ON THE RISE
Lebanese artist Elie Al Hajj — better known as Ely — is ready for connection.
His new rock song, “My Falling Star,” dropped last month. The track is a showcase for Ely’s versatility and passion. The song and its 80s vibes will appeal to audiences eager for their next heartbreak anthem.
The lyrics recount a love that ended too soon, and the reminiscence of a night under a sky full of shooting stars. Amidst thundering drums and a big guitar solo, Ely’s pleading voice is the main focus, with a Cher-like tone quality and vibrato.
Ely’s persistent passion is reflected in the song’s repeating four chords. Like that night with the shooting star that he can’t forget, the music returns again to remind him:
I feel the pain inside my broken heart
I never felt this way before, girl
I never want to feel this way again
Goodbye to you, my falling star
Your love will always shine on me
I’ll close my eyes and there you’ll be
With English lyrics, Ely, 43, aims to reach beyond the Mediterranean basin to connect with international fans. While he also releases songs in Arabic, he has broader plans for his music.
He says, "In Lebanon, most of the people and the known artists sing in Arabic... But I can do both. I can do English, I can do Arabic. By recording in English, I'm aiming to appeal to a more international audience."
He knows it won’t be easy to reach his fans, but he is not afraid to put in the work. His songs, like “My Falling Star,” are beacons to the like-minded lovers and dreamers out there in the world somewhere.
Ely says, "I just want my fans, if it happens, I just want them to respect what I do in the same way that I respect them and the same way that I give them my music from the heart."
Ely’s creative background extends beyond music. A filmmaker, he is known for directing and starring in the 2018 romantic comedy, I'd Prefer Your Problems Princess. His filmmaking prowess is also put to use as he directs his music videos. This includes the beautiful outdoor locations for “My Falling Star”.
With “My Falling Star,” Ely is committed to building a genuine audience for his own songs — not just covers, not just regional radio play, but an international fan base connected by shared emotion and respect.
His wistful lyrics and emotive instrumental playing may have been born from heartbreak, but Ely insists they point toward something larger: persistence, hope, and the belief that music still has the power to bridge worlds. He doesn’t want to wait any longer.
“I’m 43 now — there’s no more wasting time,” Ely says. “I just want people to hear about me, to feel what I feel, and to know that I give them everything from the heart. If I can reach fans who give that back, I’ll have done what I set out to do.”
With the passion and progress of songs like “My Falling Star,” it’s clear that Elie al Hajj is ready to make the leap. Fans can dive into Ely’s work and listen to “My Falling Star” at the links below:
ON THE RISE
Blossoms caught up with NME to discuss competing with The Beatles and Johnny Marr for this week’s Number One album. With ‘Songs From The Wedding Cake’ in the running, the band also explained why making things themselves remains such an important part of their work as AI becomes more common.
The Stockport group put out their sixth album last Friday, October 2. By the midweek update, it was sitting at Number Two, between The Beatles’ expanded edition of ‘Rubber Soul’ and Johnny Marr’s latest solo album, ‘The Age Of Everything’.
“It’s mad, to be honest,” singer Tom Ogden said to NME about the chart race. “Liverpool on one side, Manchester on the other and Stockport in the middle. If you’d told us this 10 years ago, when we were releasing our debut, I wouldn’t have believed you. But I mean, we’re in good company aren’t we?”
Discussing the stories behind the album, Ogden described ‘Songs From The Wedding Cake’ as “about being married and all the everyday stuff that comes with it”. He married Katie Donovan, the sister of Blossoms drummer Joe, in 2021. Married life has since given him a new appreciation for what he describes as “the extraordinary ordinary”.
“Saying the wrong thing in an argument, losing your wife’s no claims bonus, crying at the Kardashians, it’s all in there,” he explained. “The album is named after Stockport Town Hall, which everyone round where we live calls the Wedding Cake, and it’s where I got married, so it couldn’t be much closer to home.
“The last album [‘Gary’, 2024] had a song about a stolen fibreglass gorilla, which everyone loved, and that gave us the confidence to bring the same playfulness to this one, just with more personal subject matter this time.”
Alongside tracks that came out of writing sessions with Declan McKenna in a hot tub, the album reflects the band’s desire to stay involved in every part of the creative process.
“It started with the recording,” Ogden explained. “We made the album with Shawn Lee, playing live straight to tape, and once you’ve done it that way you can’t really go and fake everything else. We sat down as a band and picked the colour palette, and everything visual followed from that. We had body scans taken of ourselves and cake toppers of the five of us 3D printed, put them on a real cake and photographed it. I’ve directed and edited the videos, and the sets are all built by hand, no green screen. For the pop-up shop on launch weekend, a local artist hand-painted the album cover for the sign outside.
“It’s more work, but you end up with a world that’s yours, and I think people can tell when a band’s had its hands on everything.”
With AI tools and digital effects becoming increasingly widespread, that approach feels particularly relevant. For Blossoms, though, the motivation is simple: “the fun is in the making”.
“Tape doesn’t let you cheat and neither does a real cake,” Ogden said. “If a set’s a bit wonky, it’s because one of us or our mates built it. I think the more stuff gets generated, the more people want to know a human being actually did it. We’ve been in this band together for over 10 years, five lads from Stockport, and that isn’t something you can ‘prompt’.”
Maya Jama also appeared in the video for the album’s first single, ‘Meet Me In Love’. Her appearance came shortly before the UK launch of Celebrity Traitors, where she took on the role of a traitor alongside a cast that included Richard E Grant and James Acaster.
“She was brilliant,” Ogden recalled of working with Jama. “We’d met her at the MTV EMAs in Manchester a couple of years ago, so we took a chance and sent her a DM …and she said yes. Next thing she’s in a theatre in Cheadle miming my vocals while a load of people dressed as me serenade her. She got the idea straight away and was a proper laugh about it.”
The conversation then turned to whether he thought Jama could take home the win on Celebrity Traitors.
Ogden joked: “As for Traitors, she spent a whole day pretending to sing my song and I almost believed her, so I’d say she’s got every chance.”
Fans can listen to ‘Songs From The Wedding Cake’ now. In November, Blossoms head out on a UK arena tour with The Royston Club. Tickets and further details are available here.
Before the tour begins, the group is also scheduled to appear on SNL UK on Saturday, October 24.
