Majida El Roumi

Majida El Roumi ماجدة الرومي
Birth name	Majida Halim El Roumi
Born	December 13, 1956 (1956-12-13)
Origin	Kfarshima, Lebanon
Genres	Arabic music
Occupations	Singer, songwriter, actress
Instruments	Vocals, piano, oud
Years active	Early 1970s–present

Majida El-Roumi (Arabic: ماجدة الرومي‎, was born in Kfarshima, Lebanon, on December 13, 1956. She is a Lebanese singer and a soprano, who started her musical career in the early 1970s when she participated in the talent show, Studio El Fan on Télé Liban and won the gold medal for best female singer. Since her appearance on television at the age of 16, she has become one of the most successful singers of the Arab world as well as a UN Goodwill Ambassador.

Biography

Majida El Roumi Baradhy (Arabic: ماجدة الرومي برادعي), born to musician Halim El Roumi (born Hanna El Roumi Baradhy) and wife Marie Loutfi who were a Melkite Greek Catholic couple from Tyre, a city in South Lebanon. They got married and lived in Kfarshima, they had three girls Maha, Mona, and Majida, and a boy Awad. Halim el Roumi became a musician and continued to live in Kfarshima, which was home to many Lebanese singers, musicians, poets and writers, among them Philemon Wehbi, Melhem Barakat and Issam Rajji. The residence of Halim el Roumi in Kfarshima was a meeting place for many cultural figures. Growing up in an artistic environment, Majida listened to the works of Fairuz, Umm Kulthoum, Mohammed Abdel Wahab, Wadi AlSafi, and Asmahan. Her vocal abilities attracted the attention of her family and neighbors. One of the early songs she sang was "Your Birth" or Miladak in reference to the birth of Jesus Christ.

Raymond Safadi, Majida's cousin, thought that she should pursue singing as a profession. The big obstacle was her father who did not want her to participate in Télé Liban's Studio el fan. Nevertheless, Majida entered the talent show, singing songs for Asmahan and Leila Mourad, like Ya Toyour, Ana Albi Dalili, and Layali El Ouns Fi Vienna. She won the gold medal. Halim El Roumi gave Majida his blessings to pursue singing as a profession as long as she continued her higher education. Majida obtained her BA in Arabic Literature from the Lebanese University.

In 1977, Majida married a businessman from Byblos, Lebanon, Antoine Dfouni who was also her manager. They had two daughters: Hala and Nour. They divorced in 2006.

Her sister's death from cancer inspired her to produce several religious albums and release a song in her memory.

Music career

Majida was one of the first modern singers to combine western classical music and Arabic classical music (tarab). Her first hit was Am Behlamak Ya Helm Ya Lebnan, written by poet Said Akl and composed by Elias Rahbani. However, the majority of her early 1970s–1980s song were oriental. In all her albums she includes patriotic songs and works by her father.

Majida's self-titled debut album was typical of 1970s Arabic pop, with traditional percussion, a string section, guitar, and keyboard. Her Lebanese patriotism is evident in songs like Nab' El Mahabbeh, which are song in Lebanese Arabic dialect. This is also true of her 1980s songs Layalina Men Layali El Omr and Ya Saken Afkari. Her first work in classical Arabic was La Taghdabi and Salawna. Majida sang a hit rendition of the Abdel Halim Hafez's El Touba in 1987.

In 1991, Majida released Kalimat, her first pan-Arab hit, under the Music Master label. The title song was written by Syrian poet Nizar Qabbani and composed by Ihsan El-Mounzer. Other songs by Qabbani were Beirut, Set Eddounia and Maa Jarida. Majida initiated the movement that re-popularized classical Arabic poetry in music and began to fuse East and West. 1994's Ibhath Anni followed the template set by Kalimat. Souad Al Sabah's Kon Sadiqi was about empowerment of women. Other patriotic songs were Oum Etthadda and Saqata Al Qina.

In 1996, Majida signed with the Saudi label Rotana and released Rasa'el. Elie Choueiri wrote the opening title Samra' El Nile, a song for Egyptian women. Songs like Shou3oubon Men Al Oushaq and Aynaka blurred the line between what classical and Arabic music, while Lawen Ma3i El Iyam employed Majida's operatic skills and Hobbouka evoked songs from Eastern Europe. She also perform's Choueiri song about the Qana massacre. Majida's father composed Mimi, by the Rahbani Brothers, in honor of Majida's daughter.

In 1998, Majida released her ninth official album, Ouhibbouka Wa Ba'd, working with Saudi poet Al Nasser and composer/singer Abdel Rab Idriss, who produced the title song. Tawq Al Yasmin marked Majida's fourth collaboration with Qabbani and her first with Iraqi singer/songwriter Kathem Al Saher. Salama composed three songs, Al Qalb Al Maftouh, Inta El Madi, and Sayedi El Ra'is, which was written in the form of a letter to the president. He also arranged Al Yawm Aada Habibi, a duet with her father.

After the death of her sister Maha, Majida did not sing secular music for close to a decade. In 2003, she released two religious albums titled Cithare Du Ciel and Erhamni Ya Allah. She sang a special rendition of the song "Ave Maria."

In 2006, she signed for an album with Good News Production that spoke to a younger audience. "E'tazalt El Gharam" (I Quit Love) was released with a video directed by Nadine Labaki. Majida worked with many new names, like singer/songwriter Marwan Khoury as well as musicians Jean-Marie Riachi and Claude Chalhoub. The new musicians updated Majida's style while keeping the old-world charm. Melhem Barakat composed the title song. Said Akl contributed "Sawfa Nabqa", an ode to Lebanon. Composers Ihsan El Mounzer, Joseph Khalifa and Kamal Saiqali put Gibran Khalil Gibran's words to music for Majida in "Nashid Lel Hob." "Nashid El Zafaf" is a rendition of Mendelssohn's "Wedding March" with congratulatory lyrics by Majida herself. Majida sang "Ma Rah Ez'al A Shi" (I Won't Feel Sad Over Anything) at the annual 2008 Beiteddine Festival in Lebanon.

She wrote the lyrics of Bokra "Tomorrow", a charity single that was released on 11/11/2011 at 11:11PM, the single will distribute the proceeds of its donations to various organisations, institutions and charities with arts and culture programs. The eight minute song was recorded by several Arab Artists. It was produced by Quincy Jones and RedOne.

Her Latest album "Ghazal" is set to be released in 2012.

Performances

In 1976, Majida starred in Youssef Chahine movie Awdat Al Ibn Al Dal (The Return of the Prodigal Son) providing also 3 soundtracks for the movie. Chahine introduced her as 'the Voice of the 20th Century' and received the 'Egyptian Critics Award'.

Majida has performed at festivals in Beiteddine, Jerash, Bosra and Carthage, and appeared at the Cairo Opera House several times, in addition to The Roman theater of Marina, Alexandria. Majida has also performed as Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Centre, Carnegie Hall and Hunter College in New York City as well as the Place des Arts in Montreal, Fox Theatre (Detroit, Michigan), the Paris Olympia, Palais des Congrès de Paris, Athens Concert Hall in Greece and the Royal Albert Hall in London. In December 2006, Majida performed "Light The Way", a duet with the international opera star, José Carreras at the opening ceremony of the 15th Asian Games in Doha. In 2009, she performed "Nous sommes les amis du monde", a duet with Youssou N'dour, on the inauguration of the "Jeux Olympiques de la Francophonie" in Beirut, Lebanon.

Public positions

Majida El Roumi was appointed an ambassador for the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) on World Food Day, October 16, 2001 in an official ceremony in Rome, Italy. She has participated in numerous round-table discussion on the role of FAO ambassadors in helping the Organization combat world hunger. As FAO ambassador, Majida inaugurated the First Annual Agricultural Week in Lebanon and dedicated the book prepared by FAO Sanabel El Kheir on November 8, 2005 during an official ceremony to celebrate World Food Day 60th Anniversary at the UNESCO Palace in Beirut.

Discography

Albums

• Wadaa (1977)
• Live Recordings from George 5 and Picadelly concerts(1982)
• And the Children (1983)
• Dawi Ya Amar (1987) released in Egypt only
• Ya Saken Afkari (1988)
• Kalimat (1991)
• Ibhath Anni (1994)
• Rasa'el (1996)
• Ouhibbouka Wa Baad (1998)
• Cithare Du Ciel (Qitharat Al Sama') (2003) (Christian album)
• Erhamni Ya Allah (2003) (Christian album)
• E'tazalt El Gharam (2005)

Egyptian songs: remakes

• La Mush Ana Elli Abki (Mohammad Abdel Wahab) – originally sung by Abdel Wahab
• Ana koulli magoul al-touba (Lyrics: Abdel Rahman El-Abnoudi / Music: Baligh Hamdi) – originally sung by Abdel Halim Hafez
• Ba7lef bi Samaha (Lyrics: Abdel Rahman El-Abnoudi / Music: Kamal Al-Tawil) – originally sung by Abdel Halim Hafez
• Layali Al-ouns bi Vienna (Music: Farid Al-Atrach) – originally sung by Asmahan
• Ya Touyour (Music: Al-Kassabji) – originally sung by Asmahan
• Emta 7a te3raf – originally sung by Asmahan
• Ana Albi Dalili (Music: Al-Kassabji) – originally sung by Leila Mourad

Awards

• The Golden Cedar, Lebanon, 1988
• National Order of the Cedar (Knight) from the President of the Republic of Lebanon, 1994
• The Médecines Sans Frontières Shield
• Le Bouclier de l'information et de la culture / Algerian Shield of Culture, Algeria, 2005
• The Shield of Honour from the Syrian Ministry of Culture, Syria
• The Shield of Honour from Jordan
• The Shield of Honour from Morocco
• The Shield of Honour from Tunis, 2010
• The National Shield of Honour of the Cedars - of the Order of Commodore from the President of the Republic of Lebanon, 2011

External links

• MajidaFans Site
• Online TV RADIO MAGAZINE and Forum
• Romyat Group
• Majida's Admirers WebSite
• Majida El Roumi Fans Site
• Majida El Roumi Fans forum
• Majida El Roumi Fan Site
• Majida El Roumi forum
• Majida El Roumi song lyrics, English translations and music videos on Shawshara.com