Dominique Hourani is an independent and strong woman who knows what she wants. The ex-model, who worked in Milan and won Miss Intercontinental 2003, has become famous for her voice throughout the Arab world in last three years.
Hourani, who says that she could easily have been a man, today splits her time between Monaco and Beirut.
Smart and sexy, the singer doesn't mince words and tells tabloid! that she will soon marry a rich Austrian businessman. Frank and outspoken throughout, here's what she had to say:
Why did you take up singing?
Singing is fun for me. Besides, my voice is adequate for the songs I choose.
What's the meaning of your new song Khachoka?
Khachoka means spoon in the Syrian and Iraqi dialect. The song has lyrics from different dialects, especially from the Lebanese mountains. I always rely on my sixth sense to choose my songs. This is how I prepared my new album, which will be released in a month.
You are accused of being provocative, especially in your choice of clothes. What do you say?
People think that my personality is provocative. They say that because I describe things as they are. When you are confident about yourself and sure of the things you do, you don't hide. I don't like the artists who are not honest and sincere.
If you wanted to define yourself in a few words, what would you say?
I am a positive person, a perfectionist. I don't lie to people and I don't like to be lied to. I am courageous. Nothing scares me. Each night before I go to sleep I think about the people around me; I don't want any of them to be sad, and if this is the case I cannot sleep. I like family. I hate to be alone. I like to be surrounded by people — good and kind people. I am scared of loneliness. I am strong and independent.
Would you say your personality reflects a certain amount of masculinity?
With my force, my character, my personality and my lifestyle, I feel that I could have been born a man even if my looks and my attitude are very feminine. Inside I have a man's personality. I am very liberal and independent. I don't count on anybody but myself. I have a man's character but my looks don't help me.
How so?
At work, for example, when I had my lingerie line, La Domine, I used to go to the factories to speak to the wholesale dealers, but because I'm a girl, it was difficult for me to impose myself. They prefer male traders; they feel more at ease if they work with a man.
In the past, I looked for many jobs and went to several interviews. I remember once I went for an interview for the job of an assistant and the man who was due to interview me, refused to do so. He said that I didn't have the profile for the work. "She's not made for work but to be looked at," he said laughing.
Do you mean that when you are good looking, you are not taken seriously?
Not just me. The rights of women are not respected. I think that women are harassed and abused mentally and physically. They do not look at us as equal to men.
For example, I was working as a sales manager in a computer company. There were 11 men who used to work under me. Once, the company received a foreign client, and because I was the only girl in the office with the office secretary on leave, they asked me to prepare tea. I prepared the tea with 11 spoons of sugar in the cup. The client left and never came back. Neither did I.
You said that you could be a guy, but did you want to be born a guy?
No, I'm very proud of being a girl. But sometimes, when I think about having a serious job, I just wish I was a guy.
And what would have happened if you had been born a guy?
It wouldn't have been nice because if I was born a guy, I would have been responsible for spending money on someone, buying gifts and all that. Women were born to be spent on. They were born to be taken care of. I think it's fine to be a woman because, in this way, we are spoiled.
Are you spoiled? Do you receive a lot of gifts?
Yes. I love gifts. Once for my birthday, we hired a plane and wrote my name on it. My fiancé offers me these kinds of gifts.
Tell us about your fiancé?
His name is Reza. He is 37 years old and lives in Vienna. He is European and works in the real estate business. I met him on the internet. But before that, he heard a lot about me in London and in Monaco because I know people there. He conducted research on the internet and started sending me emails and calling me as well.
Later, I met him for the first time at a wedding in Monaco. Then he started coming to Lebanon every week. We will be married very soon.
Monaco home
Dominique Hourani is due to tie the knot with European billionaire Reza Nokiani on November 11. Preparations are well under way for the big day which will be followed by receptions in four countries.
Hourani will then live in Monaco, "the city of my dreams", she says.
"Reza, who works in the real estate business, has five houses in Monaco and he tells me to choose between them. For the time being and during the past year I had my suite in L'Hôtel de Paris," she adds.
The Lebanese singer loves Monaco because the principality is "as big as half a Lebanese village. It's clean and organised. There are Arabs in Monaco all year round. I have already joined a club of the friends of Lebanon and there are around 500 Lebanese families living there," she says. "You never get bored in Monaco. There is always something happening."
Bride emotions
Dominique Hourani will continue singing after marriage. A performance on stage in Amman is scheduled for New Year's Eve. She promises also to visit Lebanon very often.
"My mum doesn't want me to leave. She wants me to stay with her," says Dominique. "My mum knew I was getting married when she saw the wedding dress on my bed. She was shocked. In the beginning, she said that I would change my mind because she knows that I am unstable.
"I have emotional distortions. I am unstable in my emotional life. It doesn't have to do anything with logic. Nobody can regulate emotions and love. If emotional life was science, nobody would get married."
Did you know?
- Dominique Hourani was born in Beirut, Lebanon, on August 7, 1980.
- Her father is a historian and she has two sisters and two brothers.
- Hourani has a Masters degree in Business Administration.
- She was crowned Miss Intercontinental in Germany in 2003.
- In 2004, she established her own brand of lingerie, accessories and clothes, called La Domine.
