Showbiz Arabia

Patricia Khoder brings you all the gossip from the Middle East

On the prowl

Dana is on the hunt for a generous man who splashes the cash

Lebanese singer Dana said that she feels she is too famous to get married, but is nevertheless looking for a generous man. "[I] don't think at all about marriage [since becoming a] famous singer," the star told reporters.

"Anyway, I can't find someone I get along with — maybe because I am very demanding. [I am] especially looking for a generous man."

The 22-year-old singer was recently pictured with 35-year-old director Fady Habib and rumours suggested that the pair were secretly married in Cyprus. Other reports said the pair spent the entire summer together on the beaches in Lebanon.

But Dana denied the rumours, saying that although they once dated, they are now just good friends.
Dana and Habib met three years ago when she filmed her first music video, Ana Dana, Ana Dandan (I am Dana, I am Dandan).


Amal's moving on up

Star Academy candidate, Algerian Amal Bashusha, is set to host the variety TV show Top 20. Bashusha, who is also preparing the release of a new single, said that she will pursue her singing career at the same time.

Asked about the new show, Bashusha said "it fits my personality and I hope the audience like it".

Bashusha, who lives in Paris and spends her time travelling between Lebanon where she works and Algiers where her family lives, said she never feels homesick in Lebanon thanks to the kindness of her friends.

Talking about her private life, Bashusha said that she only became a responsible adult after she left Algiers and lived alone in France.

Asked about love, she compared it to the lottery. "Sometimes, one buys the winning ticket and finds true love", she said. "But sometimes you imagine that you are living a true love story — that you will grow old with someone but reality comes cruelly different and you are shocked. This is what happened to me," she said.


Rami Ayach singing to sunset

Lebanese singer Rami Ayach is recording a number of songs for a new album produced by Rotana Music. Composer Mahmud Khiami said: "I just finished a song for Rami Ayach. It will be included in his new album, to be released at the end of the year."

The song called Saat Al Ghorub (The time of Sunset) is written by Khiami with lyrics by Ahmad Shatta.


Dance extravaganza

Allawah (If only) is the name of Lebanese artist Melhem Zein's new song. He filmed its music video a week ago. And for the first time, main arteries of Beirut and the suburbs were blocked for the shooting.

There was also another exception for the shooting of Melhem's video: a production company employed 150 dancers to dance the traditional Dabke in the street. The music video is directed by Fady Haddad and the song is written and composed by Wissam Amir.


Busy bee Haifa

Lebanese singer Haifa Wehbe is a very busy woman. A week ago, she was in Stockholm, the Swedish capital, singing in front of thousands of Arab emigrants.

Haifa also shot a new music video in Beirut.

During the shooting of the music video, Haifa hardly had time to breathe. She explained that she had to shoot the video clip quickly in order to fly to Cairo, to start playing in her first movie.

Talking about the video, she said that she chose to work with director Yehia Saade because he knows her personality very well and that he has original ideas. "The new music video is joyful," she said.