Carmen Soliman‎‏ Not Happy With Old Plantinum Records

She is the only Egyptian singer with the Dubai based music label Platinum Records, and she came to them straight from Arab Idol where she won the first season. The young woman feels out of place in the company though she has many of Arab Idol past winners and runners up. Carmen has a busy season since she left the program with the title.

Hear her speak about the company that's supposed to be looking out for her. To her credit Carmen did not set home waiting for them to promote her, she worked on her own and she formed a strong partnership with Saudi singer Mohammad Abdo who took her under his wings.

I can see why she would not be impressed with them, I do not think they treat her right, they sure love Assaf a lot. I think she deserves better, she has a rare talent. She is looking for the new administration at the Platinum Records. She is hoping to start a new chapter.

كارمن سليمان | لم تعجبني إدارة بلاتينوم ريكورز | Carmen Soliman‎‏

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Arab Singers "Holier Than Thou" Bullshit

In my mind, most of these artists pose as decent family people--some of them are really good and average run of the mill human being. For the rest they are nothing but a group of jerks with little moral character. The man and the women of the entertainment industry are a bunch of whores. Now, in public they put on a face, and pretend to be decent but in private all best are off. Now I say this because one artists is holding a launch party for a controversial song. See how they attack one another and get into one's business.

In her song, Chams tries to shame folks into holding into a false religion. The song is an attack into religion and people who believe. Fella was playing some new character, I do not see any real voices on the scene....she does not see any talent. She only had good words for Najwa Karam. Then she talks her self up. Then she talks about how she does not pay for her songs, because she gives a diamond voice. So the song is about attacking people who say one thing and do another, but Fella had no qualm attending an event with her peers, but a the same time, she does not seem them talented. And yes, Fella had her plastic surgeon at the party.

Fella has a great voice, but she is full of herself, way too much. She even rings her own voice....I do not know what to say.

Fella Interview In Chams Event فلة الجزائرية في حفل اطلاق أغنية الفنانة شمس دين أبوكم اسمه ايه

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Ziad Maher Sings in #Lebanon Sells Accessories In #Jordan And Celebrates #Egypt Army

Ziad Maher had always had a good style, he comes from a family that sells textile so he has always known what to wear and what works best for him. Now he that he started venturing into the music business about three years ago. He must keep up that style as you will see him below in a photo shoot.

Ziad Maher is a well-groomed man too, see him try to look refined. I think with the social media, people need more photos and they want them instantly. This session should provide plenty of photos for this salt and pepper fox. Music Nation hosted him and took a to of his pictures. He sang a song for Egypt, not clear why he would sing for Sisi....he loves the general. He said he would sing for anyone like Sisi--I hear Bibi the Prime Minister of Israel called.

Ziad has also opened a store in Amman, it sells accessories for both men and women. The idea according to Ziad is to sell well-made products that are not produced in masses.    

Ziad Maher Interview In His Photo Session مقابلة مع زياد ماهر أثناء جلسة التصويرية لعمله الجديد

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The One And Only Youssef Hareb Speaks!

Youssef Hareb is the pimp for Arab stars in North America, he is the guy you go to if you want to invest a bunch of money and throw a concert or even a tour, you call Mr. Hareb. He is the big name in tour promotion and production. He is the guy who makes it happen.

To be honest, I had no idea how he looked. I thought he was an old guy, but I just got to see him speak for an interview about his cruise with the stars. This is a fmaous thing Youssef Hared has been doing, book half a dozen Arab celebrties and get them to be on board for few days. They artists would sing and the folks would buy tickets on these cruises to rub elbows with their favorite idols and party.

For a decade now and this name has been the go to guy who puts together the biggest concerts and tours. See him speak, he is a soft-spoken and so humble. He seems to be keen on friendship more than business, and he values his 28 years of service to Arab pop stars. I like him and it's refreshing to see some big celebrity who speaks like the common people do. No wonder why so many artists like to work with him.

 Wasn't there a rumor he was married to Najwa Karam for a blink of an eye.

يوسف حرب | رحلة جديدة مع اهم نجوم الوطن العربي | Youssef Hareb

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Walid Toufic Promises A New Song For Tripoli

The boy toy of the 80s Walid Toufic has just given an interview in Lebanon. The aging rock star is still standing and enjoying being the big name and pop legend he has become. As a singer, he has not done something memorable for more than a decade, we still love him.

Walid Toufic is good for it, he is doing a special song to the north of Lebanon--an area that has been facing many challenges. We like this one hit-maker and he is still looking good and natural, I love to see him judge one of these singing shows--The Voice?

I like how he says good things about others, and he specially the young pop stars, he is not trying to destroy them as rivals, but build them up as talents compatriots. He is upbeat and he is honest about what worked for him and his time--now it's difficult.

وليد توفيق| كليب واغنية جديدة لطرابلس |Walid Toufic

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The Uninteresting Minister Ziad Baroud

Not sure why would 250,000 Lebanese people would appreciate minister of interior is nothing fresh. Meet Ziad Baroud, a Lebanese civil servant and prominent civil society activist. He served as minister of interior and municipalities, considered to be one of the most powerful positions in the country, from 2008 to 2011 for two consecutive cabinets in both Fuad Siniora and Saad Hariri's governments.

The thing about Ziad Baroud is that he is unremarkable in so many ways. He is not particularly charismatic; he speaks in a funny accent and is rather technical in his approach. I suspect that these unthreatening ‘qualities’ were at least partly behind him getting the job in the first place, sponsored by President Suleiman. While the Maronite scene is buzzing with young aspiring scions of political families, this young minister from Kesrwan went about his business, delivering an exceptionally well organized election process in the most challenging of conditions. From "Blog"

But not to deny people are in love with this young and charming politician. He makes sure to attend social events, and charm his way in cocktail parties. I do not know much about him, but he seems to really lose the present with his focus on the future.

Ziad Baroud

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Lebanses Celebrities And Happy Father's Day

In the Middle East and ariund the world, we know of Mother's day. But we do not really do much for Father's day. In face, not many outside the States, know it exists. Lebanese celebrities are informed about American culture, so they took on themselves to send their own father's happy wishes on their day.

Elaph caught up with few celebrities to talk to them about their dads. It's a good day to be a dad and try to give back to your little ones. Some of the celebrities interviewed have dead fathers, so it might be a bittersweet moment.  

المشاهير يعايدون أباءهم عبر "إيلاف" في عيد الأبّ ٢٠١٥

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Lebanese Abel Karim Shaaer, The Voice For Arabic Oldies Throwbacks

There singers who make pop songs, and there are who like to revisit what once was a pop song, only years after that they became classical songs. One of these artists is Abdel Karim Shaar, A Lebanese vocalist who like to do songs form the forties and fifties.

His voice was made from doing the Mowashahat style songs, the Syrian, Iraqi and Andalusia style of singing. There's no money in this art, but there is a lot of recognition and interest, so cafes and lounges fro Arab intellects. He is a Lebanese artist who has an old soul and rocks the bow-tie look.

Mr. Shaar has been singing for generations, only not as many people know of him outside the fans of the musicals style he performs, he has that very manly strong voice that can do the forte without coming across as shouting.

كريم الشعار يحتفي بـ"غنيلي شوي شوي"


عبد الكريم الشعار الليلة عيد

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+Aziz: New Orleanian tones with a Flavor of Khaleeji Beats via @Arab_America @Plusaziz

Here's something you do not see every day!

Recent years saw a change in the Arabic music scene. While classic music, or what is known as Tarab, was trending during the sixties through the seventies, the rest of last century saw  Arab music taking a different theme, especially with the introduction of video clips. In order for singers to become more popular, they based their music on fast rhythms and simple lyrics, and presented the song with a video clip of high quality.

But recent years saw the rise of a totally different music genre, a genre that is more independent, uses social media to spread, and mixes different music genres from around the world to produce new styles.

+Aziz is a Kuwaiti singer- songwriter, as he loves to describe himself. On his about.me page, he writes: “Drawing on the ethos of alternative rock and folk, I am an Arab songwriter crafting songs that bring together Middle Eastern and New Orleanian heritages.”

The first thing that attracts you to the name is the + sign, and for that Aziz has a story.
“The + sign in front of my name is for branding purposes. I started using it in high school as a nickname. Some people thought I use it out of arrogance, others thought it comes out of my love for math. But at the end of the day, I love receiving different interpretations from people.”
+Aziz was born in Kuwait, where his parents originally come from, but has a strong relationship with United States. He was raised between Kuwait and America. He moved to New York in 2008, and then to New Orleans to deepen his understanding of music.

As a teenager, he used to listen to Kuwaiti music, but his real passion was towards western music. He also started having interest in the independent music scene in some Arab countries, such as Jordan and Lebanon. However, +Aziz realized there was no such scene in the Gulf where he lived. So that’s when he wanted to be part of a new landscape that could happen in that part of the world.
“While I was in the US, I started writing Arabic songs, and at that time, it was not about the meaning, but about the feelings it evokes,” says +Aziz.

Full Interview at Arab America
 

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"Cello": All The Best Looking Arab Actors In One Place!

They have a show in Lebanon that will air fairly soon, the show has been called "Cello" I do not know why, but the promo song gives plenty of airtime to this musical instrument. By how things are looking, this is a big budget show with mainly Lebanese actors but also some Syrians and Egyptians as well. All the big names and good looking appear in this darama. Like Taim Hassan, Yousef Al Khal, Yosra Al Lozy and Nadine Naseeb Njim among others.

But the highlight for me was the title song performed by the lovely Marwan Khoury. This is the biggest gift the show can expect. I love the location, the outfits and all that stunning camera work. They have been reported to use a wide camera shots. The promo does not show a lot or reveal much, but it shows what can be a long triangle. The life of the rich and famous is well-documented.

Enjoy this teaser and appreciate the work of Marwan Khoury at his finest.
 

لاول مرة كليب مسلسل تشيللو - مروان خوري - "حبي الأناني" / ET بالعربي

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The One Guy Who Makes Arabic Music Happen @salhendi

Salem Al Hindi is the top boss at Rotana music. He is the CEO or the equivalent of top manger who overseas just about every contract/deal with Arab artists. He is a celebrity himself as he can be seen alongside all the big and hot names in Arabic music. He can also be mean sometimes, and he does not look kindly on attacks from pop stars at his company.

In a recent interview, Salem seemed candid about Arabic pop and the business, he gave the interview to that popular magazine "Saydaty". He has few nuggets to say

1. Rotana has the biggest names in Egyptian pop Amr Diab and Tamer Hosny
2. I have special relationship with Amr diab who can be very difficult to deal with.
3. Amr Diab is so demanding and he likes to oversee every aspect out of fear for his brand and his legacy.
4. Same goes for Tamer Hosny, we do all we can to satisfy him artistically. 
5. Some Lebanese singers are so demanding as they overdo it, but cannot point to an artistic problem. 
6. Same artists forget that they are no longer as important or as big of a name as they once were, yet they think they have the upper hand with Rotana. 
7. Most of their demands are to show off and to talk about their prestigious.
8. He does not mean Elissa, whom he likes and calls easy to deal with and he respects for that.
9. Amr Diab is still under contract with Rotana, so there is no negotiation.   
10. Angham, just joined the company now where they will mange her businesses and produce her music.
11. Mohammad Assaf is an important voice, but  as long as he is happy with his production company, good luck to him.
12. He think the world of Najwa Karam and Assi Hallani, he is so diplomatic when he speaks about them and about their rightful place in Rotana 

Little is known about Salem's personal life, but I feel he is the figure most Arab pop stars like to be locked in a room with. Why do I get the feeling he is not a big fan of Assaf?
."

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Is That You Lara Scandar? Thanks To The Amazing @ivannasalameh @rabeeyounes

The Egyptian Lebanese American Italian songstress Lara Scandar does not have a new song or a new album. What she does have is a picture of hers that will make it difficult to tell if that's the real Lara or not? The former contestant on Star Academy credits a stunning work of makeup artist for her fresh and completely different look.

Lara shared the new pictures on her social media profiles and people were generally in love with this talented artist. Some joked that they could not tell if it was really her. One picture had already generated more than 20 K likes after 6 hours of being posted.

This is ho you get the social media working for you, give them a big of surprising mystery. Lara pulled a magic trick so few have done it this well before.

The team behind this photo shoot are
Photography: @rabeeyounes 
Hair: @harouthu 
Makeup: @ivannasalameh 
Styling/ Creative Direction/ Favorite Person: @aminejreissaty

عسل أبيض - الفنانة لارا إسكندر تتحدث عن أخر أعمالها الفنية ومعاد نزول الألبوم وحبها للموضة والألوان

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The Last Morccan Star To Thrive In #Egypt

Jannat is a girl who came from Morocco about ten years ago, and in these short years she came to be the best-selling pop star in Egypt. You will never know she is not an Egyptian though. She sort of helped reshape girl pop, she beat many male pop stars to the sale pie, she is bold, and she is talented. But she is also a business.

She also comes across as a good girl, sweet voice that does happy songs and filty songs. while many pop stars from Morocco skip Egypt, Jannat was the last pop star from the Kingdom to do well and have a thriving career in Egypt. The newer ones seem to chose the Gulf. Jannat did the Samira Said thing and make Egypt her home since the early 00's.

There is simply  no bigger names from Morocco in Egyptian pop.

جنات تجيب على أسئلة زوار FilFan.com وتعد بعدم الغياب أكثر من عامين بين ألبوماتها

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Elissar Finianos Collaborating with @iMarwanKhoury is Like No Other

Marwan Khoury has many fans out there, and the Arab ladies of pop adore working with him. The composer inside him seems to give his best works to them. While they sing their hearts out, he makes sure they sound better with his songs. One lady joins the chorus of his fans, Elissar Finianos will be singing one of his songs and she seems to be energized thinking about it.

Elissar is not a huge name, but she is all on her own, she tends to do classy songs with a different feel, but I think she has not been able to go mainstream. Elissar gave an interview and talked about her upcoming collaboration with Marwan Khoury, her career and few other things.
 إليسار لإيلاف: مع إحترامي لكلّ الفنّانين ولكن لتعاوني مع مروان خوري نكهة خاصّة
)

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Joe Ashkar Seems Liked a Fun Cool Dude!

See this Lebanese playboy/family guy Joe Ashkar speak to a reporter and poke fun of terrorists while talking about art---I have sleeper art cells, awaiting the get go. He released a new song recently and it was a happy go lucky wedding song.

He is a cool dancer who surrounded himself of equally good-looking people! He is content with being a private B list artist in Arabia and an A Lister in Beirut. He seems like to be a cool guy who dressed well and makes sweet music videos. Check this short interview and montage. Joe is a business guy on the side as he owns an upscale club.
 
جو أشقر: أحضّر خلايا فنيّة نائمة بانتظار لحظة الصفر!

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Duets On The Mediterranean: When The Egyptains Met The Greek

Amr Diab for a very long time wanted to be an international pop star. But he had one condition, he only will sing in Arabic. So in the late 90s, he chose to collaborate with a popular Greek pop star Angela Dimitriou. he two released a powerful duet that was an instant hit and decades later, it remains the first international pop hit the Arab world has met.

Needless to say, the second was so fresh and so upbeat that many of us thought it was the greatest song ever. It was the best thing on cassettes and it was the life of the party. We had no internet then, but radio kept playing this song every ten minutes (exaggeration!) The song kept up as many of these songs end up being corny years after their release, not this one.

You see and hear the Greek artist singing in Arabic and living it up in the music video. It was a perfect song that Amr Diab has to his name forever.


Bahebak Aktar - Amr Diab بحبك أكتر - عمرو دياب

Angela Dimitriou ft. Amr Diab - Elleos (Greek, Arabic)

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Latifa Sucks Up To The Gulf And I Like It

Tunisian Latifa gave an interview timed with the release of her new album, see in 2013 she released two albums one for the gulf that seems to have gone unnoticed, and another general pop album that was great. Latifa spoke about how she loves the Gulf region. She prays for the Gulf, and wants this area to prosper. She is brown nosing them, it's all for a paycheck.

She sang a lot of dialects, but this is not her first Gulf album, she made one years and years ago, then she released a single. She likes the region....it's not a comfortable topic to bring up since it feels awkward....the interviewer really pushed her buttons.

لطيفة لـ"إيلاف": الله يحمي الخليج من كلّ أعداء هذه الأمّة


لطيفة - أتحدى | Latifa - Atahadda

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Carmen Suleiman One on One

She is everyone's favorite new comer, she was the first Arab Idol, and she likes to talk to Egyptian media and perform for the Gulf market. Carmen Suleiman joined an exclusive club when she released an album before becoming 20 years of age.

She said a lot in her interview with Fil Fan website, and she looked her finest as she took the answers from the interviewer who seem to love her as much as her music. Her album took two years to see the light of day--she has a high school to finish. Now, she seems to be set on her way to establish her own brand. 12 tracks came in her album.

كارمن سليمان: سأصنع بصمتي بصوتي.. و"أخباري" أقل هدية أقدمها لفنان العرب


كارمن سليمان تتحدث عن ألبومها الأول "أخباري" قريبا على FilFan.com
)

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Saber Rebai Dishes On Music, The Voice, and His Album

Aside from his music, he is known for his ex-wife and his current wife. He is Saber Rebai and he means business and entertainment. A Tunisian who is a rock star and now making the transition into an elder of Arabic music. He is a beloved artist within Rotana who booked every billboard in town. He also occupies a chair on the Voice.

He is a little drama sort of guy. I like to hear him speak, his dialect is pretty special. He has a new album out out and it seems to have landed well. He and the couches on the voice took some heat for not being warm toward Ricky Martin--Saber said they had their mics off that moment. I think Arabs are sucking up to foreign celebrities.

I like how he talked ab out romantic songs--pretty powerful song that shows his quality voice. He has a new music video as well.    

Saber Rebai Interview In Radio Delta صابر الرباعي في راديو دلتا

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Here's The Man Who Removes Amr Diab Songs From YouTube

Mohsen Gaber, Egypt's biggest music producer and the man whose company holds the rights for the  largest number Arabic music archive in the region likes to protect his business. Mohsen who owns the Mazzika company (along with Alam Alphan) and has been the owner for more than four decades speaks about the recent reports about him removing YouTbue videos for songs by Amr Diab.

You may not knows this but before Rotana, Amr Diab had released all of his hits with Mazzika, so the company hold the rights for more of his songs. Sure, Rotana has the songs form the last decade, but the great Amr Diab songs cam out much sooner. Mohsen who is a personal friend or enemy of most Arab singers.

Mohsen is so proud of his past with Amr Diab and Tamer Hosny. He speaks about the rights issues and how he handles complaints or rights violations. His talk seems candid and honest. He employees 300 people who look after his various businesses. He likes to collaborate with and not combat artists. I know in Egypt, they like to remove all kinds of videos and songs that may be violating the artists' or the company's rights.


محسن جابر يوضح حقيقة حذف "مزيكا" لأغنيات عمرو دياب من YouTube

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