Buy Wayah online NOW

Days after release, WAYAH is already being hailed as Amr Diab's finest achievement to date with twelve new tracks that usher in a new era. Now available online for fast and reliable delivery to your home.

Wayah (2009 Album)

Ya Kanada!

Here's a novel way to celebrate Canada Day (not that you would but regardless)

Have a listen to the Arabic version of the Canadian National anthem. Popularly known as O Canada the translation gives us the rather charming Ya Kanada alternative :)

Wayah RELEASED

Official release date
Wayah
June 27, 2009

Now widely available in the Arab World!
We'll keep you posted on the international situation!!
Comments, anyone on this long awaited CD??

Prerelease photos

Rotana's prerelease photo shows that someone has been working out over the past little while. Gotta be fit for the promotional whirlwind bound to surround the new release. Do you find this photo to be too "teenish"??

Poster too "teenish"?

Amr Diab’s album poster harshly criticized

For the second straight time, Amr Diab’s new album poster, usually adapting the album cover, was under attack. The cover for Diab’s latest album, El Leila Di (Tonight), featured him topless, Diab was startled by the criticism at the time, citing the photographer Karim Nour as creative and audacious.

Wallpapers for the new album, Wayyah (With Her), were posted on the Egyptian leading pop singer’s official website. It depicts him tattooed on arm with an inscription of Abdallah, the name of his only son, in low rise jeans. Many of Diab’s fans think the low rise jeans is too teenish for their mature cult star.

The album track titles are as follows:

Wayyah : Lyricist Tamer Hussein, Composer Amr Mostafa
Addemt Albi : Ayman Bahgat Qamar Mostafa
Allah ala Hobbak Enta : Magdi Ennaggar Mostafa
Tammenni : Khaled Tag Eddin, El Badri Kalbash
Ella Habibi : Abdel Meneim Taha, Diab
Helwa El Ayyam : Tag Eddin, Diab
Ah Mil Foraq : Bahaa Eddin Mohamed Diab
Yhemmak fi Eih : Qamar Mohamed Yehia
Eini wana Shayfo : Mohamed Mostafa
Whyatik Khalliki : Taha Amr Tantawi
Malik : Qamar Diab
Biedt Leih : Hani Abdel Karim Khaled Ezz

Link

Hot New Album Poster

With the album poster now released, we can be confident that the release date will stand at July 1st. Amr chose this date to showcase Canada Day, an annual celebration where Canadians paint their faces with maple leaves and picnic in the parks.

At any rate, hold onto your hats! 9 days and 11 hours and WAYAH is out!!

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WAYAH : 01 July 2009

The new CD entitled Wayah will, inshallah, be out on 01 JULY 2009. Don't want to wait that long (and who would?), no need. Listen to samples.

3einy Wana Shayfo
Ba2adem Alby
Helwa El Ayam
Malak
Wayah
Yehemak Fe Eh

happy??

Promotional "secrets"

The famous Lebanese superstar Ragheb Alameh accused the famous Egyptian superstar Amr Diab of promoting his new albums by making false claims they are leaked to the public illegally via internet websites before their official release.

Alameh said, “Ever since Amr Diab entered the music field we have repeatedly heard that his songs were leaked from his album, and I think that is a smart method to promote his songs
Link

News from the Chiswick Studio

In the early morning hours of May 17th Amr Diab officially ended his final day in the recording studios after what has been a tedious journey to complete his latest album which has taken him two full years to complete (the largest duration Amr has ever taken to complete an album!). He had planned for Hassan El Shafei -who arranged all the songs in the album- and Tamer El Zoeby, the sound engineer, to fly to London to finally master the songs Amr had chosen for the album; but after the tragic death of Mohammad Alaa Mohammad Hosni Mubarak on the 18th of May all plans were put on hold until further news had surfaced!

After Amr personally attended the funeral ceremony, Hassan El Shafei and Tamer El Zoeby were off to the Metropolis Studios in London to begin the digital mastering of the songs. But two days ago, Amr decided to personally fly to London and continue work with Hassan and Tamer on the digital mastering, wanting to make sure that everything would be undergone the way he advices.

Today, Amr and the crew are expected to return to Egypt with the master copy of his album, which Rotana is expected to receive by Saturday at the very latest. Afterwards the official promotion and countdown for the album will begin! After arriving from London, Amr will begin work on the official poster to accompany his album, and possibly even begin early plans of what he has in mind for his video clip! It has been rumoured that the album will contain 12 songs, instead of Amr’s usual 10, due to the long delay, but no confirmation has been given yet! The album, which is expected to be the “next big step” in Arabian music, is expected to hit stores in late June.
Link

Newspapers Hit The Street

Amr Diab released the first issues of his new newspaper. The newspaper is called “Alshareaa” or 'The Street' that covers a wide range of issues. In fact Amr is very happy because just an hour from releasing 35,000 copies of the newspaper to multiple places all over Egypt, 31,000 copies were sold! That indeed is a great success. However, Amr Diab wouldn’t be enjoying all of the success by himself but with his partner in the newspaper Iman Mohseb. Link

Rotana Cafe coffee break

Amr Diab at opening of Rotana Cafe, Cairo

Next time you're in Cairo be sure to check out the new Rotana Cafe, billed as a theme cafe for the trendy to spot the even trendier. Our very own Amr Diab graced the opening. Say no more.

Of course we already know that, not only Amr, but most Arab entertainment megastars are already under contract with Rotana. Did you also know that they own 4 major duplication facilities, TV and cinema channels, a cinema library and a popular magazine? The cafes chain are but the latest in the diversification and expansion of a kingdom.

Still Powerful but ...

According to Arabian Business, Amr Diab remains one of the world's most influential Arabs although he has fallen to #46 on their list from #24 last year.

But as they state on their website, "Winning one World Music Award is no easy feat, but securing three is a rare achievement." It should be noted that Amr is #8 within his Culture and Society category, and #2 amongst musicians (behind oud idol Marcel Khalifa at #29).


The list also dubs him the fifth most influential Egyptian within the Arab world, regardless of category. Mabrook ya Amr.

Pop star goes political??

Couple of interesting developments:

1) in a supposed "leak" to the media, sources say that Amr plans to branch out into political publishing with a newspaper to be entitled Fi Al Shari (In The Street). This could be interesting.

2) latest of the latest release dates (for the new album of course) is now set at June 14th, 2009.

No singing at the 24th wedding

The wedding will be aired on various satellite stations so you'll be able to see for yourself if Amr "keeps his mouth shut" (as it were).

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The famous Lebanese artist Haifa Wahbe denied rumors that the famous Egyptian superstar Amr Diab will perform at her wedding. Haifa said that Diab will not attend her wedding party as a singer, but as a friend to her husband. Haifa will marry Egyptian businessman Ahmad Abu Hashima and the wedding ceremony will take place 24 April in Beirut. The couple will honeymoon in Capri.
Link

2009-04-25 update. Not only did Amr not sing at this wedding, he did not even attend (reasons unexplained), the ceremony was not broadcast live (kuddos), however, the happy pair was married and are now honeymooning in Capri.

Creating buzz?

Pre-releasing Amr Diab’s Album

Amr Diab shouldn’t have been surprised to hear songs from his unreleased album all over the internet and on mobile phones nationwide. This is not the first or second, but the third time that this has happened. Diab’s albums Alem Albi (Teach my Heart, 2003) and El-Laila Dee (Tonight, 2007) were sold on cheap pirated cassettes and CDs days before their official release.

Behind the scenes at music studios, it is rumored that some singers like to leak their own songs to create a buzz before the official launch. Link

Spring Wedding

Later this month, Amr Diab will perform at the Beirut wedding of Lebanese artist Haifa Wahbi and Egyptian businessman and jetsetter, Ahmad Abu Hashima. The pair has been together for two years.

Diab is considered one of Abu Hashima’s closest friends and the wedding will take place at the upscale "Al Beel" hall, just steps from Amr's own villa.

As an interesting side note, Haifa will present the ever popular Ramadan Riddle Game Show "Fawazeer" in 2009. The show, with a budget of US$9 million will be aired in 30 episodes on both MBC (Egypt) and LBC (Lebanon).

Summer scenario??

At the time when official news had appeared that Amr Diab's anticipated album would be released at the beginning of the coming month, more bad news surfaced over the past couple of days that could lead to the biggest gap between Amr Diab's albums ever!

According to Hossam Moustafa, one of the managers in Rotana, Amr Diab has decided to postpone the album once again to continue working on it and present the best to his fans around the world.

Amr is currently working with various writers and composers in the Middle East, such as Ayman Bahgat Amar, Khaled Tag El Deen, Tamer Hussien, and his lifetime friend Magdi El Nagar, and from the composers he has continued to work with is Amr Moustafa, who is expected to compose around five songs in the album.

It is also evident that Mohammad Yehia and Amr Diab have finally reconciled and Diab will include a new song from Yehia in his album named, "Yehemak Fe Eih".
Khaled Ezz is also one of the composers Amr has worked with on the album, he composed one of the leaked songs "Be3et Leih", and "Yama" which is expected to be in the album. Other songs expected to be in the album are "Allah 3ala Hobbak Enta", "Tamini", "Ah Men El Fora2", "Fakrenik", "Kollo Ella Habibi", "Zekrayat Eih" and "7abetak Alf Mara". Link

Flashback. Easter still valid date for release?

"The four leaked songs are just primitive demos" These were the words of Amr Diab regarding the leak of four songs which are (Youm Ma Abeltak - Be`dt - Kollo Ella Habibi - Makontesh Nawy). He said: "I hope that my work is not judged according to demos as they are way different from the final state, especially that the final versions are 20 times better than the leaked ones." He also stated that the two songs "Youm Ma Abeltak" and "Ella Habibi" are absolutely different from the leaked versions, expecting that the song "Ella Habibi" is the biggest surprise in his new album.

Meanwhile, Diab has decided to start working on his new album once again, as he and the composer Amr Mostafa are working hard together to select new songs. Amr Mostafa said: "I spend 18 hours a day with Diab in his studio working on new songs for his album, and we`re still selecting them"

On another note, Rotana spokesman Hossam Mostafa said that it is illogic to think that Rotana was responsible for the leak of those songs simply because the "Digital Master" of the album was not handed by Amr Diab to Rotana yet.

Concerning the album release date, no specific release date was scheduled, but the album will undergo the mastering process within 15 days and it is expected to be released in March by Easter Festivals.

Amr Rocks (March 13)

It was one unforgettable night with Amr Diab, Elissa and Nawal at Laiali Febraiar last night. Diab performed for two continuous hours and entertained his fans with his usual passion and unique on-stage charisma.

One incident was about to ruin the night, but was handled by Diab himself; a handicapped fan was trying to reach for Amr to shake his hand but couldn't reach, was about to be stopped by the security, but Amr stopped them and went down to greet her himself. In another incident, a couple of fans jumped onto the stage to greet the star, but were tackled by security. The audience wasn't allowed to take photos with their cellphone cameras.

The audience requested some songs from Amr's new album, but he refused to sing any because he's afraid they'd get leaked again on the Internet!

Before Amr took to the stage, Elissa performed for the audiences. Nawal performed after Amr finished his performance and ended the third concert of Laiali Febraiar. Link

March 13th concert to "Welcome February"

Once again, Amr will be one of a glittering lineup of stars participating in Kuwait's annual Hala Febrayer Festival. This year's "February Nights" are taking place in "March", the event having been postponed earlier in the year due to the tragic bombardment of Gaza. Reports say that a portion of the profits raised will go to Gaza.

Sponsors Rotana and ElwatanTV will both be broadcasting the show.

The list of artists includes, from Kuwait, Bashar Al Shati Nabil Shoail, Kuwaiti Nawal and Abdullah Rowaished. From Saudi Arabia, Rashes Al Majed, Abed Al Majid Abdullah, Abu Baker Salem and Muhammad Abdoh, and from Egypt, Tamer Hosni, Shireen Abed Al Wahab and Amro Diab.

From the United Arab Emirates, Hussein Al Jismi and from Lebanon, Nancy Ajram, Elissa, Fadel Shaker, Najwa Karam and Nawal Al Zoghbi.

Language destined to be sung by angels

The last speaker of Arabic on Earth will probably be a tour guide, singing songs in the early morning air as he escorts tourists who have never heard his native tongue. He will tell them about the poetry of Mutannabi, the words of Umm Kulthum and the music of the Cairo khan and the Sana’a souq and they will smile and wonder how such a beautiful language could ever pass from the Earth ... Arabic may never die, but its relevance may fade ... Arabic – brace yourselves people of the Arab world – is not considered cool.

As popular as Nancy Ajram and Amr Diab are, there are not many non-Arabic speakers itching to understand their words ...Arabic sometimes seems like a language destined to be sung by angels or whispered by lovers, not to be the language of the boisterous street.

Link to full article

Happy Valentine's Day Anyway ...

No new release today ... it was a nice dream ... but trust everyone has a wonderful Valentine's Day anyway ... and that goes double for my Valentine :) Here's how it seems to stand.

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A few weeks ago it was rumored that a few songs off Amr Diab's latest album got leaked, and it turned out that there were a few songs that escaped unto the net and thus they wont be included in the album! Three of these leaked songs "Makontsh Nawi", "Be3et Leih", "Lama Abeltak" have been axed, "Kollo Ella Habibi", which is rumored to be a duet with an international superstar, might be in the album, but will sound totally different from the leaked version.

Amr Diab will finish the final touches on the album at the end of this week, and will travel to London for the digital mastering soon. The leaked song "Makontsh Nawi" has seen a tremendous amount of popularity in the Arab World. Unprecedented for a leaked song.The new release date for the album will be sometime in March.

On another level, a leaked version of the new Pepsi Commercial "Tamini" has been leaked. But the final version has yet to be released. By Guest Writer Masri Link

Songs Leaked ... Coming Soon!!

Valentine's Day release date anyone?? I'm thinking our chances are pretty good and that will be #1 on my wishlist (just the same, don't forget the flowers habibi ... easy on the chocolate!!)

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Four Songs Leaked

As consistently, before the official release of Amr Diab’s new album some of the songs got leaked. Four songs are already out, “ Lama Abeltak” , “Makontish Nawi”, “Teebt” and “Illa Habibi”. But it’s not definite yet whether these songs will be included in the new album, and actually we hope they won’t! Since the songs are surprisingly bad if we exclude only “Makontish Radi” which is fairly adequate.

The audience may be expecting more from Amr Diab since he’s an important and experienced artist, and those songs certainly doesn’t fulfill our hopes of foreseeing a great album from Amr.

The official release of the album is expected to be on 14th of February, followed by a big campaign from Rotana. Worth mentioning, this is Amr’s fourth album produced by the mentioned music production company. Link

New Year's Eve continued

...Dubai prince Muhammad Bin Rashed Al Maktoom had requested the cancelation of all New Year’s celebration taking place in Dubai in support for the Palestinian people. Famous Arab artist like the Saudi singer Muhammad Abdoh, Iraqi singer Kathem Al Saher and Lebanese artist Nancy Ajram all had their concerts canceled in Dubai.

On a similar note, the Emirati Prince had canceled the concert for the famous Egyptian superstar Amr Diab, and then went back on his decision when Diab decided to donate all the money for the Red Crescent to help the wounded in Gaza. Diab has donated an equal amount of one million and a half American dollars ... Link

New Year kicks off with new releases

Nine new albums are scheduled for release at the beginning of the new year. The first one on the list is an album for the famous Egyptian superstar Amr Diab where he’ll be working with Rotana on it, yet no name has been set for it.

Diab has already chosen and finished recording all ten songs on the album which are; “Bithebni” (She Loves Me), “Malak” (Angel), “Fakrinak” (We Thought You Were), “Hawel Tensani” (Try to Forget Me), “Ah Min El Foraa” (Departure Is Hurtful), “Ya Reet Sinak Yezeed Sanateen” (I Wish You Age Two More Years), “Tamini” (Assure Me) and “Awdeti Albi” (My Heart Got Used To).

Diab is scheduled to film two songs from the new album and the wage the singer will receive on the new contract between Diab and Rotana has not been revealed yet. Link

New Year's Eve controversies

In spite of the tragic events in Gaza and despite the cancellation of most New Year's eve bashes across the Arab world, some stars thought it would be a better idea to go on ....

In Dubai, despite the news of canceling all concerts and parties, Amr Diab and Amal Hijazi went on with their concert as planned and entertained the attendees, ushering them into 2009 with their most famous and popular songs.

Link

(du)bai concert and contests

du is once again entertaining music fans in the region with two music concerts by popular singers Shakira performing in Abu Dhabi and Amr Diab and Amal Hijazi, performing in Dubai on New Year’s eve (31 December). Shakira will perform at Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi, while Amr Diab and Amal Hijazi are slated to perform at the Al Bustan Rotana hotel in Dubai.

Complementary tickets on offer:

Listeners can take part in competitions running on Al Arabia and Umm Al Qwain Radio stations to win complementary tickets for two. The competition will run during the period from 22 – 30 December.

New Years Eve with Amr & Amal

Amr Diab will be sharing the bill on December 31st with Lebanese superstar, Amal Hijazi. The New Year's Eve extravaganza will be hosted at Dubai's luxurious Al Bustan (Rotana) Hotel.

Want to stay the night? Rates range from 165 to 1,040 EUR.

Holiday Happenings and new CD sneak peak!

• Look for the story of Amr's Life to be shown on December 24th on various Arabic channels.
• NEW CD scheduled for release on New Year's Eve (hmmmm ... we'll see!)
• Dubai fans should be able to ring in 2009 with Amr Diab at his New Year's Eve concert

Can't wait for the new release??
LINK to a youtube video with one of Amr's new.
Plenty more where that came from!

Bahrain security exaggeration?

Amr Diab Concert in Bahrain

Egyptian singer Amr Diab held a successful concert in Bahrain recently in which more than 80 thousand people attended the concert...

What was surprising about the concert is the number of bodyguards that accompanied Amr Diab; believe it or not, 2000 bodyguards were present with him!

How much did Amr Diab get for this concert, you may ask? A whopping two million (not sure if it's in Egyptian pounds or dollars).

Link to story
or go to www.3amrdiab.com main website