Stars reveal it all

Lebanese TV host Joumana Bou Eid is a busy woman. She's preparing for her new TV programme, which will soon be broadcast on Rotana Music. Joumana has previously hosted stars and talked with them about art.

But in this new programme she will go deeper in her interviews, encouraging the stars to speak about their secrets, their lives, their fears and of course their new projects.

Now the studio sets are almost ready. The programme, directed by Bassem Christo, will be shot in Studio Vision - Beirut Forum. And the stars whom Joumana will host are, of course, top ranking Arab artists from Rotana. For the first time, in front of the audience, they will show the another part of themselves, as if the lights were off.

Nawal: Back from the US

Just after returning from Muscat, where she took part in the opening of a leading perfume shop, Lebanese singer Nawal Al Zoghby flew to the US, where she performed in Beverly Hills and Los Angeles.

One of Nawal's performances was dedicated to charity. The money collected went to the Lebanese House Foundation.
Now Nawal is back in Beirut where she will sing at a VIP wedding reception. She will then start the photo shoot for the cover of her new album, to be released on December 22. The album contains eight songs, written by poets like Ameer Tahime, Hani Saghir, Mounir Bou Assaf and Aiman Bahjat Qamar.

The album's first single will be out at the end of this month.

Diana's top of the class

The lebanese singer is voted most elegant star of 2007

Lebanese singer Diana Haddad was elected Most Elegant Star of 2007 in a magazine's online poll. Diana got 62.6 per cent of the votes on the internet while the jury gave her 74/100.

Nawal Al Zoghby, who won the title last year, came second, Najwa Karam third, Elissa fourth and Nancy Ajram fifth.
Diana, who is nine months' pregnant, decided to call her baby girl Mona after her mother. She also finished the selection of several songs to be released in her new album.

Meanwhile, Nancy Ajram has just finished the shooting of a new video clip for the song Moushtaka Ileik (I Miss You), directed by Mirna Khayat Abu Elias. She also performed four concerts in Qatar. For the first time, her audience was made up exclusively of children who enjoyed singing the hit song Shater Shater with their favourite star.

Carole Samaha performs in Egypt

The Arabic Music festival, held in the Cairo Opera house featured three singers, one Egyptian and two Lebanese, in one night. Egyptian singer Riham Abdul Hakim opened the evening with an Um Kalthoum song. Then came the turn of Lebanese artist Melhem Zein, who was strongly applauded after singing a Wadih Safi song.

Lebanese artist Carole Samaha closed the evening with a great performance. Carole chose to sing from her own repertoire, of course, but she also dazzled the audience when she chanted songs by Um Kalthoum, Fairouz and Leila Murad. The concert tickets were sold out a week prior to the performance.

High five: A quintet of lebanese movies out

Lebanese cinema has never been that prominent - or productive. This season, close to New Year, five Lebanese movies will be released. The simultaneous release of that many local movies has never happened before.

The most eagerly-awaited movie is Doukhan Bala Nar (Smoke Without Fire), written and directed by one of the best Lebanese moviemakers, Samir Habchi, to whom we owe the masterpiece Al Ihsar (The Hurricane).

Doukhan Bala Nar takes place in Lebanon between 1989 and 2017. It tells the story of a moviemaker writing a scenario: he faces fear, torture and love.

Leilat Eid (Christmas Eve) starring Rita Barsouna and Peter Semaan is a romantic comedy that takes place during the festive season. Caroline Milane directs the film.

Khalik Mai (Stay With Me) tells the story of a taxi driver who falls in love with a woman running away from a husband who wants to kill her. Ammar Chalak and Nadine Rassi play the main roles. The movie bears the signature of director Elie Assaf.

Taht Al Qasf (Under Fire) is the first Lebanese movie shot as "real cinema", with most of the sequences filmed spontaneously without a clear-cut text. The movie tells one story of the many that have come out of the July 2006 war. It's directed by Philippe Araktinji, known in Beirut for Fi Yoyoun Al Oumahat (In the Eyes of Mothers) and Bosta (Bus).

Abu Riad is a comedy. It has the same characters as the programme that bears its name and is shown weekly on Future TV. The film in which Adel Karam and Abbas Chahine star has one aim: to make the audience laugh.

Ghada Shbeir live in Abu Dhabi

Lebanese artist Ghada Shbeir will perform at a concert in Emirates Palace Hotel, Abu Dhabi on November 28. The concert coincides with the launch of Ghada's latest album, which she promises will be a pleasant surprise for Arabic music lovers. Ghada will sing classical Arabic songs and the famous Arabic Muwashahat which she specialises in.

Shbeir is on a mission to promote the heritage of Arabic music, and her first album has won two international awards from BBC World Music Award for best performance and best Album in 2007 for MENA.

Shbeir said about her upcoming concert in Abu Dhabi: "I'm so excited to meet the UAE audience who love and appreciate Arabic music and are keen on reviving and preserving the jewels of Arab culture; hope they will enjoy their time at the concert."

Tickets are sold at Emirates Palace, Virgin Megastores and Abu Dhabi Cultural Foundation.