Planet Salem is 6 years old today.

I never thought when I started this blog back on 1st December 2007 that it would still be going today.  So I'm delighted to announce this blog's 6th birthday! 

Of course things have been very quiet here as Salem hasn't released any new solo material for a long time, however he has been very busy collaborating with other artists, notably Avicii.

Salem provided the uncredited vocals on "You Make Me" which reached no.5 in the UK singles chart.  This song was also a big hit in a number of other European charts.

Now the follow-up song, "Hey Brother" is doing well in the European charts and has already been a massive hit in Sweden.  Salem does not sing on this track but he co-wrote it, along with another of my favourite Swedish artists, Vincent Pontare. 

It's great to see Salem having so much success as a songwriter, however it would be great if he could come back as a solo artist again....maybe in 2014?

Salem (Al Fakir) is NOT playing in Glasgow in February.

Thanks Eva for the link to the Rix FM interview
http://www.rixfm.com/webbradio/frameset.php?type=audio then click 'Eftermiddagar'.

During this interview, Salem was asked if he would be playing in Glasgow and he denied this.

I just want to clarify tonight that Planet Salem was not responsible for this story, but I reported it on a previous post here initially because it came from Salem's own MySpace page (www.myspace.com/salem) where the gig was listed in the upcoming shows/events section. (By the way, the show is still listed on that web page).

Just so you know :)

Gott Nytt År !

As 2010 is almost over I would like to wish all the readers of Planet Salem a very happy new year, and thanks again to each and every one of you for your friendship, support and assistance over the past year.

2010 has been a fantastic year to be a Salem Al Fakir fan....so many amazing things have happened, which I already mentioned in my 3rd anniversary post http://planetsalem.blogspot.com/2010/12/planet-salem-is-three-years-old-today.html however I just wanted to mention again that Salem has brought me so much happiness through his music this year. Thank you, Salem, for making 2010 so special. Stora kramar och god hälsa, lycka och framgång i allt du gör under det kommande året!

It has been an amazing year for Salem, of course...so it's also been an amazing year for this blog. I've put a lot of work into doing Planet Salem over the last 12 months, and it's taken up a lot of my time, but it has been an absolute pleasure to write every word.

And as for 2011? Well, it'll be a lot quieter of course - but Planet Salem never closes, so this blog will continue to report on all his musical adventures. At the moment, I've given up on the possibility of Salem's music ever being released outside Scandinavia. But maybe someday?? One thing's for sure - Salem's international fanbase is growing, and we will always want his music! So why are most of Salem's videos on http://www.youtube.com/user/salemtv/ blocked again? All you get is the message "This video contains content from Vevo, who has blocked it in your country on copyright grounds"? I need to know - after all, if Salem's music isn't being released internationally, why are we being denied the the opportunity to watch his videos?

In the meantime, don't forget to keep on voting for "Keep On Walking" in the P3 Guld awards http://sverigesradio.se/cgi-bin/p3/p3guld/index.asp and in the Grammis http://www.expressen.se/noje/musik/1.2251582/rosta-pa-din-svenska-favoritlat-under-2010 ....and keep voting for "Split My Personality" in the Mix Megapol topp 20 http://www.mixmegapol.se/musik/mix-topp-20

Happy new year everyone!