Prominent Lebanese singer Najwa Karam came back home after a successful tour to Australia were she held three concerts in Sidney and Melbourne with prominent Lebanese singer Wadee’ El Safi. The joint event of the two singers was described by the press as the duet that symbolizes a meeting between the great cedar trees of Lebanon and the Bardoni River.
A very large Arab audience, who was ecstatic about Karam’s visit attended the concerts. Wadee’ was the one who launched the big concert moving on to the famous duet between him and Najwa “Wi IKiberna” (We Grew Old), then Najwa went on with the concert till three in the morning with fans singing and clapping along calling for more.
The Arab bank gave presents to both singers as a way of showing its admiration to the outstanding performance held by the singers. The Australian minister Edward Obeid , invited Najwa to visit the Australian parliament as a kind gesture to show his appreciation to all she has added to Lebanese art.
Najwa expressed her deepest feelings of gratitude to her fans in Australia and thanked them for the warm welcome after a five-year absence, adding that fans wanted her to have a fourth concert but regretfully was unable to do so.
Karam has already begun having working sessions with poets and composers to choose songs for her upcoming album, despite the fact that she has just recently released "Sahirni" (Mesmerized). Najwa is currently working with composer Imad Shams, who has previously composed a song in her latest album, saying she is hoping he will be able to compose more for the next.
The singer revealed that she had reached a conclusion that Imad is her best choice after being let down by other composers previously. The two have decided to isolate themselves for long hours hoping they will come out with something new and appealing to Najwa's fans.
Recently, Karam was surprised when her scheduled performance in Egypt late last month at the Marina Festival was suspiciously cancelled without prior warning. The singer had come to an agreement with the organizers of the festival to hold a concert and had set a condition that her performance be filmed live and aired on Egyptian television.
The singer’s concert was to take place on the August 25,2003, but was then notified that the date has been rescheduled until the end of the festival and that she was to hold the grand finale concert. Egyptian singer Shireen Wajdi’s husband, who is the head of the organizing committee, had notified Najwa of the changes and the singer told him of her previous conditions and both sides ended their negotiations with an agreement.
The day before Najwa was to leave to Egypt she was in shock to learn that no tickets were provided for her and her band by the festival. The singer did not even receive any phone calls to clarify why her tickets were not sent and kept waiting until she decided that she will not attend the festival even if the organizers themselves came to take her. Until this day Najwa did not receive any apology from the organizers and has not heard one word from them on why they acted in the unprofessional manner they did.
Karam previously released her latest album "Sahirni" (Mesmerized), under the music production company Rotana. The album is the singers return to the traditional folkloric Lebanese style. The singer has worked with a number of prominent Lebanese poets and composers to complete the work. The album is to mark Najwa's last album with Rotana according to a contract she has with them, which will be terminated after the release. It is still unclear whether or not Najwa will renew her contract.
Karam made her debut in the music world in 1985, with her participation in “Layali Lobnan” (Nights of Lebanon) performing Asmahan’s song “Layali Al Ons” (Nights of Pleasure). She was awarded the program’s Golden Medal for her outstanding performance at the event. – Albawaba.com
© 2003 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
