Melhem Barakat

On August 15, 2021, Google celebrated his 76th birthday with a Google Doodle.

He died from cancer on 28 October 2016 at Hôtel-Dieu de France hospital in Achrafieh, Lebanon. He was 71. His funeral took place at Saint Nicolas Church in Achrafieh, Beirut. Many Lebanese singers and politicians were present at the funeral mass, including Ragheb Alama, Fares Karam, Majida El Roumi, Rola Saad and Barakat's ex-wife May Hariri.

Since the 1990s, Melhem Barakat had several popular songs, such as "Habibi Enta," which was later sung by his ex-wife May Hariri. He also collaborated with Najwa Karam, Karol Sakr, Shatha Hassoun, and Majida El Roumi.

Barakat started his career in the 1960s. He participated as an actor and singer in many of the Rahbani brothers' musicals and operettas. In 1968, he left the brothers to pursue a solo career.

Melhem Barakat (Arabic: ملحم بركات‎; 15 August 1945 – 28 October 2016), also known as Melhim Barakat, or Abou Majd was a Lebanese singer, songwriter, and melodist. Barakat was a well-renowned singer in Lebanon and the wider Arab world. He toured Australia, South America, Canada, and the United States.

Barakat was born on 15 August 1945, in Kfarshima, Lebanon. He inherited his affinity for music from his father, who was a carpenter and taught Melhem how to play the oud. In 1960, Barakat dropped out of school at the age of 18 and enrolled into the National Institute of Music without his father's knowledge. He studied music theory, Solfège and Eastern singing. He would drop out of the institute four years later at the advice of Philemon Wehbe, beginning his professional career.