CAA Signs Singer/Songwriter Ali Gatie

Gatie was born in Yemen to Iraqi parents, spent part of his childhood in Dubai and then grew up in the Toronto suburb of Mississauga. He credits his ability to find common ground with listeners and “a lot of his music-making philosophy to the traditional Arab values of hospitality and generosity that his parents raised him with,” according to his bio on his Facebook page. 

He spent 2018 self-releasing projects that racked up millions of streams, including the acoustic ballad “Moonlight” and last year he released his debut EP, You, featuring the single “It’s You.” The tune “It’s You” ranked at No. 25 on Billboard’s Hot R&B / Hip-Hop Songs and No. 70 on the Hot 100. 

The lyric video for his latest single, “What If I Told You That I Love You,” has amassed more than 21 million views. 

    

Rolling Stone describes the song as a “a breezy, springtime-fresh midtempo track, with Gatie’s sparkling vocals caressing the sparse beat from producers DannyBoyStyles (Meek Mill, Beyoncé, The Weeknd) and Sam Wish, who worked with Gatie on the singer’s debut EP, You.” RS adds that Gatie sounds “like a young John Legend mixed with Frank Ocean’s flair and finesse.” 

The “One Lisn World Tour” kicked off Feb. 28 in Dubai. The North American leg was set to begin April 1 in Edmonton, Alberta, with dates booked through May 11 in Toronto. He was due to head to Europe in May, with stops in Amsterdam, Paris, Berlin, London and Stockholm. .

Gatie was also booked at Coachella, which has been pushed back from April to October becasue of COVID-19.  

The signing announcement from CAA notes that ticket sales were strong, with Gatie selling out “the first six shows of his debut North American tour within the first few minutes of the ticket pre-sale.” He’d also sold 28 of the 35 total dates on his upcoming world tour within the first few hours.

Gatie announced the postponement with a post on Twitter March 17: 

LISNER family ❤️ Due to the COVID-19 world pandemic ; I have made the decision to POSTPONE my WORLD TOUR. Your safety and health will always come first to me ❤️ – stay safe & see you soon ✌ * More info coming soon *

 

More announcements about the rescheduled dates are to come.

Gatie is the founder of his own record label, LISN, which is under exclusive license to Warner Records and he’s managed by Wassim “Sal” Slaiby and Camille Delaney of SAL&CO/Maverick.