Marwan Daou (born August 2, 2000), better known as Maro, is a Lebanese singer-songwriter and YouTuber from Beirut. He started his musical career posting cover videos on his YouTube channel in 2015, and gained a following in 2018. In 2019, Maro caught the attention of tech-music label SNAFU Records, which led to him signing a deal as an original pop artist. Maro's debut single "Carsick" was produced by Carl Falk and Albin Nedler, and released in August 2020, followed by "Take It Back", released in January 2021.[2][3]
Maro | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Marwan Daou |
| Born | August 2, 2000 Beirut, Lebanon |
| Genres |
|
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter, YouTuber |
| Labels | SNAFU Records |
YouTube information | |
| Channel | |
| Subscribers | 810 thousand[1] |
| Total views | 56 million[1] |
Last updated: March 9, 2024 | |
Early life
editMaro was born on August 2, 2000, in Beirut, Lebanon. His father had roots in Lebanon while his mother was from Ukraine. Due to the conflict surrounding Lebanon, they were forced to move many times during his early teenage years. Maro described creativity and writing songs as a coping mechanism to deal with the loneliness he experienced from moving around the country.
Maro speaks 4 languages, French, Russian, Arabic, and English, and could additionally sing in Turkish, Italian and Spanish. In his teenage years, he was taught to play the piano by his grandmother, and in the second grade, and he taught himself to play the guitar through watching YouTube tutorials. He started uploading videos to his YouTube channel in 2015, playing the guitar and covering a variety of songs, in multiple languages and from different decades.[3][2]
After Maro's debut as an original pop artist, he cited his parents' music tastes as a major influence, which contributed to his sound by drawing inspiration from both Lebanese and Ukrainian culture.[2][4]
Career
editMaro's follower amount grew substantially on YouTube in 2018 after uploading a cover of "Falling Down" by Lil Peep and XXXTentacion.[3] Maro was noticed by Norwegian manager Eirik Schistad, and not long after, they started working together. In 2019, Maro caught the attention of the Stockholm and Los Angeles-based music-tech label, SNAFU Records. After a visit to the Stockholm studio, he signed a deal with the label as an original artist.[citation needed]
Maro released his first original single "Carsick" in August 2020. Produced by Carl Falk and Albin Nedler. One of the most popular songs Maro covered on his YouTube channel was Frank Sinatra's "Fly Me to the Moon", which was sampled in the outro of "Carsick". Maro described "Carsick" as a song about love and the repetitive cycle of toxic back-and-forth relationships.[5][6] Maro's second single, "Take It Back", was released in January 2021 along with a music video produced in Oslo, Norway.[7]
Discography
editSingles
edit| Title | Release date |
|---|---|
| "Carsick" | August 14, 2020 |
| "Take it Back" | January 22, 2021 |
| "Heart to Spare" | April 14, 2021 |
| "Addicted to Her Sadness" | June 2, 2021 |
| "Hellstorm" | March 17, 2022 |
| "Stuck in the Friendzone" | June 10, 2022 |
| "Lust not Love" | November 15, 2022 |
References
edit- ^ a b "About Maro". YouTube.
- ^ a b c "Maro | FLAUNT Premiere | New Single "carsick"". Flaunt Magazine. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
- ^ a b c "100% Maro: the Lebanese pop export made famous by YouTube". The Face. January 22, 2021. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
- ^ Marwan Daou (Maro) – YouTube Covers & Musical Fame || Fawda Twenty Twenty Ep. 22, November 18, 2020, retrieved March 11, 2021
- ^ "YouTube covers sensation Maro is letting his own story shine on debut single "carsick"". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
- ^ Ehrlich, Helen (September 6, 2020). "Lebanese YouTube Music Star Maro is "carsick" – Inside the Viral Musician's Process". Affinity Magazine. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
- ^ "Maro Travels Backwards in Love for 'Take It Back'". Paper. January 21, 2021. Retrieved March 11, 2021.