# Massari

Sari Abboud (Arabic: ساري عبّود; born December 10, 1980), better known by his stage name Massari (/məˈsɑːri/ mə-SAR-ee), is a Lebanese-Canadian singer and songwriter. He began his career in the early 2000s and went on to release two R&B albums, Massari (2005) and Forever Massari (2009), before releasing two pop EPs, Hero (2015) and Tune In (2018). He is managed by SAL&CO.

## Early life and education

He was born in Beirut, Lebanon. His family relocated to Montreal, Quebec when he was 11 years old. At the age of 13, he and his younger brothers moved to Ottawa, Ontario, where he attended Hillcrest High School. At age 13 he performed at a school talent show which was the first time he wanted to pursue that as his career.

## Career

He started his musical career in 2001-2002 adopting the stage name Massari, a reference to his first name Sari and the Lebanese Arabic slang مصاري maṣāri meaning "money". He released his first song "Spitfire" (2002) which was aired on Ottawa radio stations.

### 2005–2007: Debut self-titled album and success with CP Records

After three years of preparation, he released a self-titled album Massari on CP Records. His debut album resulted in four singles, receiving Gold certification in Canada, and he continued to have international success in Europe, Asia, the Middle East. Two of his early singles "Be Easy" and "Real Love" besides being two of his major hits in Canada, cracking the Canadian Top 10, they also charted notably in the German Singles Chart. Based on his initial success, Massari signed a record deal with independent record label, CP Records, becoming the prominent successful performing artist for the record company alongside rapper Belly. On November 14, 2007, Massari and his record label, CP Records, came to a mutual agreement to end their relationship.

### 2009–2010: Forever Massari and signing with Universal

During 2009, he released two tracks from the forthcoming album, namely "Bad Girl" and "Body Body". The album itself Forever Massari was officially released on Universal Records Canada on 10 November 2009. It included songs by writers and producers like Rupert Gayle, Alex Greggs, Derek Brin, Rob Wells and Justin Forsley.

### 2011–2013: Signing again with CP and Hero EP

In summer of 2011, Massari signed again with CP Records, after five years of his departure from the label. On June 20, 2012, Massari realized there was money to be made off of the Middle Eastern ethnic audience, and released a free single called "Full Circle" featuring Belly as the lead single from his first EP Hero. Massari's second single for the EP, called "Brand New Day", was released on July 1, 2012 (Canada Day). Massari shot the video in Miami with Canadian director RT!. In January 2013, "Brand New Day" went Gold in Canada. It also charted on the Austrian Ö3 Austria Top 40, German Media Control Charts and Swiss Hitparade. The third single from the EP, "Shisha", features French Montana. It was released on May 21, 2013.

### 2017–present: Tune In

On March 24, 2017, Massari released a brand new song "So Long" along with a music video featuring former Miss Universe Pia Wurtzbach. It is the first single from his third album Tune In. The album contains features from Mohammed Assaf, Tory Lanez, Beenie Man, Shaggy, Afrojack and producer DaHeala. On March 31, 2017, a follow-up single "Done Da Da" was released along with a music video which received over 7.2 million views within 3 weeks on Vevo.

## Artistry
### Influences

He has been exposed to a wide variety of music styles. He says his biggest influence is George Wassouf Massari says, "I sing from my heart and George Wassouf taught me to do that."
Many of Massari's songs are influenced by his Middle-Eastern origins. Most of his songs contain Middle-Eastern Arabic melodies. Massari says, "Because of my background, my music is heavily influenced by Middle-Eastern melodies. Over the past few years so many artists are trying to bring Arabic styles into their music, but mine is authentic." Massari sings and raps about women. "My music is made for the ladies because that's where I get my inspiration. You'll notice a lot of the music is upbeat and positive. Women give off so much energy; it's hard not to be inspired by them."

### Music style

A large portion of Massari's work incorporates elements of both singing and rapping, depending on whether or not another artist is featured on the track. Overall, Massari incorporates elements of R&B, hip hop, and pop in his music.

## Personal life

Massari is fluent in English, Arabic and French.

## Discography
### Studio albums

List of studio albums, with selected chart positions, sales figures and certifications :
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications |
| Title | Album details | CAN | Certifications |
| Massari | Released: May 31, 2005 Label: CP Records Formats: CD, digital download | 29 | MC: Gold |
| Forever Massari | Released: November 10, 2009 Label: Universal Music Canada Formats: CD, digital download | — | |
| "—" denotes an album that did not chart or was not released. ||||

### Extended plays

| Title | EP details |
| Hero | Released: May 17, 2015 Label: CP Music Group Format: CD, Digital download |
| Tune In | Released: July 20, 2018 Label: Massari & Co. Formats: CD, digital download |

### DVDs

* 2006: Massari: Road to Success

### Singles

| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album |
| Year | Title | CAN | AUT | GER | POR | SWI | ROM | LEB | Certifications | Album |
| 2005 | "Smile for Me" (feat. Loon) | 18 | — | — | 12 | — | — | — | | Massari |
| 2005 | "Be Easy" | 4 | — | 70 | 16 | — | — | — | | Massari |
| 2006 | "Real Love" | 9 | — | 48 | 48 | — | — | — | | Massari |
| 2006 | "Rush the Floor" (feat. Belly) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Massari |
| 2008 | "Say You Love Me" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | non-album singles |
| 2008 | "In Love Again" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | non-album singles |
| 2009 | "Bad Girl" | 77 | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Forever Massari |
| 2009 | "Body Body" | 81 | — | — | 81 | — | — | — | | Forever Massari |
| 2010 | "Under the Radar" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Forever Massari |
| 2011 | "Dance for Your Life" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | non-album single |
| 2012 | "Full Circle" (feat. Belly) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Hero |
| 2012 | "Brand New Day" | 41 | 26 | 29 | 24 | 24 | — | — | MC: Gold | Hero |
| 2013 | "Shisha" (feat. French Montana) | 37 | — | — | 37 | — | — | — | MC: Gold | Hero |
| 2014 | "What About the Love" (feat. Mia Martina) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Hero |
| 2017 | "So Long" | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7 | | Tune In |
| 2017 | "Done Da Da" | — | — | — | 21 | — | 15 | 15 | | Tune In |
| 2017 | "Number One" (feat. Tory Lanez) | — | — | 81 | — | — | — | 20 | | Tune In |
| 2018 | "Roll with It" (with Mohammed Assaf) | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | | Tune In |
| 2018 | "Why" (with Shaggy) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Tune In |
| 2018 | "Tune In" (feat. Afrojack & Beenie Man) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | Tune In |
| 2018 | "Ya Nour El Ein" (feat. Maya Diab & French Montana) | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | | non-album singles |
| 2019 | "Albeh Nkasar" | — | — | — | — | — | — | 14 | | non-album singles |
| 2020 | "I See the Dream (Badna Salam)" (with Ali Gatie) | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | | non-album singles |
| 2021 | "Be Mine" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | non-album singles |
| "—" denotes a single that did not chart or was not released. |||||||||||

### Guest appearances

List of non-single guest appearances, with other performing artists, showing year released and album name :
| Title | Year | Album |
| "Soul on Fire" (KMC ft. Beenie Man & Massari) | 2006 | Soul on Fire |
| "Ya Dunya" (Belly ft. Massari) | 2007 | The Revolution |
| "Latin Moon" (Mia Martina ft. Massari) | 2011 | Devotion |
| "That Kinda Love" (Sol City ft. Massari) | 2011 | non-album single |
| "La noche entera" (Pachanga ft. Massari) | 2015 | La era positiva |
| "Sherazade" (Kurdo ft. Massari) | 2016 | Verbrecher aus der Wüste |
| "Asheghet Manam" (Tohi ft. Massari) | non-album single |
| "Ana Lahale" (Elyanna ft. Massari) | 2020 | Elyanna |
| "Arabi" (Mohamed Ramadan ft. Future & Massari) | 2024 | non-album single |

## Awards and nominations

| Award | Date | Category | Nominee | Result |
| MuchMusic Video Awards | June 19, 2005 | Best Independent Video | Massari ft. Loon – "Smile For Me" | Nominated |
| MuchMusic Video Awards | June 19, 2005 | Best Rap Video | Massari ft. Loon – "Smile For Me" | Nominated |
| Canadian Urban Music Awards | November 29, 2005 | R&B/Soul Recording of the Year | Massari | Nominated |
| Canadian Urban Music Awards | November 29, 2005 | Best New Artist | Massari | Nominated |
| MuchMusic Video Awards | June 18, 2006 | People's Choice: Favourite Canadian Artist | Massari – "Real Love" | Nominated |
| MuchMusic Video Awards | June 18, 2006 | Best Pop Video | Massari – "Be Easy" | Won |
| MuchMusic Video Awards | June 18, 2006 | Best Independent Video | Massari – "Be Easy" | Nominated |
| MuchMusic Video Awards | June 18, 2006 | Best Cinematography | Massari – "Be Easy" | Nominated |
| Juno Awards | April 2, 2006 | R&B/Soul Recording of the Year | Massari | Nominated |
| SiriusXM Indie Awards | March 22, 2013 | Dance Artist or Group of the Year | Massari | Won |
| SiriusXM Indie Awards | May 10, 2014 | Must Follow Artist of the Year | Massari | Nominated |
| Murex d'Or | September 3, 2014 | | Massari | Won |

## Citations

* Ottawa Citizen: "Back with a splash: Rebuilding the Massari empire"
* BlackBeatsFM Interview with Massari (German)
* Star Phoenix: Rebuilding Massari empire
* PlanetUrban (Australia) interview with Massari
* Naked Eye video interview with Massari