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Kartanios Garbis Slim (born in Cairo, Egypt in 1960), better known by her stage name Anoushka (in Arabic أنوشكا), is an Egyptian singer and actress.^[1][2]

She was born to an Egyptian father and an Armenian mother. She had her secondary school education in the Armenian Gulbenkian School in Boulaq neighborhood in Cairo and continued to study Business Administration at American University of Cairo. After graduation she worked in a foreign investment company and later on in the advertising firm Tarek Nour as a singer on advertisements.

She took in an international song competition organized by International Federation of Festival Organizations (FIDOF) singing an original French song, lyrics by Gamal Abdel Halim Hasan and music by Kamel Cherif. Her first Egyptian public song was in a children's television program teaching Arabic language directed by Fehmi Abdel Hamid. She went on to take part in 1987-1988 in international festivals in Finland, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, Turkey, France and Latin America. In Turkey, she won first prize with "Habbytak" and in the Francophonie competitions in France with her own composition "Ya Habibi" in French and "Ya Leyl" also in French composed by Midhat el Khawla.

She went on to release many albums in Arabic becoming a pan-Arab sensation and was awarded by the Egyptian Minister of Tourism for her efforts in promoting Egyptian music in the Arab World and worldwide. She also took part in many national, pan-Arab and international music events.

She had the lead role in an operette entitled "Al Ward wa Fousoulahou" (in Arabic الورد وفصوله) in the Children Day festivities.

Discography[link]

• Habbaytak Arabic حبيتك
• Nadani Arabic ناداني
• Tigi Tghanni Arabic تيجي تغنّي
• Abayyan Zayn Arabic أبيّن زين
• Keddab Arabic كدّاب

Filmography[link]

Anoushka has also played roles in many Egyptian films including:

• Es Sayyed Kaf Arabic السيد كاف, directed by Salah Abu Seif
• Man Atlaqa Haazihi el Rasaasa? Arabic من أطلق هذه الرصاصة؟

References[link]

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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