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9.10.03
GayMiddleEast.com
Entertainment
By
Zaman F.
Many of you know Samira Said
from her latest 2002 release, “Yom wara Yom” (Day after
Day) which rocked the Arab and European world pretty
hard over the past summer. However, Samira Said’s first
debut in was in the late seventies. This was right after
being discovered by The Great Abdel-Halim Hafiz, who had
heard her perform in her home country. Unfortunately by
the time Samira made it to Egypt to start her music
career, he had passed away.
Ever since the age of three,
I have adored Samira Said. This is probably a
stereotyped gay thing, as I have been told by a close
friend of mine that every gay man has an obsession of
some sort with someone famous. This person is usually a
woman. A diva is even a better example. In my friend’s
case his idol is Celine Dion and I guess in my case it’s
Samira Said! The first song I was ever to hear by her
was “Mosh Hatnazel Anak,” (I won’t let you go) a
romantic lovey-dovey ode to the significant other. From
that day onwards, Samira Said has been one of my
favorite singers of all time.
The Madonna of the Arab
world is what I like to call her. This is due to her
ever changing style and image in her music and
appearance. To many, this may seem like a negative
thing; however, in Said’s case it is hardly so.
The next few years in Said’s
career were exploding with success. Her love scandals
and rumors with the famous composer Baleegh Hamdi, (One
of Om Kalthoum’s famous composers) added to her fame
though tarnishing her popularity. Her popularity
however, picked up as she emerged with beautiful hits
like “Aiwa Bashta’lak Sa’at” (Yes, sometimes I miss you)
a sultry, jazz quite cheesy but sexy track, “Oyoonak
Alit” (Your eyes say so) and Al Gani Ba’d yomein (He
came two days later). Samira’s ever changing style
picked up new armies of listeners as she transitioned in
and out of the many styles and genres out there.
Gambling her music career away and outrageously
experimenting in every situation possible, Samira became
known for her blatant and unconcealed mentality as this
was vividly seen within her music.
In 1998, we saw a lot of
change for Said when she emerged with her “Al Bal” (On
the mind) album. The title track, a livid, furious call
to her loved one, stormed the Arab world. The dramatic
and very sexy video, showed Said’s striking side. Said
was dressed in a black sleeveless dress with a black
shawl spontaneously fluttering across her body. With
wind effects blowing her hair, fires burning everywhere
and Roman style statues engulfing her, a wonderful video
was created. That same album had a great bunch of hits,
the philosophical, mind-numbing “Halit Malal” (Situation
of Boredom) and the wet and jazzy “Beteegee witimshee.”
(You come and you go.)
The next few years witnessed
even more success for Said. With the Rohi (My soul)
album, Said experimented with new producers and
lyricists creating a grand album. The array of the many
styles she experimented established new ground rules for
the Arab song. Bringing her Moroccan influence back into
perspective, the album progressed into becoming yet
another hit for Said.
2000 witnessed the release
of “Lailah Habeebee,” (One night, my love) the title
track of the album, won the best video award in the Arab
world for 2001. The video which significantly costed a
lot more than your average Arab music video, showed Said
in a state of depression and anxiety. With the pathetic
fallacies being anything but pathetic Said showed her
dramatic side. Rain pouring in and out of every possible
place, wine glasses breaking at Victorian style
settings, the video was remarkable! The album had one of
the most beautiful ballads ever sung by Said, “Te’dar
Te’oli” (Can you tell me?) more saucy jazzy influences
with “Malee,” (What’s it got to do with me?) grooving
tracks like “Moshta’alak” (I miss you) and of course,
not leaving anything behind, Samira had the enticing
“Beyban Alaya” (It shows on me) a traditional Arab
track, longer than the typical pop song, with recurring,
mind boggling lyrics. “Lailah Habeebee” was definitely a
winner!
2002 came along and many,
who have never heard of Samira Said before, had suddenly
heard of her. “Yom wara Yom” (Day after Day) is not
necessarily her finest work to date, but definitely her
greatest achievement. She had achieved what I’d like to
call partial international stardom. With the two
international awards, Said has definitely, with no
doubt, set new standards for herself. Many will argue
that “Yom wara Yom” is not a work of art, but merely a
commercially driven album. To an extent there is a lot
of truth in that statement, for “Yom wara Yom” was
released by “Alam El Phan” a record company famous for
creating the best selling albums. It would be wrong to
say that it was just the music that created such
success. “Yom wara Yom” was very cleverly crafted, in
every possible way. The album had the great
collaboration with Cheb Mami. Marketing wise, the album
had premieres in Virgin mega stores in Dubai and Beirut.
The album cover itself was pretty catchy and the video
of “Yom wara Yom” needless to say was spell bounding,
raising controversy across the Arab world, revealing
Said’s sexy and wild side.
What next for Samira Said?
Last I heard that she was putting the finishing touches
to her follow up you “Yom wara Yom.” Expected to be
released later on this year, Samira says that she has a
surprise for everyone! What else is new? Let’s just hope
for yet another repeated success!
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