Some people skip television advertisements, but when DD Foxx was just 7, she thought they were the best part of the programme.
They gave her the chance to sing.
The 25-year-old Lebanese singer, who is about to release her debut album, laughs when recalling her childhood in the Saudi capital, Riyadh.
"It was not a music environment," she says. "I always loved singing, and television commercials were my only source of entertainment. My father would make me these tapes. They were for two hours and I would watch them over and over again."
After moving to Dubai and entering school, Foxx really took notice of her singing talent.
"I had music classes and my teacher brought it to my attention," she says. "He said: 'You have this gift and you have to work at it.'"
Foxx took his advice to heart and spent years perfecting her craft, playing with cover bands and performing corporate gigs.
When band members were busy with family commitments, Foxx went out on her own, shopping demo tapes to labels.
One of them landed with the Flicker Show production house producer Kevin Bassett.
The duo wrote more than 80 songs, 15 of which made the cut for Had to Be Me, Foxx's debut album to be released on Saturday through Virgin Middle East.
"It is house and R&B," she explains.
"There are a number of different flavours in there but it does sound very fresh and very new."
Foxx plans a large regional tour in the coming months, and will shortly be on a plane to New York for meetings with American record labels.
She will take with her the same passion she had at 7; Fox says it is the message of her album.
"You should be who you want to be," she says. "It is about expressing yourself the way you want to and keeping in mind where you come from."
Had to Be Me will be out on Saturday exclusively through Virgin Megastores.
sasaeed@thenational.ae
'Nope'
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COMPANY PROFILE
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Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
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