name | Amr Diab عمرو دياب |
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background | solo_singer |
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birth name | Amr Abdel Basset Abdel Azeez Diab |
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astrological sign | Libra. |
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alias | Father of Mediterranean music, The Plateau (الهضبة) |
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birth date | October 11, 1961 |
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origin | Port Said, Egypt |
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instrument | Vocal, Guitar |
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genre | Mediterranean |
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occupation | Singer, composer, actor |
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years active | 1983–present |
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label | Rotana |
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official webstite| website | Official Website/ |
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nationality | Egyptian |
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nickname | The Empror
The King |
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father | Abdul Basset Diab |
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spouse | Sherine Rida (1989–1992)
Zinah Ashour
}} |
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Amr Abdol-Basset Abdol-Azeez Diab (}}; born October 11, 1961) is an
Egyptian singer and composer of
geel music; the contemporary face of Egyptian el-geel pop music, according to ''World Music''. Diab is the best-selling Arab recording artist of all time, according to ''Let's Go Egypt''. He was awarded the
World Music Award for Best Selling Middle Eastern Artist four times: 1998, 2002, 2007 and 2009. He has also sold over 50 million albums worldwide. He is currently the top singer in the Arab world, and considered a living legend by many of his fans in the Arab world.
Amr Diab is known as the Father of Mediterranean Music. He has created his own style which is often termed "Mediterranean Music" or "Mediterranean Sound", a blend of Western and Egyptian rhythms.
In ''The Mediterranean in Music'', David Cooper and Kevin Dawe referred to his music as "the new breed of Mediterranean music".
According to author Michael Frishkopf, Amr Diab has produced a new concept of Mediterranean music, especially in his international hit, "Nour El Ain".
In his analysis of ''The Very Best of Amr Diab'' album, Victor W. Valdivia of Allmusic said: "His music melded traditional Arabic sounds and textures with Western rhythms and instruments. The mesh was dubbed Mediterranean music, and The Very Best of Amr Diab displays Diab's superb skill in creating it."
According to the BBC, Diab "has ruled the Arab music world, especially Egypt and the Middle East, since the mid '80s, continually breaking sales records".
Musical career
In 1983, Diab released his first studio album, ''Ya Tareeq''. Diab released three more albums between 1984 and 1987. 1988's "Mayaal" garnered huge success all around the Middle East. It was produced, arranged and remixed by German musicians, Frank Von Dem Bottlenberg and Jörg Evers, with various releases. More success followed in the following years including the albums ''Shawakkna'', ''Matkhafesh'', and ''We Yloumouni''.
Amr Diab quickly developed fame for his new style of "Pan-Mediterranean" Arabic music, fusing touches of flamenco and raï with western pop with traditional Arabic rhythms. B1992, he became the first Arabic artist to start making high-tech music videos.
"Habibi" from Diab's 1996 album, ''Nour El Ain'' became a hit worldwide, and was remixed by many of the world's top DJs at the time. A special CD named ''Habibi: The Remix Album'' was released later with all of these remixes. Since then, Diab has remained at the top of the Arabic music scene, expanding reach to all parts of the Mediterranean with his 1999 release, ''Amarain'', that featured duets with Algeria's king of rai Khaled in a song called "Qalbi" and Greece's Angela Dimitriou in "Ana Bahibak Aktar" and "Eleos". "Tamally Maak" from Diab's 2000 album became a huge success. ''Leily Nahari'', Diab's first album with Rotana Records, was released in 2004. Diab's album ''El Leila De'' was released in the summer of 2007 and topped the Arabic music charts for 22 weeks. Diab received a World Music Award for Best Selling Middle Eastern Artist for the album. In 2008, Diab renewed his contract with Rotana for five more years.
In 2009, Diab released a new album ''Wayah''.
233255/23. Omar soudan
Influences and contributions
Diab revolutionized Egyptian show business in several respects, and some of his biographers have referred to him as rebellious, because he challenged everything in Middle Eastern show business, from hairstyle and appearance to music style, presentation, and the financial scale of his projects.
Diab’s blending of Western rhythms with Mediterranean and Middle Eastern music styles created a new music style, referred to as Mediterranean music. His song “Tamalli Ma’ak”/“Always With You,” wherein he introduced classical guitar, is a good example of the genre.
The world's perspective
Diab is one of the most popular and acclaimed Arab pop singers of the modern age. In 1997 he won three awards at the Annual Arabic Festival; one for Best Video, for Best Song, and for Best Artist of the Year. The following year Diab received a Triple Platinum Award for the sales of ''
Nour El Ain'' and also received a World Music Award in Monaco.
Albums
''Nour El Ain''
In 1996, ''
Nour El Ain'' (Light of The Eye – Sight) was released, becoming a tremendous success not only in the Middle East but throughout the entire world. The song was composed by
Nasser el-Mizdawi, lyrics were written by Ahmed Sheta and it was arranged by Hameed Elshaery. The title track, and its English version "Habibi", was an international phenomenon, becoming a massive crossover hit in countries such as
Pakistan,
India,
Afghanistan,
Sri Lanka (performed by Sangeeth Wickremasinghe) and
Malaysia (
Malay version sung by
Datuk Sharifah Aini). The song was copied and remade with
Malayalam lyrics, a south Indian language, in the Malayalam movie
Chandralekha. In a style reminiscent of the
Aldo (musician) Franco-Arabic style, the song was remixed by several top European arrangers and has become a big pull on the dance floors of Europe. The video clip, also
produced by Alam El Phan for the song "Nour El Ain", was one of the most lavish and expensive productions in the field of Egyptian song, and set a new standard for his contemporaries to aspire to. This album sold 3 million copies.
In 1997, Amr Diab won three Awards at the Annual Arabic Festival (for Best Video, Best Song and Artist of the Year). In the following year, he received a Triple Platinum Award for the sales of ''Nour El Ain'', and received a
World Music Award in Monaco on 6 May 1998, under the patronage of H.S.H. Albert II, Prince of Monaco, and attended by
Gloria Estefan,
Céline Dion,
Mariah Carey,
The Backstreet Boys,
Steven Seagal and others. This award was the first of its kind for an Egyptian artist, emphasizing that his appeal is not just confined to the Middle East unlike the majority of his contemporaries.
''Awedooni''
His follow-up studio album entitled ''Awedooni'' (they made me used to...) was released in July 1998, and as with ''Nour El Ain'' (the light of the eye) it was
produced with
Hamid El Shaery and recorded in
Cairo, Egypt. The first video from the album, the title track "Awedooni" (they made me used to...), was shot by the river Nile in Egypt and directed by Tareq Al Aryan. Like its predecessor, this album was a huge success for Amr and reinforced his popularity in the Arab world and abroad.
''Amarain'' "Two Moons" in english
Diab released his July 1999 new studio album ''Amarain'' (two moons), which is hailed as the best work of his career to date. Amr is working on eagerly anticipated duets with the France-based international Rai superstar,
Khaled of "
Didi" fame, and with the Greek singer,
Angela Dimitrou, whose crossover smash "Marguerites" was a huge hit across the Middle East in 1998. The title track "Amarain" was the first video to be broadcast.
''Tamally Ma'ak''
In 2000, Diab revolutionized Arab music when he issued ''
Tamally Ma'ak'' (I'm Always With You). The song was composed by Sherif Tag, a modern Egyptian Composer. He introduced the Spanish guitar in his song "Tamally Ma'ak" and in other songs. The clip of this song was made in the
Czech Republic with much success. The album contained songs like "El Allem Alla" (Only God Knows), "Ba'terf" (I Confess) which where composed by
Amr Mostafa the best middle-eastern composer, "Sa'ban Alaea" (It Makes Me Feel Sorry) and "We Heya Amla Eih" (And How Was She?). The song "Tamally Ma'ak" was even copied in the hit
Bollywood song "
Kaho Na Kaho" from the film ''
Murder''
and also "I'm Calling U" by the group, Outlandish.
''Aktar Wahed''
''Aktar Wahed'' was released on August 1, 2001. The album's name is short for one of the songs, "Aktar Wahed Beyhebbak" (One loves you the most). It contains 10 tracks and received the
World Music Award for the best-selling album in the
Middle East for 2001.
''Allem Albi''
In February 2003, Diab released ''
Allem Alby'' (Teach My Heart). The album's release date was arranged to be with the debut broadcast of Alam El Phan's (Allem Alby's production company, owned by Mohsen Gaber) music channel "Mazzika".
The album was a great success, with the release of the video "Ana Ayesh" (I'm Alive) which was directed by Stuart Gosling. The video was intensely broadcast on Mazzika. The album contains other songs, like the R&B;-influenced hit, "Allem Albi". Others that tend to be more distinctively Arabic-sounding are songs like "Kolohom" (All of Them), "Law Ash'any" (If You Adore Me), and "Alli El Wadaa'" (Goodbye To Me).
''Leily Nahary''
In late summer 2004, Diab's first album with
Rotana was released, titled ''
Leily Nahary'' (My Nights, My Days). The album's cover was from the promotional photo shoot of
Pepsi. The video "Leily Nahari" directed by Cameron Casey provided aid to give Diab his space in the record-exclusive music channels. It was criticized because of its similarity to his previously unreleased video for "El Alem Allah" from the album ''Tamally Ma'ak''. This album sold over 1.5 million copies.
''Kammel Kalamak''
Diab's album ''
Kammel Kalamak'', released on December 14, 2005, was the follow-up to ''
Leily Nahary''. The album cost a reported $4 million to record, and was Rotana's biggest album of 2005. The love ballad "We Malo" was released as the single of the album, ''Kammel Kalamak''. The music video was shot in
London and was released on a late notice after the release of the album. Rumors surfaced in late 2005 and early 2006 stated that Amr is considering terminating his contract with
Rotana due to the poor promotion of his latest album, ''
Kammel Kalamak''.
''El Leila De'' (Tonight)
The album ''
El Leila De'' was originally set to be released after
Ramadan 2006. However, it was pushed back several times due to Diab's repeated changes in the
musical producers he was dealing with. Diab attributes the changes to the producer's lack of new and strong styles. In early 2006, Music
Arranger Fahd was supposed to work on this album; however, later that year
Tarek Madkour joined Amr Diab, and they started together to work on it. On March 25, 2007, Madkour's official website announced that Amr Diab and Madkour had decided jointly to skip the collaboration on the album due to the lack of time and conflicting working schedules. Fahd and a new producer called Hasan Al Shafei are elected to produce the music in the album, which is supposed to hit the markets in July 2007. The title of the album was changed from ''Khaleek Ma'aya'' to ''El Leila De''. After the release Amr, shot a new Pepsi advertisement in Europe. On June 21, 2007, two of the biggest sites (AmrDiabWorld.com & AmrDiab.info) for Amr Diab announced that the album, now entitled ''El Lilady'', would hit the market on July 7, 2007. The album would contain 10 tracks; AL Shafei and Fahd shared the production Al Shaei 7 songs & Fahd 3 Songs. Before releasing his album, Diab traveled to Portugal to shoot the new Pepsi ad choosing "Inta El Ghaly" song from his upcoming album ''El Leila De'' as the ad music. Amr then traveled to the USA to film the music video for his upcoming album.
The album master copy was given to Rotana, Amr Diab's CD production company, on the last week of June to meet the July 7, 2007 release date he had planned earlier. Rotana, however, has delayed the release of the new CD for a couple of days for unknown reasons. The album has also been leaked.
The album was officially released on July 11, 2007. The album has already become a huge hit in Egypt and all over the Middle East. The album sold over 1,000,000 copies in only 5 days of release. The video clip has been slated for a July 27 release. The song that Diab chose to film was "N'eoul Eih", which is in the new style of House Music mixed with oriental Arabic music. The video clip was filmed in Santa Monica and Malibu, and also near Hollywood.
On July 27, Rotana News announced that ''El Leila De'' had sold over 5 million copies in less than two weeks in the Middle East, which gives the album a good chance to surpass Kammel Kalamak's 3 million copies only.
On October 30, 2007, the management of the World Music Awards announced that Amr Diab was to receive an award for best selling artist in the Middle East for this album. Amr Diab received the award in the festival that was held in Monaco, Monte-Carlo, on the November 4, 2007.
''Wayah'' (With Her) (2009)
the world music award of for the best-selling album in the
Middle East 2009
''
Wayah'' (With Her) was released for sale on the internet on June 27; however, the album was leaked online and was downloaded illegally amid complaints of slow download speed on the official site. Diab's fans initiated a massive boycott of the sites with the illegal copies and by July 3, 2009 ''Wayah'' had sold more than 1.5 million copies in the first week.
Later on Amr Diab's administration announced that the album has become the highest-selling album in Diab's career. This album sold 3 million copies.
On October 18, 2009 Amr Diab won four 2009 African Music Awards in the following categories: best artist, best album, best vocalist and best song for "Wayah" and Amr Diab has been nominated by the Big Apple Music Awards
''Aslaha Betefre''' (2010)
Amr Diab has released a mini album for the first time in his career history, produced by Rotana, in July 2010. The mini album contains 1 song with 3 arrangements (Original song + Club Mix + Karaoke).
''Banadeek Ta'ala'' (2011)
Amr Diab is expected to release "Banadeek Ta'ala" late September 2011. The album contains 12 songs that include: Banadeek Ta'ala, Heya Hayaty, Aloomak Leh, Aref Habibi, Maly Enaya, Yaret Sennek, Ghaly Alaya, and Tagreba o Addet. The album is arranged by Adil Hakki and is produced by Rotana.
Music videos
Diab is one of the first singers to popularise music videos in the Arab World, and the first Egyptian singer to appear in music videos. With the exception of his very early releases, all of his albums have had at least one song shot as a music video. Diab has collaborated with a variety of music video directors in the Middle East, including
Tarek El-Erian and
Sherif Sabri.
The most anticipated video clip of 2007, ''N'eoul Eih'', was released on August 14 that year on Rotana TV. It was broadcast minutes later on Egyptian television on "El Beit Betak".
The video was a great success.
August 6, 2009 witnessed the release of Amr Diab's latest video clip for his smash hit Wayah. Working alongside Cameron Casey and [Leily Nahari] for a second time, Amr Diab presented a fresh video clip which was filmed mostly on Green Screen and in Amr Diab's personal villa in Cairo, Egypt. The biggest surprise was the appearance of Amr Diab's children alongside his niece, who represented the younger generation of children who are still inspired by the music of Amr Diab.
Diab also filmed "Ba2dem Alby" which is set to be released on Valentine's Day.
''El Helm/The Dream''
''The Dream'' or ''El Helm'' is a biographical TV production produced by Amr Afefy that gives viewers the story of Amr Diab's life. The show consists of 12 episodes and began airing on December 24, 2008. ''El Helm'' is narrated by actor Ezzat Abou Ouf and includes interviews with Diab and people he worked with throughout the span of his career. The show, which aired on Rotana TV, saw great success and was preceded by one of the biggest advertising campaigns in the history of Middle Eastern music.
Film career
Diab's fame in the music industry has led him to experiment with other forms of media, such as film. Amr played himself in his first film, ''El Afareet'', which was released in 1989. The film also starred
Madiha Kamel. His second film ''Ice Cream in Gleam'' (''Ays Krim fi Glym''), the 1992 movie in which Diab starred, was chosen as one of the best five Egyptian musical films by the
UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television. The film was also featured in the UCLA Film and Television Archive's new program "Music on the Nile: Fifty Years of Egyptian Musical Films" at James Bridges Theater, UCLA, April 6, 8 and 10. David Chute of the Los Angeles Weekly termed the film "observant" and "a big leap". His third movie was released in 1993, and was named ''Deahk We La'ab'' (''Laughter and Fun''). The film premiered in the Egyptian Film Festival in 1993. Amr played alongside international Egyptian movie star
Omar Sharif (''
Lawrence of Arabia'', ''
Doctor Zhivago'') and
Yousra in the movie.
Overall, Diab did not experience the same level of success in film that he had with his music career. Since 1993, Diab has focused on his singing career.
Egyptian Uprising
Amr Diab did not participate in the protests of early 2011 (he left the country with his family). However, he composed and sang a memorial song, "Masr A'let"., then he participated in a campaign "Masry Begad" ("Real Egyptian"), a social national program aimed at serving and rebuilding Egyptian society. His online radio station Diab FM will present talks and discussions about what Diab FM team can offer to our community as well as applying it practically by being present in different sites across Egypt with a new project each week.
Endorsements
Amr Diab has taken part in an internationally known
Pepsi commercial featuring four other pop musicians:
Beyoncé Knowles,
Pink,
Jennifer Lopez, and
Britney Spears. In the US version,
Enrique Iglesias takes the role of Caesar. But in the pan Arab version, the four American singers were retained but the male figure was replaced with Diab. This was not the first Pepsi commercial Diab has done; he also filmed commercials featuring his songs "Ana Aktar Wahed" (I'm the most), "Allem Alby" (teach my heart) and "Khad Alby Ma'aa" (She took my heart with her). Diab also appeared in a commercial alongside Jennifer Lopez, singing The Troggs hit "Wild Thing". In 2009 Pepsi decided not to renew his contract. In 2010 he was the star of "Hayat" bottled water campaign.
Local record labels
Diab's earliest albums were released by Delta Sound. In 1996 Diab moved to Alam Al Phan were he released his greatest hits. In between 2003 and 2004, and after a long successful career with
Alam El Phan, Diab officially announced the termination of his contract with Mohsen Gaber (owner of Alam El Phan) and move to
Rotana Records.
International record labels
Over 18 international companies have produced studio albums, compilations and exclusive music for Amr Diab across the globe.
Ariola - Germany
Hot Records - Germany
EMI Music - Greece
EMI Music - Arabia
EMI Music - Turkey
EMI Music - Canada [Hemisphere]
EMI Music - Europe
EMI Music - International
World Music Network - USA
George V Records - France
Putumayo World Music - USA
Wagram Music - France
Virgin - International
Nascent - UK
Milano 2000 - Italy
Reverb Music - UK
Toast Records - Italy
Warner Bros. - France
Collaboration with international musicians
Various international musicians have collaborated with Amr Diab:
Stuart Crichton (The founder of Progressive House)
Frank Von Dem Bottlenberg - Germany
Jorg Evers - Germany
Shazz (Didier Delesalle) - France
Klubbheads (Koen Groeneveld and Addy van der Zwan) - Dutch
Phunk Phorce (Leon and Matthew Roberts) - UK
Rhythm Masters (Robert Bruce Chetcuti and Steve McGuinness) - UK
Pete Beachill - UK
Simon Gardner - UK
Andy Greenwood - UK
Kevan Gallagher - UK
Jon Bishop - UK
Juan Cerro - Spain
Angela Dimitriou - Greece
Amr Diab in movies
Amr Diab's songs have appeared in several films, including:
"Wala Ala Baloh" in ''
Divine Intervention'' (2002)
"Awedouni" in ''
The Dancer Upstairs'' (2002)
"El Alem Alah" and "Nour El Ain" in ''
O Clone'' (2001)
"Nafs El Makan" in ''
Double Whammy'' (2001)
"Tamally Ma'ak" and "Nour El Ain" in the French movie, ''Coco'' (2009)
"Nour El Ain" in ''
Malcolm in the Middle'' TV series (Season 4, Episode 4, Episode name: Stupid Girl), released on 9 January 2000 (USA)
Further reading
''Mediterranean Mosaic'' by Goffredo Plastino
''Egypt'' by Virginia Maxwell, Mary Fitzpatrick, Siona Jenkins, Anthony Sattin
''World Music'' by Simon Broughton, Mark Ellingham, Richard Trillo, Orla Duane, Vanessa Dowell
''Teens in Egypt'' by Barbara A. Somervill
''Syria & Lebanon'' by Terry Carter, Lara Dunston, Andrew Humphreys, Damien Simonis
''World Music'' by Richard Nidel
''The Mediterranean in Music'' by David Cooper, Kevin Dawe
''The Middle East'' by Library Information and Research Service
''Let's Go Egypt'' by Let's Go, Inc., Joey Shabot, Dave Newman, Elizabeth Ogburn, Charlotte Houghteling
Discography
Studio Albums
1983: ''Ya Taree'' (يا طريق - O Road)
1984: ''Ghanny Men Albak'' (غنّي من قلبك - Sing From Your Heart)
1985: ''We Mneen Ageeb Nas'' (ومنين أجيب ناس - To Whom I Complain?)
1986: ''Hala Hala'' (هلا هلا - Welcome, Welcome)
1987: ''Khalseen'' (خالصين - We're Even)
1988: ''Mayyal'' (ميّال - In Love)
1989: ''Shawaana'' (شوقنا - Missing You)
1990: ''Matkhafeesh'' (متخافيش - Don't Worry)
1991: ''Habiby'' (حبيبي - My Love)
1992: ''Ayamna'' (أيامنا - Our Days)
1992: ''Ice Cream Fi Gleam'' (أيس كريم في جليم - Ice Cream In Gleam)
1993: ''Ya Omrena'' (يا عمرنا - Our Life)
1994: ''W Ylomoony'' (و يلوموني - And They Blame Me)
1994: ''Zekrayat'' (ذكريات - Memories)
1995: ''Ragaeen'' (راجعين - We'll Be Back)
1996: ''Nour El-Ain'' (نور العين - Light Of The Eye)
1998: ''Awedoony'' (عوّدوني - They Got Me Used To)
1999: ''Amarein'' (قمرين - Two Moons)
2000: ''Tamally Maak'' (تملي معاك - Always With You)
2001: ''Aktar Wahed'' (أكتر واحد - The Most One)
2003: ''Allem Alby'' (علم قلبي - Teach My Heart)
2004: ''Leily Nahary'' (ليلي نهاري - My Night, My Day)
2005: ''Kammel Kalamak'' (كمّل كلامك - Keep Talking)
2007: ''El Leila De'' (الليلا دي - This Night)
2009: ''Wayah'' (ويّاه - With Her)
2010: ''aslaha Betfre''' (اصلها بتفرق - She Differs)
;Compilations
1999: ''The Best of Amr Diab''
2004: ''Amr Diab Greatest Hits (1986–1995)''
2005: ''Amr Diab Greatest Hits (1996–2003)''
Singles
2010: "Aslaha Btefre'" (أصلها بتفرق - Because she makes a difference)
References
External links
http://www.amrdiab.net/ - Official Website
http://amrdiabworld.com/ - Official Online Store
http://DiabFM.com/ - Official Online Radio
Category:1961 births
Category:Living people
Category:Egyptian actors
Category:Egyptian singers
Category:People from Port Said
Category:World Music Awards winners
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