Amr Diab
Amr Abdel Basset Abdel Azeez Diab (Arabic: عمرو عبد الباسط عبد العزيز دياب, IPA: [ˈʕɑmɾe deˈjæːb]; born 11 October 1961) is an Egyptian singer, composer and actor.[1] He has established himself as a globally acclaimed recording artist and author.[2] He is a Guinness World Record holder, the best selling Middle Eastern artist, a seven-times winner of World Music Awards and five-times winner of Platinum Records.[2]
Amr Diab
El Hadaba ("The Plateau", "The Hill")
- Singer
- composer
- actor
1983–present
- Vocals
- guitar
- oud
- piano
- Delta Sound (1984–1998)
- Alam El Phan (1996–2003)
- Rotana (2004–2015)
- Nay for Media (2016–present)
Early life[edit]
Diab was born as Amr Abdel Basset Abdel Azeez Diab (Arabic: عمرو عبد الباسط عبد العزيز دياب) on 11 October 1961 in Port Said[3] to a middle-class Muslim family from the Egyptian countryside of Menia Elamh, in Sharqia Governorate, Egypt. Diab graduated with a bachelor's degree in music from the Cairo Academy of Arts in 1986.[4]
Music career[edit]
Diab released his first album entitled Ya Tareeq in 1983. Diab's second album, Ghanny Men Albak (1984), was the first of a series of records he released with Delta Sound; including Hala Hala (1986), Khalseen (1987), and Mayyal (1988), with the title track becoming one of the top 10 songs in the world at the time. His later releases include Shawa'na (1989), Matkhafesh (1990), Habibi (1991), Ayyamna (1992), Ya Omrena (1993), Weylomony (1994), and Rag'een (1995).
By 1992, he became the first Egyptian and Middle Eastern artist to start making high-tech music videos.[5]
In 1996, Diab released his first album with Alam El Phan entitled Nour El Ain, and he won the World Music Award for the first time, which proved an international success and gained Diab recognition beyond the Arabic-speaking world. Diab recorded four more albums with Alam El Phan, including Amarain (1999). Diab also collaborated with Khaled (on the song "Alby") and with Angela Dimitriou (on the song "Bahebak Aktar").
According to research by Michael Frishkopf, he has created a style in the song "Nour El Ain", termed as "Mediterranean music", a blend of Western and Egyptian rhythms.[5]
In the summer of 2004, Diab, having left Alam El Phan, released his first album with Rotana Records, Leily Nahary, which he followed up with the hugely successful Kammel Kalamak (2005), and El Lilady (2007).
Wayah was released for sale on the internet on 27 June 2009; however, the album was leaked online and was downloaded illegally amid complaints of slow download speed on the official site. Diab's fans initiated a massive boycott of the sites with the illegal copies.[6]
On 18 October 2009, Diab won four 2009 African Music Awards in the categories of best artist, album, vocalist and song for "Wayah"; Diab had been nominated by the Big Apple Music Awards.[7]
In February 2011, Diab released his hit single Masr Allet ("Egypt spoke"), followed by the release of his album Banadeek Taala in September, produced by Rotana. In 2012, Diab hosted the first Google Hangout in the Middle East during his performance in Dubai. In October 2014, Diab released his album Shoft El Ayam, which topped his last album El Leila and again became the best-selling album in Egypt on iTunes. In July 2015, Diab released a music video for his song "Gamalo" from his album Shoft El Ayam. In March 2016, he released Ahla w Ahla, his first album since he left Rotana Music. The album was produced by the record label Nay For Media. His new album Maadi el Nas was released in July 2017 with Nay Records.[8]
His 2014 album Shoft El Ayam peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard World Albums Charts, making him the first Egyptian and Middle Eastern performer to accomplish such a feat.[9]
In October 2018, he released a new album called Kol Hayaty. In 2019, he released a mini-album, Ana Gheir, and in February 2020 he released his 35th album, Sahran, which included 16 songs.
In February 2022, Anghami announced an exclusive partnership that will see the Diab's entire Nay Label audio and video catalogue and future releases available only on Anghami.[10][11]
Musical style[edit]
Diab is known as the "father of Mediterranean music".[12] David Cooper and Kevin Dawe refer to his music as "the new breed of Mediterranean music".[13] According to author Michael Frishkopf, Diab has produced a new concept of Mediterranean music, especially with his international hit, "Nour El Ain".[5] Moreover, Diab is known as a composer, having composed more than 97 of his own songs.
Music videos[edit]
Diab is one of the first singers to popularize music videos in the whole MENA region and is the first Egyptian singer to appear in music videos.[5]
Egyptian Revolution[edit]
During the 2011 uprising, some protesters criticized Diab for staying silent, and for fleeing Egypt for London.[16] A few days after former President Hosni Mubarak stepped down, Diab composed and sang a memorial song, "Masr A'let" (Egypt Said),[17] and released it in conjunction with a music video showing pictures of the martyrs who died in the uprising. He initiated a charity campaign "Masry Begad" ("Truly Egyptian").[18] His online radio station Diab FM often presents talks and discussions about what the Diab FM team can offer to the community as well as applying it practically by being present in different sites across Egypt with a new humanitarian project each week.[19]
Personal life[edit]
Diab has an elder daughter from his first marriage to Egyptian actress Shereen Reda. In 1994, he was married to Saudi businesswoman Zeina Ashour. They have three children. In 2018, he went on to marry Egyptian actress, Dina El Sherbiny, after his relationship with Ashour ended.[20] It is unknown whether they were separated or divorced.[21] However, Diab and El Sherbiny separated in late 2020.[22]
Program "Al-helm"[edit]
A program produced by Amr Afifi, consisting of 12 parts aired on Rotana Music, Rotana Cinema and Egyptian Channel 1 station. The program detailed the biography of Diab and was scheduled to be launched simultaneously with the release of Amr Diab's new album, but the album's release was postponed to a later date.
