Asalah Nasri might not have the best personality among Arab singers, but she does have the best voice, a gift of almighty and the special attention paid to it by her father. I have liked all of her songs and so did my older cousins and my sisters. My parents also enjoyed her cover of the oldies.
Asalah was the number selling female singer in the 90s with a number of hits and songs that vary in style between pop, classical and tarab style. She was also huge in 2000 and she shined when she took on the Gulf dialect, but then she went all Gulf dialect on her fans, her first Gulf album was a hit and everyone appreciated, her second was a mixed bag (Qanon Kifak). Yet in 2008 came a really good album by Asalah where this song Nos Hala came and it brought back all the reason Asalah was Asalah to us, see her exhibit her voice chops in a perfect marriage with the lounge music she used in this song.
Asalah still gets news coverage, but most of it now her fighes with either the renowned Egyptian Hilmi Baker, Salim Al Hindi, the executive at Rotana, not a good idea if you are a serious singer. I will always be a fan of Asalah, and so will hundreds of thousands who come from all age and gender groups...we just need to be sure of it and that's why we cannot wait to hear her latest..
Yasmin Abd El Aziz is superwoman of Arabia, she is the hope for female lead cinematic roles. For decades the lead role of all the major Arab blockbusters has been a male. Most of those movies the man takes credit for the success of those movies and he gives secondary roles and supporting ones to a number of female case. Never in the modern history of Arabic film has a woman been able to carry a movie and make it into a blockbuster making millions of dollars.
You name is box officer favorites like Ahmad Saqqa, Ahmad Hilmi, Mohamad Hinidiy, Mohammad Saad, Adel Imam and Ahmad Eiz has always played the leading role in their movies, a huge cast of female actresses have propped them up, but never taken full credit for the success of the movie. Gada Adel, Zina, Mina Shalaby, Noor, Mai Eizdeen, Dina Samir Ghanim Ghada Abdel Razik, Hind Sabry, Mona Zaki, Hana Turk and Yasmin Abd El Aziz. Now those are all fine talented actresses by with few exceptions they have all played secondary roles in which they support the hero. Playing mostly the lady the lead actor falls in love with. To be fair few of those names have taken the lead in films (Hind Sabri in Jeneenat Al Asmak and Mona Zaki in E'Hky Ya Shahrazad) and their movies have been well received by critics and viewers alike, but those two movies have never been a huge commercial success.
Not until someone took a chance on Yasmin Abd El Aziz and gave her the lead role in El Dada Dody. A family comedy about a reformed babysitter that gets intermingled in a web of trouble with criminals after her and cute children and their antics. The movie was a huge commercial success in the of 2009, it was the dark horse of the season. It beat many of the films where the established male lead actors' movies came second to Yasmin Abd El Aziz's movie.
Many actors and show business execs were quick to dismiss El Dada Dody as a one hit wonder, that Yasmin will not be able to pull another commercially successful film. Yasmin followed soon with a post Ramadan movie in the Eid season of 2010 with El Talata Yeshtaghalonha, a comedy about a geeky girl that looks like Ugly Betty that manages to ace her high school diploma and get the highest score in the republic. Then she goes to college and falls in love, and there in college she meets all sorts of characters (the party punks, the activist Marxists, the conservative religious) and of course she runs into various troubles and hilarious scenes. Needless to say the movie was a hit and families flocked to see it in theater. Yasmin established that women actresses can carry a movies and make millions with that she refuted what has become a fact that women cannot take the lead. With that now Arab female roles will see a surge. Other seasoned actresses started sending Yasmin some love for opening the gate to them and showing them what it takes.
Yasmin's Stardom did not come from thin air, she has been making movies for years and in 2007 she has even co started in Alraheena "The Hostage", along the handsome Egyptian actor Ahmad Eiz. This movie was a huge commercial success and in away helped launch the career of Ahmad Eiz as a leading male.
The formula for a movie where a female actress leaders should be like the one Yasmin Abd El Aziz used, she is cute and guys like that so they will love to see her movies. She is childish and funny so you know gets lover to see her. She is wonderful in physical comedies, the one thing that makes a movie fun for the entire family is the clean physical comedy. Unlike many lead male roles, Yasmin does not do dirty jokes or sleazy lines either so that makes viewers comfortable. So in order for a movie to be a box office success the Disney formula woks magic. Securing the children, families and adult demographics guarantees you a blockbuster. Yasmin Abd El Aziz has recorded a song for each of her films and those songs helped promote the movie. She plays up her childish spirit and natural cuteness running around with cute children in dazzling colors. Those are essential to give families an idea about the film and its plot. As someone who appreciates good music and comedy, I enjoy the way Yasmin delivers her comical lines and her confidence by not being self aware.
So Thank You Yasmin.
Yasmin Abd El Aziz - El Dada Dody / ياسمين عبد العزيز - الداده دودي
El Talata Yeshtghalonha / ياسمين عبد العزيز - الثلاثة يشتغلونها
Wikeez com interviewed one of the friends of the Rami Seamaly and Mohammad Shoukry, the Star Academy alumni who were in a fatal car accident. Mohammad Shoukry survived the accident Ramy and two other passengers died as a result of the accident. Mohamoud Shoukry is not talking to the media about the accident and the death of his friend. (see more here)
This is in interview with a mutual friend of those two young stars who was with them minutes prior to the accident in somehow shocking revelations. Toward the end you hear this man of mystery asks the report not to publish the interview out of fear of Shoukry's father.
