Prominent Egyptian singer Hani Shaker held two very successful concerts at the ending ceremony of the Jordanian annual summer Jerash festival after an absence of five years. After arriving to Jordan the singer held a press conference for the media and talked in various subjects about modern Arab singing. Shakers suggested to release a cassette that contains only four songs and a video clip, so all the songs would be heard and have their share of success.
Shaker asserted that he is very happy to participate in Jerash and that he was absent because he decided to be away from the lights for a while and then realized that he was wrong and so decided to return back to his fans.
About his new works Shaker said that he is currently choosing songs for his next album, adding that if he could not find a company to produce his album he will be doing it from his own money.
Shaker thinks that he found the point of balance between modern singing and the old classic singing school and says that his only competitors are singers who sing respectful and meaningful words. Shaker expressed his sadness about the deteriorating situation Arab singing has reached lately, adding that any one can get a membership in the musicians association these days and now he is a colleague to Ruby and Sha'ban Abdul Raheem. Shaker expressed his surprise that a silly song like “Albortoqala” (The Orange) has met such success adding that he wonders how an Iraqi citizen can sing such a low class song while his country is suffering.
About launching an acting career Shaker was not enthusiastic about it saying that the cinema these days tends to lean more towards comedy movies, but if he was offered a good script he will consider participating.
Shaker concluded that the Arab world is full with talents who need support and he praised the Lebanese media for its continuous search for Arab talents.
Shaker filmed his latest music video “Mish Hub Wi Bas” (Not Only Love) in Turkey. The director of the video Jamil Jamil Al Maghazi arrived in Turkey before Hani in order to choose a model to act in the clip, which revolves around a romantic story. Hani revealed that he felt Turkey is the most appropriate place to shoot the clip and is hopeful it will find success among his fans.
Previously, commotion was caused by Hani's decision to resign and he is seriously thinking of ending his music career, but is waiting for the right moment to do so, despite the fact that he is still able to give so much to the music world.
The singer stressed that the type of songs that are flooding the music world have no meaning and in turn lost any real value words of a song may have, causing him to fall into a case of utter depression. Hani revealed that if the situation stays as it is or gets worse, he will surely make the final decision of stepping down while he is still capable of giving so much more to the music world, saying that resigning at that point will be made of his own free will. Hani added that he is truly angry at the situation and is unable to cope with it in any way. He describes the music world as turning into a circus, where people just want to entertain through any means and become popular. –Albawaba.com
© 2004 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
