Faudel then went on to appear at clubs throughout the Paris suburbs, performing covers of Khaled, Zahouania and Mami's greatest hits, accompanied by a pre-recorded backing tape.

Mestar, an ex-guitarist, had recently set up an association in the suburbs to promote up-and-coming local artists and, after catching one of Faudel's concerts, he offered to take charge of the young Rai singer's career.

Thanks to Momo's guiding hand, Faudel soon built up his own repertoire and began collaborating with different artists, and playing in a few Cheb Mami and MC Solaar concerts as well.

The demo tape would actually prove unnecessary - after Faudel's impressive performance at the Printemps de Bourges, the young star was snapped up by major record label Mercury shortly afterward.

Meanwhile, Faudel's catchy new Rai sound would reach a whole new audience when it was used as part of the soundtrack to Ariel Zeitoun's film Elle est Belle la Vie.

The first single release from the album, "Tellement N'brick" (I Love You So Much), went on to become a huge hit on community radio during the Muslim month of Ramadan (January 1998).

Following the success of "Tellement N'brick", Baïda was nominated in the 'traditional music' category at the Victoires de la Musique awards in February 1998.

Soleils) proved to be an overwhelming success with the French public and the three Rai Tenors were soon inundated with invitations to appear on all the top TV shows.

His 1997 music video called "Tellement Je T'aime" featured Ukrainian born, model and actress, future "James Bond's girl" Olga Kurylenko.

On the contrary, the lyrics of Faudel's songs are an important social comment, expressing the hopes and frustrations of a whole generation of French-born Algerians growing up in the Paris suburbs today.

The songs were written and arranged by Nabil Khalidi (a collaborator of Rachid Taha) and Goh Hotoda (a well-known remixer), and were produced by Mohamed Mestar who has been following Faudel since 1993.

More than in his previous albums, the lyrics focused on love rather than on his usual social comments, except for one track that referred to Mantes-la-Jolie, the inner-city where the artist grew up and still lives in.

With the help of songwriter Patrick Dupond who had collaborated with Florent Pagny, Faudel composed very personal lyrics such as those of "Petit Etre" — dealing with his recently born son.

On Mundial Corrida, produced by Fred Chateau and Volodia, Faudel affirmed his double French and Algerian identity, celebrating his two cultures on "Mon Pays", the first single release which received extensive airplay.

[9][10] Besides his singing career, the young star of Raï music decided to take a new turn towards acting and accepted a part in the French film, Battement d’ailes du papillon.

In 2004, Faudel made a comeback on cinema screens, starring in Merzak Allouache's film Bab el web alongside Samy Naceri and Julie Gayet.