Fans of the regionally and internationally acclaimed Lebanese band Mashrou' Leila are buzzing on social media about the group's recent announcement that their next song/music video will be a collaborative project between the band and their fans, sponsored by Absolut's Transform Today platform.
The band first hinted about the upcoming contest on January 26 when they posted a vague announcement about the collaboration on their Facebook page.
Later on January 29, the band provided more details, explaining that the collaborative project with their fans would be part of Absolut's Transform Today campaign, which has previously worked with artists such as Woodkid and Grampa. Fans will be given the opportunity to help write part of a new song's lyrics and assist with the storyboarding of a music video for the track.
A few days later, the band announced how the process would work. The band has provided incomplete lyrics that fans are asked to finish. The submission that the band likes the best will go on to be recorded and the winner will help with the production of the song's music video.
Many fans immediately got excited about the possibility of collaborating with their idols, sharing the group's posts with their friends via social media. Some criticized other fans who posted about the competition but apparently were not taking it seriously enough.
One fan also criticized the band for collaborating with an Alcohol brand, stating that "there's too many ugly things coming out of drinking hard liquor." While another questioned whether the band would actually take fans' suggestions seriously.
Overall, fans appear overwhelmingly positive and excited about about the competition, which has already started. Fans are encouraged to submit their lyric suggestions via the band and Absolut's social media accounts with the hashtag #ma3Leila included.
Commenting on the competition, the brand manager of Absolut in Lebanon stated, "From the very first moment, we knew Mashrou' Leila would be the perfect band to embody the Transform Today initiative. They defied all that was traditional and truly transformed the Arab pop music scene."
Providing the band's perspective, lead vocalist Hamed Sinno commented, "We as a band constantly seek to evolve; we covet change on both the personal and collective levels." He further stressed the band's goal of transforming the surrounding world through music.