Exactly like his past albums, Rayan’s 2007 album entitled “Wain Broo7” has one catchy fast single, one successful single out of his style, and one really, really, really (I mean really) flawless slow single with skillful trills, soulful harmonizing, and a moving melody that Rayan sings with deep feeling. They are “Ghasbn 3anni,” “7a3alemak,” and “3azabi Mrafe2ni” respectively.

Rayan is young, but he knows his vocal capabilities. He is one of the very rare young artists that fall adjacent to Adam and Ibrahim Al-Hakemi when it comes to marvelous vocal range. Rayan, like the other two artists, presents the range rather gracefully, choosing to harmonize in many of his songs. His harmonizing could get a little irritating, especially when he starts the song with it in “Allah Ma3ak,” but no doubt it is a quality that sets him aside from many of the Lebanese mainstream artists of today. 

In this album, he was able to captivate the listener with “3azabi Mrafe2ni,” a song so flawless I needed to repeat several times with my ear to the speaker to tell if there might have been a glitch. That was when I questioned myself: Have I lost my ability to critique? The answer is no, because this song deserves a good one. I couldn’t believe my ears when I heard Rayan sing, “laken so2ali raje3 akeed/ wela ya ghali ra7 teb2a b3eed/ dakhlak jawebni/ byekfi t3azebni/ ma bi7mol 3azab.” The trills after almost every bar were splendid. He allowed the note to resonate just enough to capture the listener the seclusion he felt with his loved one away from him. The lyrics are typical mainstream, but Rayan made it a great listen.

Even after listening to “3azabi Mrafe2ni” and the chorus of “Wain Broo7,” which left me in complete awe when he sang, “Ana wain broo7/ trakt dmoo3/ trakt jroo7/ tarek 2albi ya 7abibi lameen?/ kel shi ra7/ 3omri da3/ ana 3isht eb ghorbe ya 7abibi sneen,” I have to admit that none of his slow songs compare to “A7la Gharam,” the song that popularized him as an artist and distinguished his style as well as his vocal capabilities.   

If anything, adding a catchy fast paced song gave the album a little more life. “Ghasbn 3anni,” although poorly sung by Rayan is his best fast song so far in terms of melody and music. Rayan sang this song like it was one of his slow songs, especially in the part, “bghaneelak/ 3ashe2 7ayraan/ nadeelak/ 2albi walhan/ bis2al 3annak mesh se2laan/ wo 2enta mab tes2al 3anni.” However, the song’s catchy chorus of, “Ya 7abeebi ana ghasbn 3anni/ dayya3tak men 2albi wo menni/ ma feeye 2eb2a men doonak/ ana lawla 3yoonak mab ghanni,” is easily capable of making a person get up off their seat and dance.  

“7a3alemak” is an oriental Egyptian song that also has the capability to become a dance song. It has great percussion, but unfortunately its tempo is too slow to become a party hit. However, this song is definitely out of Rayan’s style, but he perfected it nonetheless. Although Rayan pushes his voice and chooses to use an awkward pitch in some parts of the song, it took one word: “7a3alemak,” to make the song so unique. That one word was articulated really well, everything that came after was unnoticeable. This is exactly what defines a great singer; the ability of singing one single word so skillfully and with deep feeling, even if it were a simple word like “Ah,” and leave goose bumps on whomever is listening.

Rayan, with a little more experience, can surely attain that. It is evident he is already the reason why many young woman are head-over-heals, not only by his vocal capabilities, but by his physical appeal as well. Following through with successful video clips, Rayan can surely be named “the young romantic” of modern Lebanese music.