Source:

http://www.albawaba.com

World Gold Council (WGC), the global advocate of gold, in partnership with the region’s leading jewellery house Damas, has launched this year’s ‘Generation Gold’ Youth Campaign featuring its centrepiece youth jewellery brand – Farfasha.

Nancy Ajram, the celebrated face of Farfasha for three years now, portrays a charming girl-next-door enjoying a typical day in a quaint neighbourhood on a lazy weekend – roaming around in a bicycle, passing by a fruit stand, enjoying baked goodies in a local bakery and meeting a new acquaintance in one of the neighbourhood cafes.

The subtle story demonstrates the many facets of a young woman and how Farfasha jewels compliment each of her transformation.

The new TV commercial was shot in historic Batroun, a coastal city 53km from Beirut in Lebanon.

The new Farfasha jewels featured in the TV commercial were created by seven noted Italian designers who came up with funky and colourful designs that set the youth trends for the season.

What makes the latest collection even more unique is that the pieces can be personalised according to the wearer’s tastes.

For example, the chain can be worn as a bracelet and the charms can be interchanged among the various pieces of jewellery. Crafted in 18kt gold, the fashionable and highly affordable jewels are exclusively available at Damas outlets in the UAE and overseas.

Source:

http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com

Enjoying huge success since it was introduced two years ago, ‘Farfasha’, which translates to ‘chill out’ in Arabic, has made gold a staple in many a young lady’s wardrobe. Teeming with rainbow colours and charming details the new collections take inspiration from nostalgia, dreams and brand iconography.

Tawhid Abdullah, Managing Director of Damas said, “Through our close collaboration with WGC, Farfasha has risen to become one of the most popular brands in the Arab World. Its latest offerings are geared towards young jewellery lovers, keeping in mind their dreams, aspirations and insatiable need for self-expression. With the launch of the new collections, we anticipate even greater success for the brand’s unique concept in gold jewellery.”

Damas and WGC have commissioned seven noted Italian designers to create the new Farfasha collections. Apart from the funky and colourful designs, what makes the latest collections unique is that the pieces can be personalised according to the wearer’s tastes. In the latest Farfasha TV commercial airing across the region, Arab singing sensation Nancy Ajram, the Youth Ambassador of Farfasha, demonstrates the versatility of the jewels. The latest collections of Farfasha are now available in Damas shops across the Middle East.

Source ::: THE PENINSULA

http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com

• Last Updated: September 23. 2008 4:06PM UAE / September 23. 2008 12:06PM GMT

The singer Karl Wolf plays guitar, bass and the piano. EMI

The Lebanese-born, Canada-based R&B singer, Karl Wolf, has been nominated as the best MTV Arabia New Act at the MTV European Music Awards.

My parents were both musicians. My mom was a piano teacher and my dad played the guitar, drums, bass – we had every single instrument in the house, and both of my brothers are musical, too.

When I came to Canada, that’s when I knew I could make money out of this industry. We all have to earn our way, and I would have played music whether it was my job or not, so I thought why not. I took it as a business – the industry is all about marketing, and sadly music is only about 50 per cent of it, but I knew that.

I was born in Beirut, and when I was three moved to Dubai because of the civil war. My parents’ house, their belongings, their business, were in ruins, and my brother was working in Dubai so we fled there. We lived in Sharjah, and then when I graduated school, I went to university in Canada, where I studied film. But I always loved the entertainment business and I did some music at college.

When I was growing up, I wanted to stay away from the music of my own culture – I thought it wasn’t cool, and I wanted to listen to Michael Jackson and Prince. But the older I got, the more I wanted to go into my culture and heritage and see what I’d missed, so I started stealing my mum’s CD collection of traditional Arabic music. It wasn’t popular music, I just wanted something to open my mind musically, and that’s what gave me the inspiration for my first single, Butterflies. It was something different, and the industry is all about being original and fresh, after all: how do I stand out, right?

The drama in Arabic music is always sad – the girl left and the guy misses her or whatever – and that’s the reason it’s in this minor key, to express this sadness. But Western music is not so emotional, so what I did was use the positive of what I heard from Arabic music – the rhythmic side – to make Butterflies uplifting. That sadness is something that’s so special to Arab musicians: I just didn’t know how to feel that strongly, because I grew up listening to Western music.

I play music because it lets me express myself. In the way that some people need to go to the gun range, or someone hits the drums, for me when I play the piano, even by myself, I let go of my emotions. I’m on my own, no one calls me, no one can get hold of me – that aloneness is what inspires me, it brings everything out of me.

Mainly I write on my own, too. It brings a true and honest view of what I want to write, and once someone else puts their vibe on it, you’ve compromised. The lyrics are coming from deep within you, so how can you compromise on them? Lyrics are special for that, but I think you can collaborate on music. When I’m writing, I generally start with the music, and once I have a vibe, that dictates what I’m feeling, so the lyrics come.

I have a Yamaha baby grand. I’ve had it for about seven months because I’ve just moved into a new place in downtown Montreal. It’s amazing, with enormous windows and a real skyline view. I grew up playing my mum’s regular upright, a humble instrument. It’s very different playing other pianos. When you play a grand, the sound resonates more, the acoustic is much better and it’s a feeling you can’t match.

When I’m playing on stage, I tend to stick with electric instruments. In Egypt, I did a concert with Nancy Ajram and they provided a grand piano, but because of the rhythms and beats of R&B it just didn’t really work out. You needed to be playing slower stuff on that piano. And they just take up too much space.

I play guitar, bass and drums too – I started in this business as a producer, for eight years, and while you don’t need to be able to play everything, it helps to imagine how something is going to be played. Producing is like realising the songs, from a dream to something tangible – hiring the musicians, getting the best guitarist, and you direct the whole process. It’s amazing – it’s like pieces of a puzzle and they all just fall into place. I have to credit God for that, because you look back and you think: how did that all happen?

Source:

http://www.thenational.ae

Umniah, Jordan’s pioneering provider of telecommunications services, is now offering its subscribers the chance to enjoy songs from Nancy Ajram’s newly released album “Bitfakar Fi Eh” . Such an initiative is offered via its “Aghanilak” ring back tone, (RBT) feature. Songs, which will replace the traditional ring tone, will be presented as RBT exclusively by Umniah for six months. This feature will enable callers to listen to songs from Nancy Ajram’s new album when calling Umniah subscribers using the RBT service

Having launched the (RBT) service, Umniah had collaborated with pop icons like Omar Al Abdullat, Tony Qattan, Elissa and Amr Diab, and now Nancy Ajram.Jordan hosts one of the most advanced telecommunication markets in the Middle East, which prompts Umniah to continuously initiate competitive entertainment features utilizing the latest technical advancements in the field.

It is worth noting that the RBT service offers a variety of ring tones for the caller to enjoy. Arabic and English songs, jokes and sports blogs, will no doubt, add to the fun that subscribers do always look for. Umniah, through this enjoyable development, allows subscribers to assign a ring tone for an individual person or for a group of people. Umniah’s subscribers can activate this service by calling 1313, which instantly enables them to enjoy Nancy Ajram’s new releases and a wide variety of other songs.

To this effect, Umniah’s VAS and Roaming Manager, Mr. Mohammed Seriah said, “Umniah takes advantage of its technological leadership, and brings Jordanians to the fore of the latest emerging technologies. The Company is seeking to respond to market changes and requirements through a multitude of diverse services. It is important to note that Umniah’s client base is widely young”.

He also said, “Within this concept, and being on constant contact with this big segment of the community, Umniah sought to introduce an atmosphere of comfort to their lives by providing the most enjoyable and sought for songs when calling a subscriber to ring back tone service”.

He further added, “Umniah puts at the disposal of subscribers, individuals or companies, valuable and sizable data and services. Initiating unique and novel features made Umniah synonymous to responsiveness, which enables the Company to keep its position as the pioneering provider of the fun services”.

It is worth mentioning that Nancy Ajram’s new album includes 14 songs in Egyptian, Lebanese and Gulf vernacular Arabic, composed by a number of respectable poets and musicians.

It is important to note that Umniah has chosen Omar Abdallat to be its brand ambassador. Accordingly, the Company had produced Abdallat’s album Omariyyat 2 which includes 12 tracks, each about a different city in the Kingdom.

Source:

© 2008 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)

The famous Egyptian superstar Amro Diab is holding a number of closed and private meetings with producer Imad Al Deen Adeeb and Dr. Midhat Al Adel to choose a female leading star for his new film.
The stars names that are nominated for the leading role are Lebanese artists Nancy Ajram, Carole Samaha and Miriam Faris as well as international singer Shakira, who is also originally from Lebanon.

Some sources revealed that there will be a contest throughout the Arab world in order to find a leading star that will act alongside Diab. “Good News Group” Production Company made it clear that it will soon release a press memo saying what the committee, which includes Diab, Adeeb and Adel, has decided on.
On the other hand, Diab is committed to release his new and upcoming album by the month of December. Diab recently held a live concert at the Marina in Egypt, where over 40 thousand fans came to see him. The concert was filmed by the Egyptian television and it will be aired some time soon.

Source:

http://www.albawaba.com

Lebanese singer Nancy Ajram has expressed extreme anger towards recent circulating rumors in Egypt regarding the spread of nude photos of her on mobile phones. A large number of youths around Egypt and around the Arab world have been spreading nude photos of the singer supposedly taken at a women’s spa for a full body wax.

According to the London based daily, Al Quds Al Arabi, Nancy stressed that jealous and sick individuals are behind the spread of such demeaning photos and she never thought that people would stoop so low as to attempt to hurt her in such a manner.She added that her only concern in her life has been her career and she thought that if someone from the entertainment world is jealous of her they would strive to present better music not insult her in such manners.

Nancy stated that the photos of her at the spa are mere fabrications and she had never been to such a place, stressing that people are misusing technology to hurt the reputation of singers who have worked hard, such as herself, to reach success.

The singer added that the ‘Bluetooth’ feature in mobile phone devices has become a threat to Arab female stars, as they are filmed in private situations without their knowledge, or nude pictures of them are created and disbursed to people at the touch of a button.

Nancy’s business manager Jiji Lamara confirmed that the video of Nancy was fabricated.  He stated that this is not the first time the singer was attacked. Previously an obscene video was created to appear as if the star was taking a shower.

Jiji said that he and Nancy are outraged by the matter, but also see it as “the ridiculous means jealous people resort to just to try and hurt an artist who is successful and loved by millions.”

On a similar note, an obscene video of Lebanese singer Haifa Wahbi is also circulating.  In the video Haifa appears at restaurant with one of her friends, wearing a very revealing dress. During dinner the singer drops something on the ground and when she bends down to pick it up the straps of her dress break exposing her breasts.

Haifa’s managing office announced that “the video was fabricated by sick individuals” and is certainly not authentic.

On a different note, Nancy has just released the music video for the song “Moujaba Moughraba” (Interested and in Love).
The singer intends to release a new version of her popular hit “Ya Tabtab,” featuring a young boy whispering phrases such as “Ya Tabtab” (Love You Nancy) throughout the song.

Source:

www.albawaba.com

Organizers hailed the concert a great success. She performed alongside Emirati superstar Hussein Al Jassmi.

Ajram’s performance comes after almost three years of absence from Bahrain. In October 2003, her show sparked riots and clashes between police and a small group of youth incited by Islamist MPs who tried to block the show.

Ajram has almost un-matched popularity among youth across the Arab world, despite the fact that many conservative Arabs believe that her performances are provocative.

The pop star is expected to release her new album over the summer. Her last album reportedly selling over 5 million copies.

Ajram launched her first album, “Mouhtagalak,” in 1998, then in 2001 she launched her second album, “Shil Oyounak Ani,” but her break came with the third album, “Ya Salam,” which was released in 2003S.

Source:

http://www.arabnews.com