Savio Haykal is 18 years old and has been living in Paris since last September, studying at the University of Paris 1. He was discovered by the Lebanese diaspora and Parisians following a video that went viral, taken in a Monoprix on the Champs-Élysées, gaining hundreds of thousands of views on TikTok and 60,000 followers in a few days. In this video, he plays a Feyrouz song on the piano, which appeals to foreigners and expatriates, especially Lebanese and Arabs.
"Since my arrival in France, I have been living with my uncle's family, and there is no piano at our place. So I looked for places where I could play, and practice. After a little while, I discovered that many public places in France had self-service pianos, including in train stations and in Monoprix shops" - Savio Haykal for newspaper L'Orient-le-Jour.
Savio Haykal started learning the piano at the age of eight and continued at the Lebanese Conservatory. He participated in the 2015 program "The Voice Kids", and was selected in the team of Lebanese diva Nancy Ajram.
Since his first TikTok video, the young man has published others, always playing great Arabic melodies, with several personalities such as Coco Makmak, the famous Lebanese comedian.
Savio Haykal has just recorded "Mum's Eyes", an unreleased version of Kendji Girac's song. The track, which features French and Arabic lyrics, was released for Mother's Day in Lebanon.