.png)
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
As they prepare to unveil their fourth album, ‘Joy In Short Moments’, The Snuts have spoken with NME about how stepping away from touring gave them the chance to reflect on some of life’s biggest challenges and bring greater attention to mental health.
Their first album since 2024’s upbeat ‘Millenials’ follows a rare break from the road over the past year. During that time, frontman Jack Cochrane also experienced a major change in his personal life as he welcomed his first child.
Along with getting used to fatherhood, the singer began thinking about deeper questions that the demanding touring lifestyle had previously left little room to consider. His reflections on growing up, dealing with loss and understanding what success really means gradually found their way into his writing, eventually shaping the direction of the band's more personal new album.
Fans were first introduced to the album earlier this year through ‘Summer Rain’, an emotional track exploring postnatal depression and the “fear of the future”. They later returned during the summer with the more hopeful ‘Defibrillator’, encouraging listeners to move beyond negative thoughts about themselves and find comfort in connecting with other people.
Speaking to NME about the creative shift behind their fourth record, Cochrane explained: “By taking a conscious break from life on the road and making records, my world opened up to let so much more of the real world in,” he said. “For the first time I was living then writing, not writing while trying to live.”
He also described how the change helped the band approach recording differently, adding: “It unlocked a new process that the band had been crying out for,” he continued. “The studio sessions were set up to allow us to be friends and not colleagues. Distraction and external pressures were completely eradicated from the recording environment, allowing us to trust our gut and have the conversations we needed to as humans.”
In the remainder of the interview, Cochrane also discusses his new role as an ambassador for mental health charity CALM and talks about starting a podcast designed to encourage more artists to speak honestly about their personal struggles.
NME: Hi Jack, congratulations on the new album. You’ve said that this record was about addressing the topics that you previously tried to hide from. What kinds of questions did you find yourself confronting?
Jack Cochrane: “I would say mainly, ‘What do I need to be happy?’… Eeek! It’s a big one I know, but having set out with the title ‘Joy In Short Moments’, I was able to spend my time searching for them and allow joy to do what joy does: compound and relieve the stresses of the modern world.”
That’s not the easiest question to find yourself confronting. Did you manage to find any answers along the way?
“Ultimately yes. With the completion of this record I was able to find a much happier healthier version of myself I had been so long yearning for.”
The album sees you deal with new themes, but musically we also see you return to the guitar-led sound from your early days. Did revisiting those roots make you notice how much has changed since you were starting out?
“For sure. We were able to remove any snobbery from the process. We’re no longer new kids on the block and with that came a new found ability to be really honest about the kind of noises we wanted to make and the type of artists that had originally inspired us.”
This album goes hand in hand with you becoming an ambassador for CALM and launching your own podcast dedicated to checking in with fellow artists. Why was it important for you to get involved in the conversation about mental health?
“I think conversations and role models are absolutely essential for young people. I wanted to have more and do my best to be one. Every song on this record was born out of unfiltered, open and honest conversation.”
From talking to people on your podcast, including Louis Tomlinson, and using your platform to open up this dialogue, is there anything interesting that you’ve noticed?
“I think that more often than not, young men are finding it difficult to combat the struggles they are facing in this modern world. To me it feels like there are less and less spaces and opportunities to have meaningful, healing conversations…”
Having had those conversations yourself and explored them on the album, it must be somewhat daunting to now put it out into the world. Is there something that you hope people take from it?
“I’d like people to feel less alone after hearing the record and the themes intertwined with it. I think music is more than just heartbreak and I hoped in the writing of this record I would be able to highlight some more universally relevant topics.”
You have your headline tour coming up next month. What can we expect from the shows?
“Big smiles and big sound all round! It will be the most self assured Snuts tour to date.”
‘Life In Short Moments’ is out now Happy Artist Records in partnership with Virgin Music Group. Their UK and Ireland tour kicks off next month with an opening night in Dundee. Visit here for tickets and check out a list of tour dates below.
NOVEMBER 2026
19 – Dundee, Livehouse
20 – Aberdeen, Beach Ballroom
21 – Edinburgh, Corn Exchange
23 – Dunfermline, Alhambra Theatre
24 – Newcastle, O2 City Hall
26 – Sheffield, Octagon Centre
27 – Nottingham, Rock City
29 – Norwich, UEA
30 – Hull, City Hall
DECEMBER 2026
1 – Bristol, Prospect Hall
3 – Leeds, O2 Academy
4 – Manchester, O2 Victoria Warehouse
8 – Birmingham, O2 Academy
9 – Portsmouth, Guildhall
10 – London, O2 Academy Brixton
JANUARY 2027
26 – Belfast, Limelight
27 – Galway, Róisín Dubh
28 – Dublin, Academy
