SHAZAM

Fady Maalouf is a Lebanese-born pop singer from Germany who rose to fame as a finalist on the reality show Deutschland Sucht den Superstar in 2008. He was the runner-up on the show, finishing second to fifth season winner Thomas Godoj. Born on April 20, 1979, in Zahlé, Lebanon, he lived in his war-torn homeland for much of his life. In 2006, however, amid renewed warfare in Lebanon, he moved to Hamburg, Germany, and began a new life. Not long after his arrival, Maalouf auditioned for the fifth season of Deutschland Sucht den Superstar. Not only was he selected to appear on the show; he proceeded to go all the way to the final episode, when he performed Wham!'s "Careless Whisper," Patrick Swayze's "She's Like the Wind," and a song of his own, "Blessed," before losing to Godoj. In the wake of his second-place finish, Maalouf was offered a recording contract with Sony BMG and made his full-length solo album debut, Blessed (2008). The album and its title track were smash hits, both peaking at number two on the German charts; moreover, both also charted well in Austria and Switzerland. ~ Jason Birchmeier, Rovi