ALBAWABA - Classical Arab songs are the most important in the history of Arab music.
Among the important names, are Umm Kulthum, Asmahan, Fairouz, Abdel Halim Hafez, Sabah, and many more.
But many of these legendary artists were not known by their real names, but, had their own stage names, Albawaba created a list of some of the singers who used a different name on stage.
1. Sabah
Sabah's real name is Jeanette Georges Feghali, she chose the name Sabah from a character she played as in a movie titled "El-Qalb Luh Wahid."
2. Asmahan
Amal al-Atrash, known as Asmahan was a Syrian/ Egyptian singer, when she was young, a Dawoud Hosni taught her how to play the 'oud and gave her a new name: 'Asmahan'.
Hosni told little Amal that he wanted to call her Asmahan after another girl he previously tutored, he told her: "Just as beautiful as you, and with just as lovely a voice who had died before her potential could be realized."
3. Abdel Halim Hafez
Born Abdel Halim Ali Shabana, the singer was one of the most important names in Egyptian Arabic music, his stage name then turned into Abdel Halim Hafez after the supervisor of musical programming Egyptian whose name was Hafez Abdel Wahab.
4. Umm Kulthum
Umm Kulthum's real name was Fatima, her father Ibrahim El-Sayyid El-Beltagi was an imam from the Egyptian countryside, her mother was Fatmah El-Maleegi, a housewife and the singer were raised in a religious household.
It is said that Umm Kulthum's name means Mother of Kulthum which is connected directly to the Islamic prophet Muhammad.
5. Fairuz
Originally, Nouhad Haddad, Fairuz's stage name was chosen by Halim el Roumi, the person who discovered her. He was torn between Fairuz or Sharazade, but settled on Fairuz because her voice reminded him of a “rare gem.”
