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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Are You interested in music from the Middle East? Nawja Karam is one of the best selling female artists in Lebanon!, 20 May 2008
Are You interested in pop music from the Middle East? The names of the most popular female artists are:
Aline Khalaf * Amal Hijazi * Amani Swissi * Angham * Asalah * Asmahan * Aziza Jalal * Brigitte Yaghi * Carole Samaha * Cyrine Abdelnour * Dalida* Dana Halabi * Dania * Darine * Darine Hadchiti * Diana Haddad * Diana Karazon * Dina Hayek * Dominique Hourani * Elissa * Fairuz * Fayza Ahmed * Fulla * Haifa Wehbe * Ishtar * Julia Boutros * Latifa * Madeline Matar * Majida El Roumi * Mai Selim * Marwa * Maya Nasri * Myriam Fares * May Kassab * Najwa Karam * Nancy Ajram * Natacha Atlas * Nawal Al Zoghbi * Nawal El Kuwaiti * Nelly Makdessy * Nicole Saba * Nourhanne * Pascale Machaalani * Ruby * Ruwaida al-Mahrooqi * Sabah * Samira Said * Shadia * Shatha Hassoun * Sherine * Umm Kulthum * Thekra * Waed * Warda Al-Jazairia
And here are the names of the most popular male artists:
Abdel Halim Hafez * Amr Diab * Fadel Shaker * Faudel * George Wassouf * Cheb Hasni * Hisham Abbas * Khaled * Kathem Al Saher * Cheb Mami * Majid Al Muhandis * Melhem Zein * Mohammed Abdel Wahab * Mohamed Fouad * Moustafa Amar * Rashed Al-Majed * Rachid Taha * Ragheb Alama
..............NAJWA KARAM - a portrait
WHY is NAJWA KARAM famous and on of the best selling female artists in Lebanon and popular all over the Middle East?
Najwa Karam (born February 26, 1966 in Zahle, Lebanon), studied in Zahle and graduated with a degree in Philosophy, and later became a teacher for two years. Her musical talents were apparent from a young age where she used to sing at some school parties with her friends. Najwa's father initially disapproved of her interest in musical profession.
Her singing career began in the late 1980s, with moderate success, but her major successes began in the mid-90s. Karam is known for her instantly recognizable voice and distinct Lebanese singing accent.
Najwa Karam is one of the most active Lebanese singers - participating in numerous festivals and concerts around the globe, and has received a number of awards from various distinguished bodies.
Najwa success
Najwa's fortunes took a turn for the better when she was approached by the Middle East's largest recording label, Rotana. It was owned by the Saudi Arabian Royal Family, and headed by Prince Walid Bin Talel. An agreement between the parties was made, and Najwa was now part of the "Rotana family of artists".
Work on a new album began immediately. Expert poets, writers and composers were enlisted to help Najwa make a fresh new musical image for herself to revitalise public interest, and finally draw attention from the wider Arab audience. By mid-1994, an album consisting of 8 new songs had been compiled and was ready to be released to the Middle East. Naghmet Hob (The Rhythm of Love) fused Lebanese tradition with Arab pop. Its catchy Lebanese dance song Law Habaytek (If I loved you) was an instant hit, introducing Najwa Karam to all of the Middle East. The song and its video clip dominated the Arabian charts. Its follow up hits from the same album were Wrood Eddar (Roses of the Garden) and Elala (la la) received similar success.
The wide success of Naghmet Hob fueled a concert tour and a number of awards for Karam, including a prize from the Lebanese Broadcasting Association for "The Best Artist of 1994".
Karam had been thrust to the top of the Arabic Music scene in less than a year, and was now constantly in the public eye. In 1995, Najwa started work on her second Rotana album, her fifth release in total. It was titled Ma Bassmahlak and closely followed the traditional style of Naghmet Hob. The main difference was the lyrical and vocal nature of the tracks which had more depth. Riding the wave of her celebrity, two of the songs were hits, namely Ma Bassmahlak (I don't get you) and Hakim el-Qady (The Judge has spoken).
I'm lucky
With five albums under her belt, the latter two of which witnessed ground breaking success, Najwa was becoming a familiar face in the Arabic music industry. On the 16th of June, 1996, Karam released her newest album entitled Hazi Helo (I'm Lucky). The title track, Hazi Helo, and three other songs, "Khayarouni", "Ala Mahlak" and "El-Ghorbil", were the most popular from the album.
Following the release of Hazi Helo, Najwa set off on a large scale world concert tour, which would take in many Arab states, parts of Europe, and America. She found a number of fans in the U.S., and performed to sold-out concerts all over. To honour her success in the States, Najwa was presented with the Key to the City of Chicago.
Ma Hada La Hada and Maghroumeh
After the sell-out world tour, Najwa returned to Lebanon with a fresh mind and new song ideas. And so work began on her next studio album - Ma Hada La Hada. The tracks on the album were quite different from those of Najwa's previous albums, with a more contemporary sound. For example the song "El Helw" was heavily influenced by foreign beats and synthesised melodies. Three months prior to the album's official release, the song El Tahady was distributed to the Arabic radio stations. By the time of the album's release, the song's popularity had dwindled, and Ma Hada La Hada's relatively poor sales were attributed to this factor. However, the title track did become quite popular. It had harmonious musical arrangements which used the traditional Lebanese instrument the Qanoun, along with other traditional instruments such as the violin and the accordion. These musical stylings, along with an uplifting song topic and a powerful "mini movie" video clip made the song a huge hit.
The 1998 release, Maghroumeh, marked Karam's "official" transition from purely traditional Lebanese artist to the blend of traditional and contemporary Arabic that she is famous for today. It had poetic Arabic lyrics sung with Najwa's trademark power and authority; extensive use of Arabic instruments (trumbakke, mijwiz, zamour, tabal... etc) and contemporary ones; and a brand new look for the album cover. Maghroumeh was another success from Karam. The title track, Maghroumeh (I am in Love), was shot as a video clip, and was the biggest hit off the album, hitting number one on most radio stations in the region. Other hits were the feisty Ghamza (The Wink) and the sad love song Noqta al-Satr (Somewhere along the line).
Rouh Rouhi
The new year brought about a number of changes in Karam's career lives. Najwa's new album was set to be released in the summer, and her personal changes were showing in her new album Rouh Rouhi. It was similar to the Maghroumeh album, but had a number of tweaks in the vocal and musical styles. The musical arrangements were heavily detailed and technical, and the lyrics were more poetic than all other Karam albums. The tracks Ariftu Albi La Meen (Do you know who my heart belongs to?), Atchana (Thirsty), and the title track, Rouh Rouhi (Soul of my Soul) were the major hits off the album, the latter two being shot as music videos. Many other songs succeeded like "Kif Bdawik (How do I treat You?)", and "Ma Berda Ghayrak (I Don't Accept Anyone Beside You)".
Hayda Haki (That's what I'm talking about) 2007
On May 28th 2007, the Lebanese station Sawt El Ghad and other Arabic stations started playing Najwa's new hit for 2007 named as Hayda Haki. This song, which has a very new style, is expected to be a huge hit for this year.
On June 6, 2007 Rotana released Najwa Karam 16th album titled Hayda Haki. A new Lebanese album with Najwa Karam's special flavor in it. This album include 8 excellent songs as usual.
* Hayda Haki (This Is Talking)
* Hata Be Ahlamak (Even In Your Dreams)
* El Hanone (The Kind One)
* Behkik (Talk To You)
* Ana Rouh ya rouhi (I'm a Soul, My Soul)
* Nawer Eyami (Light My Days) -
* Law Mabtekzob (If you don't lie)
* Raje3 Tes2al 3a Meen (Your Are Returning To Ask For Who?)
Different kind of styles in each song. A powerful mawal in Raje3 Tes2al 3a Meen and a nice/soft mawal for El hanone. Law ma btekzob is like her 90's songs , Ana rouh and Nawer Eyami are two of a kind romance songs. Hata Be Ahlamak , Hayda Haki and Behkik are upbeat songs with different styles in each one and a special Najwa Karam's touch. Hayda Haki was the next song (after her 06-07 huge hit Shu Hal Hala) that Najwa Karam shot as a video clip with Lebanese director Said el Marouk.
From the First week of release Hadya Haki best selling album in Lebanon in UAE and Kwait Number one best selling Album.The Album had huge succees from the first week of release in Lebanon, Palestine, the Gulf, Libya,Syria, Jordan and other Arabic countries.
10,000 copies of the album Hayda Haki were sold in one area of Lebanon in the first date of its release.
Najwa Karam was a guest on the show Album on MBC 1. In June 29, 2007, she shined on Album's stage , one week before Album's final prime. She started by singing Hayda Haki by herself. Secondly, she sang Sho hal hala with one of the three groups. Thirdly, she sang Law Ma Btekzob with another group of the three groups.
In June she released her latest video clip : Hayda Haki, which displayed her character in a romantic atmosphere and love shots, In it's first on the charts she landed on the 1st spot.
Najwa Karam toured the United States and Canada with Lebanese Stars Wael Kfoury and Fadel Shaker, the tour lasted for a little more than a month as they visited major cities and was all success. The american concerts were in Chicago, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Detroit, New Jersey, Boston and Miami. And in Canada, concerts were in Ottawa, Montreal and Toronto, singing in the...
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