War breaks out between Thikra and Ahlam

Published March 10th, 2003 - 03:00 GMT

A secret war has broken out between UAE singer Ahlam and Tunisian singer Thikra. Ahlam has attacked Thikra and accused her of lacking the talent to sing, demanding she put an end to the disgrace she is causing to the Khaliji (Gulf) song at once.

According to the Egyptian weekly, Al Nogoom, Ahlam said that Thikra's voice is horrible and it's a shame to consider her a singer. The attack came after Thikra released her latest Khaleji album, which Ahlam considered as a trespassing into her territory by an outsider.

Thekra had recently released her newest album under the name of “Thekra 3”, which is sung mainly in “Khaleeji” style produced by Al Jazeera Funoon Company. The new release features twelve songs that were recorded at three of Egypt’s most prestigious studios; “Sout Al Qahira” (Voice of Cairo), “Sout Al Musica” (Voice of Music), and “Laileh” (Night).

Gulf singers Nadiba and Abdullah Abdul Kareem sang duets with Thekra that are featured in the album. Distribution was made by Akef Tareq and Amro Abdul Aziz.

Ahlam added that she is against singers who attempt to adopt different styles or accents of singing. She believes that every singer should stick to his native tongue and accent and avoid imitating others in style and manner. She said that no one can perfect an accent other than his own so there is no use trying.

On a different note, close contacts to the singer revealed that she is deliberately avoiding the release of her new album in the fear of war breaking out. The singer feels that if the US calls war on Iraq the music industry will also be affected negatively making any new release of albums at a time like that would be a total loss.

Ahlam intends on releasing her album when an agreement is reached between the US and Iraq and the possibility of a war no longer exists. After completing her new album the singer decided that it was not up to standards and rerecorded it over once more. The new album titled "Ahsan" (Better) features twelve songs written by prominent Gulf poets and composers. –Albawaba.com