No more Musika....

Now that I don't have to keep up this blog for class anymore, I think I'm going to start posting my journal entries here or perhaps just begin in a fresh blog.

I'm a bit skeptical about this Livejournal thing now, and have a feeling one day it will be used as a means to an end... whatever that means.

So, once I come back from Halab (which should be in the end of July) expect to see daily updates.

Salamat.

~Salma

Egypt Forgives Haifa

Despite the Egyptian commotion over Lebanese singer Haifa Wahbi, which has led to her being banned from the country (along with other such singers), Wahbi has resumed activities in Egypt and has been going the country's captial regularly in preparation for her upcoming album.

Officials at the Egyptian Musician Association realized that the singer had not made any direct insults to Egypt, thereby withdrawing the ban that they had imposed on her a few months earlier. Wahbe has begun holding extensive work sessions with Egyptian composers and poets to chose the right songs for the new album.

Vote for Diab!

Egyptian pop-star Amr Diab will run for elections in the Egyptian Parliament, which will take place immediately after the Presidential elections. With the help of his numerous fans, Diab hopes that his attempt to attain a governmental position will be successful. He has already begun his new political campaign. He is not putting his singing career on hold, however.

What would be nice to find out is why he chose to do this in the first place, and what he plans to achieve should he get his desired position. But is he pulling a Schwarzenegger? We'll have to wait and see.

Concert in Khartoum!

Iraqi singer Kathem el Saher is preparing to sing for the first time in Sudan, a country that will be celebrated as this year's Culture Capital.

The concert will take place on Apr. 21.

Kathem's latest album is recieving great success. He is also very busy with the prospect of his new album and the music videos he is preparing to film.

A Duet With Diab and Lopez!

Jennifer Lopez and Amr Diab

Egyptian singer Amr Diab, just finished recording a duet with Jennifer Lopez, the very famous American singer from the Bronx, NY! Diab has also just finished working with Lopez in a Pepsi Cola commercial.

Diab claims that he has not begun recording his new album because he is working very hard to satisfy the tastes of those not only in the Arab world, but also around the globe as well, in an attempt to become famous internationally.

Najla Survives Verbal Attacks

Najla

Tunisian singer Najla is currently the most controversial singer in the Arab world. She launched her career with music videos that contained extremely sexual images and made other such singers look significantly more innocent. She is on the top list of porn stars, and although that might be a rumor, that is the reason Egyptian officials have forbidden her from entering the country. It's possible that these officials don't want to take into consideration that she a performer and not a singer.

Despite all criticisms, Najla has returned to business and is currently situated in Lebanon, where she feels she is accepted.

Diab Richest Arab Singer

In ranking the richest Arab singers, Egyptian singer Amr Diab came in first place, and is reported as being worth up to 37 million US dollars.

Long-time Lebanese singer Fairouz came second place with 34 million dollars, followed by Egyptian singer Hani Shaker, owning 32 million.

Next down the line are Lebanese singer Elissa, Syrian singer George Wassouf, Iraqi singer Kathem el Saher, Lebanese singer Marcel Khalifeh, Lebanese singer Nancy Ajram (who is the youngest of them all, at 21 years of age), Lebanese singer Ragheb Alama and finally Najwa Karam who comes in at tenth place.

These ten singers are what you might call "hot" at the moment and make their money through the demands from their fans and audiences to perform.