Picture France in 2008. In the playground, children were either singing the heart-wrenching ballad “Il avait les mots” by Sherifa Luna, an all-time favorite at karaoke nights across the country, or “Parle à ma main” by Fatal Bazooka and Yelle.
A new singer emerges out of nowhere, capturing the attention of an entire nation. Canadian-Algerian singer Zaho bursts onto the scene with her single “C’est chelou”, immediately debuting at number two on the country’s charts.
No one could escape the infectious song or the artist’s melodic voice.
This R&B classic, about a cheater being caught by their lover, remains a definitely staple in Zaho’s discography for many reasons. Zaho’s first single—an electric way to break onto the French scene—popularized the term chelou to define something sketchy.
Amusingly, the term was added to the French dictionary six years later.
To this day, “C’est chelou” is considered in France as one of the most important R&B songs of the early 2000s.
At Lollapalooza Paris in July, as Zaho took the stage to perform the song, she did not have to sing a single word of it. Seventeen years after its initial release, the song is still a crowd favorite.
Zaho seemed almost surprised to see the crowd make the song their own.
“It really moves me,“ she admits to Rolling Stone MENA right after finishing her set. “Every time, it surprises me and goes straight to my heart.”
During her one-hour set, the artist revisited her iconic discography, performing favorites such as “La meilleure” (The Best One), the love anthem featuring rap veteran La Fouine, and the heart-wrenching breakup ballad “Je te promets” (I Promise).
Watching this performance serves as a reminder to us all of Zaho’s undisputed status as a musical icon. Throughout her musical career, jumping from genre to genre, Zaho helped shape the musical landscape in France and across Europe for nearly two decades, repeatedly delivering anthems and bangers for listeners to play on repeat.
Even French-Algerian soccer royalty Zinedine Zidane is a huge fan. A video of him singing the lyrics of Zaho’s “Tourner la page” (Turn The Page) at the top of his lungs went viral this summer.
“I can stop there for real,” Zaho laughs, reflecting on the video. “Zidane gave us the chance to dream. He’s recharged my batteries for the next five years.”
Zaho, whose real name is Zahera Darabid, was 18 when she had to leave Algeria, the only country she had ever known.
In 1992, the country’s ruling party, the FLN, cancelled that year’s election after losing to the FIS (Islamic Salvation Front). This marked the beginning of what became known as the Black Decade, a ten-year civil war that left the entire country deeply scarred.
Like millions of other Algerians, Zaho’s family lost relatives, neighbors, and friends.
“It was extremely hard”, she recalls somberly.
Paradoxically, she describes these years as “the most beautiful ones”.
“I lived each day as if it were my last. I lived in the moment. Everything took on a much deeper meaning. It teaches you to be grateful. Everything I do, I do for those who are gone and didn’t get the chance I did.”
She recalls fondly of her daily life in Bab Ezzouar, the neighborhood she grew up in.
In the houma, she was known as “the brawler, the little girl with straight A’s who loved playing the guitar and football with the boys”.
Her music is still tainted by el ghorba (exile), “something I never really got over”, she admits.
“I had to leave to truly grasp the extent of the feeling of being uprooted. It’s the biggest wound I’ve ever experienced in my life”.
It is through music, “her therapy”, that she picks up the pieces.
“I realized how important my country of birth was in my life. Algeria and I are inseparable.”
She is constantly finding ways to proudly represent Algeria in her music and to collaborate with Algerian artists.
For her latest single, “Visa d’amour”, she teamed up with the legendary Raï artist Kader Japonais.
“It’s a wound that will stay with me for the rest of my life,” she says. “It’s something my children don’t know about, and perhaps they never will.”
Music has always been at the center of Zaho’s life growing up. She remembers the soundtracks her parents would play in the living room in Bab Ezzouar, on the outskirts of Algiers—”Guerrouabi, El Harrache and Warda el Djazaïra”—all of which was blended with the Metallica, Nirvana and Lauryn Hill CDs that she had stacked up in her bedroom.
In Algiers, she attended the Musée National des Beaux-Arts, where she learnt to play the guitar. Even when she was studying hard to graduate as a computer engineer, music was always there. She could not escape it.
Her past resurfaced when she decided to pursue a career in music. “We had seen the worst, and we had come through it. I had nothing to lose. At worst, I would go back to my books. At best, I would explore my passion.”
Her career did not start with such optimism, however. When Zaho decided to give music a chance in the early 2000s, record labels were not interested.
“I didn’t look like the kind of artist that French record labels were looking for at the time,” she says.
Zaho’s debut album, Dima, was considered too daring by the labels.
“At the time, you were either an R&B singer or a rapper. I was doing French variety, rap, R&B and guitar vocals. I didn’t fit into any particular box.”
In 2004, refusing to let her chances at a music career wither away, Zaho launched her record label to release her debut album.
“I had nothing to lose. I had just left the war and my loved ones in Algeria,” she shares. “When you’ve got nothing left to lose, you become dangerous because you stop listening to anyone and become stubborn.”
Dima‘s deluxe version includes a song with Algerian veteran artist Idir, a collaboration that makes her the most proud.
“I still can’t believe I got to meet him”, she admits.
This summer, she is performing all over France, in preparation for her 2026 national tour.
“I feel lucky, miraculous, and at the same time, I don’t feel old,”, she declares.
Zaho’s discography continues to stand the test of time. The Canadian-Algerian artist keeps reinventing herself, testing out new genres, and exploring her artistry.
And never feels confined in one box. She hates them anyway. Zaho would rather follow her guts, which brought her here.
“Music is not a matter of calculation,” she emphasizes. ”I’d rather follow my instincts.”
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