Rumour mill

Lebanese TV presenter Tony Baroud denies reports of his ill health

Lebanese TV host Tony Baroud has been the victim lately of several rumours — and has been giving numerous interviews just to deny them.

The rumours suggested that Baroud has leukaemia, that he has been severely wounded in an accident and that he will divorce his wife, former Miss Lebanon, Christina Sawaya.

Baroud said:"There are people calling me all day long. They have stories that I collapsed in the arms of a nurse. Some of
them even say that they know my doctors, or in which institutions I am hospitalised,"he said.
"Thank God, I am perfectly healthy.

False allegations

"I exercise two hours a day because I am preparing myself for Lebanon's squash championship. In a month, I'll be presenting the Miss Lebanon pageant as usual,"he added.

Baroud, who is a famous variety presenter on the TV channel, LBCI said that the rumour started while he was hosting an event in Dubai with his wife.

Living day by day

Elissa admits to seeing a shrink and being ‘fragile'

Lebanese star Elissa confessed during an interview with an Egyptian TV chanel that she consults a psychologist when she feels sad and down for no obvious reasons. But she denied taking any kind of tranquillisers or antidepressants.

Elissa, who was born into a poor family and who later became a millionaire, said she probably still feels insecure.
"I live day by day. You never know what life can be hiding for you,"she said, adding that her lifestyle as an artist doesn't bring her a lot of stability.

The Lebanese star also confessed that she was so emotionally fragile at the beginning of her career that she spent a lot of time crying when people criticised her.

"It is not the case anymore. Now to the contrary, criticism helps me to progress,"she said.

Concerning her singing projects, she said that one of her dreams was to sing some of the poems written by her late father.

She added that she hasn't sung in the Gulf dialect until now because she struggled with the accent.

Cute Mayssam

Mahdoum meaning"cute'', is the title of Mayssam Nahas's new album. The Lebanese singer spent a year and a half preparing for this CD hoping to please all of her fans and has delivered a"cute"work of art indeed.

On the album, she chose to sing with both the Lebanese and the Egyptian accents. She also selected rhythms from the Gulf.

The singer has just finished shooting the music video of a song which was written by Kamal Koubeissy.

In the video, directed by Fady Haddad, Mayssam Nahas chose to co-star with her son Rudy, who is the cutest of children and has just started school.

The video is a comedy filmed in Enfe village — a beautiful location on the Mediterranean.

Pascale's new video

Lebanese singer Pascale Mechaalany has just finished the shooting of a new video called Ana Lama Shiftak (When I Saw You). The song was written by Ihab Abdo, composed by Tamer Achour and arranged by Melhem Abou Chedid.

May's promise

Singer May Hariri, surprised everyone by acting in a Bedouin programme TV show. She will co-star with Yassir Al Masri and play the role of Shaikh Al Arab's daughter.
Asked about her relationship with the artists, she said that she had met Rashed Al Majid, Hussain Al Jasmi and Mohammad Abdo.

"I promised Abdo to sing in the Gulf dialect and, as I always keep my promises, I'm now preparing a song with the Gulf
accent,"she said.

George Wassouf is back

After more than two years of absence, George Wassouf is back with a new album called Kalamak ya Habibi (Your Words Darling). The CD contains six songs written by Ahmad Chatta, Awad Baddaoui and Ahmad Samy. The music is composed by artists Salah Chartouny, Walid Sa'ad, and Amjad Outafi.

With Wassouf being one of their most successful artists, Rotana music intends to organise an important campaign for the CD launch planned in May.

Now Wassouf, who has lived in Lebanon for over 20 years, is preparing to shoot two music videos with Walid Nassif as
director. At this point Wassouf still hasn't decided which new single to release first. Either way, it will be either Kalamak ya
Habibi (Your Words Darling) or Assaab Firak (The Hardest Break-Up).