Moroccan singer Samira Said received an award from the BBC International Music Award after the huge success of her last album "Youm Wara Youm" (Day After Day) found in the Arab world and around Europe. After receiving the award, the singer was scheduled to hold a performance but apologized saying that she would not feel right singing while Iraq is being attacked and its people are dying in masses everyday and the country has turned into a complete wreck.
According to the London based Elaph, Samira gave a speech at the ceremony in which she expressed her gratitude to the committee that nominated her for the award and despite the joy and pride she felt, sadness over the Iraqi people clouded over her making it hard for her to sing or be a part of any form of entertainment. She ended by thanking the committee and asked that they forgive her for not being able to perform and hoped that they understood her position.
She was working on a new music video for the song "Kabiltak Leah" (Why Did I Meet You), which will be aired in the near future. She and the Algerian Rai singer Cheb Mami collaborated for the first time in the duet "Yaom Wara Yaom" which was released in Europe and the US in addition to the Arab world. Although Samira was scheduled to sing the song alone for her album, she decided it would be more suitable to be sung as a duet. The duet was shot in Cairo and directed by Sherif Sabri, who brought an English dancing trainer who worked with the Spice Girls troupe to teach them a few chorography steps.
On a different note, Samira faced an embarrassing incident while performing in Dubai in January by a drastic change in weather. At the Dubai Nights Festival Samira insisted on completing her performance as she got on stage despite the freezing temperature that suddenly hit the city. While on stage, the singer began to feel the cold but pushed it aside not wanting to let her audience down. The weather worsened as rain started pouring down soaking the singer. The rain did not stop forcing the singer at that point to cut her concert short but promising to hold another performance the following day before she headed out to Egypt.
Samira recently came to an agreement with international French singer Charles Aznavour to hold a duet. Samira is hopeful that her agreement with Charles will repeat a similar success to the one she received from her duet with Cheb Mami "Youm.
Born and raised in Rabat, Morocco, Said now lives her life between Egypt, Morocco and the US. She began singing at an early age in the TV program Mawaheb (Talents), dedicated to children's talents. But it wasn't until "Alemnah Al Hob" (Teach Us Love), in 1983, that the doors of fame had opened for her. – Albawaba.com
© 2003 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
