Frontman of the group, Nasri Atweh (inset and below center), is of Palestinian descent. Nasri was born and raised in Toronto to Palestinian immigrant parents Along with guitarist Mark Pelli, drummer Alex Tanas and bassist Ben Spivak — who hail from the Toronto area, they formed the group Magic! in 2013.

LOS ANGELES — Pop-reggae band Magic! has landed a huge summer hit on the American charts with the song “Rude,”‘ currently the #1 selling single on iTunes. 

Nasri Atweh, frontman of the group,  is of Palestinian descent. Nasri was born in Toronto to immigrant parents and was raised in Ontario, where he began singing at the age of 6. Along with guitarist Mark Pelli, drummer Alex Tanas and bassist Ben Spivak — who hail from the Toronto area, he formed the group Magic! in 2013.

“Rude,” a pop-reggae song about a young man asking his girlfriend’s father for permission to marry her — and getting soundly rejected — has crossed a half-million downloads in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan. The single, was already a huge hit in Canada, Australia and New Zealand before hitting the States.

The band has also collaborated with Columbian-Lebanese sensation Shakira, on a track called “Cut Me Deep” off of her latest self titled CD.

While the song marks a first top ten hit for Magic!, Atweh had already found success in the U.S. as a songwriter. As part of the production team The Messengers, he’s helped pen top ten hits for major pop acts in the last two years, including Pitbull & Christina Aguilera’s “Feel This Moment,” and Justin Beiber’s “Never Say Never.”