Ahlam:
Ahlam Ali Al Shāmsi (Arabic: أحلام علي الشامسي) (born February 13, 1969), commonly known as Ahlam (Arabic: أحلام) is a leading female singer from Bahrain who became a UAE citizen in 1996. She has 9 albums to her name, and is popular throughout the Middle East, particularly in the Gulf region.
[edit] Biography
Ahlam started her singing career when she was a little child. She used to sing in weddings and ceremonies, and through this she was noticed by the Kuwaiti music composer, Anwar Abdullah. This recognition lead Ahlam to sign a contract with Funoon Al Emarat, a local Gulf-Music production company. The composer Anwar Abdullah also assisted her through the release of her debut self-titled album, (Ahlam). Ahlam received a personal testimonial from the Saudi artist, Mohammed Abdu (nicknamed Artist Of The Arabs) stating that Ahlam's voice is a Gulf voice by 100%.
Ahlam is also one of the richest Arab singers[citation needed]. She is believed to be one of the most highly paid singers in Rotana. Ahlam is married to a famous Qatari rally champion, Mubarak Al-Hajiri. They had together a baby boy named Fahed and a baby girl named Fatima.
Ahlam lives between Doha and Dubai. she owns two houses in each city. In addition to both houses in Gulf, she also own a flat in Cairo.
[edit] Character and Originality
Ahlam has become so popular in the Gulf, it led a journalist to say, "If you want to be famous just publicly insult or offense Ahlam".
There was a concurrency between Ahlam and Nawal El Kuwaiti, and a race to win the title of the first Gulf female artist. Ahlam repeatedly declared that she and Nawal are sisters, but still insits that she is the first. The two met at a Rotana concert in 2006 and sang a lot of duets, where Nawal finally put an end to this issue, saying that it is not important.
Ahlam is famous for her outspoken behavior and outbursts of anger, as well as a lack of control. This earned her too many enemies and feuds in the artistic milieu. Soon after her marriage, she was publicly accused by a fashion designer of not reimbursing money she owed her for her wedding dress. She once said that Thekra sings out of tune, which she definitely regretted after her colleague's brutal death in 2003. She repeatedly criticized Asalah for singing in the Khaliji dialect that she ought sing first in her native Syrian dialect. But one can't deny her humor after saying that Tarek el Aryan, (Asalah's husband), is a very good director and that she will be glad to collaborate wit him in the future, "of course if the Foreign Affairs Ministry allowed so."
Following Elissa's win of a World Music Award for two consecutive years, she was among the first to accuse Elissa of buying the award.
Among Ahlam's enemies is the controversial Lebanese journalist Nidal el Ahmadia that criticized her for classifying Haifa's singing under heavenly and poetic Fairouz's category and asked her for a public apology after her fans compared Fairouz's voice to a chicken singing for drunkards. Ahlam responded with what reassembles to the typical Arab proverb:"The dogs may bark, but the caravan goes on!" An infuriated Nidal declared she will sue Ahlam for public profanity and defamation in the UK, UAE, Lebanon and Bahrain.
[edit] Discography
- Motheer (1995, Funoon Al Emarat)
- Ma'aa Al Salamah (1996, Funoon Al Emarat)
- Kaif Artha (1997, Funoon Al Emarat)
- Ma yeseh Ela El Saheeh (1998, Funoon Al Emarat)
- Tabee'ee (1999, Funoon Al Emarat)
- Mekhtlef (2000, Funoon Al Emarat)
- Le Elmak Bas (2001, Funnon Al Emarat)
- Ahsan (2003, Alam El Phan)
- El Thokol Sana'a (2006, Rotana Records)
[edit] External links
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