Safya Mal-Barkati

**Safya Mahmushana Mal-Barkati** (Beratian: ཥཨཕ༹ཇ་ཾཨམུཤན་ཾཨལབརྐཨཏྱ, *Safja Mamušana Mal-Barkaty*, born 27 November 1990), also known as simply **Safya**, is a Beratian singer, songwriter, dancer, model, and actress.

Born and raised in Caspar, Mal-Barkati first came to prominence after winning *Beratian Superstar 2012*, earning the right to represent Berats in the Pravian Song Contest 2012 and being awarded a recording contract with Vursha Records. Her song for the contest, "Heartstrings", was released in March 2012, and went on to become the best-selling single of all-time in Berats. Mal-Barkati ultimately won the competition, becoming the first Beratian to win the top prize.

Following her win, Mal-Barkati was launched into superstardom. Her debut studio album, *Popera*, was released in July 2012 and became the best-selling Beratian album of the year, while also experiencing success throughout Pravia. Mal-Barkati has went on to release successful albums in 2014, 2015, and 2017, and has been dubbed the "Princess of Beratian Pop" by the media. Since 2016, she has been a judge and mentor on *The X Factor: Berats*.

Mal-Barkati's music style has been described as eclectic; incorporating elements of pop, dance-pop, R&B, and Beratian folk music. In 2016, she was ranked thirty-second by *Zipper Magazine* on their "100 Greatest Women in Pravian Music" list.

## Life and career

### Early life

Mal-Barkati was born in Caspar to parents Mahmush Hal-Barkati and Alya Abdul. Mahmush works as an IT consultant, while Alya is a psychiatrist. She grew up in a five-bedroom apartment in a high-rise building, located in the Nov-Berats neighborhood of Caspar. She has an elder maternal half-sister; Diana (born 1980), and two younger brothers; Faroosh (born 1993) and Mabash (born 1996). As a child, Mal-Barkati grew up listening to a variety of music; mainly influenced by her parents' and elder sister's music tastes. Her mother listened to foreign 1980s pop music, mainly from Resha, Titovania, and Zornia, her father listened to Beratian hip hop, while her sister listened to Beratian folk music.

Mal-Barkati demonstrated an interest in music beginning at a young age, and would often perform for her parents and siblings as a child. After graduating from elementary school in 2003, she began studying at the Royal Music Academy of Berats, which she graduated from in 2009. While in high school, Mal-Barkati became interested in dance music, and has described herself as a "club kid". Following her graduation, she attempted to make a breakthrough as a singer, but found little success. Instead, she began modeling and working as a dance teacher to support herself.

### 2011–2013: Pravian Song Contest and *Popera*

In July 2011, Mal-Barkati sent in an audition tape to the Beratian national broadcaster, Radio and Television Company of Berats (RTCB), auditioning for *Beratian Superstar 2012*, the Beratian national selection for the Pravian Song Contest 2012. In her audition tape, she performed a cover of "Irresistible" by Danika Holm, the winning entry in the Pravian Song Contest 2011. Mal-Barkati was eventually called back for further auditions, and in September, she was announced as a part of the 50-singer shortlist. After a final live audition, Mal-Barkati was confirmed as one of the twenty finalists on 30 September.

After performing in the first live show, Mal-Barkati qualified as one of the top five female singers, advancing to the top ten. Onwards, Mal-Barkati was seen as a favorite to win the competition, largely due to her stage charisma, personality, and ability to perform large dance numbers while remaining strong vocally. Week by week, Mal-Barkati was saved by the public, and didn't end in the bottom three once. In the final, held on 24 December 2011, Mal-Barkati was announced as the winner. Along with being chosen to represent Berats in the Pravian Song Contest 2012, Mal-Barkati was also awarded a recording contract with Vursha Records, the largest record label in Berats.

After winning the competition, the broadcaster opened a submissions period for composers to submit possible entries for Mal-Barkati. By February, they had shortlisted five songs, and all of which were being recorded by Mal-Barkati. At the end of the month, an international jury had listened to all five songs and voted for which one to send to the Pravian Song Contest. The song, "Heartstrings", was composed by a team from Resha and the Velkanian Isles, and was released on 9 March 2012. Following its release, it became a number-one single in Berats. In preparation for the contest, Mal-Barkati performed in Resha, Zornia, Titovania, and the Velkanian Isles. A five-episode docuseries chronicling Mal-Barkati's preparation for the contest, titled *Safya: The Journey*, was aired on RTCB in the run-up to the contest.

Mal-Barkati was drawn to perform in the second-half of the final, held on 19 May 2012, and ultimately was decided to perform fifteenth. She went on to win the competition, becoming the first ever winner from Berats. Following her win, "Heartstrings" became a hit internationally, and also went on to become the best-selling single of all-time in Berats, selling 3.8 million copies. Her debut studio album, *Popera*, was released in July 2012, and became the best-selling album of 2012 in Berats, while it also performed well internationally. She promoted the album with *The Heartstrings Tour*, which ran from 2012 to 2013.

### 2013–2014: *Valkyrie*

In 2013, Mal-Barkati revealed that she had begun writing and recording for her followup studio album. She later revealed in an interview that the album was sounding "more electronic", and that it wouldn't have so many heavy influences from R&B and dance music. In November 2013, Mal-Barkati released the single, "Valkyrie", in addition to revealing the cover art and release date of the single's parent album of the same name. The single saw a heavy influence from alternative dance music.

"Valkyrie" became Mal-Barkati's second number-one single in Berats, and also received modest chart success throughout Northwestern Pravia. Her second studio album, *Valkyrie*, was later released in February 2014, and reached number-one in Berats. Unlike her debut studio album, it was not released outside of Berats. An international edition of the album was later released in May, although it did not include five of the original album's songs. Internationally, the album was not a large commercial success, reaching the top twenty in only one other country that it was released in, Resha. She promoted the album through *The Valkyrie Tour*, which performed shows in Berats, Resha, East Resha, Kypa, Titovania, Zornia, the Velkanian Isles, Jahastia, and Orland.

### 2014–2016: *Samson & Delilah* and film roles

In 2014, Mal-Barkati revealed that she had begun writing music for her third studio album while touring for *Valkyrie*. In a 2015 interview, she stated, "The new album is sounding much darker and more raw. It's definitely a new sound for me". She dyed her blonde hair jet black in March 2015, because she believed that it "fit the new sound".

Mal-Barkati released the lead single to her third studio album, "Samson (Delilah)", in May 2015. The single was described as "experimental", "ambient", and "industrial" by music critics who praised her new musical direction. While the original single release reached the top forty in Berats, an EDM remix of the song by Zornian DJ Egko, titled "Samson & Delilah", became a top ten hit throughout Pravia. The album, titled *Samson & Delilah*, was released in September 2015, and reached number-two in Berats. She promoted the album with *The Samson & Delilah Gala*.

Mal-Barkati began her film career in 2015, with a supporting role in the Beratian romantic comedy, *Pink Champagne*. She later starred in the musical drama, *Superstar*, which followed the life and struggles of an upcoming pop star. Many critics noted similarities between the film and Mal-Barkati's actual career, although both she and the film's producers have denied any correlation.

### 2016–present: *The X Factor: Berats* and *Presa*

After the completion of *The Samson & Delilah Gala*, Mal-Barkati was announced to be a new judge and mentor on *The X Factor: Berats*. She maintained her position on the show throughout the fourth season, which ran in 2016, and will return to the show for its fifth season in 2017.

Mal-Barkati released the lead single to her fourth studio album, "Gomesh" (གོམེཤ, *Ğomeš*, "sheep"), in January 2017. The song saw a departure from the musical styles present in her previous releases, and instead was a dance song strongly influenced by folk music of Berats and Beratian folk culture. Lyrically, it speaks of a poor sheep herder and his family. It was her first-ever release in the Beratian language. The song debuted at number-one in Berats, and has remained at that position for 22 weeks, becoming the longest-running number-one single in Beratian music history. It has since become the best-selling single of 2017 in Berats, selling 1.9 million copies.

Mal-Barkati's fourth studio album, *Presa* (པྲཨེས, "religion"), was released in April 2017. Many of the album's songs were in a similar style to that of "Gomesh", and it was entirely in the Beratian language. The album has been lauded as Mal-Barkati's best release ever, and it has peaked at number-one on the Beratian albums chart for five weeks.

## Personal life

Mal-Barkati has resided in the Nov-Berats neighborhood of Caspar for her entire life, and has stated that she'll "never move out". She has stated that she was raised in a "liberal Muslim household", and that while she identifies with the Muslim culture, she doesn't actively practice the religion.

## Discography

*Main article: Safya Mal-Barkati discography.*

* *Popera* (2012)
* *Valkyrie* (2014)
* *Samson & Delilah* (2015)
* *Presa* (2017)