Baddi Eesh
| Baddi Eesh | ||||||||||
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| Studio album by Haifa Wehbe | ||||||||||
| Released | February 22, 2005 | |||||||||
| Recorded | Summer 2004 | |||||||||
| Genre | Arabic | |||||||||
| Label | Rotana | |||||||||
| Haifa Wehbe chronology | ||||||||||
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Baddi Eesh (Arabic: بدي عيش) (English: I Want To Live) is the second studio album released by Lebanese singer Haifa Wehbe. Released in early 2005, the album brought Haifa to global recognition and caused major controversies in the Arab World due to its explicit sexual and provocative tone.
Baddi Eesh follows the head-turning debut of Haifa, Houwa El-Zaman, with bigger production and more promotion. For the album, Haifa worked with several well-known singers and songwriters including Elias El Rahbani, which wrote the album's title track.
Promotion was majorly through music videos, airplay, TV appearances and concerts. Haifa also appeared in 2006 reality tv show Al Wadi (The Valley) alongside other Arab celebrities, where she performed hits from the album including her biggest success to date, "Ragab," "Fakerni" and "Badi Eesh."
Contents |
[edit] Promotion
[edit] Singles
- Ya Hayat Albi was released as the album's lead single. The song became a number one single and gained huge popularity in a very short time. The music video of the song, and like most of Haifa's videos, caused great controversies and was directed by Saleem El Tork.
- Baddi Eesh, the title track, followed the success of Ya Hayat Albi with even greater success. The song was written by Lebanese singer/songwriter Elias El Rahbani which was a great push for the song and for Haifa herself. The music video was directed by Said El Marouk and it won numerous awards and is considered to be Haifa's darkest and strangest video.
- Ragab was selected as the album's third single. It's the album's most successful single. It became an anthem and reached the top of the Arabian Charts with just airplay, no physical or official digital releases or even a music video. Later, the video for Ragab was released with an edited and shorter version of the song.
- Ana Haifa is the fourth smash single from the album. The release of Ana Haifa was similar to that of Ragab with the music video shot later on. Ana Haifa is different from the other songs on the album. It's a Techno-Pop song with major sound effects.
- Fakerni was unofficially released with the broadcast of Reality TV Show, Al Wadi. The performance of the song on the show was played numerous times every day on different TV Channels allowing it to chart without reaching the top spots like the previous singles.
- Ma Khadtesh Bali was released alongside Fakerni and achieved bigger success. The video is also the performance of the song on Al Wadi.
- Teegi Ezzai is the sixth, and final, single off the album. The music video was released in early 2007 and the song became very popular but without any remarkable chart performance.
[edit] Al Wadi
Haifa appeared in Al Wadi, a reality tv show where a group of celebrities is taken to a farm with no means of communication with the outer world. The celebrities have to live the life of a regular farmer and give up the wealthy life. During her four-month stay at Al Wady, Haifa recorded new music to her fans, music related to the show, and performed a song each week. She also made head-turning performances with songs from the album, including "Ragab," "Fakerni," "Badi Eesh" and others. The show received mixed reviews but resulted in a remarkable increase in the sales of Baddi Eesh.
[edit] Release
The album was preceded by hit single "Ya Hayat Albi," which topped the charts in Lebanon and Egypt. The song's music video was released in early 2005, just a few weeks before the album's release, and caused major controversies.
With the fuss over the "Ya Hayat Albi" music video, and after the major success of Haifa's debut album and its three singles, the Arab World anticipated the release of the song's host album.
Baddi Eesh sold over 300,000 copies in its first week and became the second best selling album of 2005, after Elissa's Ahla Donya, selling over a million by the end of 2005.
[edit] Reception
[edit] Critical
Upon its release, Baddi Eesh received negative reviews from music critics which all agreed that Haifa was singing with her body, and that the tone used in songs like "Ragab" and "Ana Haifa" was provocative and sexual.
[edit] Commercial
The album became the second best selling album of 2005, and its first, second and third singles became the biggest hits of the year in terms of airplay and charts. As of November 2009, the album sold over 25 million copies worldwide, becoming Haifa's best seller so far.
[edit] Track listing
| # | Title | Length | Writer | Composer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Ana Haifa" (I Am Haifa) | 4:02 | Samir Nakhala | Jean Saliba |
| 2 | "Bahebbak Hob" (I Love You) | 3:57 | Khaled Taj AL-Din | Amru Mustafa |
| 3 | "Ma Khadtesh Bali" (I Didn't Notice) | 4:10 | Hani Abdul Karim | Tarek Abu Juda |
| 4 | "Tegi Ezzai" (How Do You Come) | 3:54 | Walid Sharki | Mahmoud Khaimi |
| 5 | "Ya Hayat Albi" (My Life) | 4:09 | Mhd. Rafaa'i | Phoebus |
| 6 | "Bahebbak Moot" (I Love You Till Death) | 4:56 | Mhd. Khalil | Mhd. Rahim |
| 7 | "Fi Eneik" (In Your Eyes) | 4:17 | Mhd. Rafaa'i | Walid Sharki |
| 8 | "Fakerni" (You Think) | 3:49 | Mounir Bu Aa'saf | Basim Izbak |
| 9 | "Tool Omri" (All My Life) | 3:48 | Mhd. Rafaa'i | Mhd. Rafaa'i & Walid Amam |
| 10 | "Naar El Ashwa'a" (Fire of Missig You) | 3:45 | Samir Nakhala | Jean Saliba |
| 11 | "Baddi Eesh" (I Want To Live) | 4:03 | Elias Rahbani | Elias Rahbani |
| 12 | "Houwa El-Zaman [Remix]" (Is It the Time - Remixed) | 4:05 | Toni Abi Karam | Jean Saliba |
| 13 | "Ragab" (Ragab - Name of a Guy) | 3:27 | Ahmad Maddi | Hinem Ziad |
