After leaving Iraq, his songs and titles championed the Iraqi people while they lived under Saddam Hussein's rule and Western sanctions.
He has collaborated with international stars such as Quincy Jones, Sarah Brightman, Lenny Kravitz, and had frequent partnerships with the revered Syrian poet Nizar Qabbani.
[8] He appeared as a judge in the television show The Voice: Ahla Sawt from 2012 to 2015, alongside Assi El Hallani, Sherine, and Saber Rebai.
Al Sahir's brother once took him to different places where people usually sang, and told him it was his choice to sing in a respectful way, or he could choose to do it the bad way.
That prestige brought him wider fame and a growing international reputation that won him a UNICEF award for his song "Tathakkar", which he performed in the U.S. for Congress and the United Nations–one of the first real post-Gulf War cultural exchanges.
In 2004, Al Sahir continued to work with various international artists including Grammy Award-winning producers KC Porter, and Quincy Jones.
His collaboration "Love & Compassion" (Hob Wa Haneen) was the title track for the Arab American National Museum Collector's edition honoring the artists that have made the most significant difference with international audiences.
The track features Grammy winning singer/songwriter Paula Cole, Def Jam recording artist Karina Pasian, and Luis Conte and was produced by KC Porter and Dawn Elder.
[19] In 2004, he participated in the worldwide broadcast concert special "We are the Future" produced by Quincy Jones and coordinated by Dawn Elder at the Roman Maximos Stadium in Rome for the benefit of the children of the world.
In December 2004, he participated in the opening of the Gulf Football Championship (Khaleeji 17) in which he performed the return of Iraq Operette which was broadcast live on 10 satellite channels.
For Al Sahir, this was a compelling reason to visit his country after 14 years[20] He sang Bokra ("Tomorrow"), a charity single that was released on November 11, 2011, at 11:11 pm, along with Rim Banna, Akon, Tamer Hosni, Diana Karazon, Marwan Khoury, Latifa, Souad Massi, Hani Mitwassi, Saber El Robai, Wa'ed, Sherine, and other Arab artists.
He debuted as a coach for MBC The Voice Kids, and his team member Lynn Hayek from Lebanon was the winning contestant in the Season 1 Finale held on March 5, 2016.