Rotana Tarabzouni Sings Once More

Saudi student and vocalist Rotana Tarabzouni wrote to us here at the blog. She has a new video up on YouTube, linked below. Her singing is fantastic, very emotional, heartfelt and beautiful.

Dear K,

As a month has passed, I wanted to say thank you for your correspondence with me at the time of launching the video I made in unison with the October26 campaign. Your support was so meaningful to me . 

As I continue to pursue music as a way of inspiring other Arab women – and women in general - to follow their bliss , I think it is very important that I keep those that have supported me along the way posted .

As you can imagine, there was quite a bit of backlash and efforts to silence me after that video, as has been the case whenever I rise and sing as a Saudi women. Instead of fighting dark with dark, I decided to sing ..Below is the link , I hope you enjoy it and thank you so much again .

Sincerely, 

Rotana 

Saudi woman makes music video tribute to Saudi women and driving campaign

Today, a Saudi graduate student named Rotana Tarabzouni wrote to me about a music video she made as a tribute to Saudi women and October 26th. Rotana sings in this video, covering the song by Lorde entitled "Team". Here is what Rotana wrote.

My name is Rotana Tarabzouni and I am a graduate student at the University of Southern California.  As a Saudi national, born and raised in Dhahran - and more importantly, as a strong believer in the enfranchisement of women, I fully support the Saudi women that will be driving in protest on October 26^th.

I am a singer/songwriter pursuing music along with my education. I was so inspired by the stories of the courageous Saudi women of my generation that I recorded a song and made a video in solidarity with the cause. I’ve attached the link to the song below. 

I am passing this on to you as my way of applauding these brave women, hopefully inspiring others to get involved- even its by something as simple as starting a conversation-. Please feel free to use it in any way you see fit. I have no specific agenda for the video, just the chance to connect and support my brave Saudi sisters in pursuing their dreams. They have shown me what it is to try, try again, try harder, try again, and never stop trying. No matter what. I sing for them.

Thank you so much for giving me your valuable time.

Here is the link : 

Sincerely,

Rotana Tarabzouni

PS - I wrote to Rotana asking her about her first name. There is a huge media production company in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf called Rotana. Here is what she wrote back to me about her name.....

It's just a funny coincidence. I came first haha . Rotana is a type of date ( the fruit ) from Medina , a city in the western province. It is a very uncommon name to have . I like to think that Rotana (me) and Rotana ( the company ) will one day collaborate .