Amr Diab

Birth name Amr Abdel Basset Abdel Azeez Diab Also known as Father of Mediterranean music, (El-Hadaba) Origin: Port Said, Egypt Genres: Mediterranean Occupations: Singer, composer, arranger, actor Instruments: Vocal Years active: 1983 - present He is an Egyptian singer and composer , the contemporary face of Egyptian al-jeel pop music, according to World Music. Diab is the best-selling Arab recording artist of all time, according to Let's Go Egypt. He was awarded the World Music Award for Best Selling Middle Eastern Artist three times: 1998, 2002 and 2007.He has also sold over 30 million albums worldwide Amr Diab is known as the Father of Mediterranean Music. He has created his own style which is often termed "Mediterranean Music" or "Mediterranean Sound", a blend of Western and Arabic rhythms. In The Mediterranean in Music, David Cooper and Kevin Dawe referred to his music as "the new breed of Mediterranean music". According to author Michael Frishkopf, Amr Diab has produced a new concept of Mediterranean music, especially in his international hit, "Nour El Ain". In his analysis of The Very Best of Amr Diab album, Victor W. Valdivia of Allmusic said: "His music melded traditional Arabic sounds and textures with Western rhythms and instruments. The mesh was dubbed Mediterranean music, and The Very Best of Amr Diab displays Diab's superb skill in creating it. According to the BBC, Diab "has ruled the Arab music world, especially Egypt and the Middle East, since the mid '80s, continually breaking sales records. Amr Diab was born in Port Said, Egypt to a highly educated middle class family. His mother, was a French teacher in the Lycee Francais school of Port Said. Abdel Basset Diab, Amr’s Father, graduated from the faculty of commerce at the University of Alexandria in 1958. He joined the Suez Canal Corporation as an accountant and was promoted to top financial controller (from 1985 until 1989) for the maritime sector in the corporation. He encouraged young Diab to sing for the first time on Al-gala national day (evacuation of British forces from the Suez Canal area & Egypt) on June 18, 1968. Diab was only six years old, and that was Amr's first singing appearance to public. His first performance the National Anthem: Belady, Belady, was broadcast to the Egyptian radio audience from the local broadcasting station. That day Amr was awarded by his Excellency Hassan Rushdie the Governor of Port Said, who also awarded him a guitar as a present after that concert. In 1983, Diab released his first studio album, Ya Tareeq. Diab released three more albums between 1984 and 1987. 1988's "Mayaal" garnered huge success all around the Middle East. It was produced, arranged and remixed by German musicians, Frank Von Dem Bottlenberg and Jörg Evers, with various releases. More success followed in the following years including the albums Shawakkna, Matkhafesh, and We Yloumouni. Amr Diab quickly developed fame for his new style of "Pan-Mediterranean" Arabic music, fusing touches of flamenco and raï with western pop with traditional Arabic rhythms. By 1992, he became the first Arabic artist to start making high-tech music videos." In 1996 he joined "Alam Elphan" productions company which produced for him his most successful album in his entire career "Nour El Ain". "Habibi" from Diab's 1996 album, "Nour El Ain" became a hit worldwide, and was remixed by many of the world's top DJs at the time. A special CD named Habibi: The Remix Album was released later with all of these remixes. Since then, Diab has remained at the top of the Arabic music scene, expanding reach to all parts of the Mediterranean with his 1999 release, Amarain, that featured duets with Algeria's king of rai Khaled in a song called "Qalbi" and Greece's Angela Dimitriou in "Ana Bahibak Aktar" and "Eleos". "Tamally Maak" from Diab's 2000 album became a huge success. Leily Nahari, Diab's first album with Rotana Records, was released in 2004. The album became Rotana's highest selling album of all time and topped charts throughout the Arab World.Diab's album El Leila De was released in the summer of 2007 and topped the Arabic music charts for 22 weeks. Diab received a World Music Award for Best Selling Middle Eastern Artist for the album. In 2008, Diab renewed his contract with Rotana for five more years. In 2009, Diab released a new album Wayah. Diab was the best Artist Selling in the Middle East. he sold 22 million copies worldwide. Diab revolutionized Egyptian show business in several respects, and some of his biographers have referred to him as rebellious, because he challenged everything in Middle Eastern show business, starting from the hairstyle and appearance and ending with the music style, presentation, and financial scale of his projects. Diab’s blending of Western rhythms with Mediterranean and Middle Eastern music styles created a new music style, referred to as Mediterranean music. His song “Tamalli Ma’ak” Always With You,” wherein he introduced Spanish guitar, is a good example of the genre. He became the first Arab singer to make a video to accompany his songs. Diab’s project Nur al-Ayn was the most expensive project in the music industry of the Middle East. The video for this song was the most lavish and expensive project in the Arab music production field and it set a new standard of video-making for his contemporaries. Diab is one of the most popular and acclaimed Arab pop singers of the modern age. In 1997 he won three awards at the Annual Arabic Festival: one for Best Video, for Best Song, and for Best Artist of the Year. The following year Diab received a Triple Platinum Award for the sales of Nour El Ain and also received a World Music Award in Monaco. Discography * Wayah (With Her) - (2009) * El Leila De (This Night) (2007) * Kammel Kalamak (Keep Talking) (2005) * Greatest Hits (1996-2003) (2005) * Leily Nahary (Cd-Single) (2004) * Leily Nahary (My Night, My Day) (2004) * Greatest Hits (1986-1995) (2004) * Allem Alby (Teach My Heart) (2003) * Aktar Wahed (The Most One) (2001) * Tamally Maak (Always With You) (2000) * Amarein (Two Moons) (1999) * The Best Of Amr Diab (1999) * Awedoony (They Got Me Used To) (1998) * Nour El-Ain (Light Of The Eye - Habibi) (1996) * Ragaeen (We'll Be Back) (1995) * Zekrayat (Memories) (1994) * W Ylomoony (And They Blame Me) (1994) * Ya Omrena (Our Life) (1993) * Ice Cream Fi Gleam (Ice Cream In Gleam) (1992) * Ayamna (Our Days) (1992) * Habiby (My Love) (1991) * Matkhafeesh (Don't Worry) (1990) * Shawaana (Missing You) (1989) * Mayyal (In Love) (1988) * Ya Helwa (Hey Pretty) (1988) * Khalseen (We're Even) (1987) * Hala Hala (Welcome, Welcome) (1986) * We Mneen Ageeb Nas (To Whom I Complain?) (1985) * Ghanny Men Albak (Sing From Your Heart) (1984) * Ya Tareea (O Road) (1983)