Dubai: UAE music star Ahlam, one of the top singers in the Gulf region and one of the most controversial in the Arab world, has signed a three-year contract with a new record label, the company announced on Wednesday evening.
Ahlam signed with Platinum Records in Dubai on Tuesday. Ahlam had been with Saudi-owned Rotana Production Company since 2006.
Platinum Records is owned by Saudi artist Rashid Al Majid in partnership with the pan-Arab Saudi-owned television channel MBC, which screens Arab Idol, on which Ahlam is a judge.
“I believe Platinum Records is one of the best label companies and is part of the biggest broadcast companies in the region,” Ahlam, 45, told tabloid!, referring to MBC. “[Platinum Records] have developed ideas that match my ideas,” she added.
“I am confident of the bilateral artistic successes that we will achieve together. My artistic words are in safe hands.”
The singer’s comments on Arab Idol have made her one of the most controversial celebrities in the Arab world.
Since the show started, Ahlam has been both vehemently attacked and praised on social media. She has 4.33 million Twitter followers, a figure that puts her high up on the list of followed public figures. “Arab Idol has increased my fan base all over the Arab world,” she said.
Asked whether any plan to move onto the international stage and perform a duet with an international singer, she said “no, not at the moment.”
Ahlam’s next album will have a “comprehensive marketing plan”, said Taymoor Marmarchi, head of Platinum Records.
