Lebanse singer Nancy Ajram is to join international Lebanese-Colombian pop/rock singer Shakira Mebarak in Cairo this fall in a special concert that Egyptians have been longing for. The concert was previously scheduled to take place earlier this year, but Shakira had cancelled all plans to hold performances in the Middle East due to the US-led war on Iraq. Shakira had decided to go back on her decision since the situation in the region is now more stable and will be touring the Arab world.
Nancy revealed that through this performance her dream will come true and is confident that her popularity will be international and people in the East and West will know who she is. She began her quest to stardom at the age of twelve, but was not very lucky the past eight years mostly due to the incapability of her previous production company EMI and poet Issam Zughaib who have adopted her talent for a long period of time.
According to London based daily, Al Sharq Al Awsat, Nancy will head to Egypt where she will begin extensive rehearsals so that her performance alongside Shakira will be a success. Nancy said that if this comes true, it will mark the foundation of her international stardom and place her on a pedestal alongside other international singers.
It was also officially confirmed that Shakira is to hold a grand performance in Tunisia in late September. Negotiations with the singer had lasted for months before any agreement was reached and after the previous cancellation by Shakira of all possibilities of performing in the Middle East due to the US-led war on Iraq.
Shakira will hold the scheduled concert at the grand November Seventh stadium, which can accommodate a crowd of seventy thousand. It was added that a large staff of sound, lights, and stage experts working for Shakira will head to Tunisia to make all the necessary preparations for the grand event that is expected to be the main highlight ever to hit Tunisia since 1996 when American superstars Michael Jackson and Sting held their concerts.
Organizer of the Beit El Din Festival, Nour Janbalat, was also able to successfully reach an agreement with Shakira to hold a concert in Lebanon, after failing to do so earlier this year. The date of the concert has been decided to be around the end of September or early October, since the singer is preoccupied with holding concerts elsewhere.
Ajram has been chosen for her first acting experience alongside Tunisian actress Hind Sabri in the Egyptian film “Al Basha Tilmeeth” (The Pasha Student). Director Karim Abdul Aziz is to begin the filming of the scenes in the upcoming few days.
The film revolves around a schools and universities strictly for the elite, where students spend enormous amounts of money. Students who enroll in these institutions are mainly from very rich families and usually act ways where they are uncontrollable, excusing any action they undergo with the fact that they are wealthy.
Nancy has decided to accept the role wanting to expand her career in the hope of finding a similar success as the one she found through her singing. She will be costarring in the film alongside Egyptian actors Mohammad Lutfi, Ramiz Jalal, Hassan Hussni, and Dalia Al Buhairi.
The singer recently released a second hit single "Ya Salam" (Oh My) in the form of a music video, which is also from her latest album. The style Nancy attributed in the clip was a fifties look and style in which she appeared looking liking the superstars of those time, specifically like the American legend Marilyn Monroe. A special stage had been decorated and prepared for the song that gave viewers flashback to the fifties. In the clip Nancy played the role of a performer whose artistic performance will remind people of the stars of Hollywood especially Monroe. –Albawaba.com
