• Images
• Videos
• Documents
• Books
• Articles

Related Image Collections Add Image

Profiles

1 Image

We don't have any YouTube videos related to Amr Diab yet.

You can add one yourself here.

We don't have any PDF documents related to Amr Diab yet.

You can add one yourself here.

We don't have any Books related to Amr Diab yet.

You can add one yourself here.

Archived Web Articles Add Article

The 50 Best Arabic Pop Songs of the 21st Century

Apr 26 2024

Early life

Diab was born as Amr Abdel Basset Abdel Azeez Diab on 11 October 1961 in Port Said⁴ to a middle-class Egyptian Muslim family from the countryside of Menia Elamh in Sharqia Governorate. Diab graduated with a bachelor's degree in music from the Cairo Academy of Arts in 1986.⁵

Music career

Diab released his first album entitled Ya Tareeq in 1983. Diab's second album, Ghanny Men Albak (1984), was the first of a series of records he released with Delta Sound; including Hala Hala (1986), Khalseen (1987), and Mayyal (1988). His later releases include Shawa'na (1989), Matkhafesh (1990), Habibi (1991), Ayyamna (1992), Ya Omrena (1993), Weylomony (1994), and Rag'een (1995).

By 1992, he became the first Egyptian and Middle Eastern artist to start making high-tech music videos.⁶

In 1996, Diab released his first album with Alam El Phan entitled Nour El Ain, and he won the World Music Award for the first time, which proved an international success and gained Diab recognition beyond the Arabic-speaking world. Diab recorded four more albums with Alam El Phan, including Amarain (1999). Diab also collaborated with Khaled (on the song "Alby") and with Angela Dimitriou (on the song "Bahebak Aktar").

According to research by Michael Frishkopf, he has created a style in the song "Nour El Ain", termed as "Mediterranean music", a blend of Western and Middle Eastern/Egyptian rhythms.⁷

In the summer of 2004, Diab, having left Alam El Phan, released his first album with Rotana Records, Leily Nahary, which he followed up with the hugely successful Kammel Kalamak (2005), and El Lilady (2007).

Wayah was released for sale on the internet on 27 June 2009; however, the album was leaked online and was downloaded illegally amid complaints of slow download speed on the official site. Diab's fans initiated a massive boycott of the sites with the illegal copies.⁸

On 18 October 2009, Diab won four 2009 African Music Awards in the categories of best artist, album, vocalist and song for "Wayah"; Diab had been nominated by the Big Apple Music Awards.⁹

In February 2011, Diab released his hit single "Masr Allet" ("Egypt spoke"), followed by the release of his album Banadeek Taala in September, produced by Rotana. In 2012, Diab hosted the first Google Hangout in the Middle East during his performance in Dubai. In October 2014, Diab released his album Shoft El Ayam, which topped his last album El Leila (2013) and again became the best-selling album in Egypt on iTunes and peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard World Albums Charts, making him the first Egyptian and Middle Eastern performer to accomplish such a feat.¹⁰ In July 2015, Diab released a music video for his song "Gamalo" from his album Shoft El Ayam. In March 2016, he released Ahla w Ahla, his first album since he left Rotana Music. The album was produced by the record label Nay For Media. His new album Maadi el Nas was released in July 2017 with Nay Records.¹¹

In October 2018, he released a new album called Kol Hayaty. In 2019, he released a mini-album, Ana Gheir, and in February 2020, he released his 30th album, Sahran, which included 16 songs. In the same year, Amr Diab released another album, Ya Ana Ya La, at the end of the year, December 31, 2020.

From April 2021 to July 2023, Amr Diab released a huge amount of singles, many of which topped the charts on digital listening platforms until his album release in 2023.¹²

In February 2022, Anghami announced an exclusive partnership that will see the Diab's entire Nay Label audio and video catalogue and future releases available only on Anghami.¹³¹⁴

In December 2023, Amr Diab released an album called “Makanak” which contains 12 songs exclusively on Anghami.¹⁵

Then released two singles called El Kelma El Helwa it was an Ad for Vodafone MUSIC (Egypt) and Hekyatna Helwa for Hyde Park both of them on the same March 11, 2024.¹⁶¹⁷

In April 2024, Rolling Stone picked Tamally Maak to top the Best Arabic Pop Songs of the 21st Century.¹⁸ In July of that year, his exclusive contract with Anghami expired.¹⁹

Musical style

Diab is known as the "father of Mediterranean music".²⁰ David Cooper and Kevin Dawe refer to his music as "the new breed of Mediterranean music".²¹ According to author Michael Frishkopf, Diab has produced a new concept of Mediterranean music, especially with his international hit, "Nour El Ain".²² Moreover, Diab is known as a composer, having composed more than 97 of his own songs.

Music videos

Diab is one of the first singers to popularize music videos in the whole MENA region and is the first Egyptian singer to appear in music videos.²³

Film career

Diab's fame in the music industry has led him to experiment with other forms of media, such as film. Diab played himself in his first film, El Afareet, which was released in 1989. It also starred Madiha Kamel. His second film was Hussein El-Imam's production Ice Cream in Gleam (Ays Krim fi Glym), in which Diab starred in 1992, was chosen as one of the best five Egyptian musical films by the University of California, Los Angeles (ULCA) School of Theater, Film and Television.²⁴²⁵ The film was featured in the UCLA Film and Television Archive's new program "Music on the Nile: Fifty Years of Egyptian Musical Films" at James Bridges Theater at UCLA on 6, 8 and 10 April 1999. David Chute of the LA Weekly termed it "observant" and "a big leap".²⁶ His third movie was released in 1993, and was named Deahk We La'ab (Laughter and Fun). The film premiered in the Egyptian Film Festival in 1993. Diab played alongside international Egyptian movie star Omar Sharif (Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago) and Yousra. Overall, Diab did not experience the same level of success in film that he had with his music career. Since 1993, Diab has focused on his singing career.

Amr Diab in movies

Diab's songs have been used in several films, including:

• "Wala Ala Baloh" in Divine Intervention (2002)
• "Awedouni" in The Dancer Upstairs (2002)
• "El Alem Alah" and "Nour El Ain" in O Clone (2001)
• "Nafs El Makan" in Double Whammy (2001)²⁷
• "Tamally Ma'ak" and "Nour El Ain" in Coco (2009)
• "Wala Ala Baloh" in The Dictator (2012)

Egyptian Revolution

During the 2011 uprising, some protesters criticized Diab for staying silent, and for fleeing Egypt for London.²⁸ A few days after former President Hosni Mubarak stepped down, Diab composed and sang a memorial song, "Masr A'let" (Egypt Said),²⁹ and released it in conjunction with a music video showing pictures of the martyrs who died in the uprising. He initiated a charity campaign "Masry Begad" ("Truly Egyptian").³⁰ His online radio station Diab FM often presents talks and discussions about what the Diab FM team can offer to the community as well as applying it practically by being present in different sites across Egypt with a new humanitarian project each week.³¹³²³³

Personal life

Diab has an elder daughter from his first marriage to Egyptian actress Shereen Reda. In 1994, he was married to Saudi businesswoman Zeina Ashour. They have three children. In 2018, he went on to marry Egyptian actress, Dina El Sherbiny, after his relationship with Ashour ended.³⁴ It is unknown whether they were separated or divorced.³⁵ However, Diab and El Sherbiny separated in late 2020.³⁶

Discography

Main article: Amr Diab discography

Main Studio Albums

Singles

Famous Songs

Awards

He has been awarded the World Music Award for Best Selling Middle Eastern Artist four times: 1996 for album Nour El Ain, 2001 for album Akter Wahed, 2007 for album El Lillady and 2013 for El Leila album. He has also won (Best Egyptian Artist, Best Male Arab Artist and World's Best Arab Male Artist Voted Online) at the World Music Awards 2014.³⁷ Amr Diab is the only Middle Eastern artist to have received 7 World Music Awards.³⁸ Five of his albums reached the top 10 of Billboard's World Albums chart, with Shoft El Ayam reaching No. 1 in 2014, the first for an Arabic performer.³⁹ Alongside that accomplishment, two of his albums (2014's Shoft El Ayam and 2016's Ahla w Ahla) both peaked at 29 and 14 respectively on Billboard's Heatseekers charts.⁴⁰

On 28 September 2016, Diab announced that he achieved a Guinness World Records title for "Most World Music Awards for Best Selling Middle Eastern Artist".⁴¹

List of awards received by Amr Diab

• Seven World Music Awards (1997/2001/2007/2014)
• Six African Music Awards (2009/2010)
• Two All Africa Music Awards (2016/2017)
• Guinness World Record (2016)⁴²

Program "Al-helm"

A program produced by Amr Afifi, consisting of 12 parts aired on Rotana Music, Rotana Cinema and Egyptian Channel 1 station. The program detailed the biography of Diab and was scheduled to be launched simultaneously with the release of Amr Diab's new album, but the album's release was postponed to a later date.⁴³⁴⁴⁴⁵

External links

• Official website
• Official Biography
• Youtube Channel
• Amr Diab World (archive)
• Amr Diab at IMDb 
• Amr Diab on Apple Music

References

1. Lesswing, Bryan (October 2009). "Sounds of the Middle East, Minnesota provide options for listeners". The DePauw. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 20 December 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20110716232527/http://www.thedepauw.com/features/sounds-of-the-middle-east-minnesota-provide-options-for-listeners-1.1993168 ↩

2. "Egypt's megastar Amr Diab to perform live in Riyadh on February 24". EgyptToday. 21 February 2022. Retrieved 29 March 2025. https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/4/113086/Egypt%E2%80%99s-megastar-Amr-Diab-to-perform-live-in-Riyadh-on ↩

3. "Egypt's megastar Amr Diab to perform live in Riyadh on February 24". EgyptToday. 21 February 2022. Retrieved 29 March 2025. https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/4/113086/Egypt%E2%80%99s-megastar-Amr-Diab-to-perform-live-in-Riyadh-on ↩

4. "Amr Diab Biography | Amr Diab Official Website". Amr Diab. Retrieved 29 March 2025. https://amrdiab.net/biography/ ↩

5. "قصة اسم عمرو دياب الحقيقي". صدى البلد (in Arabic). 23 November 2019. Retrieved 29 March 2025. https://www.elbalad.news/4068518 ↩

6. Frishkopf, Michael (2003). "Some Meanings of the Spanish Tinge in Contemporary Egyptian Music". In Plastino, Goffredo (ed.). Mediterranean mosaic: popular music and global sounds (PDF). Routledge. pp. 145–148. ISBN 978-0-415-93656-9. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 March 2009. Retrieved 4 June 2009. 978-0-415-93656-9 ↩

7. Frishkopf, Michael (2003). "Some Meanings of the Spanish Tinge in Contemporary Egyptian Music". In Plastino, Goffredo (ed.). Mediterranean mosaic: popular music and global sounds (PDF). Routledge. pp. 145–148. ISBN 978-0-415-93656-9. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 March 2009. Retrieved 4 June 2009. 978-0-415-93656-9 ↩

8. "Amr Diab's album sweeping cassette market" (in Arabic). Musicananet. 30 June 2009. Archived from the original on 4 July 2009. Retrieved 2 July 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20090704070007/http://www.musicananet.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=831%3A2009-06-30-21-53-47&catid=55%3A2009-02-18-21-10-52&Itemid=93 ↩

9. Taha, Khaled (25 October 2009). "Amr Diab wins four African Music Awards" (in Arabic). ART. Archived from the original on 27 October 2009. Retrieved 28 October 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20091027141453/http://www.artonline.tv/Entertainment/NewsDetails.aspx?newsID=17963 ↩

10. "Shoft El Ayam's Billboard World Albums Chart performance". Billboard. Retrieved 24 April 2020. https://www.billboard.com/artist/amr-diab/chart-history/wlp/ ↩

11. الرفاعى, محمود (10 August 2017). "بالأسماء| 10 أغنيات في ألبوم "معدي الناس" لـ عمرو". الوطن (in Arabic). Retrieved 29 March 2025. https://www.elwatannews.com/news/details/2407955/ ↩

12. "Amr Diab Biography | Amr Diab Official Website". Amr Diab. Retrieved 29 March 2025. https://amrdiab.net/biography/ ↩

13. "Anghami signs exclusivity music deal with Arab Megastar Amr Diab". Campaign Middle East. 24 February 2022. Retrieved 31 May 2022. https://campaignme.com/anghami-signs-exclusivity-music-deal-with-arab-megastar-amr-diab/ ↩

14. "Amr Diab signs exclusive partnership with Anghami". Egypt Independent. 24 February 2022. Retrieved 31 May 2022. https://www.egyptindependent.com/amr-diab-signs-exclusive-partnership-with-anghami/ ↩

15. "Makanak, New Album for Amr Diab | Amr Diab Official Website". Amr Diab. Retrieved 2 May 2024. https://amrdiab.net/makanak-new-album-for-amr-diab/ ↩

16. "El Kelma El Helwa with Vodafone | Amr Diab Official Website". Amr Diab. Retrieved 2 May 2024. https://amrdiab.net/el-kelma-el-helwa-with-vodafone/ ↩

17. "Hyde Park with Amr Diab | Amr Diab Official Website". Amr Diab. Retrieved 2 May 2024. https://amrdiab.net/hyde-park-with-amr-diab/ ↩

18. Hajjar, Danny (26 April 2024). "The 50 Best Arabic Pop Songs of the 21st Century". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2 May 2024. https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-arabic-pop-songs-1235000979/ ↩

19. "أول تعليق من عمرو دياب بعد أزمته مع أنغامي (بيان رسمي)" (in Arabic). Al-Masry Al-Youm. 12 July 2024. https://www.almasryalyoum.com/news/details/3212293 ↩

20. Crane, Kelly (April 2010). "Egyptian superstar Amr Diab is set to rock Dubai". Gulf News. Archived from the original on 26 April 2010. Retrieved 24 April 2010. http://gulfnews.com/arts-entertainment/music/egyptian-superstar-amr-diab-is-set-to-rock-dubai-1.615728 ↩

21. Cooper, David; Dawe, Kevin (2005). The Mediterranean in music: Critical perspectives, common concerns, cultural differences. Scarecrow Press. p. 117. ISBN 0-8108-5407-4. 0-8108-5407-4 ↩

22. Frishkopf, Michael (2003). "Some Meanings of the Spanish Tinge in Contemporary Egyptian Music". In Plastino, Goffredo (ed.). Mediterranean mosaic: popular music and global sounds (PDF). Routledge. pp. 145–148. ISBN 978-0-415-93656-9. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 March 2009. Retrieved 4 June 2009. 978-0-415-93656-9 ↩

23. Frishkopf, Michael (2003). "Some Meanings of the Spanish Tinge in Contemporary Egyptian Music". In Plastino, Goffredo (ed.). Mediterranean mosaic: popular music and global sounds (PDF). Routledge. pp. 145–148. ISBN 978-0-415-93656-9. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 March 2009. Retrieved 4 June 2009. 978-0-415-93656-9 ↩

24. "Amr Diab". Delta Sound. 2016. https://souteldelta.com/en/artists/amr-diab/ ↩

25. Sameh, Yara (27 June 2022). "Amr Diab Announces New Song "El Look El Geded"". Sada Elbalad. https://see.news/amr-diab-announces-new-song-el-look-el-geded ↩

26. Chute, David; Behnan, Irene G. (8 April 1999). "All Singing! All Belly-Dancing". Los Angeles Weekly. Archived from the original on 27 June 2009. Retrieved 4 June 2009. http://www.laweekly.com/1999-04-08/film-tv/all-singing-all-belly-dancing/2 ↩

27. "Amr Diab Filmography". Yahoo! Movies. Archived from the original on 20 May 2009. Retrieved 11 June 2009. https://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1809493507 ↩

28. "Egyptian celebrities face protesters' wrath in post-Mubarak Egypt". Asharq al-awsat, 18 February 2011. Retrieved 7 May 2013. http://www.aawsat.net/2011/02/article55247479 ↩

29. Amr Diab (20 February 2011), Amr Diab – Masr A'let (Translated) عمرو دياب – مصر قالت, archived from the original on 23 November 2021, retrieved 19 March 2018 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsxyHbWY71s ↩

30. "'Amr Diab commences the "Masry Begad" ("An Egyptian for Real") campaign to revitalize the tourist sector following the revolution". El Cinema. Retrieved 2 October 2023. https://elcinema.com/en/press/678920802/ ↩

31. "Masry Begad Campaign Launch | Amr Diab Official Website". Amr Diab. Archived from the original on 28 April 2011. Retrieved 22 March 2025. https://amrdiab.net/masry-begad-campaign-launch/ ↩

32. "عمرو دياب.. مصري بجد". Bostah. 4 July 2012. Retrieved 22 March 2025. https://bostah.com/الأخبار/عمرو-دياب-مصري-بجد.html ↩

33. "عمرو دياب يلتقى شباب حملة "مصرى بجد"". اليوم السابع (in Arabic). 19 March 2011. Retrieved 22 March 2025. https://www.youm7.com/story/2011/3/19/%D8%B9%D9%85%D8%B1%D9%88-%D8%AF%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%A8-%D9%8A%D9%84%D8%AA%D9%82%D9%89-%D8%B4%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%A8-%D8%AD%D9%85%D9%84%D8%A9-%D9%85%D8%B5%D8%B1%D9%89-%D8%A8%D8%AC%D8%AF/373046 ↩

34. Sameh, Yara (22 May 2020). "Did Amr Diab and Dina El Sherbiny Get Married?". See.news. Sada El Balad. Retrieved 29 August 2020. https://see.news/did-amr-diab-and-dina-el-sherbiny-get-married/ ↩

35. "اليكم سبب عدم نعي عمرو دياب لوالدة زوجته زينة عاشور". El Bashayer (in Arabic). 8 May 2020. Retrieved 4 September 2020. https://elbashayer.com/2541685/اليكم-سبب-عدم-نعي-عمرو-دياب-لوالدة-زوجت/ ↩

36. "Amr Diab SHOCKINGLY Kicks Dina El-Sherbiny Out of His Four Seasons Apartment!". albawaba.com. 30 November 2020. https://www.albawaba.com/entertainment/amr-diab-shockingly-kicks-dina-el-sherbiny-out-his-four-seasons-apartment-1396030 ↩

37. "LG concert 2003". amrdiab.net. Archived from the original on 15 December 2014. Retrieved 15 December 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141215125040/http://amrdiab.net/diab/awards/item/264-wma2014.html ↩

38. "Egyptian singer Amr Diab recognised by Guinness World Records for Most World Music Awards wins". Guinness World Records. 28 September 2016. Retrieved 19 March 2018. http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2016/9/father-of-mediterranean-music-earns-title-for-most-world-music-awards-445370 ↩

39. "Diab's Billboard World Albums Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 24 April 2020. https://www.billboard.com/music/amr-diab/chart-history ↩

40. "Diab's Billboard Heatseekers Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 24 April 2020. https://www.billboard.com/artist/amr-diab/chart-history/tln/ ↩

41. "Most World Music Awards for Best Selling Middle Eastern Artist". Guinness World Records. Retrieved 19 March 2018. http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/439460-most-world-music-awards-for-best-selling-middle-eastern-artist ↩

42. "Amr Diab Awards | Amr Diab Official Website". Amr Diab. Retrieved 29 March 2025. https://amrdiab.net/awards/ ↩

43. "عمرو دياب وتامر.. صراع النجومية يمتد للحلقات التليفزيونية.. قصة صعود حسني تقليد لتجربة الهضبة في الحلم". بوابة الأهرام (in Arabic). Retrieved 22 March 2025. https://gate.ahram.org.eg/News/440523.aspx ↩

44. "جمهور عمرو دياب يشكك في تنفيذ برنامجه الجديد". العين الإخبارية (in Arabic). 23 November 2017. Retrieved 22 March 2025. https://al-ain.com/article/amr-diab-program-new ↩

45. "Dailymotion". www.dailymotion.com. Retrieved 22 March 2025. https://www.dailymotion.com/amrdiab/videos ↩