Different approaches and methods for the romanization of Arabic ( ) exist. They vary in the way that they address the inherent problems of rendering written and spoken Arabic in the Latin alphabet; they also use different symbols for Arabic phonemes that do not exist in English or other European languages. Note that in some web browsers, some of these symbols may not appear.

Romanization is often termed "transliteration", but this is not technically correct. Transliteration is the direct representation of foreign letters using Latin symbols, while most systems for romanizing Arabic are actually transcription systems, which represent the sound of the language. As an example, the above rendering of the is a transcription, indicating the pronunciation; an example transliteration would be .

Romanization standards and systems

This list is sorted chronologically. Bold face indicates column headlines as they appear in the table below.

IPA: International Phonetic Alphabet (1886)

Deutsche Morgenländische Gesellschaft (1936): Adopted by the International Convention of Orientalist Scholars in Rome. It is the basis for the very influential Hans Wehr dictionary (ISBN 0-87950-003-4).

BS 4280 (1968): Developed by the British Standards Institution.

SATTS: One-to-one mapping to Latin Morse equivalents.

UNGEGN (1972): United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names

DIN 31635 (1982): Developed by the Deutsches Institut für Normung (German Institute for Standardization).

ISO 233 (1984).

Qalam (1985): A system that focuses upon preserving the spelling, rather than the pronunciation, and uses mixed case.

ArabTeX (since 1992) its "native" input is 7-bit ASCII: "has been modelled closely after the transliteration standards ISO/R 233 and DIN 31635"

ISO 233-2 (1993). Simplified transliteration.

Buckwalter Transliteration (1990s): Developed at Xerox by Tim Buckwalter ; doesn't require unusual diacritics.

Bikdash Transliteration (BATR): A system which is a compromise between Qalam and Buckwalter Transilterations. It represents consonants with one letter and possibly the single quotation mark as a modifier, and uses one or several Latin vowels to represent short and long Arabic vowels. It strives for minimality as well as phonetic expressiveness. It does not distinguish between the different shapes of the hamza since it assumes that a software implementation can resolve the differences through the standard rules of spelling of Arabic .

ALA-LC (1997).

SAS: Spanish Arabists School (José Antonio Conde and others, early 19th century onwards).

Arabic chat alphabet: Not a system; listed here merely for completeness. In some situations, such as online communication, users need a way to enter Arabic text only with the keys immediately available on a keyboard. As an ad hoc solution, such letters can be replaced with Arabic numerals of similar appearance.

A (non-normative) table comparing romanizations using DIN 31635, ISO 233, ISO/R 233, UN, ALA-LC and Encyclopaedia of Islam systems is available here: .

Comparison table

! ISO 233-2

Letter

! Unicode

! Name

International Phonetic Alphabet>IPA

United Nations Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names>UNGEGN

Library of Congress>ALA-LC

! DIN 31635

SAS

BATR

! ArabTeX

Arabic chat alphabet>chat

!

0621

,

'

e

'

2

0627

aa

aa / A

a

a/e/é

!

0628

!

062A

!

062B

ç

c

_t

s/th

!

062C

~~

j

j

^g

j/g/dj

!

062D

H

.h

7

!

062E

j

x

K

_h

kh/7'/5

062F

!

0630

đ

z'

_d

z/dh/th

!

0631

!

0632

!

0633

!

0634

x

^s

sh/ch

!

0635

S

.s

s/9

!

0636

D

.d

d/9'

!

0637

T

.t

t/6

!

0638

~

đ̣

Z

.z

z/dh/6'

!

0639

ř

E

`

3

!

063A

g

ğ

g

.g

gh/3'

!

0641

!

0642

2/g/q

!

0643

!

0644

!

0645

!

0646

!

0647

!

0648

,

w

w; o

w; uu

w

w; o; ou/u/oo

!

064A

,

y

y; e

y; ii

y

y; i/ee; ei/ai

!

0622

,

eaa

'A

2a/aa

0629

,

t; —

ŧ

t'

T

a/e(h); et/at

!

0649

y

á

aaa

_A

a; i/y

!

(var.)

al-

al-; ál-

Al-

al-

el

The chat table is only a demonstration and is based on the spoken varieties which vary considerably from Literary Arabic in which the IPA table and the rest of the transliterations are based on. In Egypt, Sudan and sometimes in other regions, the standard form for final- is only (without dots) in handwriting and print, for both final and final . for the latter pronunciation, is called . and are traditionally written in North Eastern Africa as and , respectively, while the latter's dot is only added initially or medially. Review hamzah for its various forms.

Romanization issues

Any romanization system has to make a number of decisions which are dependent on its intended field of application.

Vowels

One basic problem is that written Arabic is normally unvocalized, i.e., many of the vowels are not written out, and must be supplied by a reader familiar with the language. Hence unvocalized Arabic writing does not give a reader unfamiliar with the language sufficient information for accurate pronunciation. As a result, a pure transliteration, e.g. rendering as , is meaningless to an untrained reader. For this reason, transcriptions are generally used that add vowels, e.g. .

Transliteration vs. transcription

Most uses of romanization call for transcription rather than transliteration: Instead of transliterating each written letter, they try to reproduce the sound of the words according to the orthography rules of the target language: Qatar. This applies equally to scientific and popular applications. A pure transliteration, for example, would need to omit vowels (e.g. qtr), making the result difficult to interpret except for a subset of trained readers fluent in Arabic. Even if vowels are added, a transliteration system would still need to distinguish between multiple ways of spelling the same sound in the Arabic script, e.g. vs. for the sound , and the six different ways () of writing the glottal stop (hamza, usually transcribed ). This sort of detail is unneeded and needlessly confusing except in a very few situations (e.g. typesetting text in the Arabic script).

Most issues related to the romanization of Arabic are about transliterating vs. transcribing – others, about what should be romanized:

transliteration ignores assimilation (sandhi) of the article before the "sun letters", and may be easily misread by non-Arabs. For instance an-nur (or an-nuur, or an-noor) would be more correctly transliterated along the lines of alnur. In the transcription an-nur, a hyphen is added and the unpronounced 'l' removed for the convenience of the uninformed non-Arab reader, who would otherwise pronounce an 'l', probably not understand the word to be nur, pronounce only one 'n', and be confused by the role of the double 'n'. Alternatively, if the shadda is not transliterated (since it is strictly not a letter), a hypercorrect transliteration would be alnur, which presents similar problems for the uninformed non-Arab reader.

a transliteration must render the "closed tā" (ta marbuta ة) faithfully, a transcription must render the sound ("a" like any other "a" or "t" like any other "at" – or in a vocalized text nothing vs. t)

ISO 233 has a unique symbol, .

"short alif" (, ى) must be transliterated with a special symbol, like Iª,ıª, but is transcribed like standing alif, when it stands for a long a (ā)

Nunation: what is true elsewhere is also true for nunation: transliteration renders what is seen, transcription what is heard.

A transcription may reflect the language as spoken, for example, by the people of Baghdad, or the official standard as spoken by a preacher in the mosque or a TV news reader. A transcription is free to add phonological (such as vowels) or morphological (such as word boundaries) information. Transcriptions will also vary depending on the writing conventions of the target language; compare English Omar Khayyam with German Omar Chajjam, both for (unvocalized , vocalized ).

A transliteration is ideally fully reversible: a machine must be able to transliterate it into Arabic and back. A transliteration can be considered as flawed for any one of the following reasons:

A "loose" transliteration is ambiguous, rendering several Arabic phonemes with an identical transliteration, or digraphs for a single phoneme (such as sh) may be confused with two adjacent phonemes;

Symbols representing phonemes may be considered too similar (e.g., ` and ' or and for ayin and hamza);

ASCII transliterations using capital letters to disambiguate phonemes are easy to type but may be considered unaesthetic.

A fully accurate transcription may not be necessary for native Arabic speakers as they would be able to pronounce names and sentences correctly anyway, but it can be very useful for those not fully familiar with spoken Arabic and who are familiar with the Roman alphabet. An accurate transliteration serves as a valuable stepping stone for learning, pronouncing correctly, and distinguishing phonemes. It is a useful tool for anyone familiar with the sounds of Arabic but who are not fully conversant in the language.

One criticism is that a fully accurate system would require special learning that most do not have to actually pronounce names correctly, and that with a lack of a universal romanization system they will not be pronounced correctly by non-native speakers anyway. The precision will be lost if special characters are not replicated and if someone is not familiar with Arabic pronunciation.

Further difficulties

During the creating of a romanization system some problems can occur:

– Repeated symbols, like h in traditional English-styled transcription: th=ث ; kh=خ ; dh=ذ ; sh=ش ; gh=غ ; ah=ة , but h is used also for ه letter. For example, it is difficult to read the combination th in the word mitha:l – (meaning: an example). It is to be read as interdental t (ث), but some people can read it t, then h. The best way here is to underline the combination to avoid dual reading.

– Problems with diacritic marks (dots, commas, round-ups and under the letters as well as macrons for long vowels). Example: ḲṪABun (meaning "book") accurate transliteration) becomes kitabun in simplified one;

– Coincidence of the meaning of symbol in your transciption system with standard meaning (I.e.: h in some variants means ħ, but not the same sound, like in English and German; c sounds like j in jam, but not as in standard way; e sounds like English h and so on).

– Coincidence of meanings of a combination. E.g.: الرياض – Ar-Riyyadh in standard literature representation.(dh = ض). But dh is also in use for ذ: dhikr – ذكر – memory.

– Bad distinguishment of some symbols. I.e.: you can read two or more symbols like one sound because of similar graphical elements. For example, ' – hamza and ` – `ayn in some systems.

Examples

Examples in Literary Arabic:

Arabic
English	A Caliph had a palace	To the kingdom of Morocco
IPA
DIN 31635
ALA-LC
UNGEGN
BATR
ArabTeX

See also

Arabic alphabet

Arabic Chat Alphabet

Arabic grammar

Arabic language

Arabic names

Glottal stop (letter)

Romanization

Transliteration

English exonyms of Arabic speaking places

Harakat (Arabic vocalisation)

Ottoman Turkish alphabet – a Perso-Arabic-based alphabet, which was replaced by the Latin-based Turkish alphabet in 1928

Maltese alphabet

Category:Arabic script Category:Romanization

ar:ترويم العربية br:Treuzlizherennadur arabek it:Traslitterazione dall'arabo mk:Македонска транскрипција на арапскиот јазик ru:Передача арабского письма латиницей th:การเขียนคำทับศัพท์ภาษาอาหรับ tr:Arapçanın romanizasyonu zh:阿拉伯語羅馬化

name	A. R. Rahman
background	non_performing_personnel
birth name	A. S. Dileep Kumar
alias	A. R. Rahman, A. R. R.
born	January 06, 1966 Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
genre	Pop, classical music, sufi music, pop rock, soft rock, dance, world music, Experimental music
residence	Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
instrument	Vocals, Guitar, Percussion, Drums, Software and Technology, Harpejji, FingerBoard, Keyboard, Piano, Accordion, Goblet Drum, Concert harp
occupation	Singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, music director, arranger, entrepreneur, philanthropist, Conductor
years active	1980–present
label	K. M. Musiq
associated acts	Nemesis Avenue, SuperHeavy
website	}}

Allah Rakha Rahman (; born 6 January 1966 as A. S. Dileep Kumar) is an Indian composer, singer-songwriter, record producer, musician, multi-instrumentalist and philanthropist. Described as the world's most prominent and prolific film composer by Time, his works are notable for integrating eastern classical music with electronic music sounds, world music genres and traditional orchestral arrangements. He has won two Academy Awards, two Grammy Awards, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe, four National Film Awards, fourteen Filmfare Awards, thirteen Filmfare Awards South in addition to numerous other awards and nominations. His extensive body of work for film and the stage earned him the nickname “the Mozart of Madras” and several Tamil commentators and fans have coined him the nickname Isai Puyal (; ). In 2009, Time placed Rahman in its list of World's Most Influential People. The UK based World Music magazine Songlines named him one of 'Tomorrow's World Music Icons' in August 2011.

Having set up his own in-house studio called Panchathan Record Inn at Chennai, arguably one of Asia’s most sophisticated and high-tech studios, Rahman's film scoring career began in the early 1990s with the Tamil film Roja. Working in India's various film industries, international cinema and theatre, Rahman has sold more than 300 million records worldwide of his film scores and soundtracks as of 2009 for over 100 film scores worldwide, making him one of the world's all-time top selling recording artists. In a notable career spanning two decades, Rahman has garnered particular acclaim for redefining contemporary Indian film music and thus contributing to the success of several films. Rahman is currently one of the highest paid composers of the motion picture industry. He has also become a notable humanitarian and philanthropist, donating and raising money for beneficial causes and supporting charities.

Early life

A. R. Rahman was born in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India to a musically affluent Mudaliar Tamil family. His father R. K. Shekhar, was a film music composer and conductor for Tamil as well as Malayalam films. Rahman used to assist his father during recordings and play keyboard for the songs. Rahman lost his father at the age of 9 and his family had to rent out his father's musical equipment as their source of income. Rahman was raised by his mother Kareema (born Kashturi). During these formative years, Rahman served as a keyboard player and an arranger in bands such as "Roots", with childhood friend and percussionist Sivamani, John Anthony, Suresh Peters, JoJo and Raja. Rahman is the founder of the Chennai-based rock group, "Nemesis Avenue". He mastered various music instruments like Keyboard, Piano, Synthesizer, Harmonium and Guitar. His curiosity in Synthesizer in particular, increased because, he says, it was the "ideal combination of music and technology".

He began early training in music under Master Dhanraj. At the age of 11, he started playing musical instruments in the orchestra of Malayalam composer and a close friend of Rahman's father, M. K. Arjunan. Soon he started working with other composers such as M. S. Viswanathan, Ilaiyaraaja, Ramesh Naidu, Raj-Koti and also accompanied Zakir Hussain, Kunnakudi Vaidyanathan and L. Shankar on world tours and obtained a scholarship with Trinity College, London, board of the Trinity College of Music. Studying in Chennai, he graduated with graded examinations and a diploma in Western classical music via the college. He was introduced to Qadiri Islam when his younger sister fell severely ill in 1984. Subsequently, Rahman along with other members of his family converted to Islam in 1989, when he was 23 years old. He changed his name from A. S. Dileep Kumar to Allah Rakha Rahman i.e. A. R. Rahman.

Career

Film scoring and soundtracks

When he was nine, Rahman accidentally played a tune on piano during his father's recording for a film, which R. K. Shekhar later developed into a complete song, "Vellithen Kinnam Pol", for the Malayalam film Penpada. This track credited to his father, was sung by Jayachandran and penned by Bharanikkavu Sivakumar. His film career began in 1992, when he started Panchathan Record Inn, a music recording and mixing studio attached to the backyard of his house. Over time it would become the most advanced recording studio in India, and arguably one of Asia’s most sophisticated and high-tech studios. He initially composed scores for documentaries, jingles for advertisements and Indian Television channels and other projects. In 1987 Rahman, then still known as Dileep got his first opportunity to compose jingles for new range of watches being launched by Allwyn. In 1992, he was approached by film director Mani Ratnam to compose the score and soundtrack for Ratnam's Tamil film Roja. The debut led Rahman to receive the Rajat Kamal (Silver Lotus) award for Best Music Director at the National Film Awards, an unprecedented win for a first-time film composer. Rahman has since been awarded the Silver Lotus three more times for Minsara Kanavu (Electric Dreams, Tamil) in 1997, Lagaan (Tax, Hindi) in 2002, Kannathil Muthamittal (A Peck on the Cheek, Tamil) in 2003, the most ever by any composer.

Roja's score met with high sales and acclaim in both its original and dubbed versions, led by the theme song "Chinna Chinna Aasai" bringing about a marked change in film music at the time. Rahman followed this with successful scores for Tamil–language films of the Chennai film industry including Ratnam's politically charged Bombay, the urbanite Kadhalan, Thiruda Thiruda and S. Shankar's debut film Gentleman, spurred by the popular dance song "Chikku Bukku Rayile". Rahman worked with director Bharathiraaja's Kizhakku Cheemayile and Karuththamma, producing successful Tamil rural folk inspired scores and delivered the grand saxophonic score for K. Balachander's Duet. The 1995 film Indira and the romantic comedies Mr. Romeo and Love Birds all gained him considerable notice. His fanbase in Japan increased with Muthu 's success there. His soundtracks gained him recognition in the Tamil Nadu film industry and around the world for his stylistic versatility incorporating Western classical, Carnatic and Tamil traditional/folk music traditions, jazz, reggae and rock music. The soundtrack of Bombay sold 12 million copies worldwide. The "Bombay Theme"—from Ratnam's Bombay—would later reappear in his score of Deepa Mehta's Fire and various compilations and media around the world. Rangeela, directed by Ram Gopal Varma, marked Rahman's debut for Hindi-language films made in the Mumbai film industry. Many successful scores for films including Dil Se and the percussive Taal followed. Sufi mysticism would inspire the track "Chaiyya Chaiyya" from the former, as well as the composition "Zikr" from his score for the film Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose: The Forgotten Hero for which he created large symphonic orchestral and choral arrangements. His score for the Chennai production Minsaara Kanavu garnered Rahman his second National Film Award for Best Music Direction in 1997, and a South FilmFare Award for Best Music Direction in a Tamil film, breaking a record with six consecutive wins in the latter category. Rahman would go onto win the award a further three consecutive times. Musical cues in scores for Sangamam and Iruvar employed Carnatic vocals and instruments such as the veena with leads of rock guitar and jazz. In the 2000s Rahman created hit scores for Rajiv Menon's Kandukondain Kandukondain, Alaipayuthey, Ashutosh Gowariker's Swades and Rang De Basanti. He composed songs with Hindustani motifs for Water (2005). By the end of 2003, Rahman had sold more than 150 million records of his film scores and soundtracks for over 50 film scores worldwide.

Rahman has worked with Indian poets and lyricists such as Javed Akhtar, Gulzar, Vairamuthu and Vaali. He has consistently produced commercially successful soundtracks when collaborating with particular film directors such as Mani Ratnam who he has worked with since Roja, and the director S. Shankar in the films Gentleman, Kadhalan, Indian, Jeans, Mudhalvan, Nayak, Boys, Sivaji and Enthiran.

In 2005, Rahman extended his Panchathan Record Inn studio by establishing AM Studios in Kodambakkam, Chennai, thereby creating the most cutting-edge studio in Asia. In 2006, Rahman launched his own music label, KM Music. Its first release was his score to the film Sillunu Oru Kaadhal. Rahman scored the Mandarin language picture Warriors of Heaven and Earth in 2003 after researching and utilizing Chinese and Japanese classical music, and won the Just Plain Folks Music Award For Best Music Album for his score of the 2006 film Varalaru (God Father). He co-scored the Shekhar Kapur project and his first British film, Elizabeth: The Golden Age, in 2007. He garnered an Asian Film Award nomination for Best Composer at the Hong Kong International Film Festival for his Jodhaa Akbar score. His compositions have been sampled for other scores within India, and appeared in such films as Inside Man, Lord of War, Divine Intervention and The Accidental Husband. In 2008, Rahman scored his first Hollywood picture, the comedy Couples Retreat released the next year, which won him the BMI London Award for Best Score. Rahman scored the film Slumdog Millionaire in 2008, for which he won a Golden Globe and two Academy Awards, becoming the first Asian to do so. The songs "Jai Ho" and "O…Saya" from the soundtrack of this film met with commercial success internationally. In 2010, Rahman composed scores for the romance film Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa, blockbuster sci-fi romance film Enthiran and Danny Boyle's 127 Hours. Rahman started off the year 2011 by scoring Imtiaz Ali's musical film Rockstar. The soundtrack became a phenomenal success and earned Rahman immense critical praise.

Other works

Rahman has been involved in several projects aside from film. Vande Mataram, an album of his original compositions released on India's 50th anniversary of independence in 1997, enjoyed great commercial success. Vande Mataram is the largest selling Indian non-film album to date. He followed it up with an album for the Bharat Bala–directed video Jana Gana Mana, a conglomeration of performances by many leading exponents and artists of Indian classical music. Rahman has written jingles for ads and composed several orchestrations for athletic events, television and internet media publications, documentaries and short films.

In 1999, Rahman partnered with choreographers Shobana and Prabhu Deva and a Tamil cinema dancing troupe to perform with Michael Jackson in Munich, Germany at his "Michael Jackson and Friends" concert. In 2002, he composed the music for his maiden stage production, Bombay Dreams, commissioned by musical theatre composer Andrew Lloyd Webber. Finnish folk music band Värttinä collaborated with Rahman to write the music for The Lord of the Rings theatre production and in 2004, Rahman composed the piece "Raga's Dance" for Vanessa-Mae's album Choreography.

Since 2004, Rahman has performed three successful world tours to audiences in Singapore, Australia, Malaysia, Dubai, the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States and India. He has been collaborating with Karen David for her upcoming studio album. A two-disc soundtrack, Introducing A. R. Rahman (2006) featuring 25 of his pieces from Tamil film scores was released in May 2006, and his non-film album, Connections was released on 12 December 2008. Rahman also performed at the White House State dinner arranged by US President Barack Obama during the official visit of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on November 24, 2009. Rahman is one of over 70 artists who performed on "We Are the World 25 for Haiti", a charity single to raise emergency relief funds in the wake of the 2010 Haiti earthquake. In 2010, Rahman composed "Jai Jai Garvi Gujarat" in honor of the 50th anniversary of the formation of Gujarat State, "Semmozhiyaana Thamizh Mozhiyaam" as part of World Classical Tamil Conference 2010, and the official theme song of the 2010 Commonwealth Games, "Jiyo Utho Bado Jeeto". Rahman organised his first world tour, named A. R. Rahman Jai Ho Concert: The Journey Home World Tour, in 2010. The ongoing tour was kicked off on June 11 at the Nassau Coliseum in New York and will span 16 major cities worldwide.

Some of his notable compositions were performed live by the London Philharmonic Orchestra in April 2010. In February 2011, Rahman collaborated with Michael Bolton for his new studio album Gems - The Duets Collection. Rahman reworked on his song "Sajna" from the 2009 American film Couples Retreat to create the track.

On 20 May 2011, English musician Mick Jagger announced the formation of a new supergroup, SuperHeavy, which includes Dave Stewart, Joss Stone, Damian Marley, and Rahman. The band's self-titled album is slated for release in September 2011. The album will see Mick Jagger singing in Rahman's composition "Satyameva Jayate", which translates to "the truth alone triumphs".

Music style and impact

Skilled in Carnatic music, Western classical, Hindustani music and the Qawwali style of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Rahman has been noted to write film songs that amalgamate elements of these music systems and other genres, layering instruments from differing music idioms in an improvisatory manner. Symphonic orchestral themes have accompanied his scores, occasionally employing leitmotif. In the 1980s, Rahman recorded and played arrangements on monophonic sound, synonymous with the era of his musical predecessors K. V. Mahadevan and Vishwanathan–Ramamoorthy. In later years his methodology changed as he experimented with the fusion of traditional instruments with new electronic sounds and technology.

Rahman's musical interests and outlook stem from his love of experimentation. Rahman's compositions, in the vein of past and contemporary Chennai film composers, bring out auteuristic uses of counterpoint, orchestration and the human voice, melding Indian pop music with unique timbre, forms and instrumentation. By virtue of these qualities, broad ranging lyrics and his syncretic style, the appeal of his music cuts across the spectrum of classes and cultures within Indian society.

His first soundtrack for Roja was listed in Time's "10 Best Soundtracks" of all time in 2005. Film critic Richard Corliss felt the "astonishing debut work parades Rahman's gift for alchemizing outside influences until they are totally Tamil, totally Rahman." Rahman's initial global reach is attributed to the South Asian diaspora. Described as one of the most innovative composers to ever work in the industry, his unique style and immense success transformed film music in the 1990s prompting several film producers to take film music more seriously. The music producer Ron Fair considers Rahman to be "one of the world's great living composers in any medium".

The director Baz Luhrmann notes }}

Awards

Rahman was the 1995 recipient of the Mauritius National Award and the Malaysian Award for contributions to music. He was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award for his first West-End production. A four-time National Film Award winner and recipient of six Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, fourteen Filmfare Awards and thirteen Filmfare Awards South for his music and scores. He has been conferred Kalaimamani from the Government of Tamil Nadu for excellence in the field of music, special music achievement awards from the Government of Uttar Pradesh and Government of Madhya Pradesh and the Padma Shri from the Government of India. In 2006, he received an honorary award from Stanford University for contributions to global music. In 2007, Rahman was entered into the Limca Book of Records as "Indian of the Year for Contribution to Popular Music", and the Guinness World Records in 2010 as the original composer of "Maa Tujhe Salaam", from the album Vande Mataram - the song performed in the most number of languages worldwide (265). He is the 2008 Lifetime Achievement Award recipient from the Rotary Club of Madras. In 2009, for his score of Slumdog Millionaire, Rahman won the Broadcast Film Critics Association Award, the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score, the BAFTA Award for Best Film Music, and two Academy Awards for Best Original Music Score and Best Original Song at the 81st Academy Awards. Rahman has received honorary doctorates from Middlesex University and Aligarh Muslim University. Later the year Rahman was conferred the honorary doctorate from Anna University in Chennai. He has also won two Grammy Awards, for Best Compilation Soundtrack Album and Best Song Written for a Visual Media. Rahman was awarded the Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian honor, in 2010. Rahman's work for the film 127 Hours garnered him Golden Globe, BAFTA, and two Academy Award nominations for Best Original Music Score and Best Original Song in 2011. He is an Honorary Fellow of the Trinity College of Music, presented to him by Trinity College London.

Personal life

He is married to Saira Banu and has three children, Khatija, Rahima, and Ameen. Ameen sings the track "NaNa" from Couples Retreat and his daughter Khatija the track "Pudhiya Manidha" from Enthiran. Rahman is the uncle of composer G. V. Prakash Kumar, who is the son of Rahman's elder sister, A. R. Reihana. Prakash Kumar's first work in film was singing on the Rahman composition "Chikku Bukku Rayile" from his score to the 1993 film Gentleman. A. R. Reihana debuted in film singing on the track "Vidai Kodu Engal Naadae" from Kannathil Muthamittal. She is a music director too. Rahman's younger sister Fathima is in charge of his Music conservatory in Chennai. The youngest Ishrath has her own music studio. A. R. Rahman is the co-brother of film actor Rahman.

An atheist through much of his childhood, in 1989 Rahman converted to Islam, the religion of his mother's family. After the early death of his father, his family went through hard times and Sufism had a great influence on his mother and slowly on his family. During the 81st Academy Awards ceremony, he paid tribute to his mother, saying "There is a Hindi dialogue, mere pass ma hai, which means 'even if I have got nothing I have my mother here'." He also began his own catchphrase, "Ella pughazhum iraivanukke", in Tamil which literally means "All praises dedicated to God". The phrase was popularized after Rahman uttered it prior to his speech at the 81st Academy Awards ceremony.

Humanitarian work

Rahman is involved in various charitable causes. In 2004, he was appointed as the Global Ambassador of the Stop TB Partnership, a project by WHO. He has shown support to charities including Save the Children, India, and worked with Yusuf Islam for his song "Indian Ocean". The song featured a-ha keyboard player Magne Furuholmen and drummer Travis, Neil Primrose. The proceeds of the song went towards helping orphans in Banda Aceh, that was affected by the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami. He produced the single "We Can Make It Better" by Don Asian alongside Mukhtar Sahota. In 2008, Rahman opened his KM Music Conservatory partnered with Audio Media Education facility to tutor and train aspiring musicians in vocals, instruments, music technology and sound design. The conservatory – with preeminent musicians on its panel and a newly founded symphony orchestra – is located near his studio in Kodambakkam, Chennai, offering courses at Beginners, Foundation and Diploma level. Violinist L. Subramaniam is on its board of advisors. Several of Rahman's proteges from the studio have gone onto score music for feature films. Rahman composed the theme music for a short film for The Banyan in 2006, in aid of destitute women in Chennai. In 2008, Rahman with noted percussionist Sivamani created a song titled "Jiya Se Jiya", inspired by the Free Hugs Campaign and promoted it through a video shot in various cities in India.

Discography

See also

List of films directed by Mani Ratnam featuring A. R. Rahman

Notes

References

External links

A. R. Rahman – Official website

[ A. R. Rahman] at Allmusic

A. R. Rahman at Billboard.com

Category:1966 births Category:Living people Category:Indian musicians Category:Indian Muslims Category:Indian film score composers Category:20th-century classical composers Category:21st-century classical composers Category:Bollywood playback singers Category:Kollywood playback singers Category:Indian film singers Category:Indian male singers Category:Recipients of the Padma Bhushan Category:Recipients of the Padma Shri Category:Best Original Music Score Academy Award winners Category:Filmfare Awards winners Category:National Film Award winners Category:People from Tamil Nadu Category:Tamil musicians Category:Tamil film score composers Category:Telugu film score composers Category:People from Chennai Category:Tamil people Category:Telugu playback singers Category:Former atheists and agnostics Category:Converts to Islam Category:Academy Award winners Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Trinity College of Music alumni Category:Indian composers Category:Malayalam Music directors Category:Tamil Nadu State Film Awards winners Category:Filmfare Awards South winners

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name	Nancy Ajram
birth name	Nancy Nabil Ajram
background	solo_singer
birth date	May 16, 1983
origin	Achrafieh, Beirut, Lebanon
genre	Arabic Pop, World, pop
occupation	singer, dancer, model, actress
years active	1998–present
label	EMI Arabia (1998) Megastar (2001–2005) In2Musica (2008–present)
website	Official website }}

Nancy Nabil Ajram (}}) (born May 16, 1983) is a multi-platinum Lebanese singer and Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF. 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.

By 2007, Ajram had sold over 30 million records ranking 3rd best selling female artist in Lebanese history. 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. Nancy's official Facebook page is the most subscribed Arabic artist page on the social-networking site and the first to reach 1 million subscribers, and her music video for "Fi Hagat" was an Internet phenomenon and is currently the most viewed Arabic music video on the Internet, with more than 20 million views on Youtube.

Early life and beginnings

Ajram was born to father Nabil Ajram and mother Raymonda Aoun, on May 16, 1983 in Achrafieh, a district in Beirut, Lebanon.

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

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.

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.

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.

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. 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.

2010–present: 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, 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. As of January 2011, within four months, the video hit more than 10 million views and thus became the first and most viewed Arabic music video on the Internet.

The album became a massive critical and commercial success, selling over a million units a month after its release and gathering many positive reviews from critics, who favored Nancy's classy style and the variety of musical genres she offers on the album.

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.

Personal life

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". 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. 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.

Awards and titles

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

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 2007, 2009 Arabian Business - World's Most Influential Arabs, Most Influential Contemporary Female Singer in 2007, Most Powerful Arab Singers 2007 Kol elArab Survey - Best Arabic Star of the year 2007

2008 9th Annual Doha Festival - Honor Award, Doha

2008 World Music Award - World's Best-Selling Middle-Eastern Artist, 20th Annual WMA, Monaco 2008 Student Choice Award - [College Student Survey]: Best Album of the Year 2008, Beirut 2008 AlJumhuriya newspaper, Freedom Magazine - Best Female Arab Star of 2008, Egypt.. only?

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 2010 Panet Survey-Best Female singer 2010 Arab Sound Awards -Best Arabic Female Singer

2010 Music My Life- Fi Hagat Best Song Of 2010

2010 Best Of Lbc 2010- N 7 Best Album/Fi Hagat- Best Music Video 2010 Panorama Fm (MBC)-N 7 Best Arabic Album. 2010-2011 Jaras Scoop Awards-Best Female Singer

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."

2011 Best Female Singer- "Woujouh Men Lebnan" awards.

2011 Arabian Business- Most Famous Celebrity in the Middle East

Philanthropy and humanitarian work

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 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)." 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

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

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. In May 2006, Ajram returned to perform in Bahrain without any incidents.

On her official website, Nancy Ajram has apologized for anti-Iranian remarks 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.

Discography

Studio albums

1998: Mihtagalak

2001: Sheel Oyounak Anni

2003: Ya Salam

2004: Ah W Noss

2006: Ya Tabtab...Wa Dallaa

2008: Betfakkar Fi Eih?!

2010: 7

Other albums

2007: Shakhbat Shakhabit

DVDs and live albums

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

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"

Global Coke slogans

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

Official music videos

"Sheel Ouyounak Anni" "Akhasmak Ah" "Ah w Noss" "Ya Tabtab Wa Dalla" rowspan="5" rowspan="3"

+ Official Music Videos
Year	Title	Album	Director
1998	"Mihtagalak"	Mihtagalak
2001	|	Sheel Oyoonak Anni>Sheel Ouyounak Anni	Guy Zahlan
2002	|rowspan="3"	Ya Salam... ||rowspan="5"> Nadine Labaki
rowspan="2"	2003	"Ya Salam"
"Sehr Oyouno" (Yey)
	|rowspan="4"| "Ah w Noss"
"Lawn Ouyounak"
	"Oul Tany Kida"
"Inta Eih"	Nadine Labaki
rowspan="4"		2006		Ya Tabtab..Wa Dallaa
"Moegaba"	Harry Rankin, Mike Lipscombe
"Ana Yalli"	Pascale D'Ash
"Ehsas Jdeed"	Said elMarouk
rowspan="3"	2007	"Elli Kan"
"Mishtaga Leik"
"Shakhbat Shakhabit" (ft. Katkouta, Shater, Eid Milad)				[Children's Album]	Said elMarouk
	"Risala Ilal Aalam"
"Betfakkar Fi Eih"	Betfakkar Fi Eih?! || rowspan="2"|Said elMarouk
"Min Dally Nseek"
	"Lamset Eed"
"Ibn elGiran"	Mike Harris
"Mashi Haddi"	Leila Kanaan
rowspan="3"	2010	"Shaggaa' Be Alamak" (Wavin' Flag)(with K'Naan) ||	Single	Codirector: Leila Kanaan
"Fi Hagat"	7||Nadine Labaki
"Sheikh El Shabab"	Leila Kanaan
2011	"Ya Kether"

Commercials

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.

Concert Tickle, Munroe, WinkMoegaba Coke BottleElDonya Helwa Have a CokeMeen Ghayri Ana?Noss elKawnEftah Albak TefrahShaggaa' Be Alamak (Wavin' Flag)

+ Middle East Coke Campaigns
width =	Year	Coke Hit	Theme	# of Ads	Campaign
	Oul Tany Kida	|	3	TV,MV,print
Instrumental: Lawn Ouyounak	|	3	TV,print
rowspan=2	2006	|	Circus	1	TV,MV,print
Ashtiki Minno	|	1	TV
rowspan=2	2007	|	The Coke Side of Life	1	TV,print
-
2008	|	Live on the Coke Side of Life	3	TV,MV,print
2009	|Open Happiness|
2010	|2010 FIFA World Cup|

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.

See also

Nancy Ajram videography

References

External links

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

Category:1983 births Category:Living people Category:Lebanese Christians Category:Lebanese Maronites Category:Lebanese female singers Category:Lebanese musicians Category:Arabic-language singers Category:UNICEF people Category:World Music Awards winners Category:Lebanese artists Category:Arab people

ar:نانسي عجرم az:Nensi Acram bs:Nancy Ajram bg:Нанси Ажрам ca:Nancy Ajram cs:Nancy Ajramová cy:Nancy Ajram da:Nancy Ajram de:Nancy Ajram es:Nancy Ajram fa:نانسی عجرم fr:Nancy Ajram ko:낸시 아즈람 hy:Նենսի Աջրամ id:Nancy Ajram os:Нэнси Набиль Аджрам it:Nancy Ajram he:נאנסי עג'רם jv:Nancy Ajram ku:Nancy Ajram hu:Nenszi Azsram arz:نانسى عجرم ms:Nancy Ajram mn:Нэнси Ажрам nl:Nancy Ajram ja:ナンシー・アジュラム pl:Nancy Ajram pt:Nancy Ajram ru:Аджрам, Нэнси simple:Nancy Ajram so:Nansi Ajram sr:Ненси Ажрам fi:Nancy Ajram sv:Nancy Ajram ta:நான்சி அஜ்ரம் tr:Nancy Ajram wa:Nancy Ajram zh:南希·阿吉莱姆

name	Hal Lindsey
birth date	November 23, 1929
birth place	Houston, Texas, United States
occupation	Writer, Evangelist
parents	}}

Harold Lee "Hal" Lindsey (born November 23, 1929) is an American evangelist and Christian writer. He is a Christian Zionist and dispensationalist author. He currently resides in Texas.

Biography

Lindsey, the son of Percy Lacy Lindsey and Daisy Lee Freeman, was born in Houston, Texas. Lindsey suspended his course of study at the University of Houston to serve in the Korean War, then worked as a Mississippi River tugboat captain.

He entered Dallas Theological Seminary in 1958 (with the help of Lt. Col. Robert Thieme, pastor of Berachah Church in Houston, which Lindsey had attended) where he studied with John F. Walvoord, author of the 1974 best-seller Armageddon, Oil, and the Middle East Crisis. He received a certificate in theology. With Jan, the second of his four wives, he worked with Campus Crusade for Christ and continued with them until 1969. He then helped a mission in Southern California which continued until 1976. He was also a frequent speaker and Sunday School teacher at Melodyland Christian Center in Anaheim, California. In 1969, he wrote his first, and most well-known book, The Late, Great Planet Earth.

Published in 1970 by Zondervan, The Late, Great Planet Earth became a bestseller. Coming on the heels of the Six-Day War, the book fueled the popularity of Dispensationalism and its support of ethnic Jews as the "chosen people of God". Many of Lindsey's later writings are sequels or revisions and extensions of his first book.

Lindsey hosted International Intelligence Briefing on the Trinity Broadcasting Network and serves on the executive board of Christian Voice.

International Intelligence Briefing was removed from the air on TBN for the entire month of December 2005. Lindsey claimed that this was because "some at the network apparently feel that [his] message is too pro-Israel and too anti-Muslim." TBN owner Paul Crouch, however, contended that "TBN has never been and is not now against Israel and the Jewish people." Crouch said that Lindsey's show was pre-empted for Christmas programming. Lindsey countered that this was the first time his show had been preempted for the entire month of December. TBN later admitted that a secondary reason for pre-empting the show was that it "placed Arabs in a negative light."

Lindsey resigned from TBN on January 1, 2006, and indicated that he would pursue another television ministry. His new program, The Hal Lindsey Report, is focused on Biblical prophecy and current events, and is carried on the Angel One and DayStar networks. In January 2007, Lindsey announced that he would be returning to the TBN network. The Hal Lindsey Report airs on TBN under his own financing.

He wrote in an essay on WorldNetDaily that Barack Obama was paving the way for, and demonstrating the world's readiness for, the antichrist, "Obama is correct in saying that the world is ready for someone like him — a messiah-like figure, charismatic and glib ... The Bible calls that leader the Antichrist. And it seems apparent that the world is now ready to make his acquaintance."

Biblical Interpretations

In The Late, Great Planet Earth, Lindsey wrote that he had concluded, since there was no apparent mention of the United States of America in the books of Daniel or Revelation, that the USA would no longer be a major player on the geo-political stage by the time the tribulations of the end times arrived. Lindsey also interpreted from Revelation and prophetic texts that the European Economic Community, which preceded the European Union, was destined (according to Biblical prophecy) to become a "United States of Europe", with ten members, which in turn he says is destined to become a "Revived Roman Empire" ruled by the Antichrist. The European Union currently has 27 members.

A later book, bearing the title The 1980s: Countdown to Armageddon, implied that the battle of Armageddon would take place in the not too distant future, stating "the decade of the 1980s could very well be the last decade of history as we know it" and that the U.S. could be "destroyed by a surprise Soviet nuclear attack." The book strongly suggests that the 1980s would see the biblical events of tribulation and end times come to pass. The book was quietly taken out of print in the early 1990s, possibly due to the failure of Lindsey's apocalyptic predictions to come true during the 1980s.

Planet Earth - 2000 A.D., published in the early 1990s, states that Christians should not plan to still be on earth by the year 2000.

Lindsey's earlier predictions all assumed that the Cold War would continue indefinitely, and had eschatological significance; he explicitly identified Russia with the apocalyptic figure of Gog. He also assumed that the 1960s counterculture would eventually become the dominant culture, and become the source of prophesied "immorality" that would lead to the establishment of a false religion.

Bibliography

The Late, Great Planet Earth

Satan is Alive and Well On Planet Earth

The Liberation of Planet Earth

There's a New World Coming

The 1980s: Countdown to Armageddon

The Final Battle

The Terminal Generation

Planet Earth: The Final Chapter

Rapture

''Planet Earth - 2000 A.D.

Apocalypse Code

Blood Moon

''Vanished into Thin Air: the Hope of Every Believer

The Everlasting Hatred: The Roots of Jihad

See also

Christian eschatology

Unfulfilled religious prophecies

Summary of Christian eschatological differences

Christian Voice (USA)

References

External links

Hal Lindsey's web site

Hal Lindsey commentaries on WorldNetDaily

The Hal Lindsey Report at Daystar Television Network

The Hal Lindsey Report at Trinity Broadcasting Network

Hal Lindsey at Rapture Ready

Category:1929 births Category:Living people Category:American Christian ministers Category:American Christian religious leaders Category:American Christian writers Category:American Christian Zionists Category:American evangelists Category:American religious writers Category:Apocalypticists Category:Christian eschatology Category:Christian fundamentalists Category:Christianity conspiracy theorists Category:Dallas Theological Seminary alumni Category:People from Houston, Texas Category:Trinity Broadcasting Network Category:University of Houston alumni

nl:Hal Lindsey ja:ハル・リンゼイ fi:Hal Lindsey sv:Hal Lindsey

name	Haifa Wehbe
background	solo_singer
birth place	Mahrouna, Lebanon
genre	Arabic pop, World
occupation	Singer, model, Designer, Actress
years active	1990s- (model) 2002–present (Singer) 2007–present (Actress)
website	http://www.haifawehbe.com }}

Haifa Wehbe (Arabic: هيفاء وهبي) born in Mahrouna, Lebanon), is a Lebanese model, actress, and singer born to a Lebanese father and Egyptian mother who rose to fame in the Arab world as runner up for Miss Lebanon and later through the release of her debut album Houwa El-Zaman (Arabic: هو الزمن) in 2002 and is best known through her music for her sex appeal, provocative mannerisms and image, Wehbe is also widely considered a sex symbol in the Middle East. She has so far released four studio albums and made her acting debut in 2008 Pepsi-produced film "Sea of Stars". Wehbe is one of the most well-known female singers in the Arab World and is considered one of the most successful Lebanese singers. In 2006, she was on People Magazine's 50 most beautiful people list.

Early life

Wehbe was born in Mahrouna, a small Shia farming town in Southern Lebanon, to a Lebanese father and Egyptian mother, but shortly after her family had moved to Beirut where she grew up listening to jazz and R&B; and began to work as a full-time model at a young age. Wehbe won the title of Miss South Lebanon at the age of sixteen. Wehbe won an ancillary title at the Miss Lebanon competition, which she had to relinquish when it was discovered that she had already been married to nadim anntar(at age 18) and had a baby girl called Zeineb, disqualifying her.

Wehbe also made a name for herself when she starred in a music video clip for the famous Arabic crooner, George Wassouf. By 1996, she had appeared on over one hundred magazine covers.

Career

Houwa El-Zaman (2002-2003)

In 2002, Wehbe released her first album, titled Houwa El-Zaman (Arabic: هو الزمن, English: "It Is The Time"), which became a commercial success, in part thanks to the popularity of her first single "Agoul Ahwak" (Arabic: أقول أهواك, English: "I Say I Love You").

Baddi Eish and Television Career (2004-2007)

Wehbe released her second studio album Baddi Eesh (Arabic: بدي عيش, English: "I Want to Live") in early 2005 and lived up to expectations due to the success of its lead single "Ya Hayat Albi." Released after the assassination of Lebanese politician Rafik Hariri, the title single of the album is about "freedom, considered to be among the most basic of human rights". Her follow-up single became her biggest hit to date, "Ana Haifa" (Arabic: أنا هيفاء, English: "I Am Haifa"), which became her novelty song. In 2006 she released a follow up single "Bus al-Wawa" (Arabic: بوس الواوا, English: "Kiss the booboo"), the song was later used in a Pepsi advertisement. The song was also voted Song of the Year in 2006 by Radio Scope and Sawt Al Musika.

In July 2005, Wehbe, along with 14 other celebrities from the Arab world, appeared on the live pan-Arab reality series Al-Wadi (Arabic: الوادي, English: The Farm‎), based on the French reality show La Ferme Célébrités. Wehbe's role featured songs from her then new album.

Wehbe was the first Arab artist appear on the Italian television channel Rai Uno at Piazza Navona in Rome, performing in front of celebrities and fashion designers. Haifa Wehbe has also performed with artists from outside the Arab world. On June 10, 2006, Wehbe became the first artist in the Arab world to perform with rapper 50 Cent when she performed the opening act for his first concert in Lebanon, at BIEL in Beirut.

In summer 2006 she was a spokesperson for Pepsi, and worked on Pepsi ads with football star Thierry Henry which were aired on Lebanese television during the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

Film Career Beginnings and Habibi Ana (2008-2009)

Wehbe starred in the Pepsi-produced film Sea of Stars released in early 2008, along with Carole Samaha, Ahmad el Sherif, Wael Kfoury, Brigitte Yaghi, and Ruwaida al-Mahrooqi

On July 4, 2008, Wehbe released her third studio album Habibi Ana (Arabic: حبيبي أنا, English: "My Love") which contains 15 songs including the lead single "Mosh Adra Astana". In the Middle East album sales struggled due to Haifa's lack of promotion as she was concentrating more on her acting and film career.

In 2009 Wehbe starred in Dokkan Shehata, a high-grossing Egyptian drama film. The film was produced by Khaled Youssef. It was released in June 2009 and immediately became a huge success in the Middle East whilst gaining tremendous publicity.

Baby Haifa (2010-present)

After a lengthy delay, Wehbe released a children's album titled Baby Haifa in March 2010 under Rotana Records.

Wehbe was scheduled to work on the Egyptian movie Leilet El-Baby Doll, but canceled due to her overbooked schedule. The singer will be starring in another movie with producer Muhammad Al Sabki scheduled for sometime in 2011.

In April 2010, Wehbe was featured on French DJ David Vendetta's album Vendetta on the song Yama Layali. Wehbe is currently working on her fifth studio album. In an interview she said the album will be released in the start of summer.

Other works

Wehbe occasionally works as a television host and has also designed her own selection of diamond jewellery.

Personal life

Wehbe is a Shia Lebanese Muslim, and she has three sisters. Wehbe's brother died at the age of 24 during the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon. Wehbe's daughter has been living with her father since her parents divorce. In 2008 Wehbe's daughter was married in a private ceremony. As of 2010, Zeinab Zaza and her father are living in Kuwait.

In 2005, Wehbe announced her engagement to a Saudi businessman Tariq Al-Jaffali. After only a few weeks, she and her fiancé decided to split for personal reasons and family issues.

On June 25, 2007, Wehbe survived an accident while filming a music video for the song "Hasa Ma Bena" in Lebanon. In the video, a single engine airplane was to chase Wehbe as she drove a car. However, the airplane inadvertently hit the car, taking off the front windshield of the convertible she was driving. Despite the severity of the accident, Wehbe suffered only minor cuts and bruises.

Wehbe married Egyptian businessman Ahmad Abu Husheima on April 24, 2009 in Beirut. Among the guests at the wedding party were singer Anastacia, Googoosh, Kim Kardashian, Samar Ibrahim, Nawal Al Zoghbi, Najwa Karam, Ragheb Alama, Ahlam, and Sherine.

Criticism and controversy

Elissa rivalry

Haifa is known for her enmity and rivalry with Lebanese singer Elissa. In 2009 Haifa compared the two singers to 'cars' by saying that Elissa is an 'old car' while she is a 'new' one. This statement was highly publicised and talked about in the media and press, causing anger between fans. Elissa refused to reply and just stated carelessly: "When someone compares me to a car, is there anything left for me to say?". This enmity stopped when Nishan had Elissa live on his show and called Haifa. Both Elissa and Haifa were surprised, but assured people that there are no problems or issues between the two singers.

Further controversy started when Haifa claimed that Elissa's perfume, "Elle D'Elissa", was supposed to be hers, but Elissa didn't reply and said that the perfume is hers and only hers yet again, Haifa and Elissa announced the love and peace between them. During the Murex d'Or 2010, after Haifa had finished her performance and accepted her award, she said that Lebanon is a country of love and that all Lebanese people love and respect each other. And to prove to people that what she was saying was true, she said "There's no problem with Elissa, and this is the proof to all people," she shook hands with Elissa and congratulated her on her success.

Allegations of Racism

In 2009, lyrics in one of Wehbe song's Baba Fein (from her unreleased 2010 kids album) seemed to refer to Nubians as "monkeys". Exact translation: "Where is my teddy bear and the Nubian monkey?". Black Egyptians accused the artist of racism and singing a song that fueled racism and discrimination against them. In 2010 a lawsuit filed against Wehbe was dropped.

Another serious incident occurred after the 2009 Egypt–Algeria World Cup dispute, adding to the diplomatic tension between the two countries. Wehbe went on to make statements that she would not be performing in Algeria anytime soon, because Algerians "...wouldn't understand her music". Algerian officials and many Algerians responded to Wehbe's statements stating she would not be welcome in Algeria anyway. Algeria's cultural minister stated that Wehbe would be banned from performing in Algeria for insulting Algeria and the Algerian people regardless of whether she apologizes.

Wehbe went on to explain her initial comments to Lebanese host Tony Khalife, saying that she didn't mean to offend Algerians or Algeria as a country but was condemning the actions of a few Algerians during the match. She then added saying: "I couldn’t help it but cry when I saw the blood of an Egyptian woman on the stadium!".

Political views

During the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict, she left her home, in Verdun, Beirut and moved to Egypt for the duration of the conflict. In a concert in the Lebanese town of Jounieh, Wehbe congratulated Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah for his stand against Israel during the war.

In a further interview with Reuters, Wehbe stated that Israel attacked Lebanese civilians intentionally while Hezbollah attacked only military targets: }}

Wehbe also refused to perform at any concert during the 34 days of the war including fundraisers, saying that there were more ways than one to show support for Lebanon.

Wehbe has also urged fans to support Japanese victims of the Tsunami.

2007 Lebanon elections and concert in Beirut

Wehbe wore a shirt with the face of President Michel Suleiman during her performance at the election celebrations in downtown Beirut.

Lebanese newspapers said scores went onstage when Haifa appeared, despite attempts by police to prevent them from reaching the pop star. She also sang the Fairuz classic "Ya Hawa Beirut" ("Oh my love Beirut"), which is nostalgic song written during the Lebanese Civil War that reminisces on the "Glorious Days" of Lebanon prior to 1975.

Image

Wehbe was ranked 49^th in the 2006 Edition of the Top 99 Most Desirable Women by the website AskMen.com. Wehbe was also ranked number 6 in the AskMen.com's 10 Hottest Arab Women article.

Some in the more conservative Arab countries deem her revealing outfits scandalous. One Bahraini member of parliament called her a sexual singer who spoke with her body, not her voice. Wehbe said she was aware of the efforts to ban her from performing at the concert but had chosen to ignore their attempts to silence her.

"I am a performer and not a politician," Haifa said. "I know my fans want me I am there for them. I am not concerned with the other issues."

In April 2008, the Islamist-dominated parliament of Bahrain passed a motion urging the government to ban Haifa Wehbe's show in the country. As a result of the motion, Wehbe performed in Bahrain with more modest dress, wearing a long green gown with a low V-neckline during the performance.

Discography

Studio albums

Houwa El-Zaman (2002)

Baddi Eesh (2005)

Habibi Ana (2008)

Other albums

Baby Haifa (2010)

Soundtracks

2008: Sea of Stars

Singles

" 80 Million Ehsas"

"Enta Tany"

"Yama Layali"

"Samaani"

Concert Tours

2011

January 29- Amsterdam, Netherlands (TBA)

2010

November 18- Al Massa Hotel, Cairo

November 17- Movempic Hotel, Beirut, Lebanon

July 31 - Movempic Hotel, Beirut, Lebanon

July 24 - Chouf, Lebanon

July 22 - Batroun, Lebanon

July 16–19 - Casablanca, Morocco

July 4 - PRIVATE CONCERT, Monaco

July 2 - Zahle Festival, Zahle, Lebanon

May 8 - Phoenicia Hotel, Beirut

March 13 - Houston, Texas

Filmography

Films

Sea of Stars (produced by Pepsi) - released July, 2008

Dokkan Shihata - June 2009

Television

Al Wadi (2005) - reality television show based on the French reality show La Ferme Célébrités.

Awards

2002: The "Golden Lion" Award in Egypt. 2004: Best Young Female Arab singer in Egypt. 2005: The Oscar for "ninashnash" for her song Baddi Eesh from her second album. 2005: The "Murex d'Or" award with the title "Best Artist of the Year". 2006: The "Murex d'Or" award with the title "Best Artist of the Year". 2009: The "Murex d'Or" award with title "Most Popular Lebanese Singer"

2010: The "Murex d'Or" award with the title "Best singer actress"

2010: The "ART" Award for her role in her first Egyptian Film "Dokkan Shehata"

2011: World's Most Desirable Woman List #49 Rank 2011: Most beautiful Arabian model cum actress list Ranked #2 2011: Murex d'Or best song award, for "Yama Layaly."

References

Further reading

Arab youth revel in pop revolution by Sebastian Usher, 21 May 2007, BBC

External links

Most Desirable Arabian:Haifa Wehbe

Haifa Wehbe.com: Official website

Haifa Fans: Official FanClub

Haifa Wehbe Music Videos

Haifa's Official Fanpage

Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:Living people Category:Arabic-language singers Category:Lebanese female singers Category:Rotana artists Category:Lebanese female models Category:Lebanese people of Egyptian descent Category:Lebanese Shi'a Muslims Category:Shi'a Islamists Category:Lebanese Islamists Category:Hezbollah Category:People from South Lebanon

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