Alira (above) will be joining an all-star cast, which includes Filipino heartthrob Piolo Pascual, Joshua Garcia and Jane de Leon.

Emirati hitmaker Alira returns to the stage on June 26 for the Philippine Independence Day celebration in Dubai where he is set to thrill Filipino fans with his nuance of Original Pilipino Music (OPM).

Organisers Emirates Loves Philippines and Philippine Business Council Dubai and Northern Emirates said Alira’s performance will “show the unique connection between the Philippines and UAE.” This is the first time that a Philippine Independence Day celebration in Dubai will feature an Emirati artist.

This year’s celebration will be held at the Dubai World Trade Center and will feature a full-day of activities and shows — including a dance festival and fashion show — starting at 10am, organisers said. Alira’s performance will kick off at 5pm. The event will also feature a performance by Filipino actor Carlo Aquino.

Alira captured the hearts of Filipinos and multinational fans when he made his debut in December with his own rousing rendition of Filipino ballads at a Dubai concert with Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray and Filipino pop stars Yeng Constantino and KZ Tandingan.

Multinational fans

His performance of Regine Velasquez’s Tuwing Umuulan at Kapiling Ka got crowds on their feet and went viral on TikTok, Instagram and Facebook with more than a million combined views. Although a full-blooded Emirati, Alira sang flawlessly in Filipino. He also sings not only in his native Arabic, but also in English, Hindi, Chinese and Japanese, to name a few.

“I just want to create music that connects and inspires people, regardless of who they are or where they come from. That is what the UAE stands for,” the Emirati singer said.

Alira has wowed multinational fans with his versatility in singing in various languages in his trademark countertenor voice. His debut song, Take Flight, became a dance craze on TikTok.

At the Middle East Film and Comic Con in Abu Dhabi earlier this year, Alira sang a medley of popular anime songs in Japanese, English and Arabic, delighting many fans.

He also stunned the crowd at Expo 2020 Dubai where he launched his original song, ‘We Are One,’ picking nearly 100 backup performers of various nationalities to share the stage with him. According to Expo 2020 organisers, the performance was one of the most watched performances by a local artist at the iconic event.

In May, Alira set a new world record in India with the biggest ensemble cast of nearly 500 people for a 7-minute musical production of We Are One, a more elaborate reprise of his Expo 2020 Dubai performance. A representative from International Wonder Book of Records confirmed that Alira has been entered into the record for the unique feat.