Lebanese singer Dania Al Khatib is currently undergoing a remix of her hit single “Al Hilwa Di” (The Pretty Girl) by Al Sayed Darwish. The song was the highlight of her latest album and achieved a lot of success around the Arab world.
The London based Elaph reported that Dania will be recording the song in English and French in an effort to release the album in Europe. Her producers EMI will be working with Dania, in order to have the album complete by the year 2003.
In her album, Al Khatib said that “Al Hilwa Di” (The Pretty Girl) features a new style of music presenting new ideas, in terms of voice, lyrics and arrangement, to fits a more mature audience. She added that as she likes to keep evolving both personally and professionally, and her music will also transform with her. While the first album appealed more to the young, the second was for all ages, whose title song is a modern update on a classic folklore song.
Khatib calls her style of music fusion pop with Arabic and Western influences. Although she sings mainly in Arabic, she likes to work with a variety of sounds. In “Yalla Bina” Dania had a bhangra theme introduced, and Chico of Gypsy Kings composed “Es Salam” in her second album. The young singer had performed a duet with British boy band “911” on the hit single, “Private Number”. Her last album featured “Para No Verte Ma’s” with Argentinean band La Mosca.
The young Lebanese singer said that she always imagined herself as a singer. “From the time I was a child in Lebanon, I loved singing. You would always catch something in my hand that resembled a mic, be it a carrot or a candle. I would be singing in my room, recording and playing back my favorite songs.”
She added, “I was actually a fine arts graduate, and landed up on television by chance, while a painter. I was at a local Lebanese TV channel to do graphics for their studio when somebody asked me to do a screen test.
With no intention of auditioning, she performed the screen test in a very relaxed manner, and two days later was called to report as a TV presenter. After two months of training, she became at ease with the camera and began to love performing in front of the camera. At that moment, she was spotted by executives of Star TV.”
“I want to perform more concerts, and work on my next album. My philosophy in life is accept who you are and just be yourself,” said Khatib.
Dania was previously a presenter of a travel show on Abu Dhabi TV through which she toured the world, before her debut as a singer. – Albawaba.com
