Honeymoon with Habibi

Sometimes, a song gets into your head and just sticks there. It can be pretty annoying. But for Amir Hossein, it was the beginning of a love story - with his wife-to-be and with the music of Amr Diab.

Ten years ago, Diab's hit song, Habibi, from his Nour Al Ain (Light of the Eye) album, was sending shockwaves throughout the Arab and international music scene.

The song also found its way to the city of Mashad, Iran, where Hossein was just meeting Arghavan, the woman who would one day become his wife. He heard the song one day, and since then he has become one of Diab's biggest fans.

Calibre

So much so, in fact, that when he and Arghavan, both 25, were planning their honeymoon several months ago, there was only one place to go: wherever Amr Diab was next playing live.

However, following a star of Diab's calibre is not easy, and the couple had to reconsider their plans several times. Arghavan says: "A couple of months ago, we decided to attend his concert in Dubai. Diab was going to play in December. But then the concert was cancelled."

Relaxing

The couple, who were married two weeks ago, decided to come to Dubai anyway, and changed their tickets.

"Then a new concert was announced, and we decided we had to see it. In all, we ended up changing our tickets three times," says Arghavan. Hossien says that while in Dubai, he and Arghavan are looking forward to seeing the concert most of all, then relaxing and doing some CD shopping — for Amr Diab albums, of course.

"In Iran, we can't get the original CDs, only copies. So we are looking forward to having the real thing," said Hossein, who listens to Diab while driving and has made many new fans of the Egyptian singer among his friends and family.

Wonderful voice

"Hossein doesn't actually understand the lyrics, since he doesn't speak Arabic," laughs Arghavan, "but he sings along anyway!"

"I like Amr Diab's music because it's relaxing and he has a wonderful voice," says Hossein. "I'd like to tell him that he's great and I wish him all the best."

From Iran to Diab

The organisers of Amr Diab's concert in Dubai say they have had fans from all over the world calling to buy tickets. There are fans from as far away as Europe, Russia and the US flying in to see the Egyptian star.
For Arghavan and Amir Hossein, there was no way to buy tickets to the concert online from their home in Iran, so they got in touch with the organisers to find out how to make sure they get tickets. They had their hearts set on making the concert the centrepiece of their honeymoon. The concert organisers and the sponsors Splash, were able to arrange the tickets as well as offer the newlyweds a real Dubai welcome — with a shopping spree at the Splash store in Mall of the Emirates.

Shocking videos

Amr Diab's video clips were always celebrated by fans for their fresh ideas and good taste – not something all others can claim. Almost 10 years on, many people still refer to well-known Lebanese singer Elissa as the "Bed Sheet Singer". Elissa appeared wrapped in a bed sheet in one of her first video clips, raising a storm of dismay and criticism, and still establishing herself as one of the top female artists of the Arab world. Others got the hint, and soon enough, an unknown Tunisian singer named Najla appeared suggestively dancing around a horse! And the song's name? Talab Eidi (He proposed to me). The trend continued, with Egyptian singer Ruby dancing on the street in her debut video clip, wearing a revealing belly dance costume. Things became risky when a little girl slipped and almost drowned while trying to imitate Lebanese singer Maria, who appeared in a bowl of corn flakes.Some of these clips were totally unexpected. The normally tasteful and elegant Amal Hijazi shocked people when she recently appeared like a cross-dresser, with boyish hair, leather boots and a Mr B slogan on her t-shirt. Amal later held a press conference to clarify that she had no idea the brand had a rather notorious image, and even crossed out the slogan from her poster. However, the queen of controversial video clips must be Lebanese sensation Haifa Wehbi. The model-turned-singer stormed into the world of music with one shocking video clip after the other, and her latest raised the protests of many parents, as Haifa's provocative clip featured a baby co-star, who was shown unrestrained in a moving car.