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Tarek Madkour

Tarek Adel Madkour, born in Cairo (May 22, 1967) with a passion in music made his father bring a piano teacher to teach him the basics. In primary school, the music room was the place where you can usually find him all day long.

At the age of sixteen, he created his first band with his friends, named "The Hummers", playing different genres including rock and pop in nightclubs and gigs, two years later, he played with the most famous Egyptian band at that time, "Les Petits chats", which brought out many talented musicians like "Hany Shenouda", "Ezzat Abo Ouf" and "Omar Khayrat". Madkour played on keyboard and he was the youngest member of the band.

Fat'hy Salama (the famous Egyptian producer), used to tutor Madkour in the area of music composing and producing. He gave Madkour the chance to work on a song for "Amr Diab" in 1984, entitled "Ya Leila", and then "Eish Hal", this was Amr Diab's first album and it was a hit.

In 1988, he traveled to USA to study more about western music, he also got his engineering degree in architectonics. Tarek Madkour

Another big step in his life was in 1989 when he produced a song for the Egyptian super star "Mohamed Mounir" in a song written by "Abd Al Rahman Al Abanody" and composed by "Kamal Altaweel". It was a challenge to work with such big names in his early career.

Tarek Madkour now is one of the most important producers and songwriters in the Arabic region, he has changed Arabic music's look and feel by incorporating the eastern magic with western beats in a unique way, inducing him as the standard partner in every mega-hit during the 90s and up to this moment.

Working with the most famous Arabic super stars like Amr Diab, Nawal Al Zoghbi, Mohamed Mounir, Mostafa Amar, Samira Said, Hisham Abbas, Nancy Ajram, and many others, Madkour's music has won several World Music Awards in addition to many local and regional achievements. He has also introduced new talents to the industry like Mohamed Hamaki.

Songs list[link]

Some of his Songs :

-Amr Diab:

"Ghanny Men Albak" (1984) .Ya Leila .Eish Hal

"Mayyal" (1988) .Leila

"Ya Omrina "(1993) .Ya Omrina .Andak Ha' .Dehket Oyoun Habiby .Konna Habayeb .Khalas Samehtak .Bahlam .Martahnash .Mashy

"Zekrayat" (1994) .Zekrayat .Elhobb Ebtada .Oloob .Ya Omrina (Remix)

"Rag'een" (1995) .Rag'een .Hansak Ana .Sadda'teny .Mayt-hekeesh Aleiha .Balash Tekallemha

"Amarain" (1999) .Amarain .Ana .Bahebbak Aktar (with Angela Dimitriou) .Khalleek Fakerny .Hekaiaty

"Tamally Ma'ak" (2000) .Elalem Allah .Tamally Ma'ak .Keda Einy Einak .We Heyya Amla Eih .Seneen .A'mel Eih .Law Kan Yerdeek .Ba'teref .Alby Ekhtarak .Sa'ban Alayya

"Aktar Wahed Byhebbak "(2001) .Wala Ala Balo .Aktar Wahed .Kan Tayyeb .Ba'ed Ellaially .Olt Eih .Wala Leila .Adeeny Rege'telek .Sadda'ny Khalas .Ahebbek Akrahek .Ya Habiby La .Wala Ala Balo (Oriental)

"Kammel Kalamak" (2005) .Kammel Kalamak .Wemaloh .Wihkaitak Eih .Ayyam We Ben'eshha .Allah La Yehremny Mennak .Ma'ak Begad .Betkhabby Leih

-Angham:

"Omry Maak" .Esra2ny

"Leih Sebtaha" .Leih Sebtaha .Ana Andak

"Kol Ma Narrab" .Mabat3allemsh .El Herouf

"nefsy ahebak" .day eneik .fi eih

- Cheb Mami:

.Hallili Dunyaya

"Laialy" .Inshallah

-Ehab Tawfik

"Hat'addi" .O'mor Ya Amar .Yabo Alf Wasf Wesema .Tefteker Eih Elly Garalna .EYabo Deh

"Esmak Eih" .Amel Amla .Esmak Eih

-Hisham Abbas:

"Habiby Dah" .Habiby Dah (Nari Nareen) .Nawi Eih .Mosh Hayen Alayya .Albi .Ah Mellaially

"Gowa Fe Alby" .Billeil

"Sebha Tehebbak" .Olt Eih .Oul Alayya

"Ta'ala Gamby" .Mel lelady

-Mostafa Amar:

"Eftekerny" .Ouloly Feen Habiby .Garrah

"Leman Yahommo El Amr" .Ahl Elgharam .Goha .Kan Leyya Youm Habib

"Tal Elleel" .Tal Elleel .Ba'tnalo El Amar .Elbahr .Shaghleen Balo

"Nar El hob" .Benlef

"Eneik Wahshany" .Ellila Doob .Einek Wahshany

"Monaya" .Monaya .Habiby Erhamny .Alb Garee' .Oltaha .Halleftak

"Ensa" .Hobbak Nar

"Lessa Habyeb" .Lessa Habayeb .Mosh Awaidak .Mabahebbekeesh .Zay Zaman .Harakat

-Mohamed Hamaki :

"Khallina Ne'eesh [2003]" .Roh Alby .Betedhak .Leeh La2 .Ma'darsh Ansak .Yally Ghayeb .Awel Leila .Beteb'ed Leeh .Adeeny Badoob .Ew'ed Alby .Khallina Ne'eesh

"Cagewelouh [1998]" .Soltan Gamalek .Welak Welak .Ayeza Eh [Go Alih]

"Delta Hits" .Yana Yanta

-Mohamed Mohy :

"Aghla Elnas" .Ya Hawa Ballagh Habiby .Koll Mafeyya .Habibek Eltany

"Share' Elhawa" .Mosh Kont Te'olly .Wasso El Ayyam .Lalom Alayya

-Rola Saad

.Kel el Gharam

.Nawyahalo

-Myriam Fares

.Ala Khwana

-Bassima

.Shou 3a Bali

.Helm elTuyour

-Maya Nasri

Law Kan Lak Alb:

.Habbet Hob

.Zakkerni Feek

.Et3azzebt Ya Albi

.Ya Msahharni

Ezzay Ta3rafni:

.Shou Feeha Law?

-Sophia Marikh

.Kelmet Hobb

-Dina Hayek

.Darb elHawa

.Shou Saab (Remix)

.Baddi Habibi

-Ahmed elSherif

.Bein elNass

.Wetwadda3na

.Ana 3am Fakker

.

-Iwan

.Khalas La2eitak

-Nancy Ajram:

"Sehr Ouyouno" (from Ya Salam

"Ah w Noss" (from Ah W Noss)

"Inta Eih"

"Oul Tany Kida"

"Atabtab" (from Atabtab)

"Moegaba"

"Ana Yalli"

"Ashtiki Minno"

"Ya Sissayyed"

"Betfakkar Fi Eih (from Betfakkar fi eih?!)

"Noss elKawn" (Meen Ghairy Ana?)

"Zaman Kan Andi Alb"

"Eftah Tefrah" (Coke hit single)

"Shaggaa' Be Alamak" (Wavin' Flag) - FIFA World Cup 2010 Official Coke Single

-Elissa:

.Hallili Dunyaya

"Ayyami Beek"

.Ablak Albi Kan (Law Ma Teji)

External links[link]

• Tarek Madkour bio from his website

External links[link]

• Tarek Madkour Official page on facebook

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Nancy Ajram نانسي عجرم
Nancy Ajram in December 2007
Background information
Birth name	Nancy Nabil Ajram
Born	(1983-05-16) May 16, 1983 (age 29)
Origin	Beirut, Lebanon, Arabia
Genres	Arabic Pop, World, pop
Occupations	singer
Years active	1998–present
Labels	EMI Arabia (1998) Megastar (2001–2005) In2Musica (2008–present)
Website	Official website

Nancy Nabil Ajram (Arabic: نانسي نبيل عجرم‎), (born May 16, 1983) is a multi-platinum recording artist and Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF.^[1] With the support of her father, Nancy began performing as a child and released her first studio album by the age of 15. Her breakthrough occurred with the start of her collaboration with well-known producer Jiji Lamara, when she released her smash-hit "Akhasmak Ah" and 3rd studio album, Ya Salam. In 2004, she released her second international best-seller "Ah w Noss", which spawned several smash-hits, "Ah w Noss", "Lawn Ouyounak", and "Inta Eih" at which point Nancy had established pop icon status in the Middle East.

Her 2008 album "Bitfakkar Fi Eih" spawned seven singles and won Nancy's first World Music Award as Best-selling Middle Eastern Artist, the youngest Arab WMA winner to date. She has released seven studio albums to date and numerous other chart-topping singles such as "Sehr Ouyouno", "Atabtab", "Moegaba", "Ehsas Jdeed", "El Donya Helwa", "Mashi Haddi", and "Fi Hagat".

Nancy Ajram is the first and only female sponsor and spokesperson of Coca-Cola in the Middle East and Arab world. Considered by many as an Arabic music icon of the decade, Nancy was described on the Oprah Winfrey Show as one of the most influential personalities of the Middle East. Nancy has made the list of Most Powerful Arabs on Arabian Business several times, and was similarly listed by Newsweek as one of the most influential Arabs.^[2][3] Nancy's official Facebook page is the most subscribed Arabic artist page on the social-networking site and the first to reach 3 million subscribers,^[4] and her music video for "Fi Hagat" was an Internet phenomenon and is currently the most viewed Arabic music video on the Internet, on Youtube with over 26.3 million views to date.^[5]

Early life and beginnings[link]

Nancy Ajram was born into an Orthodox Christian family on May 16, 1983 in Achrafieh, a district in Beirut, Lebanon.^[6]

In 1995, at the age of twelve, Nancy Ajram took part in a variety show, Noujoum Al-Moustakbal, ("Stars of the Future"), a Lebanese reality television competition, which finds new solo musical talent. Ajram won a gold medal in the Tarab category after singing a song by Umm Kulthum.

Ajram studied music with renowned Lebanese musicians and despite being less than 18 years old at the time, the syndicate of professional artists in Lebanon accepted her as a member. Her first singles were titled "Hobbak Allam Albi elGheere" by Abdo Mounzer, and "Oulha Kelma Ala Shani". At the age of 15, she released her first album, Mihtagalak ("I Need You') in 1998. It was followed by Sheel Oyoonak Anni ("Stop Staring") in 2000, which achieved more success.

Music career[link]

[edit] 2002-2004: Akhasmak Ah

Ajram's breakthrough was when she began working with Jiji Lamara, an experienced producer and manager. In early 2003, Ajram rose to instant fame with the success of the lead single "Akhasmak Ah" and the release of her third studio album, Ya Salam ("Oh Wow") which was a best-seller. The music video of "Akhasmak Ah" caused a controversy; reminiscent of older Arabic films, Nancy appeared as a cafe manager who dances and flirts with its customers. The release of the next music videos, "Ya Salam" and "Sehr Ouyouno" quietened down criticism as they better introduced Nancy's vocal abilities and style to the public.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] 2004-2006:Ah w Noss, Coca-Cola

Her fourth album, Ah w Noss ("Yes, and a half"), was released on April 12, 2004, and it was also an important marking point in Nancy's career. The tremendous success that "Ah w Noss" achieved, stabilized Nancy's position as an A-List star in the Arab music industry. Nancy then filmed "Lawn Ouyounak" (Color of Your Eyes), which portrayed Nancy as a bride in a traditional Lebanese wedding. After the release of the album, Nancy Ajram signed-up with Coca-Cola to be their official celebrity spokesperson for the Levant, Arabia and North Africa regions. Her first Coke commercial featured her hit, "Oul Tany Kida?" (Say That Again?), which was filmed with the international Italian director Luca Tomassini. The commercial's success lead to it being filmed as a music video behind the scenes of the commercial. The 4th hit single from the album, "Inta Eih?" (What Are You?), was a slow directed by Samir Sfeir. Nadine Labaki directed another clip that featured Nancy as a wife who sees her husband cheating on her yet she hides it in torment to save their relationship. The music video received tremendous positive reviews and Nancy was greatly praised. Leading Egyptian actors and directors, like Faten Hamama praised Nancy's acting abilities and movie offers doubled for Nancy. Nancy also opened for Enrique Iglesias's first concert in Egypt in 2004.

[edit] 2006-2008:Ya Tabtab Wa Dalla, Shakhbat, El Donya Helwa

Her fifth album, Ya Tabtab Wa Dallaa was released on February 15, 2006. Atabtab was considered Nancy's best album to date, with six music videos released, eight radio hits, and five songs used for commercials.

The title song's video was Nancy's last video directed by Nadine Labaki, as she then started working on her movie Caramel. Nancy then released the video of her Coca-Cola hit "Moegaba" (Admirer), as well as a video and commercial for her newly signed Damas Jewelry contract advertising their "Farfasha" set. The song used was Ana Yalli which was promoted before the album's release. Nancy then cooperated for the first time with prominent Lebanese director Said el Marouk, filming "Ehsas Jdeed" (A New Feeling) which is widely considered to be the most successful song of the album. The video, which was a salute from Said to his deaf and mute parents, depicted the story of a rich woman who falls in love with a deaf and mute man. Later in 2007, Nancy released all together the video of "Elli Kan" (All That Was) for Damas's second campaign, her Coca-Cola Side of Life commercial featuring a new single "El Donya Helwa" (Life is Beautiful), and a video and album directed towards children, titled Shakhbat Shakhabit (Scribbled Scribbles). "El Donya Helwa", Nancy's 7th commercial, is considered one of her most successful commercials representing her style and Coca-Cola's with colors, happiness, and music, and it led her to release a Live album featuring the single.

Ajram's sixth album was fully dedicated to children with a variety of songs aimed towards teaching children good values and morals, something she has wanted to do for a long time. The music video was her second cooperation with Said El Marouk and featured four songs from her album, the most successful of which were "Shakhbat Shakhabit" & "Shater Shater". Nancy performed these songs at several fund-raising events for children and other children's events, such as the children's TV channel MBC3, and the children's entertainment TV Show "Star Zghar". She then filmed with Fadi Haddad, the director of photography of her previous works with ElMarouk, a video for the song "Resala Ilal Aalam" (A Message to the World) which talks about world peace. The video was released on May 25, 2008, the day the Lebanese president General Michel Suleiman was elected ending a deadlock that lasted since November. It was the first video for Nancy that had an entirely graphical world that implied the suffering of children worldwide and the need to bring out a more colorful and happy world for them. Old rumors claimed that the video was presented to the UNICEF. In 2007, Nancy performed alongside Lionel Richie in Egypt at a launching event.

[edit] 2008–2010: Betfakkar Fi Eih, WMA, Oprah, UNICEF & motherhood

In February and March 2008, Nancy released three Coca-Cola commercials that featured a brand new hit from her long awaited album. The song, "Meen Gheyri Ana (Noss elKawn)" (Who Else?) was made by the successful Yey and Ana Yalli trio (Nizar Francis, Samir Sfeir, and Tarek Madkour). The single was an instant hit and served as a highly successful promotion 5 months before the release of the album. Nancy released her seventh studio album after several delays on July 30, 2008, which has been highly anticipated by fans for almost three years. This long awaited comeback album held lots of surprises for her fans with a huge change in her style that presented her matured vocal abilities like never before. Nancy's 7th album, Betfakkar Fi Eih?!, is considered to be one of her most successful albums so far as it won her first World Music Award in her career. The album included her first "Tarab" song called "Biteegy Sirtak" since 1998's Mihtagalak album, and in general had a wide mix of several different styles ranging from dance, beat, pop, to drama, romance, Tarab and oldies. Even though the hit video had mixed opinions, the second video of "Min Dally Nseek" was much more accepted, peaking at #1 for seven consecutive weeks in Melody Hits.^[7] The same musical trio who created "Ehsas Jdeed" did one of the instant radio-hits of the album, "Lamset Eed" (Touch of a Hand), which was filmed with Leila Kenaan with a high budget, and the song and music video peaked charts for months. With this album Nancy signed a celebrity endorsement deal with Sony Ericsson, as a special w595 phone was released holding Nancy's signature, and Wana Ben Idek was chosen as the commercial song.

On November 9, 2008, about a month after her marriage, Nancy Ajram won her first World Music Award for her best-selling album Betfakkar Fi Eih. In her short speech, Nancy thanked her parents, Jiji Lamara, her fans and album makers, and husband, saying "2008 has been a fantastic year - a successful album, my wedding, and now a World Music Award, what can I ask for more?"

On September 28, 2009, the Oprah Winfrey Show aired an episode titled "Fame Around the World" that talked about the most famous celebrities around the globe in brief reports. Representing the Middle East region and Arab world, Nancy Ajram appeared in a report featured on the show and was described by Oprah as "the Britney Spears of the Middle East". Nancy Ajram is the first and only Middle-Eastern artist ever mentioned on the show.

[edit] 2010–2011: World Cup, N°7

In the summer of 2010, Nancy was nominated by Coca-Cola Middle East to sing, along with K'naan, his international hit and song for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, "Wavin' Flag". The Arabic version, titled "Shaggaa Be Alamak" and directed to the Middle East region, had its Arabic parts written by Ayman Bahgat Amar (who previously wrote Ah w Noss, Atabtab, Eftah Albak for Nancy) and the music remastered by Tarek Madkour. The original music video was used for K'naan's parts while Nancy's parts were filmed separately in Lebanon on the same protocol under Leila Kenaan's co-direction. Both the video and song were aired heavily during the FIFA season and part of the song was particularly played during commercial breaks on Al-Jazeera channel, which exclusively aired the games to the Arab world.

On August 30, 2010,^[8] Nancy's official Facebook page posted a 16-second preview of the music video for Nancy's next single, "Fi Hagat". The preview shows Nancy wearing her makeup and getting in the car on a rainy day. Later, it was announced that Nadine Labaki directed the video, thus making her comeback to music video direction after her 4-year break. The video is also the first collaboration between Ajram and Labaki since 2006's "Atabtab." The full music video premiered on September 6, 2010 at 8:00PM on Arabica TV and MTV Lebanon.^[9] As of January 2011, Nancy became the first and most viewed Arabic music video on the Internet.^[10]

In November, 2010, Nancy's Facebook page hit one million fans, becoming the most subscribed Arabic Facebook page on the site. Nancy expressed how thankful she was and promised her followers to add news and updates to the page. Later, the page announced "Sheikh El Shabab" and "Ya Kether" as the second and third singles from 7, respectively. The video for the second single premiered on December 23, and received favorable reviews from Arabic media, however, it did not achieve the same explosive rate of Internet views as did the first single "Fi Hagat", with only 750,000 views in a month. The album marks a shift in Ajram's career and launches her to a more international image, and is, to date, her second fastest selling album. It earned Nancy her second World Music Award as the middle east's best selling album.

2010–2012: Second kids' album[link]

In 2012, Ajram joined social networking website Twitter, and received ten thousand followers in two days. She immediately followed fellow singer Elissa and was followed back by her. The singer took her personal account to announce the video shoot of a fourth video from her seventh album, titled "Min Ma Ando." She also announced in late February that was nearly done working on a second album dedicated for kids. Ajram is set to embark a US tour in the summer of 2012.

Personal life[link]

In September 2008, Nancy wed Dr. Fadi El Hachem in Cyprus after a three-year relationship; the wedding ceremony, in Lebanon, was attended mainly by close friends and family and was only made based on their request. Nancy continued her work during pregnancy, during which she filmed "Min Dally Nseek", "Lamset Eed" and her first Sony Ericsson commercial. She also participated in several concerts, such as Layali Febrayer and received her World Music Award.

On May 16, 2009, Nancy gave birth to her first child, a daughter she named "Mila." Short for Milagrosa (miraculous in Spanish), Mila is also a traditional, Levantine name popular in rural Lebanon and meaning a "blooming tree".^[11] However, Nancy revealed that the name was Fadi's choice inspired by the Ukraine-born US actress, Milla Jovovich. Nancy released a song for her daughter, "Ya Rab Tekbar Mila" (I Pray that Mila Grows Up) on the same day. In a survey done by Rotana Magazine, Nancy was voted as the "Most Beautiful Mom" of 2009.^[12] Nancy chose not to reveal photos of her daughter Mila until they both appeared on the cover of "Prestige" magazine in an exclusive photoshoot. Mila later appeared in the set of Nancy's music video "Ya Kether" in the presence of the media who publicized her pictures.

In October 2010, a month after the release of her seventh studio album, Nancy announced that she was four months pregnant with her second child, a girl. During that period she had filmed "Sheikh El Shabab" and "Ya Kether" consecutively to be released during her pregnancy period. Nancy Ajram revealed on Mothers day special on MTV that she decided to name her daughter Ella. Ella was born on 23 April 2011.

Nancy Ajram is an Orthodox Christian.^[13]

Awards and titles[link]

• 1995 Nojoom Al Mustaqbal Golden Award - (Ajram's most significant pre-stardom award)
• 2003, 2005, 2007 Murex D'or Award - Best Female Lebanese Singer of the year, Beirut ^[14]
• 2003, 2006 Murex D'or Award - Best Video of the Year, Beirut.
• 2003: Ya Salam - Nadine Labaki, 2006: Ehsas Jdeed - Said elMarouk)
• 2003 The Golden Lion Award, Egypt
• 2003, 2007 LG Music Award
• 2003, 2005 Zahrat elKhaleej Magazine - Best Female Arab Singer, Dubai
• 2004, 2010 Zahrat elKhaleej - Best Music Video of the Year, Dubai (Lawn Ouyounak, Fi hagat - respectively)
• 2004 Arabian Music Awards - Best Female Arab Singer of the year, Dubai
• 2005 Newsweek - Most Influential Arab Personalities, Kuwait
• 2005 - Honor from the Opera House of Egypt
• 2007 - Certificate from the Pope of Rome
• 2007 Middle East Music Awards (Mobinil) - Best Female Arab Singer of the year, Cairo ^[15]
• 2007, 2009^[16] Arabian Business - World's Most Influential Arabs, Most Influential Contemporary Female Singer in 2007,^[17] Most Powerful Arab Singers^[3]
• 2007 Kol elArab Survey - Best Arabic Star of the year 2007 ^[18]
• 2008 9th Annual Doha Festival - Honor Award, Doha
• 2008 World Music Award - World's Best-Selling Middle-Eastern Artist, 20th Annual WMA, Monaco ^[19]
• 2008 Student Choice Award - [College Student Survey]: Best Album of the Year 2008, Beirut ^[20]
• 2008 AlJumhuriya newspaper, Freedom Magazine - Best Female Arab Star of 2008, Egypt.. only? ^[21]
• 2009 Regional Ambassador for the UNICEF in the Middle East & North Africa
• 2009 Al-Jazirah Newspaper survey : Best Female Arab singer of the Year. Saudi Arabia
• 2010 Stars Cafe Magazine - Best selling female artist of the decade.
• 2010 World Travel Award - Best Female world singer of the Year .
• 2010 Sama Al Noujoum-Best Female Singer 2010/Fi hagat Best Music Video^[22]
• 2010 Panet Survey-Best Female singer^[23]
• 2010 Arab Sound Awards -Best Arabic Female Singer^[24]
• 2010 Music My Life- Fi Hagat Best Song Of 2010
• 2010 Best Of Lbc 2010- N 7 Best Album/Fi Hagat- Best Music Video^[25]
• 2010 Panorama Fm (MBC)-N 7 Best Arabic Album.^[26]
• 2010-2011 Jaras Scoop Awards-Best Female Singer ^[27]
• 2010-2011 Melody Fm Awards-Best Female Singer
• Stars Cafe Awards 2010:
  • Best Female Artist
  • Best Album : 7
  • Best Song: Fi Hagat
  • Best Lyrics: Fi Hagat
  • Best Arrangement: Fi Hagat
  • Best Music Video: Sheikh El Shabab
• 2011 Won two awards from "Murex D'or 2010" ceremony in Lebanon. First award as the Star of Lebanese song, and the second award for the category of best music video for the song "Sheikh El Shabab."^[28]
• 2011 Best Female Singer- "Woujouh Men Lebnan" awards.
• 2011 Arabian Business- Most Famous Celebrity in the Middle East ^[29]
• 2011 World Music Awards World's Best-Selling Middle-Eastern Artist (Nancy 7)

Philanthropy and humanitarian work[link]

Ajram has participated in numerous charity events and concerts that she considers a priority in her music career. In the year 2006, Ajram opened an organization under the name "Jam'iyet Nancy Ajram Al-Khayria" (Nancy Ajram's Charity Organization) in Beirut, Lebanon, that works on collecting and distributing money for the poor. Nancy also released a song about peace, "Resala Ilal Aalam" (A Message to the World), in her children's album as a music video, which was rumored to be presented to the Unicef. Ajram also participated amongst over 100 other prominent Arab artists in a huge production called "ElDhameer elArabi", a 10-year sequel to "AlHelm Al Arabi" that outlines the major political events in the Arab world in the past ten years.

In June 2008, Nancy participated in The Big Ball, a charity event in Dubai which raised over Dhs 940,000 for helping underprivileged children ^[30] by auctioning one of her favourite dresses and encouraging children's fund-raising events; she announced, "The Big Ball is doing a wonderful thing and I'm happy to support it. I'm coming for my love of children and because I want to help underprivileged children find a happy place in this world. Children inspired my latest album Shakhbat Shakhabit and especially the song "Resala lel3alam" (A Message to the World)." ^[31] Ajram, however, continues to refuse announcing her other charitable projects to the public.

On October 22, 2009, the UNICEF chose Ajram to be the first female regional ambassador for the Middle East and North Africa, as was announced in a press conference held in Beirut. Nancy announced that she will be starting her charity projects in 2010. In late 2009 she appeared in the UNICEF's commercial marking the 20th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, joining other influential Middle Eastern celebrities such as Kazem el-Saher, Saber el-Rebai and Karess Bashar.

Criticism and controversy[link]

• Many rumors of boycotts against Ajram's concerts filled the internet, although none appeared to be true.^[32]

• In October 2003, a riot broke out outside a concert by Ajram in Bahrain. Islamists from the country's main opposition parties, including Al Wefaq, attacked concert goers. Al Wefaq's leaders defended the action, as it was the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.^[32] In May 2006, Ajram returned to perform in Bahrain without any incidents.

• On her official website, Nancy Ajram has apologized^[33][34] for anti-Iranian remarks ^[35] falsely attributed to her on a website posing as her homepage.

• Nancy Ajram has expressed extreme anger towards recent circulating rumors in Egypt regarding the spread of nude photos of her on mobile phones. A large number of youths around Egypt and around the Arab world have been spreading nude photos of the singer supposedly taken at a women's spa for a full body wax. Nancy, however, denies the spa visit and claims such photos are fake.^[36]

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

Nancy Ajram Discography

• 1998: Mihtagalak
• 2001: Sheel Oyounak Anni
• 2003: Ya Salam
• 2004: Ah W Noss
• 2006: Ya Tabtab...Wa Dallaa
• 2008: Betfakkar Fi Eih?!
• 2010: 7

Children's albums[link]

• 2007: Shakhbat Shakhabit
• 2012: TBA

DVDs and live albums[link]

• 2004: Live at the Jarash Festival [DVD] - MegaStar
• 2005: Ma La Ta'arifunahu 3an Nancy Ajram [DVD] - MBC
• 2006: Ah w Noss: Collector's Edition [CD and DVD] - MegaStar
• 2006: Ya Salam: Collector's Edition [CD and DVD] - MegaStar
• 2007: Shakhbat Shakhabit [DVD]
• 2007: ElDonya Helwa - Live [Live CD]
• 2008: The Best of Nancy Clips [DVD]
• 2008: Greatest Hits [Compilation CD] - EMI
• 2009: Awwel Marra [Old Live Songs CD] - Artline Music

Non-album singles[link]

Nancy released several songs dedicated to special countries in the Arab world, starting with "Kuwait alShahama" in 2005. In early 2006, she released a single, "Ana Masry" ("I am Egyptian"), timed to coincide with Egypt's hosting and winning of the African Cup of Nations football tournament, taking it by storm. Its video showed Egyptians representing the diversity of the country lip-sync the patriotic lyrics of the song. Nancy also released a song for the rival Egyptian soccer teams "Ahly and Zamalek", being the first to do so after Sabah. Nancy released a sensual song for Lebanon called "Habib elOmr" composed by Ziad Boutrous, which preceded the 2006 Lebanese war. After the 2007 "Nahr el Bared" war, Nancy dedicated a song composed by Samir Sfeir to the Lebanese Army, called "Khalleek Bwejj elGhadab".

• 2005 "Kuwait Al Shahama"
• 2005 "Ana Masry"
• 2005 "Agbal" - (released in "Afdal Ma Endana" UAE compilation album)
• 2006 "Ahli w Zamalek"
• 2006 "Habib el Omr"
• 2007 "Bwejj el Ghadab"
• 2007 "El Dunya Helwa" [Coke Single] - (featured in Live performances album)
• 2009 "Ya Rab Tikbar Mila"
• 2009 "Efta7 Albak Tefra7" [Coke Single] - (released on Coke official website)
• 2010 "Masr el Ma7rousa"
• 2010 "Salemoli 3alaih"
• 2011 "Wahshani Ya Masr Moot"
• 2011 "7adri La3bek"
• 2011 "papa Porto"

Group works

• 2003 Il7a2ni (Follow Me) for the Lebanese Marathon, featuring Haifa Wehbe, Dina Hayek, Joe Ashkar, and Yuri Mrakadi.
• 2005 La Ma Khelset El Hekaya (It's Not Over) after the assassination of late president Rafiq elHariri, featuring Nawal elZoghbi, Haifa Wehbe, Wael Kfoury, Sabah, Maya Nasri, and many others.
• 2008 ElDhameer el 3arabi (The Arab Conscience) the sequel to the well-known "elHelm al3arabi" along with more than 100 artists including Wadih elSafi, Assala, Latifa, and Cheb Khaled.

Soundtracks

Ramadan 2009: Ibn elArandaly

• Intro: "Ya Ibn el Arandaly"
• Outro: "Kol elHekaya"

Ramadan 2011: "Samara"

• intro: "Samara"
• outro: "Samara"

Global Coke slogans[link]

Coca-Cola Middle East have always incorporated International Coke slogans into pan-Arab campaigns with Nancy. In 2007, Coca-Cola released their international trademark campaign of their popular slogan "The Coke Side of Life", which focused on themes such as fun, happiness, colors, and life. A collaboration with Nancy Ajram lead to the making of the song "El Donya Helwa" (The World is Beautiful) for which a commercial was filmed with an American director on international standards and hi-tech effects. Nancy insisted on filming in Lebanon which had been hit by war a while back. "El Donya Helwa" is considered Coca-Cola Middle East's and Nancy Ajram's most successful commercial to date; the single became one of Ajram's most successful songs, leading to its release as a single track in a "Live" album with live performances from her last studio album Atabtab.

In 2009, as the campaign was sequeled internationally with "Open Happiness", Coke Middle East and Nancy released "Eftah Albak Tefrah". However, due to Nancy's pregnancy and giving birth, she was unable to participate in the print or TV campaigns that year and the song was used on the International commercial instead. A website was launched for that campaign entitled "Eftah Tefrah".

In 2010, Coca Cola released an Arabic version of Wavin' Flag originally by K'naan. The Arabic version "Wavin' Flag / Shagga' Bi Alamak Da" (In Arabic شجّع بعلمك ده) has Nancy Ajram featuring K'naan and meant for pan-Arab promotion of 2010 FIFA World Cup to be held in South Africa.

Videography[link]

Commercials and Official music videos[link]

Ajram's success as a singer led to high-profile advertising deals with Coca-Cola and Sony Ericsson and Damas Jewelry. Nancy remained the only Arab star promoting Coke until late 2007 when Egyptian sensations Mohammed Hamaki and Tamer Hosni joined in as well, as she still remains the only female. Coca-Cola and Nancy formed a great team since five years making commercials and music videos that stood out in the Arab world, synchronising local campaigns with worldwide slogans.

Middle East Coke Campaigns

DAMAS's youth-inspired set called "Farfasha", which are gold collections from the World Gold Council said to be chosen by Nancy herself, was promoted by her in three different campaigns. Each campaign had a new collection for the set and a song, commercial, and music video, starting with "Ana Yalli", then "Elli Kan" from Atabtab, and last with "Ibn elGiran" from Betfakkar fi eih?!.

A survey by Sony Ericsson where Nancy was named the most popular Arab star led them into signing a deal with her as their celebrity spokesperson. The company co-sponsored the release of her best-selling album Bitfakkar Fi Eih. In Febrauary 2009 the W595i phone was officially released with a Nancy special edition kit that held her signature on the back of the phone, a free copy of her album and ringtones of her songs. This was accompanied by print advertising, a press conference in Dubai, as well as a commercial set in March 2009 that featured Nancy and the song "Wana Ben Idek" from her best-selling album Bitfakkar Fi Eih.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Nancy Ajram Official Website
• Fiascos affect Arab music awards, 17 May 2004 BBC (Ajram voted best newcomer)
• Arab youth revel in pop revolution by Sebastian Usher, 21 May 2007, BBC

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Mohamed Mounir محمد منير
Background information
Birth name	Mohamed Mounir Mohamed Aba Zeed Gebriel Metwaly
Also known as	The King (El Malek)
Born	(1954-10-10) 10 October 1954 (age 57) Aswan, Egypt
Genres	Nubian Music, Pop, Blues, Jazz, Reggae
Occupations	Singer, Actor
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1977–present
Labels	Sonar, Sound of America, Digitec, FreeMusic, Mirage, Africana, Alam El Phan

Mohamed Mounir (Arabic: محمد منير‎) (born October 10, 1954) is a popular Egyptian singer and actor. He is one of the best-known musicians, both in Egypt and throughout the Middle East, with a musical career spanning more than three decades. He incorporates various genres into his music, including classical Arabic Music, Nubian music, blues, jazz and reggae.^[1][2][3][4] His lyrics are noted both for their philosophical content and for their passionate social and political commentary.^[1][5] He is affectionately known by his fans as “The King” in reference to his album and play "El Malek Howa El Malek" (The King is The King).^[6]

Early life[link]

Born into a Nubian family in Aswan,^[1] Mounir spent most of his early childhood in the village of Manshyat Al Nubia,^[6] where he shared his father's interests in both music and politics.^[1] As a teenager, he and his family were forced to relocate to Cairo when his village was lost in the floods that followed the construction of the Aswan Dam. It was here that he studied photography at the Faculty of Applied Arts at Helwan University.^[1] During this period, he would often sing for friends and family at social gatherings. His singing voice was noticed by the lyricist Abdel-Rehim Mansour, who would go on to introduce Mounir to the renowned folk singer Ahmed Mounib.^[1][6]

Musical career[link]

Following his graduation, he was called up for military service in 1974,^[1] during which he continued his professional musical career by performing in various concerts.^[6] He performed his first such concert in 1975.^[7] Although the public were initially critical of Mounir for performing in casual attire at a time where Arab singers were expected to wear suits, they eventually warmed to his laid back image.^[1]

After completing his military service, Mounir released his 1977 debut solo album "Alemony Eneeki" on the Sonar record label. Mounir went on to release 5 more consecutive official albums and featured on one soundtrack album under the Sonar label.^[6] To date, Mounir has released a total 20 official albums and featured on 6 soundtrack albums under a number of different record labels.^[6]

Mounir’s single “Maddad” from this album caused controversy, as its lyrics could be interpreted as a call for intercession from the prophet Muhammad. Amongst Muslims, there are differing views as to whether the prophet can provide intercession between Allah and his believers. This resulted in the music video being banned from Egyptian television for a time.^[8] Mounir responded by saying "it is this fight against rigid thought that makes something out of you".^[8]

On his 2003 follow up album "Ahmar Shafayef" (Lipstick), he returned to his more familiar style of mainly secular lyrics. In the summer of 2003, following the release of his album Mounir toured Austria, Germany and Switzerland alongside the Austrian pop musician Hubert von Goisern, and later that year the duo performed a concert in Asyut.^[9]

In May 2004, he held a large concert at the pyramids, during which he was physically attacked by a drunken fan.^[10] Despite sustaining minor injuries, he continued his performance until the end of the concert.^[10]

He continued his trend of releasing secular albums infused with social commentary with the release of his 2005 album “Embareh Kan Omry Eshren” (Yesterday I Was Twenty), album "Ta'm El Beyout" (Taste of Homes), released in 2008. Ta'm El Beyout was noted for its creativity but initially did not perform as well as expected in terms of album sales.^[11] In 2012, Mounir released his latest album "Ya Ahl El Arab we Tarab".

In 2008, Mounir postponed his New Year's Eve concert at Cairo Opera House in solidarity with the Palestinians suffering the effects of the Gaza War. ^[12][13] He issued the statement: "delaying the concert is a message sent to the whole world, so that it would move forward and help the people in Gaza."^[13]

He headlined the Liverpool Arabic Arts Festival 2010 on the 9th July at the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall.^[4][14]

Acting career[link]

As well as his singing career, Mounir also has an active acting career. Throughout his career he has appeared in 12 movies, 3 television series and 3 plays.^[6]

His movie career began in 1982, when he acted in and featured on the soundtrack album Youssef Chahine film “'Hadouta Masreia” (An Egyptian Story).

In 1997 he played the role of the bard in the Youssef Chahine French-Egyptian historical drama “Al Maseer” (Destiny), which screened out of competition at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival.^[15]

Mounir played the part of the blind poetry professor “Bashir” in the controversial 2005 film "Dunia". The movie is centered around the title character Dunia, a belly dancer and poet played by Egyptian actress Hanan Tork. When the film aired at the 2005 Cairo International Film Festival, it left the audience split between those supporting the film’s calls for intellectual freedom and its anti-female circumcision stance, and those disapproved of either the title character’s desire to physically express herself through dance, or of the filming of scenes in the Cairo’s slums which could be seen to tarnish Egypt's international image.^[16][17]

Discography[link]

Official Albums[link]

• Alemony Eneeki (Your Eyes Taught Me) - 1977
• Bnetweled (We Are Being Born) - 1978
• Shababeek (Windows) - 1981
• Etkalemy (Speak) - 1983
• Bareea (innocent) - 1986
• West El Dayra (In The Middle of The Circle) - 1987
• Shokolata (Chocolate) - 1989
• Ya Eskenderia (Oh, Alexandria) - 1990
• Meshwar (Trip) - 1991
• El Tool We El Loon We El Horya (The Length, Colour, and Freedom) - 1992
• Eftah Albak (Open Your Heart) - 1994
• Momken (Maybe) - 1995
• Men Awel Lamsa (From The First Touch) - 1996
• El Farha (The Joy) - 1999
• Fe Eshq El Banat (On The Love of Girls) - 2000
• Ana Alby Masaken Shabya (My Heart is Public housing) - 2001
• El Ard... El Salam (The Earth... Peace) - 2002
• Ahmar Shafayef (Lipstick) - 2003
• Embareh Kan Omry Eshren (Yesterday I Was Twenty) - 2005
• Ta'm El Beyout (Taste of Homes) - 2008
• Ahl El Arab Wel Tarab - 2012

Soundtrack Albums[link]

• Hadouta Masreia (An Egyptian Tale) - 1982
• El Malek Howa El Malek (The King is The King) - 1988
• Maadarsh (I Can’t) - 1993
• El Maseer (Destiny) - 1997
• Habeebty (My Love) - 1998
• Dunia - Ode To Liberty - 2006

Filmography[link]

Movies[link]

Television[link]

• “Bakkar”
• “Ali Elewa”
• “Gomhoreyat Zefta”

Theatre[link]

• El Malek ; El Malek
• Al Shahateen
• Masa' Al Kheer Ya Masr

References[link]

External links[link]

• Mohamed Mounir’s official website
• Mohamed Mounir at the Internet Movie Database

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Mohamed Hamaki
Mohamed Hamaki
Background information
Birth name	Mohamed Ibrahim Mohamed El-Hamaki
Also known as	Master Pop Music
Born	(1975-11-04) November 4, 1975 (age 36) Cairo, Egypt
Genres	Pop Music
Occupations	Singer
Instruments	Guitar & Piano
Years active	1997–present
Labels	Voice Of Delta

Mohamed Hamaki (Arabic: محمد حماقي‎; born Mohamed Ibrahim Hamaki in Cairo, on November 4, 1975) is an Egyptian singer. In 2010 he won the award "Best Arabia Act" in the MTV Europe Music Awards and music award in 2006 for "Ahla Haga Fiki"

Biography[link]

Mohamed Hamaki's mother is from Aswan, Egypt. His first appearance was through his song "El Helw Yeheb El Heneya" which was released in 1996 in the album "Leqaa Al Nogoom". The album was the work of Hamid El Shari who discovered and introduced young Hamaky to the music business and to the public. Hamaky's first album "Khallena N'eesh" (Let us Live) in 2003 featured 10 songs all arranged by the famous arranger Tarek Madkour. Hamaki shot one song included in this first album "Betedhak" (You laughing?).

Hamaki stayed nearly 2 years after the release of his first album that is produced by DeltaSound - that was a great success - not releasing any new songs until he released his single "Yana Yanta" (Either Me or You!) and shot it. After that it was reported that he decided to break up with audio producer Tarek Madkour and working on his own without him and with his same producer Nassif Kauzman the owner of DeltaSound because Madkour has been always busy working on songs for other famous singers. However, these rumors have been denied as Madkour stated on his official site that he will cooperate with Hamaki again on his new album.

Months later, he released his second album "Kheles El Kalam" (All The Words Have Finished!) in 2006 and was awarded with the Platinum CD for being the best selling middle eastern artist for year 2006. Hamaki worked mainly in this album with his friend Hatem Abdel-Aziz or "Tooma" as he used to be called, who replaced Madkour's leading role in Hamaki's work under the umbrella of DeltaSound.

The song "Wahda Wahda" (One By One) which was included in the album and was the soundtrack song of the movie "Ga'alatny Mogreman" was shot featuring the movie star Ahmed Helmy and aired on TV as soon as the album was released. It achieved a great success and wide popularity among different audiences. The song "Ahla Haga Feki" (Best Thing About You) was remixed by DJ.Idriss and shot some time after the album release. In the clip, the Rapper Perry Mystique was there with Hamaki. The clip is also produced by DeltaSound and was shot in Dubai, UAE.

Hamaki released his newest album 18 July 2010, Haga Mosh Tabe3eya (Something Isn't real ) . This album included 11 songs. Hamaki use traditional Arabic musical instruments in this album too. Also Hamaki used techno style in this album firstly.

Hamaki released his newest song for an Arabic movie, November 2010, Zekrayatak Meeh .

On 3 July 2011, Hamaki was rushed to hospital after suffering multiple heart attacks whilst recording his latest album.^[1] He underwent several cardiac catheterisation procedures, to insert three stents into his coronary arteries. Following several days of uncertainty, his health stabilised. Doctors are quoted as saying, that "Hamaki escaped death narrowly".

Discography[link]

• Leqa2 El Nogoom - 1997
• el 7elw - 1997
• welak welak - 1998
• Soltan jmalek - 1999
• Ro7i (ana 3aref) - 2000
• S2ltak 7abibi - 2000
• 5allena N3eesh - 2003
• 2alo lina shajar el lamon - 2003
• Gaylak fe el Kalam - 2004
• Yana Yanta (Delta Hits) - 2005
• Wa7da Wa7da - 2005
• 5eles El Kalam - 2006
• Ba7ebak Kol Youm Aktar - 2007
• Naweeha - 2008
• 2ali kalam - 2008
• ab3ed tigini - 2009
• Kol lela - 2009
• Haga Mosh Tabe3eya - 2010
• Zekrayatak Meeh - November 2010
• [[Ede fe Edek 2011
• sh5bata 3ala el 7eet - 2012

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Karim (2008). "A blog about Hamaki; Hamaki started working on his next album". Waleg.com. http://www.waleg.com/archives/010452.html. Retrieved 2008-02-11. 

External links[link]

• Hamaki Albums on Mazika
• Hamaki's Page on Nogomi
• Mohamed Hamaki on Ghaneli

Amr Abdol-Basset Abdol-Azeez Diab (Arabic: عمرو عبد الباسط عبد العزيز دياب‎; born 11 October 1961)^[1] 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 is currently one of the top singers 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.^[2][3][4] He has created his own style which is often termed "Mediterranean Music" or "Mediterranean Sound", a blend of Western and Egyptian rhythms.^[5]

In The Mediterranean in Music, David Cooper and Kevin Dawe referred to his music as "the new breed of Mediterranean music".^[6]

According to author Michael Frishkopf, Amr Diab has produced a new concept of Mediterranean music, especially in his international hit, "Nour El Ain".^[5]

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."^[7]

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".^[8]

Musical career[link]

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.^[5]

"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.^{[citation needed]} 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.^{[citation needed]} In 2009, Diab released a new album Wayah.

Influences and contributions[link]

Diab revolutionized Egyptian show business in several respects,^{[citation needed]} 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[link]

Diab is one of the most popular and acclaimed Arab pop singers of the modern age.^{[citation needed]} 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[link]

[edit] 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 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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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.^{[citation needed]} 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.

[edit] Tamally Ma'ak

In July 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 were composed by Amr Mostafa the best middle-eastern composer, "Sa'ban Alaea" (It Makes Me Feel Sorry) and "We Heya Amla Eih" (And How Is 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.

[edit] Aktar Wahed

Aktar Wahed was released on 1 August 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.

[edit] 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).

[edit] 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.

[edit] Kammel Kalamak

Diab's album Kammel Kalamak, released on 14 December 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.

[edit] 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 25 March 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 21 June 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 7 July 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 7 July 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 11 July 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 27 July 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 27 July, 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 30 October 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 4 November 2007.

[edit] 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 27 June; 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^[9] and by 3 July 2009 Wayah had sold more than 1.5 million copies in the first week.^[10] 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.^[11]

On 18 October 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^[12]

[edit] 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).

[edit] Banadeek Ta'ala (2011)

In May 2011, it was announced that Amr Diab's new album (at the time titled Heya Hayati) was slated for an Eid Al Fitr release. Due to the unstable political situation in Egypt, the album was pushed back and delayed until further notice. In late August 2011, Amr Diab's official website announced the new album's final title, "Banadeek Ta'ala" and Rotana slated the album for a 28 September release. The album contains 12 songs that include: Banadeek Ta'ala, Heya Hayaty, Aloomak Leh, Aref Habibi, Maly Enaya, Yaret Sennek, and Tagreba o Addet. The album is arranged by Adel Hakki and is produced by Rotana.

Music videos[link]

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.^[5] 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 14 August that year on Rotana TV. It was broadcast minutes later on Egyptian television on "El Beit Betak". The video was a great success.

6 August 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 was released on Valentine's Day.

[edit] 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 24 December 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[link]

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, 6, 8 and 10 April. David Chute of the Los Angeles Weekly termed the film "observant" and "a big leap".^[13] 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[link]

A few days after former President Hosni Mubarak stepped down, Amr Diab composed and sang a memorial song, "Masr A'let",^[14] and released it in conjunction with a music video showing pictures of the martyrs who died in the uprising. He also initiated a charity campaign "Masry Begad" ("Real Egyptian"), a social national program aimed at serving and rebuilding Egyptian society. His online radio station Diab FM often presents talks and discussions about what Diab FM team can offer to the community as well as applying it practically by being present in different sites across Egypt with a new humanitarian project each week.^[15]

Endorsements[link]

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 three 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[link]

Diab's earliest albums were released by Delta Sound. In 1996 Diab moved to Alam Al Phan where 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 the company that owned by Prince El Waleed Ebn Talal, Rotana Records and the owner of part of media huge muscel [Fox].

International record labels[link]

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[link]

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[link]

Amr Diab's songs have appeared in several films, including:

• "Wala Ala Baloh" in Divine Intervention (2002)^[16]
• "Awedouni" in The Dancer Upstairs (2002)^[17]
• "El Alem Alah" and "Nour El Ain" in O Clone (2001)^[18]
• "Nafs El Makan" in Double Whammy (2001)^[19]
• "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)^[20]

"Wala Ala Baloh" in The Dictator 2012

Further reading[link]

• 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

Official Albums

• 1983: Ya Tareeq (يا طريق - O Road)
• 1985: Ghanny Men Albak (غنّي من قلبك - Sing From Your Heart)
• 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 Btefre' (اصلها بتفرق - Because She Makes A Difference)
• 2011: Banadeek Ta'ala (بناديك تعالى - I'm calling you come )

Unofficial Albums

• 1984* Forsan Asia ( Asia Knights - فرسان آسيا )
• 1986 Menin Ageeb Nas (Where Can I Get People - منين أجيب ناس ) - ( Yanabee' El Nahr TV Series - مسلسل ينابيع النهار )
• 1986* Ya Helwa ( Sweetie - يا حلوة )
• 1987 Assef ( Sorry - آسف ) - ( Assef la yogad hal akhar TV Series - مسلسل آسف لا يوجد حل آخر )
• 1999 The best of Amr diab ( أحلى ما غنى عمرو دياب )
• 2002 Rewind
• 2004 Amr Diab Greatest Hits (1986–1995)
• 2005 Amr Diab Greatest Hits (1996–2003)
• 2005 Mateftekrish ( Don't Even Think - ماتفتكريش )
• 2009 Henyet El Donya ( Tenderness of Life - حنية الدنيا )

(*/ unconfirmed Date)

Concerts[link]

Amr Diab held so many concerts in the Arab World and around the world. Every year, one of his main concerts is held by the Mediterranean at the exclusive Egyptian resort city, Marina El Alamein. In addition, he holds an annual spring concert (The Carnival) at the American University in Cairo. In 2011, he held six concerts in the USA and 1 concert in Toronto, Canada.

References[link]

1. ^ "Bio". IMDb. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0229018/bio. 
2. ^ Lesswing, Bryan (October 2009). "Sounds of the Middle East, Minnesota provide options for listeners". The DePauw. http://www.thedepauw.com/features/sounds-of-the-middle-east-minnesota-provide-options-for-listeners-1.1993168. Retrieved 20 December 2009. 
3. ^ Crane, Kelly (April 2010). "Egyptian superstar Amr Diab is set to rock Dubai". Gulf News. http://gulfnews.com/arts-entertainment/music/egyptian-superstar-amr-diab-is-set-to-rock-dubai-1.615728. Retrieved 24 April 2010. 
4. ^ Matt, Ross (January 2011). "Q&A: Amr Diab". Rolling Stone Middle East. http://www.rollingstoneme.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=43. Retrieved 5 January 2011. 
5. ^ ^{a b c d} Frishkopf, Michael (2003). "Some Meanings of the Spanish Tinge in Contemporary Egyptian Music". In Plastino, Goffredo. Mediterranean mosaic: popular music and global sounds. Routledge. pp. 145–148. ISBN 978-0-415-93656-9. http://www.arts.ualberta.ca/~michaelf/Some%20Meanings%20of%20the%20Spanish%20Tinge.pdf. Retrieved 4 June 2009. 
6. ^ Cooper, David; Kevin Dawe (2005). The Mediterranean in music: Critical perspectives, common concerns, cultural differences. Scarecrow Press. p. 117. ISBN 0-8108-5407-4. 
7. ^ Valdivia, Victor W.. "The Very Best of Amr Diab". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r565771. Retrieved 4 June 2009. 
8. ^ JJC (August 2005). "Ghana's Tic Tac, Nigeria's Ayetoro and Egypt's Amr Diab". BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/africabeyond/africaonyourstreet/hosts/jjc/17911.shtml. Retrieved 4 June 2009. 
9. ^ "Amr Diab's album sweeping cassette market". Musicananet. 30 June 2009. http://www.musicananet.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=831:2009-06-30-21-53-47&catid=55:2009-02-18-21-10-52&Itemid=93. Retrieved 2 July 2009. ^{[dead link]} (Arabic)
10. ^ "Amr Diab sales exceed one million and a half". Musicananet. 3 July 2009. http://www.musicananet.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=851:2009-07-03-20-27-58&catid=55:2009-02-18-21-10-52&Itemid=93. Retrieved 2 July 2009. ^{[dead link]} (Arabic)
11. ^ Salman (20 April 2010). "Amr Diab in Dubai". DubaiMoves. http://www.dubaimoves.com/9944/amr-diab-in-dubai. 
12. ^ Khaled Taha (25 October 2009). "Amr Diab wins four African Music Awards" (in Arabic). ART. http://artonline.tv/Entertainment/newsdetails.aspx?newsID=17963. Retrieved 28 October 2009. 
13. ^ Chute, David; Irene G. Behnan (8 April 1999). "All Singing! All Belly-Dancing". Los Angeles Weekly. http://www.laweekly.com/1999-04-08/film-tv/all-singing-all-belly-dancing/2. Retrieved 4 June 2009. 
14. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsxyHbWY71s
15. ^ http://diabfm.com/masry-begad
16. ^ "Soundtracks for Yadon ilaheyya". Internet Movie Database. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0274428/soundtrack. Retrieved 11 June 2009. 
17. ^ "Soundtracks for The Dancer Upstairs". Internet Movie Database. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118926/soundtrack. Retrieved 11 June 2009. 
18. ^ "Soundtracks for O Clone". Internet Movie Database. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0289800/soundtrack. Retrieved 11 June 2009. 
19. ^ "Amr Diab Filmography". Yahoo! Movies. http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1809493507. Retrieved 11 June 2009. 
20. ^ "Malcolm in the Middle, Season 4, Episode 4 notes". CNET Network: TV.com. http://www.tv.com/malcolm-in-the-middle/stupid-girl/episode/187386/trivia.html. Retrieved 12 October 2009. 

External links[link]

• http://www.amrdiab.net/ - Official Website
• http://amrdiabworld.com/ - Official Online Store
• http://DiabFM.com/ - Official Online Radio