Melhem Barakat (15 August 1945 – 28 October 2016), also known as (Arabic) ملحم بركات and Melhim Barakat, was a Lebanese singer, songwriter, and melodist. He started his career back in the 1960s. Barakat has arguably established a genre of his own in both the way he sings and composes, which made him one of the most esteemed and popular stars in Lebanon. He has toured Australia, South America, Canada, and the United States. Melhem Barakat mainly performs in colloquial Lebanese, a feat he has always defended, criticizing his fellow Lebanese peers for favouring the Egyptian dialect for commercial purposes. Although his popularity is rather modest in Egypt, where non-Egyptian music material generally receives lukewarm mass appeal, Melhem has achieved huge stardom in most Arab countries, most notably in Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon. Barakat started singing more than thirty years ago. He participated as an actor and singer in many of the Rahbani Brothers' musicals and operettas; some Lebanese even saying that he established himself as one of the strongest voices in the country. He also appeared in many Lebanese movies back in the 1980s. Some of his hits from the 1980s were “Kboush El Touti” and “Wahdi Ana (I am alone).” During the 1990s, Melhem Barakat acted with Lebanese dancer Dani Boustros in a Lebanese theater play titled Wemsheet Bee Tariki (I walked my way). Since the year 2000. Melhem Barakat had several hit songs, such as “Habibi Enta,” which was later sung by his ex-wife May Hariri. He also collaborated with current famous singers such as Najwa Karam, Karol Sakr, Shatha Hassoun, and Majida El Roumi. Melhem Barakat, a Lebanese singer, was born in 1942 in Kfarshima, Lebanon. He grew up with the sound of Egyptian composer and singer Mohammed Abdel Wahab. Still a child, Melhem many people around him thought that he showed a special talent while singing in school parties. One day, he composed a text from the school journal and sang it first before his classmates and teachers, who appreciated his performance and then became one of the leading names in the Lebanese musical scene, who believed that he was an exceptional talent and had a charming voice. His career had many successes. His best-known works were “Amarine,” “Abouha Radi,” “Farah Ennass,” and “Habibi Inta.”

Source: Melhem Barakat Official Website