Amr Diab

Amr Diab, an Egyptian pop singer and songwriter, has earned a record seven World Music Awards and stands as the Middle East’s highest-selling artist of all time. He originated a style he named “Mediterranean Music,” fusing Arabic harmony with Western rhythms, and this approach has shaped many artists who followed.

Born on October 11, 1961, in Portsaid, Egypt, he began singing at age three. At six he performed the Egyptian national anthem at the July 23rd Festival in Portsaid, receiving a guitar from the governor that set his future direction.

He sang wherever opportunities arose. In 1983 he released his first album, Ya Tareeq, and relocated to Cairo the next year. At the Cairo Academy of Arts he completed a Bachelor’s degree in Arabic music. Delta Sound issued his 1984 album Ghani Men Albak and continued releasing his work through Ya Omrina in 1994. He also explored acting, appearing as himself in the 1989 film El Afareet. Starting in 1992 he created large-scale, high-tech videos that influenced audiences across the Middle East and Europe. In 1993 he starred in Ays Krim fi Glym and shared the screen with Omar Shariff in Deahk We La’ab.

Although film interested him, music remained his central focus. Signing with Alam el Phan, he issued the multi-platinum Nour el Ain in 1995, which broke through internationally and appeared on charts in Egypt, India, Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, South Africa, and France. Every subsequent release for the label also charted. The 1999 album Ama Rain included duets with Cheb Khaled and Angela Dimitriou. Three further Alam el Phan projects followed—Tamally Maak in 2000, Aktar Wahed in 2001, and Allem Alby in 2003—before he moved to Rotana. Lealy Nahary, released in 2004, became one of his strongest successes and produced three Top Five singles. Kammel Kalamak in 2005 and El Lilady in 2007 both reached the charts; the latter earned him a World Music Award. Wayah, issued in 2009, sold widely and led to a Golf Porto Marina concert attended by more than 80,000 people. During the 2011 Egyptian revolution that forced President Hosni Mubarak to resign and leave the country, Diab released the tribute song “Masr A’let.” Banadeek Ta’ala appeared next, followed by El Leila in 2012, which again topped the charts. Shoft el Ayam, released in 2014, debuted at number one in several Middle Eastern countries, and Ahla Wa Ahla achieved the same position in 2016.