Ultimate Amr Diab blog

Egyptian megastar, Amr Diab, has remained in the limelight for decades, setting trends, beloved by millions, sometimes controversial, always blogworthy.




Friday, May 29, 2009

News from the Chiswick Studio

In the early morning hours of May 17th Amr Diab officially ended his final day in the recording studios after what has been a tedious journey to complete his latest album which has taken him two full years to complete (the largest duration Amr has ever taken to complete an album!). He had planned for Hassan El Shafei -who arranged all the songs in the album- and Tamer El Zoeby, the sound engineer, to fly to London to finally master the songs Amr had chosen for the album; but after the tragic death of Mohammad Alaa Mohammad Hosni Mubarak on the 18th of May all plans were put on hold until further news had surfaced!

After Amr personally attended the funeral ceremony, Hassan El Shafei and Tamer El Zoeby were off to the Metropolis Studios in London to begin the digital mastering of the songs. But two days ago, Amr decided to personally fly to London and continue work with Hassan and Tamer on the digital mastering, wanting to make sure that everything would be undergone the way he advices.

Today, Amr and the crew are expected to return to Egypt with the master copy of his album, which Rotana is expected to receive by Saturday at the very latest. Afterwards the official promotion and countdown for the album will begin! After arriving from London, Amr will begin work on the official poster to accompany his album, and possibly even begin early plans of what he has in mind for his video clip! It has been rumoured that the album will contain 12 songs, instead of Amr’s usual 10, due to the long delay, but no confirmation has been given yet! The album, which is expected to be the “next big step” in Arabian music, is expected to hit stores in late June.
Link

Newspapers Hit The Street

Amr Diab released the first issues of his new newspaper. The newspaper is called “Alshareaa” or 'The Street' that covers a wide range of issues. In fact Amr is very happy because just an hour from releasing 35,000 copies of the newspaper to multiple places all over Egypt, 31,000 copies were sold! That indeed is a great success. However, Amr Diab wouldn’t be enjoying all of the success by himself but with his partner in the newspaper Iman Mohseb. Link

Sunday, May 24, 2009

Rotana Cafe coffee break



Amr Diab at opening of Rotana Cafe, Cairo

Next time you're in Cairo be sure to check out the new Rotana Cafe, billed as a theme cafe for the trendy to spot the even trendier. Our very own Amr Diab graced the opening. Say no more.

Of course we already know that, not only Amr, but most Arab entertainment megastars are already under contract with Rotana. Did you also know that they own 4 major duplication facilities, TV and cinema channels, a cinema library and a popular magazine? The cafes chain are but the latest in the diversification and expansion of a kingdom.

Saturday, May 23, 2009

Still Powerful but ...

According to Arabian Business, Amr Diab remains one of the world's most influential Arabs although he has fallen to #46 on their list from #24 last year.

But as they state on their website, "Winning one World Music Award is no easy feat, but securing three is a rare achievement." It should be noted that Amr is #8 within his Culture and Society category, and #2 amongst musicians (behind oud idol Marcel Khalifa at #29).


The list also dubs him the fifth most influential Egyptian within the Arab world, regardless of category. Mabrook ya Amr.