartfelt lyrics. The single found its way into the Top 20 at Canadian CHR/TOP 40 radio after only four weeks and the video was added into heavy rotation across the board at video outlets. The video made its way to the #1 spot on major video countdowns – MuchMusic, MuchMoreMusic and Musique Plus. The video directed by RT!, produced by John Nadalin and executive produced by Tony Sal (Capital Prophet Records) brings to life a fabulous story of love, fate and destiny.
Already the biggest selling Canadian R&B artist of 2005, Massari is taking things worldwide in 2006 with a recently inked major record deal with Universal Music in Germany for release of his debut CD in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, along with releases confirmed for over 40 territories around the world including Australia, UK, Middle East and more.
Massari had a prosperous relationship with independent record label, Capital Prophets (CP) Records Inc. where he was signed and released his debut album "Massari" in 2005. The relationship went on until late 2007.
On 14th Nov. 2007, Massari and the record label, Capital Prophets (CP) Records Inc. came to a mutual agreement to dissolve their relationship due to contractual and financial disputes. He is currently signed with Universal Records, and his upcoming sophomore album will be released in mid-2008.
Massari's second album is confirmed to be out between late summer and early fall of 2008. The first two singles of the album, "Say You Love Me" and "In Love Again", premiered on April 28, 2008 on his MySpace site. "Say You Love Me" was a hit on radio stations worldwide, and on May 16, it was first performed in Lebanon on Star Academy. The video shoot for IN LOVE AGAIN is released by the mid of July 08.
