There's a new pop diva in Lebanon, and her name is Maya Diab. Think of her as the dark horse of Arabic pop who dances, sings and show more skin than most would. She has at least two different TV shows, and now she is hot for concerts where she open for other acts.
The news story reads, she is to released three singles and collaborate with one of the boldest--some can say kinkiest music video directors in Lebanon. Maya has been know for her sexy legs and babe personality. Few years ago she was just a cool chick on TV, now it seems she is building an empire. Well whatever it takes to keep those dollars rolling in.
Just see how she dances and the dudes seem to dig it. I think she should stick to pop and sexy stuff and leave the classics untouched by her.
مايا دياب تتعاون مع الماروق وتطلق ثلاث أغانٍ جديدةٍ
Neither his singing career nor his new found career of acting is over, but the charming singer with exotic eyes is helping sell a movie in which he co-starred with not one but two strong female leads. I thought Nour's career was dead on arrival last year when he sang for Mubarak and apologized to him. But he is not done yet. The singer joined the cast of adapted comedy movie "Game Over" where he plays a police officer.
But one of the songs that appear in the movie or at least help sell it is one of Nour's and It's a nice summer treat with a lot of rights going for it. It's romantic summer playful beach side song where Nour does his thing so well. As he sings he falls in love with Mai Ezzdeen about the games of a new found love--chicken games who shows that he/she needs the other more.
It's beautiful song with the title "It (his heart) will win" I like Nour and think his days with WAMA have done him a solid, but he is one of the few members who have manged to have a career on their own. Thus Nour now joins his band mate Ahmed Fahmy who has appeared in scores of flicks.
The clip can be seen as corny, the dance moments are weak, but it appears as if the actors have chemistry on screen. I do know that Nour is happily married.
We have a guy from the 90s who is coming back to entertain us at those difficult times. He did have about three great songs about heartbreaks and breakups. He does have that really heart broken voice which allowed him to do what some might call lame songs.
Say what you say, you have a new dose for Helmy Abdelbaky, the tall guy who seems to always find the wrong girl to love. In his music video he does the same story about a hundred other Arabic music video have already done. He is a photographer whose work builds up a star and then when she makes it, she leaves him to his sorrow in a dark room.
And then things change and she wants him back....he walks away....what a gentleman. But wait, there's a twist, he did give his eyes to save her eyesight. She needed to see after the surgery...and he gave his eyes. But then she loves another guy...until she sees him and learns the tale. I do like the end that might be cheesy, but it's original.
The Gods of pop have not been too kind in 2011 and certainly they have no been kinder in 2012. With that in mind, a cool cat of Lebanese pop came form Lebanon with an album of seven tracks. The songs comes in Lebanese dialect, Egyptian and Gulf too. Composers from Lebanon and Jordan have collaborated on this album which will be soon made available in all Arab countries and Sabine will be going to sing your very own copy.
I think this would go down as an exciting first album for a singer who seems to know her way around a catch Lebanese beat. This does look like a well made album and each song on it seems hand picked for Sabine who manged to make them gems. I wish the album luck and the young singer fame and fortune.
01 Wainak, dance away to this delightful Lebanese beat, a winner 02 Aam Sally, a sweet song that will make Sabine a favorite for even more new fans 03 Ma Byalbalk, another Lebanese song with a very refreshing cool melody and lyrics 04 Kaeny Enta Aam Tesalni, a great dance song with super sweet performance from a sentimental Sabine who puts it all together. 05 Maa El Salamah, an average song meant for the Gulf market, it lacks heart and soul. Made for $$ 06 Amali Tayeb, Egyptians will cheer this one, its Spanish guitar paired with Sabine's voice please. 07 Ouyoni Betaashak, a different song, not sure if it will stick around like the other ones, but it's a bit melodramatic.
Pyramedia produces music in Egypt, but it seems to be only working with new comers to the game. Freshman stars enjoy working with Pyramedia that takes a chance on them. But if those make it big, I do not think they sit around and stick with Pyramedia. This might be a good business model as the stars tend to be inexpensive when they are new, but once they hit the big times, they want more.
So that's why we get to hear and see singers like Sehma Omar who has a new music video out. This teen singer who seems to like to do what other teens do is dancing and singing for your entertainment. This clip is taken form all other teen shows, something that seems natural to Seham, cars, kittens, boxing, gym...etc.
The song has turned into a fashion show, I could count at least seven outfits. This song might be a great hit with the youth., I found parts of it to be Yawn-worthy. Seham Omar - Ezzay Ya'ny / سهام عمر - إزاي يعني
Jalasat (جلسات وناسة) is a unique form of entertainment in the Gulf. It's a band of brothers sitting in the floor with their instruments and vocalist. They tend of be mi aged men, and it can be called a jamming session where the image does not mater as much as the voice does. One question though:
Why is there are only men in the room? The only females who perform are the vocalist and women tend to watch these things on TV as they either choose not to be present or they might not be able to join in. Jalasat are often hosted in the house of some rich person who hires big names to come jam with his boys.
This time, they have hired Marwa from Tunisia to jam with them. She is even sitting apart from them. I guess who doesn't like a pretty face? My thing is this, those men are probably the same ones who call for strict Islamic law as they preach virtue. I do not think sausages fests have made anything better.
Again, Jalasat is a proud tradition from the people in the Gulf, it does preserves the legacy of their ancestor. The art form took an interesting form when it choose to air on TV, TV required remaking it by putting sexy back in music. Morcan singer Mona Amarcha, Lebanese singers Yara and Diana Haddad are only few of the ladies that broke into this art form.
الفنانه مروى التونسيه - فرقة التلفزيون - برنامج القايله
First he did a music video with two dudes dancing and one telling the other...consider me your wife and then people got upset. Then comes a picture for Samo where he is sniffing a red rose and looking all dreamy in a way that gives a gay vibe. I do not think he is gay, but the music he chooses in romance and the way he tries to market himself for women makes him seem so.
Now, watch the latest music video for Samo, he is looking good and the music video is done in a creative way--it really is. First he is a Sultan with dancers trying to cheer him up...then comes the film crew and end the scene.
I love his voice in this song, you can tell he was really laughing or at least smiling as he recorded this song, Samo can be a funny guy and he seems to be able to look that in many of his music videos before. He is a sharp dresser too.
The color red is all over this clip, a red tattoo, a red dress, a red car...etc. The song does get sexula as the girl dances "I Know I'm Sexy". Samo's greatest achievement aside from singing the song is the music where he composed it and did a good job blending Tarab music with cooler musical elements.
El Ward El Ahmar - Samo Zain الورد الاحمر - ساموزين
Ramy Ayach invited dozens of journalists into his home to talk to them about his latest song...which he has given an odd title....the apple....or Tefa'ha a song which he dubs as a summer song. There have been a song in the past about an orange.....
I do not want to call this song lame, but I feel is will suck....however, the audio at the liver performance might have caused the song to lose some of its apple flavor. Let's look pass the title and enjoy this song for a minute...it's a song in which a girl is referred to as an apple....something really fresh.
Ramy Ayach can get away with such things, all the ladies are crazy about him....checkout the part where he is asking the apple to give him a kiss and the ladies go wild.
On second thought, this is a light dance song timely for the summer, from the boy who knows how to fire up the party. Roa just told me she LOVES the beat, so that settles....I am with whatever Roa says.
The prelude to the music video is so cheesy and so forced, what follows may disappoint some. But when it comes to belly dancers in Lebanon, Elissar is the go to belly dancer of the stars. She does dance in private clubs in some of those artist (shady) parts of town.
Elissar who was born in Lebanon, spent a great deal of her life living in the UK and the USa due to the civil war at home. Elissar's father did not want her to get into dancing, but she did anyway. She dances to Western and Arabic music with the same level of excitement and energy. Elissar is making a bold move at a career many Arab women have little interest in anymore.
I do like the effort of building a theme for the music video where the dancer moving along and the actors appear to be from a distant era. The cheap graphic in the background takes away from the experience, but overall watching the clip I am left with one question: what do they put in Elissar's coffee to get her to move with such energy?
I have enjoyed the songs May Matar does, I did not think she was one of a kind, I thought she was a fun singer and that's the end of story. But then, I watched the video below where she can be spotting playing piano and singing at the same time. Only then, did I realize how talented and how awesome May Matar really is.
You will see that she has got some soul and some passion for what she is doing. We do not get to see too many Arabic singers who can actually play an instrument like the piano.
The album is an interview with her about her soon to be released, a pop album about a chick who does have a personality and pride in herself. May is not trying to be something she is not, she has always been a strong voice for other women--she did a song hammering another singer for talking down to women. May is producing for herself.
Sari Abboud or as you know him Massari is a Lebanese Canadian R&B, pop, and hip hop singer who grew up in Canada. Massari means "money" in colloquial Arabic. I do not know one thing about him until Arab entertainers started talking about him like they would about Michael Jackson. For some reasons, desperate Arab singers wanted to inject some pizzazz into their careers by using the name of an unknown singer and playing him up. Here's what one commentator had to say about the Canadian savior of Lebanese music
.i hate everything about him his style his stupid songs his looks !!
I don't really like Massari,his music isn't my type
Massari has found some traction in Lebanon where he organizes concerts and now he is bringing a Canadian treat to share the stage with him Mia Martina. I do not like their style of music and I feel it's at least 5 years behind that on the American music. One last thing, I am proud of Arabs who do well and succeed, I just do not think we should worship people who are not worthy of that attention. ماساري لـ"إيلاف": تِرشرش أغنيتني اللبنانيَّة المفضَّلة
Arabic pop can feel old sometimes, and the same goes for any kind of popular music. Change is good, and finding something exciting to jam to is priceless. This is about I feel about Qusai, new album "The Inevitable Change" The Saudi rapper who made it huge on Arabs Got Talent.
His stage name is also Don Legend the Kamelion, which makes sense of a TV personality, a rapper and a songwriter who can also be a mean DJ. Qusai was picked by Platinum Records which is based in Dubai and they are releasing his debut album to many--it's really his third.
Qusia is no lightweight, he does have a good brain over his shoulder. Educated in the United States Florida where he has two degrees including an MBA. It's there where he picks his interest in rap and music where he rolled with a number of RB producers. Qusia brought something cool to the rap game. He does have a solid background in both English and Arabic. So when he spits out lines in both languages at the same time, one cannot help but be swoon.
Qusai have hosted a number of TV shows about hip hop and music, he remains active as a TV personalty. He does have a large fan base throughout the Arab world and outside. This might be the upside of having an MBA and a rare talent that many are hungry for.
This will be a good social album with many uplifting messages that youth ought to hear. Perhaps we have the many talents of Qusai to thank for this incredible album.
While most ego drive entertainers were too busy looking cool and acting important and busy while collecting awards, Nawal had a different idea about cool, she dedicated her award to the late Algerian diva Warda. As she revived her award, the organizations of the event played a video showing Nawal jamming with Warda as they appeared together few years back.
Lebanese singer collected her award Murex D'Or and made the moment about another diva. I do admit there is a reward for Nawal in doing that as she appears humble and that she enjoys a unique relationship with Warda. There has also been some awkward moments in the video, but one thing for sure Warda has always been classy and she sounded so good.
Canadian singer Weird Al has been entertaining the masses with humor and pop songs, he does it by writting simple songs that lampoons other popular songs with a humorous twist. Just look the pictures of the singer above and you cannot not see the weirdness and contradictions in it.
Egypt has met its own version of Weird Al in 2009, with a guy so weird that most had no idea how to classify him. At first he worked under the name Abu Leefa, but then he changes his name to Abu El Rish, and nobody seems to know what to call him anymore. He has become a household name and has appeared in a number of talk shows.
Here's what we can know about him
He is Egyptian singer-songwriter, music producer, actor, comedian, writer, satirist, and parodist.Abe El leef is known for his humorous songs that make light of popular culture and that often parody specific songs by contemporary musical acts. But he also does original songs about how fake people can be and how messy families are. When he is not mocking other songs, he can really make song heartfelt songs.
Abu El Leef will be releasing his new album later this week, and we only have a teaser that's only few seconds long. The music sounds like a rap song--something like those of 50 center and Lil Wayne. This is an album that will give us laughter and little wisdom at the same time. The same team that was behind the hit album of 2009 are back for the 2012 dose.
There is a duet with Egyptian pop throwback Hisham Abbas خليك في النور يا أمور - البوم أبو الليف الجديد كاملة
Men obsessed about things that cover for their mistakes and shortcoming. In Lebanon the fever of bikes and models have gained traction as a local dealer tries to get the locals excited about the bikes, so what's a better idea than hiring models with top line fashions riding on the back of a bike with a leather sporting dude
The dealers of Harley Davidson hired fashion designer Ronald Abdallah to put on a good show and bring horny men to buy some bikes. Needless to say, this event caters to men with some cash and those who think bikes can make them stand out.
The dealers opened the show with a 2.5 million dollar cash investment.
For Chadi Korkomaz good looks are not easy, but party music comes to him naturally. I think he has one of the most socially aware songs I have seen in a really long time. The song is about families who spend their hard earned money to teach their kids, only to find the employment is not that worth it. Chadi is a local Lebanese singer whose greatest break to date a concert in the United Arab Emirates.
I have always criticized young people who pretend it;s the 1900 and go to study some old studies that does little good to humanity. I will not tell you what majors are useless, but everyone of us knows at least of a dozen university majors that does nothing to those who hold it.
Chadi sang about it and made the point that he wished his family would have invested his college money into something more productive. This is a real song about good people who make bad decisions. Some of those jobs does not oay for anything. I think some people should skip college and try to run a business or try to invent something that people really needed. شادي قرقماز - خلصنا العلم / Chadi Korkomaz- Khlesna El 3elm 2012
There's a dialect in the Arabic language that is close to the one spoken by the Bedouin tribes, it's to be found in the Levant. Sometimes this dialect is called the white dialect. I love this dialect because it's close to mine and because it feels real. Unlike other Arabic dialects and accents, the white dialect doe snot scream "I am sophisticated" It's not just the right balance between keeping it real and sounding smart.
Emad Hawi is a new singer on my radar who makes his songs using the backdrops of this dialect. He has mastered it and for the kind of songs--mostly sad ones his vocal strength and his accent are just about right. It's I am heart broken and have been wronged in love kind of song, but it's not whiny. He is asking her to take back the letters and photos they have exchanged.
Emad does have the good looks, and charm too. Singers of this genera tend not to be that attractive, but Emad offers more to the song than most. I think the music video could have been better, but if you listen to the song without any other media, you might connect better.
Emad Hawi - Enta Ma Khalleit / عماد حاوي - إنت ما خليت
Syrian singer Samo Zain has been hiding for more than a year now. At first he tried to take sides in the Syrian revolution, then he messed that one up. Now he stopped talking to media outlets and stopped taking parts in any protests like he did at first.
So in the meantime, he has been talking up his new album, titled El Ward El Ahmar, or Red Roses in English, it is no original title, but it seems to be a new style for the singer if the promo video is any indicator.
He is paying some Sultan in a fancy palace where dancers compete to please him, he has never done this before, and it might be affected by some of the most popular Turkish soap operas. I like Samo as he tries to make light pop and romance songs. I think he is one of those rare talents that can do happy songs and sad ones and sound totally believable in both.
El Ward El Ahmar soon - Samo Zean الورد الاحمر قريبا - ساموزين
Here's an album that one guy had to make, and an album that not many of us will get to hear. I say give it a chance. I know I liked the title song, it does have a lot of cool beats, Greek and Turkish melodies. But Khaled El Tayeb does have a good voice, the kind less educated people can relate to.
This is a good summer album for guys to play in their car, on the beach or right after they have finished their high school exams.
11 track of pop songs to cool your summer and bring you way some dance energy. This is an album that seems to want to do one thing, launch the career of a singer at home in Egypt so that he can get working gigs
01.Soltan Zamany 02.Andy Leek Amanah 03.Akher Mara Netaabel 04.Ana El Ayam 05.Awel Maareftoh 06.Baa Keda 07.El Ghalta Ghaltety 08.Eah Elly Yemnaa 09.Matehsebhash 10.Salemly Ala Albak 11.El Ayam El Helwa
Soltan Zamany - Khaled El Taib سلطان زمانى - خالد الطيب
Lebanese cool care of Arabic pop had a new single out. She did have a really good album earlier this year. And she seems to making a great run for a comeback this year. She might be the number one singer for weddings and big events in the Arab Gulf. She has been calling it home for decades now.
Diana Haddad comes across as the sweet unassuming girl who has a heart of gold. She also can make those spunk pop songs telling guys how it really it. But most of her earlier fans, know her fro her sincere emotions and honey dripping voice. For the past ten years she has focused on Gulf dialect music where the money really is.
This changes last year when Diana recorded, Lebanese, Egyptian and even Iraqi songs, she included them in her album and there you have it, her comeback worked as she manged to tease everybody and give them some of her old feel songs like she used to do it in the late 90s.
I do like the new single which is also in Gulf dialect, with slow musical arrangement. اغنيه ديانا حداد - اذا ناوى تروح
