Majida El Roumi
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| Majida El Roumi | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 13, 1956 |
| Origin | Kfarshima, Lebanon |
| Genre(s) | Arabic music |
| Years active | Early 1970s — present |
Majida El Roumi (Arabic: ماجدة الرومي, also transliterated as Majida Al Roumi) was born in Kfarshima, Lebanon on December 13, 1956. She is a Lebanese singer 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 tender age of 16, she has become one of the most successful and respected singers of the Arab world as well as a UN Goodwill Ambassador.
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[edit] Biography
Majida El Roumi was born to renowned musician Halim El Roumi and wife Marie Loutfi who were a Melkite Greek Catholic couple from Tyre, a city in South Lebanon. Halim el Roumi became a renowned musician and continued to live in Kfarshima, which was home to many Lebanese singers, musicians, poets and writers, like the late Philemon Wehbi. The residence of Halim el Roumi in Kfarshima was a meeting place for many cultural figures. Growing up in such an artistic environment, Majida's interest in music started to show at an early age when she used to listen to the works of the prominent figures of that time, such as Fairuz, Umm Kulthoum, Abdel Wahab, Wadi AlSafi, and Asmahan. Her singing and beautiful voice attracted the attention of her family and neighbors. One of the early songs she used to sing (and which was actually saved on record) was a religious song called "Your Birth" or Miladak in reference to the birth of Jesus Christ.
Raymond Safadi, Majida's cousin, was fascinated with her voice and thought that she could be very successful if she pursued singing as a profession. However, the big obstacle was her father who knew more than anyone else how difficult it was to work in the music industry. Although the father refused his daughter's participation in Télé Liban's Studio el fan, Majida, with the help of her cousin, Raymond, entered the talent show, singing songs for Asmahan and Leila Mourad, like Ya Toyour, Ana Albi Dalili, and Layali El Ouns Fi Vienna. The jury was impressed with her performance and her beautiful voice and awarded her the gold medal.
Halim El Roumi gave Majida his blessings to pursue singing as a profession as long as she continued her higher education. Despite the war in Lebanon in 1975, Majida obtained her BA in Arabic Literature from the Lebanese University.
On September 17, 1977, Majida got engaged to a businessman from Byblos, Lebanon. Antoine Dfouni became not only her husband but also her manager. They were blessed with two daughters: Hala and Nour. Majida and Antoine divorced in 2006.
Majida lost her sister, Maha, to cancer. Before her death, she flew to her sister who was hospitalized in the United States and stayed with her for days. When she had to come back for a concert in Cairo, Majida dedicated a song to Maha, wishing a miracle would take place to heal her. When Maha died, Majida recited a poem she wrote at her funeral in a church in Kfarshima. Her sister's death lead her to produce several religious albums and held several religious concerts. She would later release a special song dedicated to Maha.
[edit] Career
Majida's first single, "I Dream of You, O' Lebanon" (3am be7lamak Ya 7ilm Ya Libnan) was a song about her war-torn country. The song was written by Said Akel and composed by Elias Al Rahbani. 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 El Roumi released her first self-titled debut album in 1977 containing 8 tracks. The album was a huge success and it launched Majida into stardom. Majida continued to produce very successful albums that Majida El Roumi has performed at various festivals throughout the Arab world such as festivals of Beiteddine, Jerash, Bosra and Carthage as well as the Cairo Opera House. Majida was the first singer from the 'new generation' to present a poem written by renowned Syrian poet Nizar Qabbani. Majida was a personal friend of late Syrian poet Nizar Qabbani. Majida collaborated with Nizar in the early 1990s, she presented his poems 'Beirut, Lady of Universe' (Beirut Sit El Dunia), 'Words' (Kalimat), 'With the Newspaper' (Ma' al Jarida) and 'The Jasmine Neckband' (Tawq al Yasamin). Qabbani was very surprised with the tremendous success of Majida's hit "Kalimat", especially since he had certain reservations on that poem. Majida takes a firm stand opposing the Israeli occupation of Palestinian Territories and Israeli human rights violations. During her concert in Beirut on April 15, 2002, Majida said, "What is going now in Palestine is a crime against humanity, and I am here to say a final 'No!' to the Israeli occupation. To the Palestinians, I say, our hearts are with you; our souls are with you; justice is with you, and the land will always be yours." Majida El Roumi also released the song, "Qana" , Anakid Al- Ghadab April 1996,as a form of protest against the massacre that the Israelis committed in the town of Qana in southern Lebanon.
Majida performed "Light The Way," a duet with the international opera star, José Carreras, on December 9, 2006 during the opening ceremony of the 15th Asian Games Doha 2006.[1]
Majida El Roumi is currently working on her international career with entertainment firm, The Agency and Me, based in Europe and the Middle East. The strategy includes international duets, a new English language classical/contemporary album and a world class 'Broadway' style production, to be Directed and Produced by an Award winning international team from Los Angeles, New York, London and Sofia. With her last album and new material soon to be released, Majida El Roumi is crossing borders with her fresh contemporary style of music, appealing to a greater international audience.
In more than three decades, Majida El Roumi has become a symbol and an idol for global audiences.On December 9, 2007 Majida El Roumi gave a heartwrenching speech to Lebanese political leaders at a memorial for Gebran Tueni, a Lebanese politician. Here is an English translation of her speech:
"How many hearts have to be broken? How many homes have to be ruined? How many Lebanese have to be given worries as their daily bread? How many young men and women have to leave the country before you decide to meet and put an end to this disastrous situation and this horrible division?
How can divisions reach the point of having people tell me, “Do not pray at Pierre’s funeral or say a word in Gebran’s commemoration, or you would be speaking up against the others.” Who are the others? Aren’t you all Lebanese?
All those martyrs who have died from the southernmost part of the country in massacres perpetrated by Israel to its northernmost part, in the case of our beloved army martyrs, and all those who died for our youth’s sake, … Aren’t they all – truly and honestly – ours? Didn’t they break our hearts? Aren’t they only guilty of being Lebanese?
We no longer meet to pray for the martyrs’ souls, since we now have “their” martyr and “our” martyr. I reject this painful discrimination. I hereby say that it was an honor to sing for Pierre inasmuch as it is an honor to speak about Gebran. If I am accused of being Lebanese, then I am the lucky one. I no longer care who will be offended by these words. Indeed, I know that some people will be offended, but I no longer care about them because, after 30 years of war, we have come to lose hope. I no longer care to bear witness to anyone on this earth, especially not in politics. I only bear witness to the Lord, and our Lord loves peace. He is against violence and He tells me to bear witness to what is right, to the best of our youth and to the sovereignty and freedom of this land, as any self-respecting citizen with some dignity should do. I bear witness to the tormented, martyred Lebanese people who has close brushes with death everyday and barely hangs on to life. I say: enough is enough…
You say you are entrusted with Lebanon’s sovereignty and our safety… [In reality,] you have torn the country into pieces, and you want to replace it with one that is tailor-made for confessions, parties and power obsessions. However, this country is far greater than that. You are responsible for driving wedges among us and dividing us under a single roof. You have scattered us and linked our case with half of the world’s pending issues… Why should we be a card in everyone’s hand? How can you accept to remain divided for 30 years, and then tell the whole world that you are unable to run the country’s affairs? In the end, this may be the ultimate aim. If so, then why are you doing it? You are entrusted with our freedom, our sovereignty and our independence. I am here to say: [You have done] enough… let us live.
In the name of what is right, in the name of the Lord, who you say you love and according to whose will you claim to be acting, let this state remain a state. Whose interest would be served if this nation remains unsheltered and if the state breaks up into countless component parts? I am here to conjure you up in the name of the Lord to make peace. You are so stifling us that there will be no one left to hear you. I am here for Gebran’s sake to tell him: I have come to pay tribute to you, my dear brother and friend. Our hearts will keep on beating as one as long as you are alive within us. Why is that so? Because we remained oblivious to the worth of the perfect man that you were. If no tribute is paid to you today as a King who left us, who deserves such a tribute then? Do those who have slain us deserve it? We shall not give it to them. Dear Gebran, I see your pictures on billboards, and I am ashamed to tell you that your blood will not have been spilled in vain. In the name of the everlasting God, I tell you with total confidence that there will come a day when your blood will bloom only in the three colors of our national flag. This day of freedom and sovereignty will undoubtedly come no matter how long it takes because no one can grow greater than Lebanon… Nor shall Lebanon ever be diminished. All shall perish and Lebanon shall remain, and you shall always be there, O Gebran, along with the great men who have borne witness to its dignity and its special vocation on this Earth."
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
- Majida El Roumi (1977).
- Live Recordings (1982).
- And the Children (1983).
- Dawi Ya Amar (1987).
- Ya Saken Afkari (1988).
- Kalimat (1991).
- Ibhath Anni (1994).
- Rasayel (1996).
- Ohebbouka Wa Baad (1998).
- Cithare Du Ciel (Keetharat Al Samaa) (2003).
- Erhamni Ya Allah (2003).
- E'tazalt El Gharam (2006).
[edit] UN Ambassador
Majida El Roumi was appointed an ambassador for the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) on World Food Day, October 16, 2001 in an official ceremony in Rome, Italy.[2] 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 8 November 2005 during an official ceremony to celebrate World Food Day 60th Anniversary at the UNESCO Palace in Beirut.[3]
[edit] Tributes and Awards
National Order of the Cedar (Knight), Lebanon, 1994.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Majida El Roumi Fan Site
- Majida El Roumi forum
- Majida's fan site
- Majida El Roumi song lyrics, English translations and music videos on Shawshara.com
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