For today’s episode, I have a very special guest and our first singer-songwriter on the podcast, my musically talented friend, ZAINA BERRI. Zaina is a Lebanese-American artist, raised by a single, first-generation immigrant Lebanese mother, has been writing songs since she was nine years old. It was something that came naturally to her. The 90s baby would write lyrics in her composition notebook decorated with doodles of cats and Britney Spears songs. Zaina’s unique blend of East and West, soulful voice, confessional, honest lyricism, bilingual flair, and powerful, unapologetic passion is what makes her stand out in a sea of “the next (insert female pop star here)”. She was recently featured by Sceene as an artist in the 120 Artists to Watch in 2023. We talked about her Fave 4 Albums in a NEW Segment with Singer-Songwriters we'll be having on the Chai which included: Stripped by Christina Aguilera, Familia by Camila Cabello, In the Meantime by Alessia Cara, and No Strings Attached by *NSYNC. She has a lot to share about her journeys through the music industry so, let’s let Zaina spill her own chai!

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Lists & Links for Our Guest:

Her official Instagram, TikTok & Twitter: @zainaberri

Her official Streaming Artist Pages: Zaina Berri Official Spotify Page and Zaina Berri Official Apple Music Page where you can find her entire discography.

Check out Zaina Berri's official website here and check out her latest single, and first bilingual single: "MAMA". Several of her other singles mentioned in this episode include: "Little Man", "New Skin", "Release", "Home", and "Stop (하지마)".

Zaina also mentioned this article that she was featured in and we discussed the response post-publishing on the episode: "Dearborn's Zaina Berri drops new single" by John Zadikian of Press & Guide and her official performance on LIVE IN THE D.

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Official The Hollywood Chai Info:

Follow us on Instagram: @thehollywoodchai and Twitter: @ChaiHollywood

Questions or Topics you want covered? Email us: thehollywoodchai@gmail.com

Follow our host on Instagram: @thejakkawiarab

Follow our production company on Instagram: @bougiearabsentertainment

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This episode is sponsored by:

• Dalia Web Design - for all your website designing needs and maintenance: http://www.daliawebdesign.com/
• ZENA Events - for all your event planning needs, especially weddings!: www.zenaweddingsandevents.com
• The Script Doctors - a sister podcast where we fix scripts on air! Follow on instagram @thescriptdoctors

Credits:

This episode was recorded in San Francisco, CA and Dearborn, MI, produced and edited by Jon Akkawi. DOP: Mera Nino. Art Direction: Rosy Nino. Logo Design: Christina Raie. Theme Music: "Arab Trap" by Chef Elon. The Hollywood Chai is a BOUGIE ARABS ENTERTAINMENT production.

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