Music
Ticketmaster Middle East Fresh List 2026: Artists We’re Playing Right Now
The best part about music is discovering an artist before everyone else does.
They show up in the background of a reel, in a link someone sends with no explanation, on a late-night drive, or in a video you only meant to watch once. Then one play becomes five. The name starts to stick. Suddenly, you’re looking up everything they’ve released.
That is the feeling behind the Ticketmaster Middle East Fresh List.
This is our discovery edit of artists we think deserve a place in your rotation right now: voices, sounds and scenes we keep coming back to.
From regional artists building their own worlds to new sounds moving through playlists, timelines and dance floors, these are the names worth having on your radar.
Some are already breaking through. Some still feel like a secret. All of them are worth pressing play on.
Start here.
TUL8TE
The first thing you notice is the mystery.
The mask. The visuals. The feeling that fans are piecing together more than just songs. But stay with TUL8TE for longer than one track and it becomes clear why the Egyptian artist has moved so quickly: the music has its own gravity.
His songs sit somewhere between Egyptian rap, Arabic pop and late-night nostalgia, built on hooks that feel familiar before you know the words. With over 3 million Spotify monthly listeners and close to 1 million YouTube subscribers, the secret is not exactly small anymore, but it still feels like you are catching an artist in the middle of becoming something bigger.
Start with Heseeny and let the rest of the world unfold from there.
Saint Levant
Saint Levant sounds like someone refusing to choose just one language, one place or one version of himself.
Arabic, French and English move through his music naturally, carrying romance, identity and memory without making any of it feel over-explained. The songs are smooth enough to live on repeat, but there is always something deeper underneath.
That mix is clearly connected. His audience now stretches across millions of followers on Instagram and TikTok, with 2.8 million Spotify monthly listeners and a strong run of recent releases keeping the momentum alive.
Start with SABAH EL WARD or Galbi if you want to hear why his world travels so easily.
Elyanna
Elyanna is already one of the biggest names here, but she still belongs on a Fresh List because her story is still expanding.
She has helped make Arabic pop feel global without flattening what makes it Arabic. The vocals, the visuals, the movement, the drama – everything feels intentional. Her music carries the scale of pop while staying rooted in identity.
She was the opening act for Coldplay in 2025 and was also part of the Yasalam 2025 Abu Dhabi GP Weekend lineup. With over 6 million Spotify monthly listeners, millions of followers across Instagram and TikTok, and a catalogue that keeps crossing borders, Elyanna is not just reaching new audiences; she is helping shift what those audiences expect Arabic music to sound and look like.
Start with Callin’ U (Tamally Maak) or Ganeni.
Zeyne
Zeyne makes music that feels close.
Not loud. Not overworked. Just close. Her sound blends Arabic emotion with R&B softness, creating songs that feel made for headphones, long drives and the part of the night when everything slows down.
She has the kind of profile that makes a Fresh pick feel right: big enough to have real momentum, but still intimate enough to feel like discovery. With around 391K Spotify monthly listeners, 750K Instagram followers and recent playlist movement across New Music Friday and regional charts, zeyne feels like an artist more people are about to start paying attention to.
Start with Ma Bansak or Hilwa.
Mishaal Tamer
Mishaal Tamer brings a different colour to the list.
His music moves between pop, alternative, emo rap and R&B, with a sound that feels internet-native but still personal. There is softness in the writing, but also a real crossover instinct, the kind of artist who can sit between scenes without sounding out of place.
The numbers show how far that sound is already travelling: over 2 million Spotify monthly listeners, more than 1 million YouTube subscribers and a playlist reach that stretches well beyond the region. He also opened for One Republic in Dubai in January 2024, adding another milestone to his growing journey. But what makes him interesting is not just scale. It is the feeling that Saudi pop, alternative and global youth culture are meeting in one place.
Start with Can’t Love Myself or when we were 16.
![HUGEL - Can't Love Myself (feat. Mishaal & LPW) [Official Lyric Video]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/1eI0TXq4hd4/0.jpg)
Marwan Pablo
Marwan Pablo makes Egyptian rap on his own terms.
From the beginning, his music has carried a darker, more experimental edge, with sharp production, unpredictable flows and a style that helped push the scene in a new direction. Tracks like “El Gemeza”, “Free” and “Sindbad” became early markers of his influence, while later projects such as 7OB&KASHAT and EN7RAF showed an artist still willing to take his sound somewhere unexpected.
That influence has travelled far beyond Egypt. With close to a million monthly Spotify listeners, Pablo has built a catalogue that continues to connect with a new generation of listeners discovering him for the first time.
Start with El Mabda2 or Karma.
![ABYUSIF x MARWAN PABLO - KARMA (Audio) [PROD. BY HADY MOAMER]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/e-JDTVHPxSE/0.jpg)
El Waili
You can hear Cairo in El Waili’s music, but you would be hard-pressed to predict where the track is going next.
The Egyptian producer has built a world out of electro-chaabi, electronic production, hip-hop and sounds pulled from the everyday. Since launching the El Waili project in 2020, he has developed a style that feels both rooted and futuristic, moving easily between club music, collaborations and film soundtracks.
Projects including Tayarat O Sayarat and L NOR have helped establish him as one of the region’s most distinctive producers, while his collaborations have continued to push that sound into new spaces.
Start with Tayarat O Sayarat.
Afroto
Afroto knows how to make a hook stick.
The Egyptian rapper started out beatboxing, and went on to build a sound that moves between trap and hip-hop, with hooks that keep you coming back. Songs like “7ALA”, “Msh Bel 7ozoz” and “KEBDA” helped establish him as one of the standout names of Egypt’s new rap generation.
Today, that momentum is hard to miss, with his music reaching hundreds of millions of streams and close to a million monthly Spotify listeners. But the numbers only tell part of the story. Afroto’s appeal lies in how naturally his music captures the pace and attitude of a scene that keeps evolving.
Start with Kebda.
Imad
Some artists make music that sounds like a place. Imad makes music that sounds like movement.
Born in Beirut and raised in Lagos, the producer brings together influences from across the region and beyond, building an Afro House sound that has found its way onto dance floors around the world. His remixes caught the attention of names including Keinemusik, Black Coffee, RÜFÜS DU SOL and Francis Mercier, helping take his productions to a much wider audience.
With more than 100 million Spotify streams and his own Afro House platform, Tailored, Imad is becoming more than a producer to watch. He is helping shape the sound around him.
Start with Not The Same.
Dystinct
DYSTINCT brings Moroccan Arabic, French rap, pop and raï into the same rotation.
Born and raised in Belgium to a Moroccan family, Iliass Mansouri has built his career around crossing borders — musically as much as geographically. His sound blends Moroccan Arabic, French rap, pop and raï, giving him a style that feels rooted in North Africa while reaching far beyond it. You might know ‘Ghazali’ from its connection to Morocco’s 2022 World Cup run. If that was your introduction to DYSTINCT, there’s more to explore.
With albums including Mon Voyage, LAYALI and BABABA WORLD, DYSTINCT has continued to expand that sound, while his 2026 releases show he is still moving forward rather than sitting on the success of his biggest hits.
Start with Ghazali, then move on to Spider and Yama.
Donia Wael
Donia Wael writes like she is saying the thing you were trying not to say out loud.
The Egyptian singer, songwriter and actress has built a following around music that feels intimate, understated and deeply personal. Her songs sit somewhere between indie, alternative pop and contemporary Egyptian music, with lyrics that give the smallest emotions room to linger.
Tracks such as “El 3asal” and “Bekya” introduced listeners to that quieter side of her sound, while her more recent releases have continued to show an artist becoming increasingly confident in her own voice.
Start with Ezay or A7sn 7al.
A Few More Artists We’re Watching
The Fresh List does not stop here.
We are also listening to Al Shami, Najm, Dana Salah, Felukah, MC Abdul and ZAD, artists building their own lanes across Arabic pop, rap, R&B and alternative sounds.
Some are already impossible to ignore. Some still feel like early discoveries. Either way, they are part of a bigger shift: music from the region is moving faster, travelling further and sounding more confident than ever.
That is what the Ticketmaster Middle East Fresh List is here for: giving a little more space to the artists, tracks and sounds worth discovering now.
Start with one track. Save the names. Send the link to someone who gets it.