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Najwa Karam and Wael Kfoury recording new albums
 [FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP/Getty Images] Najwa Karam will release a new album in May. |
After a slow start to the New Year, regional artists are busy working on new albums, videos, TV series and films.
Lebanese star Najwa Karam is busy these days recording songs for her new album which will be released by Rotana in May. She has decided not to shoot a video for her song, "Allah Yeshgel Balo" that was written by Hussein Ismail, composed by Wissam El-Amir and arranged by Roger Khoury.
Prepping his next album, Wael Kfouri is in Egypt recording songs for his next album that will be released in co-operation with Arabica Production Company. Wael has worked with a number of songwriters and composers including Vera Abu Assaf, Hisham Boulos, Fares Iskandar and Selim Salama. He will also be giving a concert together with Elissa on Valentine's Day at the InterContinental Phoenicia Hotel in Beirut. Nancy Ajram recorded her single "Emta Ashoufak" and should be shooting the video soon.
Iraqi artist Claudia Hanna will shoot a video of her new single "Qonbula" (Bomb) but has not decided on locations in Lebanon yet. Adel Sarhan will direct. Claudia is eagerly awaiting the broadcast of her small screen debut, a TV series titled "Mashaer fel Borsa" (Feelings in the Stock Market) starring Hisham Abdel Hamid and Nermine Al-Feki. The series is based on a story by Samir Rajab. Mustapha Ibrahim wrote the screenplay and Medhat Al-Sebai served as director.
In a concert sponsored by Alaan TV station and LCI Entertainment, the Iraqi band UTN1, released their first album, which includes two CDs. The first one, titled "Titthakareen", (You Remember), features nine Arabic songs. The second is titled "One Last Time" and has six English songs recorded in several different rhythms.
In Egypt, veteran star Shwikar returns after 15 years to the silver screen in the film "Kalemni Shokran" that opened in theatres recently. The movie is Shwikar's 92nd. Yousra will star in a TV series titled "Belsham Lahmar", written by Mariam Naoum, directed by Samir Seif and produced by Al-Adl Group. The 30-episode series is a drama that includes a surprise in the middle, and is scheduled to be aired next Ramadan.
Having decided to stay away from the Ramadan drama this year, Mona Shalabi rejected several offers to star in a new TV series following the success of her latest effort, "Harb El-Jawasis" (Spies War). Mona wants to focus on the big screen with her new movie, "Arousa Helwa", which will start in February under director Mariam Abu Ouf. Once shooting ends, Mena will then start in April on a new film project, "Markaz Al-Tegara Al-Alami", (World Trade Center) with director Yossri Khedr Allah.
In Syria, Abbas Al-Nouri portrayed the character of Abul Hassan in the second part of the series "Ahl El-Raya", written by Ahmad Hamid and directed by Seif Sbeiy. The same character was previously played by Jamal Suleiman for director Alaa El-Din Kawkash. Syrian Art Production International (SAPI) produced the series.
Reader Comments
When we speak about Lebanese songs, we must distinguish between two phases. The first phase is that of the master artists and the Golden Age of Lebanese music. Indeed, the old songs were the nicest songs presented by Lebanese master artists, both men and women. The latter’s fame reached all the countries of the Arab world, and their songs were like an everlasting and a nice history that persists till now as a great legacy which every Lebanese and Arab is proud of. The second phase is the phase of the poor and bad music of modern singers, if we can call them master artists; but they are mere performers. They have harmed Lebanese music in general. In fact, the shape and the content of Lebanese music have completely changed it, from a delightful music that delights all who listen to it, to a fast and comic music. It sometimes lacks the nice melodies and lyrics. Nowadays, however, the Lebanese music has become a means of advertisement for some girls. It looks like a clip from an advertisement for costumes, perfumes and the like. All these facts were caused by the new generation, which started lowering the level of Lebanese music. The latter declined a bit. Where are the generations of Fairuz and Wadii El Safi and the other master artists?
The Lebanese song is poor. It is not characterized by good performance, beautiful lyrics or nice tunes. Today, songs rely on fast rhythm, bad lyrics and recycled tunes. This is due to the great number of singers who have emerged on the scene. They do not have beautiful voices, and most of them rely on video clips and seduction. This testifies to the decline of the Lebanese song. Formerly, the Lebanese song was at its best with master artists such as Fayrouz and Wadii Safi, who used to delight their audiences. Today, however, most of the singers want fast rhythms and do not care about the song being delightful. As far as I am concerned, the Lebanese song is at a poor level in terms of lyrics and tunes. However, there are some good artists who are endowed with an artistic sense and good taste. They perform good songs that have artistic sense and good taste. Therefore, I think that Lebanese culture and music officials have to be careful about the decline of the Lebanese song. They must put forth plans to solve this problem and not tolerate those who taint the reputation of the Lebanese song.
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