Lebanese singer Nelly Maqdasi has gained fame over the years for her style of singing songs from the traditional Arab folklore and nomadic trends. Her songs are filled with meaning of ethical values and social values that have become distinct in some places. In her latest single "Hali Halo" (My Parents Refused), Nelly breaks all the barriers of traditional upbringing, refusing to be married the old fashioned way.
According to the Arab magazine Sayidaty, Nelly's song tells the story of a girl who refuses to accept the rules set by her family to marry a man they have chosen for her. Nelly makes her stance and fights to be with her true love that comes to her rescue on the night of her marriage riding a white stallion, and kidnaps her breaking her free of her destined misery.
The music video is directed by Juliana Safeer and is expected to be aired on most Arab satellite channels in the very near future. The wardrobe has been designed and chosen by Nelly herself with the supervision of fashion designer Foad Sarkis.
Nelly is the youngest singer in Lebanon that debuted in her album Shouf Hal Ein (See This Eye), which included 10 songs of nomadic cool nature in a spoken dialect. She has filmed two songs as video clip and performed many concerts in Syria and Lebanon and sang in a number of American cities and London in addition to participating in Dubai TV features.
“The audience acclaimed the nomadic type songs and thus I decided that my first album would belong to this genre and come out in the spoken dialect. But I will try to offer diversified songs such as the romantic songs with some of these in the Egyptian dialect for its easy and smooth statements,” Maqdesi said.
She reiterated that she wouldn’t offer anything but sober and beautiful songs. “I will sing in the Upper Egypt dialect which is close to the nomadic dialect because my voice has been characterized with the eastern performance and does not resemble other voices. Elias Rahabani promised me with some cadences and Milhem Barakat also promised me during Dubai’s concerts with some eastern and classical cadences like his romantic and successful style,” added Maqdesi.
The young singer said, “In fact I want to learn and read something to become intellectual. I have learnt how to play violin and try to study music art particularly in Egypt, which I liked. Because I want to achieve a status, I perceive singing as a serious art that is distanced from financial gains, which come later. What is required now is to focus on the sincerity of feelings because what comes out of the heart reaches people quickly.”
“I am with dancing on the stage provided it is subtle interpretive rather than exciting. When the audience sing or dance with the singer in a concert, the latter should not stand impassive as the audience may not interact with him again,” said Maqdesi -- Albawaba.com
© 2003 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
