Mahmood on the cover of GQ Middle East

After his successful appearance on the Eurovision stage in 2019, the Italian/Egyptian singer Alessandro Mahmoud, known professionally as Mahmood, strikes again, this time on te cover of the very famous issue of GQ in its Middle Eastern edition.

Taking into account the success of his Eurovision entry “Soldi” with its pioneering structure and rhythm, GQ says that he aims for the top. This  can be seen from the title of the cover:“Mahmood: Pop’s New Megastar Defies Every Rule.”

Apparently Mahmood defies everything in his life. From his glamourous and conspicuous dress code to his criticizers. One of his criticizers, after his victory in San Remo in 2019, was the former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior Matteo Salvini, who commented his preference for the runner up Ultimo and questioned whether Soldi was the best song to represent Italy. Matteo Salvini’s stance was not a surprise since he is very strict regarding immigration and asylum issues, plus Soldi includes some lyrics in Arabic.

In his interview on GQ magazine, Mahmood chose to point out to the positive side of this drama.

“I think that in any big number of people, there’s always someone who will understand the right story, the right message. It’s important to speak to those people. And there will always be people who speak against you. Against your race, your politics. They’ll always exist.”

As far as his music heritage is concerned, he said that:

“It’s very, very important to me. I think that all my roots are in my music. I want to speak about my story. My past. It’s important for me to tell a story in which people can see their own stories. So many people sent me messages on Instagram saying, ‘Thank you for this, it’s like you’re talking about my life.’ It’s important for me to put my Arabic roots, my Sardinian roots and my Italian roots into the music.”

Source: Wiwibloggs