Fady Maalouf is a Lebanese-German pop singer. He is mostly known as the runner-up of the fifth season of 'Deutschland sucht den Superstar ', the German version of American Idol. Fady Maalouf went to a Christian school and began at a very early age to show interest for music and singing. He sang in the children's choir and took some piano lessons, which was his first developing musical activity. Later on, he received professional voice training with a vocal coach, learning the singing technique of bel canto. This kind of vocal training allowed him to develop a multi-octave powerful belting voice, which he started to show at the age of 17 by performing as a club singer in piano bars and night clubs. Besides singing, he studied fashion design, earned a degree and made an internship with the now famous Lebanese international fashion designer Elie Saab. When in 2006 the political situation in Beirut tightened again, he went to his half-brother's place in Germany where he worked in Hamburg as a barista (espresso specialist).