Amr Diab's recipe for commercial success repeated with late summer album 'Kol Hayaty'

Eslam Omar , Tuesday 9 Oct 2018

After releasing his full album for free online following a few teaser singles, Diab has released 'Bahebbak Ana' early Monday to coincide with his 57th birthday this week

Amr Diab
Amr Diab has released 'Kol Hayaty' for free streaming on Youtube in addition to a few more singles

One the most successful Egyptian singers ever, Amr Diab (nicknamed El-Hadaba), has received the usual appreciation from his hardcore fans for his 2018 album 'Kol Hayaty' released in early October.

After more than 35 years of singing professionally, El-Hadaba's voice has not been influenced by his age, reflecting the image of the sportive athlete he has promoted to youngsters for more than a decade.

Produced by Nay, the typical pop tunes, composed or arranged for the singer, have become Diab's hallmark. The same style strongly dominates the new album with the usual piano chordal progressions, string section themes accompanying guitars and solo oriental instruments with electronic beats powered by various percussions with slight experimentation with virtual sounds.

The lyrics are typically romantic, with lots of Diab's usual topics including love, longing, farewell, though the unexpected word 'arrogant' in Ayman Bahgat Qamar's 'Enta Maghroor' serves as a controversial surprise.

With lyrics written by Saudi sports tycoon Turki Al-Sheikh and composed by Amr Mostafa, the first track 'Ya Saher' has garnered more than eight million YouTube views in less than a week, with hundreds of comments praising the pop star.

After releasing his full album for free online following a few teaser singles, Diab has also released 'Bahebbak Ana' early on Monday, dedicating it to his 16.7 million fans on Facebook to coincide with his 57th birthday this week.

The highlight of the album includes the collaboration with the 1992-born American electronic-music producer Christopher Comstock known as Marshmello in the song 'in love.' Marshmello is a known pop artist and his YouTube channel has been subscribed by more than 20 millions as he collaborated with many star singers including Anne Marie, Selena Gomez, Lele Pons and Bastille.

Amr Diab, who was listed ninth in this year’s Forbes ‘Arab Stars On The Global Stage,’ has a worldwide fan base, and he has held concerts largely in the UAE and Egypt over the last three years.

He won the World Music Award for Best Selling Artist four times, with the last one for his 2013 album El-Leila (Tonight), which also garnered him many other awards. Diab is the only Middle Eastern artist to receive a World Music Award seven times.

Diab's career took off in the 1980s and has remained active with a large following in Egypt and regionally, releasing more than 30 albums and starring in three Egyptian movies.

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