Majed El Mohandes Keeps Busy

Majed El Mohandes will be performing two concerts in Iraq and according to his manger these two concerts which are to commence in Eid mean a lot to Majed. Majed’s fans will be able to see him on TV soon as he is in the process of recording a new episode of ‘Taratata’ for the new and upcoming season and he will also be appearing on Hala Sarhan’s new show on Rotana during Ramadan.

Hussein Al-Jasmy Gets The Royal Treatment!

Recently Emeriti singer Hussein Al-Jasmy sang a patriotic and beautiful song about the Kingdom of Bahrain. King Hamad Al Khalifa, the ruler of Bahrain, was very flattered by the song and invited Hussein to his castle in order to honor and thank him for this gesture. During the meeting King Hamad expressed his thanks for Hussein not just for the song but for helping improve and spread Gulf music all around the world.

Cheb Khaled Near Death Experience

Algerian singer Cheb Khaled was in a horrible car accident a few days ago where the car he was in tumbled over causing him serious injuries. The accident occurred in Wegda which is in the East of Morocco and Cheb Khaled was there for a few concerts that he was supposed to be part of. Doctors at the hospital Cheb Khaled was taken to, decided that the injuries on his arm were so serious, he required surgery but Cheb Khaled refused to have the surgery at the hospital. Instead he asked to be transported to a private clinic in Paris where several family doctors were residing.

Photos of Massari in Morocco

These are some recent photos of Canadian/ Lebanese singer Massri in Morocco.
Massri was also in Tunisia this summer; he held several successful concerts in many places in Tunisia like the famous touristic city Hammamet...

Enjoy the photos :)

Videos:
- Massari - Real Love
- Massari - Be Easy

Raja Bal Meleh Will Be Missed

Moroccan singer Raja Bal Meleh passed away yesterday at the young age of 45, after a struggle with Cancer.
Raja started her career in the 80's ... What made her different was her poise and her class.
She sang beautiful and meaningful songs that are from a higher standard than lots of the so-called-singers these days.
Raja holds a few important honor cirtificates from numerous song festivals and in 1999 became a goodwill ambassador for the UNICEF.

May God rest her soul.

A Very Successful Night for Al Jasmi & Asma

One of the other successful concerts in Carthage festival this year was the concert of Emarati singer Hussein Aljasmi and Moroccan singer Asma Almanwer.
The concerts starts with Asma and despite the fact the audience was waiting eagerly for Aljasmi, they asked Asma to stay on stage and continue singing after she showed an exceptional performance…

After Asma and a short break, Hussein Aljasmi got on stage with the applause of audience and the beginning of his first song for the night … Al-Jasmi also sang ‘Habiatak’ by Fairuz during that night and continued later his own famous and lovely songs with the audience singing with him until the very last moments.

Photos of Al Jasmi & Asma in Carthage

Aseel Amran, the Youngest Rotana Member

Aseel Amran, sister of media presenter Lujain Amran has signed a contract with Rotana. She is the youngest member of Rotana but she sings with a beautiful and powerful voice in her album ‘Khajlana’. Her new album includes eight songs written by some of the biggest lyricists in the Arab world including: Abdel Kader Hadhoud, Saad El Mosalam and Yousif Ben Oukail.

Singers Gone LOCO!

Summer is at its ''season finale''... a couple of months and its over! With random singers selling their random albums day after day, music is turning to an obsession with no solution. A singer may dance and forget how to sing. A singer may act and still forget how to sing.

Many leading singes in the Arab world have revolved and transformed into ugly ATM machines... waiting for dollars to enter their mouths for any job they have done.

Amr Diab turned to a 40 something year old Haifa Wehbe... where he was shown half nude on his new album. Amr should be ashamed of himself... realizing his career’s history in the Arab world... and specially in Egypt.

Rowaida Attieh is Back!

Rowaida Attieh had already recorded a new single and is working on shooting it as a video clip. The title of the song is “Ma Tamlekni El Dney” and it is written by Haitham Zeyad and the music is by Tony Saba.
This song is the debut single of her new album that will be released next fall and will include 10 songs.

Will Amal Wahbe Sell Potatoes?!

Algerian singer Amal Wabe has frankly told reporters that if her next album fails, she will give up singing and sell potatoes on the streets! However Amal Wahbe who has become famous in Egypt and the Arab world with her albums titled ‘Al Khayala’ and ‘Chocolata’ is being criticized quite heavily by the media! The reason for this criticism is that Amal’s vanity has lead to her making herself the subject or centre of attention in every single song in her new album.

Fella Returns to Egypt After a Decade

Gifted Algerian singer Fella Ababsa recently held a press conference in Cairo during her first visit to Egypt in over a decade. While Fella did not disclose the reasons for her ban from the country often referred to as "Alam El Fan", she did mention that Syrian singer Asalah and her husband Egyptian director Tarek Alarian were instrumental in her return. It is worth noting that Fella is not the first talented singer to be banned from Egypt for vague reasons, Syrian legend Mayada El Hennawi was also banned for over a decade.

Nabil Shoail Will Not Play The Lover

Nabil Shoail has a beautiful voice and is an excellent singer but many people have realized that in all his video clips he never plays the role of the ‘lover’ himself and instead gets an actor to do it while he sings! Well Nabil has made a statement as to why he doesn’t play the role of the lover and says that the way he looks, obviously referring to his weight, doesn’t allow him to play this role. Obviously this is a very bold statement on the part of Nabil but he claims that he is happy with the way he is. Nabil added it is not right for me to play the gentleman who awaits his beautiful lover because of the way I look and I am happy with it.

Hussein El Jasmy Steals a Song?!

Recently an upcoming Egyptian singer by the name of Ghadeer was putting the final touches to her album which she recorded in the ART studios however just when she was putting the final touches she discovered that the ‘head’ song for her album has been stolen and had been leaked to Hussein El Jasmy who, according to her, recorded it and put on his website!!

4 Cats New Album!

We haven’t heard from the 4 Cats in a while although I did hear about a movie they were apparently going to be part of but now Rotana has released the 4 Cats newest album which goes by the name of ‘Welet Kteer’! The album contains eight songs including the title track which is written by Zeyad EL Rahbany which is the first collaboration between the 4 cats and him!

Two-In-One Albums… A Passing Craze?

It seems that Shams’ two-in-one deal has appealed to the Arabic music industry. Earlier this year, Kuwaiti singer Shams released her latest album, “Shams”, which contained two CD’s. Why? Shams wanted to penetrate the Egyptian market, but without losing her loyal fan base in the Arabian Gulf. The solution? A 23-track, two-disc album. One disc contained eleven songs in the Gulf dialect, and the other contained twelve songs in the Egyptian dialect. Shams has successfully made a name for herself in Egypt, thanks in part to a grand advertising campaign and controversial video clip themes. Shams’ two Egyptian videos, “Ghamadt Eineik” and “Ahlan Izayak”, are hit songs. On the other hand, Shams’ latest video, “Loha Meaqeda”, has met with success in the Gulf and Egypt.

Bachar Composes for Maram

Bachar AlShatti is active since he left star academy, he already has several video clips, he also participated in many concerts and held many interviews on TV and Magazines and recently he composed a song for Kuwaiti singer Maram, a song that goes with Maram style and is designated to youth. Maram already shot a video clip for her new song in Cairo where she showed that she is capable of acting in addition to singing.

Massari Press Conference In Egypt

These are some photos of Canadian / Lebanese singer Massari during a press conference in Egypt on the occasion of launching his album...

Photo of Massari During the Press Conference

Asalah: I Finally Feel Appreciated!

Talented Syrian singer Asalah flew to Beirut last week to receive he Murex D’Or award for “Best Female Arab Singer”. The Murex D’Or Awards honor all artistic achievements in the Middle East of the previous year. This year, the star-studded event was attended by many Lebanese and Arab singers, with the exception of a few, such as Best Female Lebanese Singer Elissa. Notable winners included Saber El Roubai (for Best Male Arab Singer), Wael Kfouri (for Best Male Lebanese singer), Fadel Chaker and Yara (for Best Duet), and Nancy Ajram (for Greatest Achievement since 2003).

Rimas, A New Saudi Singer!

Her name might be a bit difficult, but she's proud of it.
Rimas is a new Saudi singer that is determined to launch her career from Egypt & go on to be a famous singer in the Arab World.
Rimas is working on her 1st video clip, for a song entitled 'Jay Ytmahak'.
She has also ventured into the TV series business, in a new series that will star Syrian actress Joumana Murad & will be directed by Hamdi Al Ibrashi.

Asalah Nasri Prepares Her Next Album

Syrian singer Asalah Nasri, renowned for her powerful voice, builds on the success of her latest album “Hayati” with new recording sessions. Asalah’s last full-fledged Khaliji-dialect album was her 2004 release, “Awgat”, met with massive success with songs such as “Awgat” (composed by the great Mohammed Abdo), “Terfaa Jebinek” (composed by Superstar judge Abdullah Gaoud), “Yesead Sabahak”, “Gemarhom Kellehom”, and the unforgettable “Meta Ashoufek”. Asalah, never one to disappoint the audience, has decided to record another full Khaliji-dialect album for her large and faithful fan base in the Arabian Gulf.

Kathem’s New Album: Unscheduled?

If you were to walk into a music store, and see Kathem El Saher’s smile on his new album, you would think that the “Caesar” simply has another hit on his hands. However, though the audience was oblivious, it was big a surprise for music stores in Cairo, and the entire Arab world, that Kathem El Saher’s album was released last Thursday. The album, “Yawmiyat Rajul Mahzoum”, was expected to be released in summer according to Rotana and Kathem’s agreement. Rotana decided on this to combat the constantly stagnating CD/K7 market. This widespread stagnation caused the failure of most recent album releases, including seven Rotana releases. Needless to say, it was a big loss for Rotana. These losses have been mostly attributed to the rising illegal copies and internet distribution of music.

Janat, A Classy Singer at Last

These days new singers pop up like mushrooms in a lightening storm! It's a breath of fresh air when a real singer with a good voice is introduced to the scene.
Moroccan singer Janat is different from a lot of new singers on the scene nowadays; she has a lovely voice, her own style in music & is a class act.
Janat has paid a visit to Egypt lately after her latest album became a hit on the Egyptian streets.

Shakira Rocks the Pyramids of Giza

It was a new Goddess that moved the pyramids of Giza in Cairo two days ago ... Shakira sang, danced & mesmerized over 100.000 people at her concert on Wednesday.
She didn't only sing her songs, but she also surprised the audiences with an Arabic song, she chose to start her concert with Fairuz's song 'Atini Annay wa Ghanni' & she also belly danced to the song of the fabulous Um Kulthum 'Inta Omri'.
Shakira rocked the Pyramids with her famous songs La Tortura, Illegal, Estoy Aqui & Hips don't Lie among others.

Shakira to Sing Arabic in Dubai

Shakira's upcoming Dubai concert is very near, only 5 days away & nearly all 25.000 tickets have been sold out!
This is only one of three concerts Shakira is going to hold in the Arab world, with two more scheduled for Tunisia & Lebanon. Hey! She's also going to hold a concert in Cairo on the 28th! Cool!

Ahmad Hussein Releases 1st Album

Remember that cute Kuwaiti student Ahmad Hussein of LBC Star Academy 2?
Well, Ahmad has moved on from being a starac student to being a professional singer as of last week! He released his debut album with Rotana.
His 1st album is entitled 'Bagi Ala Hubak' & it contains 10 beautiful songs ... Some of which are composed by famous Kuwaiti composer Abdallah Al-Gaoud.

Kathem Al-Saher at The 2007 Oscars

Iraqi singer Kathem Al-Saher was present at the most important night in Hollywood last week ... He was on the red carpet at the 2007 Oscars.
Al-Saher was invited to the Oscars because he participated in the Musical Score of the movie 'My Country My Country', which was nominated for an Oscar in the category of Documentary Feature.
The popular program 'Scoop' met with Al-Saher in Los Angeles & they got the scoop out of him about this event!

Assala's Most Recent Duetto

There are a lot of negotiations nowadays between Assala & new singer Ramy Sabry, about the possibility of performing a new duetto together.
Assala has chosen Ramy Sabry because she liked his voice.
On the other hand, Ramy is now preparing for his new video clip, which will be directed by Tarek El Erian, Assala's husband! This will be their third collaboration together.

By guest writer Menna

Related Links:
- Asalah Takes it Easy and Plans Ahead

Shams Makes A Statement

Shams, like Nawal El Kuwaitia and Ahmed Daoud of Star Academy 4, is a Kuwaiti singer of Persian origin. Shams was previously barely known outside the Arabian Gulf, that is until commercials with a dancing George W. Bush and the folkloric Raya and Sakina started airing on Melody TV. It was an eye-opener of a commercial!

Asalah Takes it Easy and Plans Ahead

Asalah Nasri is nearly on her third month of pregnancy. She is pregnant with new husband Tarek Alarian’s child, and this will be their first child together although they both have children from previous marriages. Asalah is currently taking a break from work in Lebanon, and luckily her stay came at the same time as Star Academy 4 and we enjoyed a great third prime with her.

Shakira to Sing in Dubai

As part of her world tour, Shakira is going to hold one of her biggest concerts in Dubai next March.
The concert is going to be held at Dubai Autodrome & will host around 25.000 spectators.
Tickets will be available next month, which will give a great opportunity for her fans in The Middle East to watch her live & enjoy her music & dancing. The concert will be on the 23rd of March.

Rotana’s X-Factor Star First Album

Ragaa El Qasabini, the winner of X-Factor season 1 is done with her first album. The album will be released at the beginning of February to be her first real step in her career and it will also mark the launching of the new season of X-Factor.

She took 8 months to finish her album that included 8 songs and 6 of them are in the Egyptian accent. She will also shoot her first video clip in the next few coming days and the director will be Walid Nasif.

By Ghada

Massari & Haifa Wehbe

Massari is a Lebanese International singer ... he's only 25 but he's the biggest selling Canadian R&B artist of 2005. He took the world by surprise in 2006 with singles like Be Easy, Smile for Me & Real Love... & is rising high like a rocket these days.
If you like a bit more details about him, he's a Sagittarius, was born in Beirut, Lebanon & is trilingual; speaking Arabic, English & French fluently! He's Good!
Would you believe that his most favorite Arabic singer is George Wassouf?! Cool!
Tell us why you like Massari ... Share your opinion with the rest of the Walegers here! :)

Nancy and Lionel Richie Sing Together

Lionel Richie is in Cairo to launch a new real estate project in the Sinai desert. Richie is one of the most famous and richest American singers wining countless awards and known all around the world for his "Hello" back in the 80's.

He held a concert for the launch of this project presented by Samir Sabri where Nancy Ajram also sang some of her most loved songs as well.

Cat Stevens, now Yusuf Islam and Lionel Richie praised Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus' efforts to relieve poverty before a star-studded concert at the Nobel Peace show in Norway recently.

Shams Signs $2M American Contract

Kuwaiti singer Shams has gone the distance and signed up with American distributor “Surprise” in a very surprise move by the Khaliji singer. It's the first time any Gulf or Arabic singer, male or female has ever done so!
Nobody yet knows why she left Rotana. Apparently, the company's head sent a letter to Shams informing her of the termination of her contract without giving any details, a move that Shams wouldn't comment on either.

Sami Yusuf Prevented From Singing!

The British Embassy in Yemen issued a warning to British singer Sami Yusuf from participating in a concert which backed the Palestinian people "Together Breaking the Blockade." Sami Yusuf entered the hall surrounded with body guards who prevented the crowd from shaking his hand or even taking his picture (for unknown reasons) and then sat for only 15 minutes before leaving.

Kazem Al Saher New Album

Iraqi superstar Kazem Al Saher is putting his final touches on his new album which will have 11 songs and is set to release by the end of the year. Although Saher composes most of his songs himself and uses lyrics by famous Syrian poet, the late Nizar Kabbani, this new album will whiteness a first time collaboration with poet Nashwa Al Jarrar and includes lyrics by Al Nasser.

Rai Singer Cheb Mami Arrested!

Rai singer Cheb Mami was accused by the Paris district court for charges of assault, violence and threatening against one of his ex-girlfriends. The famous singer was arrested pending an investigation. Mami, 40, is accused of holding one of his ex-girlfriends hostage in addition to using force to persuade her to retract her charges against him.

Sources close to the investigation say that the occurrences happened in either Morocco or Algeria involving Mami and his ex-girlfriend who he allegedly forced to have an abortion.

Cheb Mami’s New Album

Algerian star Cheb Mami is preparing for the release of his new album "Layali" which will contain a duet with Lebanese star Elissa. However, there are some legal matters which will end up separating the lovely couple as Elissa is contracted with Rotana while Mami is contracted with another company. This means that we will not be seeing the song in Mami's latest album.

Another special feature that this album will have is an association with Iraqi star Kazem Al Saher "Jelsat al Maqha" or "Sitting in the Coffee Shop" who set the melody for the song from the words of Nizar Qabani.

Rahma Mezher, An Iraqi Rising Star

The Iraqi rising star Rahma Mezher, who once participated in the Arabic version of (American Idol) Super star 2, she got to the last episode but luck wasn’t there for her and so she ended up leaving the show with hope still glowing in her heart. Therefore, she didn’t quit and continued on with her singing and tried out for a different show on Dubai TV Channel called, “Najm El Khaleej”.

Rahma, who is the daughter of a well known Iraqi singer (Riyadh Ahmad), she was born in Iraq in 1987 on the 19th of January. She currently lives in Bahrain. She loves singing, swimming, shopping, and her favorite sport is walking. Rahma says that she’s a very optimistic person, and she believes in true friendships.

Cheb Khaled, Expensive Algerian Singer

Famous Rai singer Cheb Khaled proved to be the most expensive Algerian singer!
Khaled will be holding a concert during the 16th Rai festival in the city of Wahran in Algeria.
Khaled will be singing for two hours on the stage of Husny Shaqroun for a whopping sum of 4 million dinars -$55 thousand-, which is the highest a singer in Algeria has ever taken!

Kathem Al Saher Received the Gulf Polo Cup

Prominent Iraqi singer Kathem Al Saher was recently honored in London during a big ceremony in which he received the Gulf Polo Cup from Saudi Prince Mohamed Ben Fahad.
The queen of England and many other important personalities attend this ceremony as well.

Assala on her HoneyMoon

Well, it seems that Assala Nasri & Tarek Al Arain have not only gotten engaged, but they did get married the other day in Cairo.
They had a small ceremony with very few riends & family members, and they flew away somewhere for a honeymoon.
But what nobody knows, is where did they go, and when will they return?

Assala Nasri & Tarek Al Arian

Syrian singer Assala Nasri got engaged in Cairo to director Tarek Al Arian.
The ceremony was on Saturday at the Mena House hotel and consisted of Al Fatiha only.
Assala & Tarek have agreed on getting married three weeks after the engagement.
By this engagement, Assala puts an end to rumors that have circulating for a few weeks now about her already getting married to Al Arian.

Assala Nasri, Divorced ?!

Rumors have been going around for some time now that Syrian singer Assala Nasri has broken up with her husband after 14 years together and two kids!
This news hasn’t been confirmed yet, but it has been heard that her husband has gotten enough of her snobbery and pride, in addition to not liking her many plastic surgeries.
And what makes those rumors worth believing, is that Assala has moved from Syria to live in Dubai for some time now …
Is it true, or not ?!

• Assala New Face
• Breast Augmentation & Liposuction

Waad; Ala Meen

There are only a couple of Saudi female singers that we sometimes actually forget! One of these few singers is Waad; she is charismatic, beautiful and has a great voice.
We have seen her over the TV in many Arabic music channels, and now she has a new song out: “Ala Meen”, which is very nice, and has a very good tune to it. The Video clip is also pleasant, with the color white as a theme.
Waad is a simple woman; she lives in Lebanon, likes sports and shopping with her daughter.

What do you think of Waad ?

Samira Said & Wama Band

Samira Said has given her approval to make a duet with Wama band. Earlier, producer Mohamed Abd Al-Haleem had nominated Samira for singing with Wama, but Samira postponed discussing the idea of making a duet with the band at that time.

Sami Yusuf , Music for Islam

Sami Yusuf, a 24 year old guy who is going to make a boom in the hearts of thousands of people around the world … For him music is an alternative way for Islam to enlighten the hearts of youth all over the world.

Sami Yusuf is appearing now on the famous Melody Hits music channel, with a great song called “Al-Mu’allim” … with his charming face, beautiful voice and exquisite style, he sings about Islam and the Prophet Mohammed both in English and Arabic...

Ruweida Attieh

Participating in Superstar sure paid off for Syrian singer Ruweida Attieh! The singer said the program had helped her off to a good start in show business and has given her a suitable amount of fame. But Attieh still thinks the road ahead of her is very long and that she will need at least ten years to reach the top. The star has recently released her first album; “Min Nazra” and is getting ready these days to shoot her second clip after the success of “Te3ebt Ma3ak” which was directed by Basem Kristo.