Music
Dana Al Fardan is the first Qatari artist to come out with an album entirely in English. Listen to her song “In My Eyes” here. This song, along with most of her music, is dramatic and theatrical. Al Fardan seems to dominate the popular music industry in Qatar, as the founder and CEO of DNA Records. She is a beautiful singer and composer.
 Ammar Abouelghar, Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar graduate spoke to Doha News about the barriers Qatari people face in the music industry, “In the US and other countries, you have venues that are there for local artists to perform, so people can go and hang out and check out local talent. You also have radio stations that are there to bring out these artists. There’s a culture there. Music is big. That’s not the case here,” he said. Statistics from Northwestern University of Qatar’s Entertainment Study support this opinion. The study found that compared to the rest of the Middle East, listening to music is not a popular a choice of medium in Qatar— 71% of the Qatari population reported listening to music compared to an 84% average from the total sample. Nationals in other countries are more likely to listen to music than nationals in Qatar—only 53% report listening to music as an activity, and only 27% say it is an important medium.

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Hamad International Airport’s official theme music “The Beginning” performed by the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra composed by Dana Al Fardan. The music video features the orchestra playing “The Beginning” in Hamad International Airport. Qatar Airways is a source of national pride, and the music that plays there will, in a sense, represent the nation.
Qatari musician Abu Bakr on how Arab music and culture has shaped London's music scene.
Qatari musician Gahad Al Kubaisi. In America, it is virtually impossible to find a music video like this one with such a large cast made up entirely of men, but this is common for Qatar. Media is dominated by men. The music video boasts a lavish setting and provides insight into the common customs among Qatari people.