By day, he worked as a promoter at a clothing store. By night, he would learn everything he could about making music through tutorial videos on YouTube. Such was the then 17-year-old Hael Husaini’s life. After more than 10 years of hard work and sacrifice, today at 29 Hael has finally earned his big break.

His first single as a solo artiste, Jampi, released in February has left listeners spellbound, and is one of the hottest songs in the country right now. “Jampi was supposed to be just a way to introduce myself as a solo singer. I didn’t expect it to become a phenomenon,” he says humbly.