“Ahla Leila Ahla Nas”, how an Arabic phrase traveled the world?
From Mykonos to the world, following its debut at a nightclub in Dubai, one song characterized the summer of 2025 by dominating the world music industry, touring the world, bringing different cultures together and writing an unexpected success story.
Scorpios, June 2025
A new track took the global music scene by storm this year, sending shockwaves across the world and becoming a viral anthem in nightclubs, social media posts, radios and playlists, while also changing the concept of the long version songs: with just one phrase and techno house music, the song “Ahla Leila Ahla Nas” (the official name “Ma Tnsani”) emerged unannounced as the biggest hit of this summer, becoming a worldwide phenomenon.
The Arabic phrase “Ahla Leila, Ahla Nas” (translates to: “the best night, the best people”), captures the idea of celebration and nightlife with the people you love the most while its repetitive lyrics guarantee that it sticks in the mind of listeners by giving it a local vibe with the words “Yalla Habibi”. But who stands behind this song and its worldwide success?
Family reunion at Scorpios
South African DJ and producer Vanco, collaborating with AYA, worked on blending those basic Arabic words with electronic music in a cross-cultural mix, and resulting in this song which was released on April 4, 2025. Vanco was introduced to AYA by his manager, where they met in a Berlin studio, and spontaneously, the anonymous Aya along with her sister portraying Khaleeji sounds, wrote the lyrics in an instinctive moment that has turned into a worldwide success blending the Afro beat with Middle Eastern vibe.
Later, and in an interview with “Manu’s Track ID’s”, Vanco said that this huge success was “beyond my wildest imagination. I am super grateful”. Also responding to the question of how he got inspired, he said that “In December 2023, New year of 2024, I could feel something, I could feel it in”, seeing how people reacted when he played it first as part of his New Year’s Eve set at Ushuaïa Dubai.
Why did this song go viral?
A Music festival in Dubai
Many reasons contributed to taking this song through the world. Apart from the blend of different cultures, using the word “Habibi”, which is very common in social media posts and different songs or ads, has its magic as a symbol pointing to the Middle Eastern region and resonating with the grand audience who is familiar with it.
This viral nature of the song also reflects the trend of today’s music: building an identity with short repetitive phrases and focusing more on house, electronic, and Afro-house genres. It is a cross-cultural atmosphere embodied in places like Dubai, where the song first landed, or the coolest and most glamourous party places such as Mykonos, Ibiza, Bali and other big cities in the world.
The reality is that the dance and electronic productions continue to absorb different linguistic and musical genres from all corners of the world, the same way the Romanian hit, “Da Doumla Da-Made in Romania”, toured the whole world and became a global trend a year ago.
This is part of the musical evolution today.
The meaning of the words, although simple, also played a significant role in the success of the song, as it talks about the night, the beautiful people, love and romance. “Ahla Nas”, meaning “the best people”, celebrates all human relationships, whether that be friends, family, companions or loved person. While as, on the other hand, “Ahla Leila” (the best night) also carries a beautiful imagery of a summer night out shared with beloved people.
One final message to highlight through the song’s direct and easy to follow lyrics: the night is for celebration with music, dance and appreciation for the bliss of being together. It sets the tone for a spirit of shared happiness, a common joy among all people at that specific moment when the song’s vibe is echoing.
Keinemusik support
A Music event in Dubai
“Ma Tensani” became one of Keinemusik favorite records in live sets and its rise was enhanced after featuring it in sets by this Berlin-based techno and house music group which combines, since its founding in 2009, music and visuals in a DJ set that transformed the world music scene. Nowadays, numerous DJs have become, at some point, more popular than the artists themselves using branding and musical fusion.
Bearing in mind that Keinemusik’s DJ sets are influential and they have a big global following, it is no surprise that featuring a track supported by them boosts exposure significantly. Vanco and Keinmusik operate in similar ways playing music that ranges between Afro house, melodic house and dance music with strong rhythms. Keinemusik includes Adam Port (real name Adam Polaszek), ME (André Boadu), Rampa (Gregor Sütterlin) and Reznik (Andreas Richter and Monja Gentschow) who is associated with the visual and creative part.
Ironically, Keinmusik means “no music” in German, and in recent years, they gained a cult support where people follow their concerts from one city to the other. Their music is described as hypnotic and energy-flowing.
This explains their support adoption of a track that reflects similar music genre with a theme focusing on the night, a theme that resonates universally as it portrays darkness, the beauty of the stars and the joy associated with evenings out.
Eh voilà! Let’s dance our way to the birthland of “Ahla Leila, Ahla Nas”, the glamourous Dubai.
Five things to know about House music:
The original version of “Ma Tnsani (Yalla Habibi)” by Vanco & AYA had around 40 million global streams according to different platforms since its release.
House music originated in Chicago in the 1980’s in underground clubs, mainly “The Warehouse”, where the name came from.
House music is described as a feeling that reflects empowerment and inclusiveness, being born in marginalized communities. It was an expression of joy and freedom.
Afro House is a music genre that blends traditional African rhythms with tribal and soulful elements.
Artists like Black Coffee, Culoe De Song, and Da Capo helped export Afro House to Europe, the US, and beyond.