WATCH: The Many Girlfriend Of Kathem Al Saher

Iraqi composer singer and now reality TV star Kazem Al Saher is a charmer, he is well known for his touching and epic romantic songs. He has been in the business for 20 plus years and he have had dozens of hits and many great albums. He is not a guy who likes to talk too much about himself in interviews and such he seems like a down to earth guy. But in his music video he holds nothing back, always with gorgeous ladies.

He is a happily married man with a lovely family and a recent grandchild given to him by his older son Wissam. This family man has had many musical collaborations with lead female artists. Sometimes he has loaned them his music, sometimes he would sing with them on stage. Let's take a look at some of his most famous lady muses:

1. Latifa from Tunis, she was the first lady Kathem Al Saher has worked with. He has sang with her and has composed songs for her. She was a huge name and he was starting up his career then. They are best of friends.  كاظم الساهر /البرت هول 1997 / ياقدس
2. Egyptian songstress Ghada Raghab was next on the list. Kathem has comended her voice and has given her a musical piece. It was a lovely collaboration from a guy who has been around the block and a new voice then. لمـــــاذا ؟ - غادة رجب  كاظم الساهر غاده رجب - ابعد عني  
3. Magida El Roumy is a huge star and has sang a number of poems by Syrian poet Nizar Qabbany--the go to guy for many of Kathem's gorgeous songs. Magida wanted to collaborate with Kazem so he gave her one of his best musical work to date--she added it to her 2012 album. Kathem was jazzed up about his collaboration and has spoke about it for a really long time وعدتك - ماجدة الرومي & كاظم الساهر & نزار قباني (HQ) كاظم الساهر وعدتك ماجدة الرومي 
4. Asma Laminawar, then, she was a local singer with a lot of talent. She had the local fame, but on the pan Arab music radar, she was unnoticed. They did a song together in early 2007-2008 and then they performed it on stage in Morocco. It was an instant hit, so Kathem doubled down and did another song with this Moroccan delight in his 2009 album. Again it was one of the finest songs for that year, a classic. كاظم الساهر و اسماء المنور اشكو اياما المحكمة كاظم الساهر اسماء المنور 

Super Nancy Album Takes Kids To The Zoo

Nancy Ajram is mushing three songs into one music video, a total of six minutes and a half where Nancy plays cute with kids at he zoo. The clip was filmed in Beirut and Southern Lebanon with tons of kids doing kiddie stuff.

Nancy is just one of the kids. She is releasing her second all kids album--grownups like them too in Mid August in time for Eid El Fiter celebration. This is not the first time collaboration between Nancy Ajram and director Laila Kanaan.

Nancy wears clownish colorful pant. Using 45 kids as props, and using graphics and animations in both China and Canada. About 300 hundred thousand dollars are the reported budget. This is the energizer bunny music video. There are more than one look for Nancy....I like her song for little girls, Nancy has of her own.

Watch the behind the scenes and interviews

NancyAjram 20120803

Iraq's National Anthem And Their Soccer Team

Iraq is having a rough road ahead as politicians are not murdering their people and turning in one another. They are also failing to deliver security to their people and have not manged to find a workable solution for their personal differences. Each group seems to seek help from a foreign government. There are those who get a boost from Iran, others get in from the United States, and some look toward Turkey and Saudi Arabia. In the meantime people are dying for no reason, bombs go off and people go to waste.

But there's still some hope at least for those who like soccer and good music. The national anthem--written by a Palestinian who loves all his follow Arabs. See Shatha Hassoun joins the Iraqi soccer team in performing the Iraqi National Anthem in a giant stadium. I adore the little Iraqi girl who makes me hopeful for a better future.  

موطني - النشيد الوطني العراقي مع المنتخب

WATCH: Nancy "Ajram Ya Banat" نانسى عجرم - يا بنات

There's justice in this world. Nancy Ajram has done justice to the female gender. She is releasing a hit song with the title "Girls" about the joy of having girls for children. She has two girls of her own and she wants the world to know she is all about those fun and sweat creatures.

The song is part of the Super Nancy album, an album with with kids in mind, but with a lot of heart. It's a cute songs with girls all over it, it reminds people that having girls is a great thing. the song radiates happy and  assures that Nancy Ajram is here to stay.

The song's promo was released on a TV show few weeks ago and the album is getting quite the buzz on the internet. This is the second song with girls in the title for Nancy in less than two months. The previous song was about how girls think--a fun song but for grownups. Nancy has a large number of women in her life. Her mom is there, her girls and most of her music videos have been directed by other females.

نانسي عجرم يا بنات يا بنات كمله


سيمبل اغنية نانسى عجرم - يا بنات | من الالبوم القادم

Remixing Sandy And Featuring Karl Wolf

I could not help but notice how populr one song from Sandy's latest ablum has become. The song is her duet with Karl Wolf, a guy who can rock and knows his way around a good party and the clubs that makes them possible. The Canadian R&B singer recorded the song in Dubai where they also filmed their song in some bosh club. Karl dropped few cool Arabic word in his lines and it was a sweet treat.

Sandy carried the song and held firm to her ground, she is a star that is never intimidated by the big names she works with. She has manged to become a a huge deal in Arab pop and has done a lot of things to appeal to new fans. She strikes me as someone who works hard and enjoys what she is doing. She sounds sweet in this song.

The song has already been remixed so many times, this is how you make a club song that has the potential to crossover into other cultures beyond language. Sandy is the kind of singer that non Arabic speakers would love to find out about. With a little help from Mr. Cool Karl Wolf she might just do that.

Sandy Ft. Karl Wolf - Awel Mara Atgara' - Remix

Mona Amarcha In It For The Money And Here's Why

The Moroccan songstress Mona Amarcha has yet to hold a concert outside the Gulf region where her career has been transformed from a celebrity singer into a wedding singer. After taking part of the Star Academy competition years ago, she made a decision not to go back to Morocco, not to Egypt and certainly not to Lebanon. Instead she followed the money and made a home for herself in Dubai.

She is a big player in the pop scene in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and in between. She makes good music and has a great voice. But if she is not getting paid, she is not singing. That means she has yet to release a song in Egyptian or the Lebanese dialect.

She does not seem to care about branching our or at least maintaining her celebrities status outside Dubai where she does concerts and private events. She does go back to Morocco for vacation with her lovely family and friends. But the only place she works is Dubai

Again the money is great we all love it, it's just the attitude that matters. She can make a decent living doing songs by this Sheikh and that poet, but to last you need to cover your tracks and open up new markets.

منى أمرشا - وينك | Mona Amarsha - Weinak

The Sheikh Who Listens To Metal Also Wants To Ban Elissa, Haifa, and Nancy

One religious Sheikh took to Twitter to attack some ladies who like to sing and made a career out of entertainment. Meet Fadel Suliman, a preacher who spreads the message of Islam took an interesting turn when he attacked three lead pop stars. (The story can be read here in Arabic)

Mr. Fadel admitted to liking Hard Metal in his youth he would go to concerts to enjoy this kind of heavy metal rock. However Heavy Metal Rock has a crappy name in Arabia as many marry it to devil worshiping. So the sheikh defended heavy metal and argued that going to concert for Elissa, Hiafa, and Nancy Ajram is closer thing to worshiping Satan.

The religious figure disagrees with people who want to ban Heavy Metal like the calls in Egypt now as some calls have been made to cancel concerts at the El Sawy Culture Wheel (more here). He defends his favorite kind of music yet attacks people for going to female concerts. Fadel belongs to the Muslim brotherhood and has made similar calls in the past about certain female singers. He has even doubled down and attacked other Lebanese songstress like Marwa and Nicole Saba.

Fafel Suliman is a Muslim preacher who comes to the United States and talks about Islam, he has authored a number of books on his religion of choice.

Why is making this case now and why is he only picking on entertainers form Lebanon are my questions.

إسلاموفوبيا - الإسلام انتشر بالسيف (بدون موسيقى)

Songstress Sofia Marikh Weds A Business Man

The romantic butterfly of Moroccan and Arab pop has good news to share---she is now officially no longer single. The lucky guy is a follow Moroccan businessman who loves and respects the songstress. Congratulation!  We hope he embodies all those songs Sofia has released throughout her career. And I know I certainly hope he is her first.

We look forward to her latest music video that was filmed in Dubai and comes in the Egyptian dialect.

Sofia remains one of the smartest and most talented pop singers in the show biz as she sounds angelic in Arabic, French and in English.

"My First"- Sofia MARIKH & Jermaine JACKSON

LISTEN: Rania Ahmed, The Coolest Songstress New Single

At First she released a really happy song that rocked my summer...thanks to music from Tamer Ashour. But Rania delivered a knockout song with much energy and excitement to move a mountain. I loved her song and blogged about it for everyone to read. Rania might be the most promising voice from Egypt in a really long time. She has the image, the personality and better yet the voice to stand the test of time.

And now comes her followup hit, it's a darker one that Rania delivered with heart and soul. The song is about reaching a dead end and the relationship now is over with. Then comes the pain and the analyzing portion of this dark journey. Rania lets all her emotion hang for her latest, and they show throughout the song. I like the sobering music and the sweet yet dark feel the song has.

The song is a produce of an A team--Tamer Ashour composed the music, Aser did the arrangements Nadir Abdallah wrote the lyrics--he wrote too many romantic songs including for Elissa. Wonder boy of sound engineering Hany Mahrous treated the song.

اغنية رانيا احمد - سوء ظنى 2012 | Ranya Ahmed - So2 Zny 2012

Samira Tawfik's Best Hit Songs Are Here

I call her the dark pearl of Lebanese songs, the lady of Lebanon's other people, the line that rocked hard and  the original mountain side vocalist, and the legendary singer who continues to inspire the career of dozens of young Lebanese singers

Samira was not the hottest girl in the room, but what she might have lacked in good looks made up for in confidence and attitude that moved generations. Samira did not have a chance in making it in her home, so she made a habit of singing in Jordan and Syria where she has made a huge name for herself and then came back home and was treated as an iconic lady. Then she made movies too and did well then. Her first songs were recorded in Jordan using the Jordanian Bedouin style

Her career took her to all those fine places where the Lebanese expats live (In Australia she performed in front of Queen Elizabeth, in Mexico she performed too, in Venezuela she performed and was given an ward by the Parliament, she has also performed in France, London and Africa)

Samira is still alive with us, living at home but struggling with a number of health issues that come with age. She has made a lot of people happy and for that the people are grateful. A collection of her best and most famous songs is below

اجمل اغاني سميرة توفيق

Ghada Ragab "Sorty" 2012 Album البوم غادة رجب - صورتى

If you want a good album that's easy on the soul, an album that will speak to you like you are the only one out there, then here's the album for you. This album comes from the Egyptian diva Ghada Ragab who is a regular guest in the Egyptian House of Opera. Ghada have had a quiet career for longer than 15 years now, but in 2012 she changed the playbook.

Ghada figures Egypt is too busy with whatever is going on with them and the business are not racing to sign her--even though no one has ever spoke ill of her talent. She went to Lebanon made a hit song there that was picked by all radios. Then from there she moved to Turkey made her album there. While in Turkey she has collaborated with a number of musicians and singers to bring her comeback album to light. She even sings in Turkish too. But to her credit she can sing in half a dozen other languages beautifully too.

Romance, blues, and pop are all in the album. Ghada went all in for this album to give herself and her fans a worthy comeback. the album itself has real music, live orchestra and Turkish flavor. She has the sweet angelic voices that can stretch as far as she wants to take it. I hope you find this album of high entertainment value. A high class art have never been so accessible. To better understand my point, check out the title song music video below.


01 - Yama Zann
02 - Teaaraf Leah
03 - Awey Awey
04 - Daiman Maak
05 - Kolo Men Dah
06 - Sorty
07 - Sorty [ Music ]

Sorty - Ghada Ragab صورتى - غادة رجب

Nancy Ajram Celebrates Her 4th Wedding Anniversary

Nancy Ajram has done many things right in her life and throughout her life she has many success, but none of her accomplishment compare to the things she has accomplished with her family. She has one of the best families in the show business.

She has a loving husband and two cute girls. Her husband is doctor Fady Al Hashim- we really do not know much about him. This is great because this speaks about the kind of person Dr. Hashim is. He is not a big ego and he never speaks to the pres. He is next to Nancy, and seems to be at peace with himself. He chooses to stay away form the spotlight and mostly keeps to his practice and his family.

The most famous Arab couple are celebrating their fourth anniversary this week. I am sure their little girls are happy to have them in their lives. Plus not to forget the loving grandmother who spends a great deal with the two Nancy girls. The marriage took place in the fall of 2008 (Sept 1) when Nancy was enjoying the succes of her record breaking album "Bitfaker Fi Eeh". Her fans are celebrating the occasion and wishing the young and spunky songstress more to come.

I have always admired the choices Nancy Ajram makes, but they all pale when compared to her decision to marry her dentist. See, most female entertainers marry a business guy or a music producer, they rarely marry regular folks. And they certainly almost never marry young. Nancy did the opposite, she married a regular nice gentleman and she married young. It seems that only increased her love in the heart of her fans. Her business is booming and her family seems to be happy. It took guts to do something like that especially when most female entertainers keep away from marriage out of fear their fans might abandon them.

Nancy Ajram - Betfakar Fi Eih / نانسى عجرم - بتفكر في إيه
  

Nancy Afyouni, Making Lebanon Hotter Since 2007

Nancy Afyouni is a gorgeous babe from the land of a million beautiful people--Lebanon. She dubbed herself as a hot Pop Singer\Miss Intercontinental and a successful business woman. She is a celebrity all around. She shot to fame in 2007 when she won the title for Ms. Intercontinental, a beauty pageant.

While good looks tend to pay, they rarely make a career, that's why Nancy went with a singing career to bring her more fame and more cash. She sounds like a young women with a clear view of the world of entertainment. She must be doing something right as the internet seems to be busy with contents on Nancy Afyouni.

It's clear to me that Nancy is going for sexy image than the cute one, which is fine because men are pigs for the most part. I do not think it's right for men to criticize her and her clothes in public while in private they leer at them. I do not think I have heard any of her songs, I will take that back, she has already made a terrible song My Meow a really gross song in English. It was so bad that the comments on the video have been disabled.

Nancy Afiouny - My Meow


 ملكة جمال القارات 2007 نانسي افيوني

The Arab Celebrities Twitter Scandal

There's a dozen of news reports that have been made public about a number of Arab celebrities buying fans and followers on the world wide web.  Tamer Hosny was the guy who got the most heat last year--after calming a million follower most of whom were computer bots.

Here are some hard numbers that are true as of today

1. Elissa has 442 thousand followers on Twitter
2. Haifa Wahbe has 336 followers on the same network
3. Nawal Al Zoghby has 267 thousand
4. Nancy Ajram 255 thousand followers
5. Najwa Karam has 226 K followers
6. Myriam Faris has 147 thousand followers 

Few weeks later, we hear more dirt about other Arab celebrities who have been Linked to fake Twitter and Facebook accounts. Najwa Karam had to answer questions about the same subject. Elissa had to deal with increased attacks from Haifa Wahbe fans who have spilled the beans on all the fake followers for the Lebanese diva. Read here in Arabic on Khabar 3ajilThe accusations started with attacks like those followers are not Arab nor they speak Arabic, so why would they be following an Arabic pop star. Others claim such fake fans have no engagement level and no activities online that would indicate they are for real.

Elaph also reported on the scandal, according to a number of companies, you can purchase a 100 thousand followers for about 5 thousands dollars. Nawal Al Zoghby is another singer who has been accused of buying fake fans and followers. Elaph seemed to have done the most research on this topic and they have followed it very closely.

Of course the celebrities are defending themselves against those attacks and accused their foes of being jealous of their success. I think the reality is more complex than that, but it would not be a far fetched scenario for those celebrities to have a mixed bag of fake and real followers.

DOWNLOAD: Nesma Mahgoub 2012 Classy Album البوم نسمه محجوب - هتقولى ايه

In her cover picture for the album, the young and and talented Egyptian singer Nesma Mahgoub is channeling the legendary diva Asmahan. That tells me more about how the young singer views herself as an artists who can deliver you some really fine songs with her strong voice.

I like Nesma she sounds like one of those opera singers who can rock your world with their really loud voices which they manipulate so well. 12 tracks is what makes the new album, it is Tarab album all around. Classical music has finally found a young gun of Arabic music who really believes in it and want to bring it back in style.

The album is not meant for everyone out there, it's for the grownups among us, the songs are for the mature listener seeking a new thrill in music....it plays like a conversation between Nesma and her listeners. In a way this feels like reading someone else's journal telling us about their life and how they reacted to certain situations.

I am glad the producers have chosen to find this project, the album does something different with Arabic music. Nesma is seeking neither popularity nor cool, her album reminds us of how unique Arabic music once was. So there you have it grow up and believe in the power of dreams again, this album will have a positive and an uplifting affect on your soul. Hope at last.

01.Hat2oly Eh

02.El7elw Malo

03.Betshawer 3a2lak

04. Arfak

05. Mast8nash

06. 2alby We HoraFeh

07. Bast8rab

08. Elly Meganenak

09. Seeb Ro7ak

10. ElHafl

11.Life Wont End

12.Ya Toyour

Nesma Mahgoub - 7at2olly eih - نسمه محجوب - حتقوللي ايه - Distributed by K Music

Nesma Mahgoub - Al 7afl - نسمه محجوب - الحفل - Distributed by K Music

Nesma Mahgoub - 3arfaak - نسمه محجوب - عرفاك - Distributed by K Music

WATCH: Elissa Concert أجواء حفل إليسا بنادي استاد الهوكي Par Ouailitto

So Elissa goes to Egypt, and headlines a massive concert where she brought her best hits to the country of 90 millions.  She appeared in that country's hockey stadium (an attachment to the Cairo staduim), people were dazzled, and the Lebanese diva is marking a great comeback concert that follows her smashing successful concert in her home--Lebanon

Elissa wore a modest yet gorgeous dress, orange dress! The stage seems to have been made just right for this mega concert where the fans finished the songs of Elissa before she started them. The concert was well organized and seems to have been a lot of fun where the songstress gave the concert goers a great time.

This is Elissa's first concert in post Mubarak Egypt, the venue fits 30 thousand people, three police units were in charge of protecting Elissa in addition of her personal guards who had to fight off many fans and admirers. Fun facts, Elissa lost one of her diamond earning as she was performing--she did not realize it till later. Some fan messed around with a laser pointer something that Elissa asked him to stop doing--she cut off the song to do that. Elissa was also caught off guard reading the lyrics to one of her songs on stage.

elissa أجواء حفل إليسا بنادي استاد الهوكي par ouailitto

Elissa And Her Lovely Boys Live On Stage

You have heard that Elissa is very close to her buddy Lebanese singer Wael Kfoury. They have performed together, appeared together in a number of events and media appearances. Some have even them linked romantically, so there you have it. Elissa has a concert recently in Beruit where Wael Kafoury was in attendance. She tried to get him to sing along her side by doing one of his songs--which they have performed together before. The crowd wanted him too, but Wael did not seem to be in the mode.

Wael polity apologized, Elissa played it cool, and told him as he wishes. She did not finish the song, but she tried to still tease the singer. Later that night, she performed with another young and charming singer who has composed one of her latest songs Ziad Bourji who with love performed a duet with Elissa and both seemed to enjoy their time.

It was a very entertaining concert where Elissa was much more fun and less awkward than people have gotten to be used to. It was her moment in the spotlight after not a great start for the year. Note, the change of outfits by the singer.

Elissa sings for Wael Kfoury / اليسا تغني ل وائل كفوري


Elissa and Ziad Bourji - Krehtak Ana / اليسا و زياد برجي - كرهتك انا

Ghada Ragab Speaks In Tongues With "Awey Awey"

She is shy to confess of her love to him, she would write it, but she can never utter the words. This is how this new song by Egyptian diva Ghada Ragab goes. Ghada is one of the fine voices in Egypt, she hast the warmth and the versatility. But producers are not exactly lining up...she went to Lebanon and from there she found her way in Turkey where her new album is being recorded and produced.

Ghada will also sing in Turkish--she can sing in half a dozen of languages. Her Turkish album was applauded by the Egyptian ambassador to Turkey. Not sure why in her latest music video she has so many kids running around. Then hear the song toward the end, you will get some Turkish

Hope you will this pop song that has a decent voice carrying it through and through.
Awey Awey - Ghada Ragab اوى اوى - غاده رجب

Sally: A Bimbo And a Womanizer Walk Into A Bar

She is acting like a bimbo on screen to tell us the guy she likes is a womanizer. I do not know which one is worse, using sex is a marketing strategy or seducing women for fun. Sally sings about how is is quitting the love game, and how she is much prettier than the other girl

The best part about the song is the dialect the lyrics are written in, the music is upbeat but I cannot say it's something new. The fact is Sally is drop dead gorgeous. She has an album where she tries to appeal to the rich Gulf market. She is from Lebanon, hoping for a slice of the pop pie

Sally - Zeer L Nessa' / سالي - زير النساء

Arab Singers: Police, Bodyguards And Motorcades

Here are few stories about Arab singers and the security arrangement's that accompanies their visit to any place. I mean we all have known about the bodyguards (beefcakes who have no brains and lots of muscles) who shove people around. But here are more details about the role played by police department in making such entertainers feel secure and feel important.

1. When Elissa performed in Algeria in the summer of 2012, there were more than 500 police officer present to secure her appearance. The singer met a lot of opposition and online protests, but it seems her concert went well. At the airport she was received with tight security who wanted to make sure nobody harms her. Not to mention that her hotel was surrounded by many many police officers.
2. Lebanon's Blonde singer Madeline Mattar performed in a Baghdad concert and there she was bused around town in a presidential motorcade. Her concert was to celebrate Arab press, but ti seems the Iraqi press assailed this security measures. She has dozens of police officer around her at all time, and she seems to have ruffled some features by revealing a lot of skin.
3. Myriam Faris was in Algeria too and there she had more than 150 officer who came from the police department, security companies and volunteers to protest this Lebanese golden girl of pop and dance. Myriam's appearance was not without criticism or protests.    
4. Haifa Wahbe did a concert in Ankara, Turkey where she was jetted by a private plane, received the city mayor and a dozen government officials--she tweeted about it too. While there a seasoned police unit was with Haifa the entire duration of the trip. Haifa was a choice to help promote Arab tourism to this gorgeous city.   

ميريام فارس لاول مرة في مهرجان تيمقاد بالجزائر