"When Lebanon is hurting, its ache lives in all of us Lebanese people." She adds that her father, half-sister, and much of her extended family are still living in Lebanon, explaining that what is happening there is not something she can observe from a distance or emotionally distance herself from. Against this backdrop, her approach to music is naturally shaped by current realities.

For Tiara, continuing to create is not about ignoring what is happening, but about finding a way to exist alongside it — using music to process difficult emotions while also offering moments of relief. "I feel like we're all deeply connected, and there's a shared love that unites us no matter where we are," she says, before explaining how music fits into that idea. "It's one of the only ways we can escape — a way to feel good within ourselves, to disconnect from the heaviness, and reconnect with something lighter inside us."

From this perspective, the themes in her music become more defined, with much of her work centring on confidence and self-assurance, particularly in how women perceive themselves. "Women should feel really good about themselves — confident, a little sexy, and completely comfortable in who they are," she says, describing a sense of ease in one's own body and the freedom to enjoy oneself without overthinking it. This idea sits at the centre of her more upbeat tracks; however, her music is not confined to a single emotional space, and it is here that her range becomes most evident.

For example, on Weili, heartbreak is reframed as something controlled and self-assured rather than purely vulnerable. Ana Beirut, released in 2021, shifts the focus towards her home city, serving as a tribute to its resilience. In contrast, Ahla Fatra takes a softer approach, focusing on intimacy and the experience of being deeply immersed in a relationship.

This variety in subject matter is also reflected in her sound. Tiara moves between Arabic pop, R&B, and darker pop influences, adapting her style to suit the mood of each track rather than adhering to a single genre, with these shifts feeling closely tied to the emotions she is expressing rather than separate from them. Taken together, this versatility reflects how her approach to music has been shaped by an early and long-standing interest in performing.

“I've been singing for as long as I can remember," she says, recalling how she and her friends would recreate shows like The Voice and The X Factor at home. She also points to repeatedly watching Burlesque as an important influence, particularly the performances of Christina Aguilera and Cher, which helped shape her understanding of stage presence and commitment to performance. The road to creative freedom With her mother's support, that early passion gradually developed into a more structured pursuit as she travelled between Orlando, New York, and Los Angeles, taking part in competitions and workshops that exposed her to different facets of the entertainment industry, from singing to acting and modelling.

Alongside this, she was already performing live shows across Lebanon while still at university. However, despite this promising start, her entry into the industry was later hindered by obstacles that disrupted her creative momentum at a crucial stage. "I just wasn't around the right people… I had a really bad deal or person I was working with," she shares.

“So I wasn't able to properly get into the studio and make the music I love." For an artist who identifies first and foremost as a creator, losing that sense of control was particularly difficult, as she explains: "I'm a creator, right? I create my own music… so the fact that I wasn't able to do that was very frustrating."

That period of restriction, however, ultimately led to a reset. After moving on and finding the right collaborators, she began to reclaim her creative independence, stepping fully into the role of an artist who writes, shapes, and directs her own work. "I've been making my own music for about a year and a half to two years," she says, adding that she officially started releasing her work last summer.

As Tiara began to define her sound, her influences became more apparent — not just in genre, but in tone, mood, and visual identity. "A very big influence for me would be The Weeknd and Lana Del Rey," she says. Her connection to Lana, in particular, reflects a deeper emotional alignment rather than simple admiration, as she explains: "I was so obsessed with her… I had an Instagram fan page for her when I was younger, and I would record cove