Monday, January 13, 2014

The Other Palestinian Rock Star Haitham Shomali (And Renaissance Man)

From the chapter titled musicians you must know, here's one! A versatile, upbeat and energizing voice that moves your feet, hips and heart all at once. He is modern-day renaissance man. A gentleman should have a firm handle on not just one or two, but every aspect of his humanity, working to strengthen himself in every way possible. If he is blessed with the gift of music, his artistic pursuits should not be chased to the expense of his academic well-being. Similarly, a creative personality should not lead a man to isolate himself and ignore the social aspect of his being. Excellence in one of these areas does not take attention away from the pursuit of the others but rather serves only to increase competence in complimentary areas, giving man a greater understanding of himself and the world around him. Now, meet the renaissance man....

Haitham Shomali, the Palestinian, singer, songwriter, composer and director is ready for 2014! He was born in the United Arab Emirates. As the youngest of 5 children (4 boys and 1 girl), and privy to a very musical family, his brothers would take him along with them to perform from the age of 7. As a young boy became proficient at a total of 13 instruments: Piano, Keyboard, Violin, Saz, Bouzouki, Accordion, Oud, Guitar, Bass Guitar, Drums, Darbuka, Riq, Katem and Bongos. At the age of 9 his father took him to Egypt and produced an album for Haitham called,” Markeb Waraa.” Following that, he began performing his own concerts in the Middle East.

In 2001, Haitham and his family moved to the United States, where he attended high school. In 2005, Haitham competed and was chosen to join one of the most famous programs in the Middle East, Superstar now Arab Idol, the equivalent to, American Idol. He then moved to Lebanon and began his successful career, he currently resides in Amman, Jordan. So he is all over the map....which only enriches his musical experience. You really cannot pinpoint his style nor his dialect. Living in all these places exposed him to different dialects, languages and musical tastes.

In 2007, Haitham released his first single, titled “Sho Emelte Fee,” (What Have You Done to Me). Which was a super hit. The song was composed by Haitham, and the music video was directed by Waleed Naseef, director of famous veteran Middle Eastern singers. In 2008, Haitham sang on a movie soundtrack, sponsored by Pepsi, titled “Baher El Nojoom.” This included his second successful song titled, “Tlatee Mnaen,” (Where Did You Come From). In that same album, he composed veteran singer, Wael Khfoury’s song, “Shu Mbakakee” (Why Are You Crying). In that same year, he began composing for other artists as well.

In 2009, he composed a new song for the artist Ayman Zbeeb, called “Ma Bdaa Tooul,” (She Doesn’t Want to Say) and compositions for several other artists have followed since. In 2010, Haitham, created his third single called, “Shu Sayer,” (What’s Happened). This song was also composed by him, but arranged by artist Michael Fadel.

In 2012, Haitham, released his new album, “Jowa El Alb,” (From the Heart). It contained 11 songs, all of which were composed and arranged by him. Off that album, he created a video for the song, “Na’a oo Za’a,” (This and That), which has also been a great hit since 2012. Other successful songs from that album are, “Enta Habibi,” (You Are My Love), “Ya Helweh,” (Hey Beautiful), “Jowa El Elb,” (From the Heart) and” Sayer Hanoon” (Emotional). Haitham, has been studying music since the age of 12 and completed his studies in film making. Most recently he showed his talents through his company, Shomali Group Productions, and completed the directing of the, “Na’a oo Za’a“ video.

In November of 2013, Haitham Shomali, won Jordan's, Golden Mosaic Award. For this award a large television audience was required to vote on who they believed to be the most talented Palestinian singer for the Mosaic Award. or entertainer and Haitham was chosen as the groups leader.
You can also find his updated information on wikipedia, his facebook page (www.facebook.com/haithamshomali ) his instragram (haithamshomali), youtube (www.youtube.com/haithamshomali), keek (haithamshomali) and twitter account (www.twitter.com/haithamshomali).


هيثم الشوملي - مهرجان وسوق الميلاد الناصرة 2013



Haitham Shomali Na2 O Za2 Video Clip هيثم الشوملي نئ و زئ

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