Watch the commercial above and then watch the Najwa Karam music video below (gets interesting at 40seconds).

Thanks Pierre

She was not coming due to “security reasons”, then said she’s going to come despite the threats and now finally decided not to come. However, and from what I heard, she will be live on Radio Nostalgie and MTV in a special broadcast.

I will not bother criticize those behind the boycott campaign, as I’ve already done that. What I will do is ask them the following:

The only thing that has kept Lebanon’s economy alive throughout history is its tourism, festivals and freedom of expression, which have attracted many international artists and performers to come here.

Having said that, do you think this cultural terrorism you are exercising is right? Is this really our utmost priority at the moment to frighten international performers just because they sang in Hebrew?

We have an electricity crisis, an internet crisis, a gas crisis, telecommunications crisis, road safety problems, traffic problems, security problems all over our borders, political frictions, hundreds of thousands of refugees, dozens of armed militias, increasing pollution and poverty, collapsing buildings and ALL you can think of working against are non-Israeli artists who sang in Israel?

I rest my case.

We are most certainly running out of names. Abbouta teghneejit “Abta” (hug) for those who don’t know.

This is a parody created between friends as a critique of the explicit themes adopted by some artists in the music industry on both the Arab and international scenes.[YouTube]

I don’t know what people like about this video. I like the message behind it but that’s about it.

Why isn’t Lara Fabian coming to Lebanon anymore?

Fabian performed at a concert in France in 2008 to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the state of Israel’s establishment in 1948, reportedly saying at the end of a song that she loved Israel. She has also performed in Israel on a number of occasions and attended pro-Zionist meetings. [Link]

What a blasphemy! An artist saying that she loves the country she is singing in! This has never happened before. I don’t know what’s wrong with those people at the Campaign to Boycott Supporters of Israel in Lebanon (CBSI). Who gives a damn about the political allegiances of an artist? She’s here to perform on Valentine, not buy Israel some rockets!

The funny thing about this group is that it’s inconsistent in its boycotts. Let’s take a look at the artists who performed in Lebanon this summer:
- Tom Jones [Interview with Israeli TV] [Tomes Jones tour in Israel]
- Armin Van Buuren [AVB concert in Israel- 2007] [AVB Concert in Israel - 2008]
- Shakira [Shakira in Israel] [Shakira Makes a Star Turn at an Israeli Conference]
- Inna [Inna in Tel Aviv]
- Scorpions [Concert in Israel planned on May 2012]
- 30 seconds to Mars [Concert in Israel in 2010]

I don’t think I need to continue listing all the artists that came to Lebanon and had performed in Israel before or visited Israel. This non-sense must stop and whomever is behind those campaigns must be sued for being an ignorant.

[YouTube]

Tirashrash according to this report by Al-Jadeed TV means throwing Dollars and Riyals at women, basically like this Iraqi guy [Here]. Having said that, the song still doesn’t make any sense but it’s a good Dabke song.

Aside from the striking resemblance to Britney Spears’ Toxic Video that Ivy pointed out, I think that’s the first time we see robots dancing Dabke in a music video.

What was missing though was Clauda Chemaly giving some guy a toxic kiss.

I’ve been hearing a lot about Stone restaurant which opened recently in the Old Souks in Zouk so I decided to pass by yesterday to see how it looks like. The first thing that caught my attention was how big and how beautiful this restaurant is. I don’t think I’ve seen bigger in Lebanon. It is also very nicely located and has a great view of the Jounieh bay and of Beirut.

Stone serves international food and its prices are affordable from what I hear. In fact, their Sunday lunch menu which includes Appetizers, Salad, Main Course, Dessert and Drinks is for 30$ only which is very reasonable.

They are also featuring Il Tenor Eliya Francis every Thursday starting December 22. This guy is amazing and performs at Mandaloun. He’s probably the only Tenor we have in Lebanon. They charge 10$ extra for the show.

I was told the food is excellent but I will have to try it and judge for myself, hopefully very soon. Also, I hope it will revive the old Zouk a bit because it’s a beautiful yet forgotten area.

You can check out its website [Here].

MTV: A blast targeted the Senses health club and spa in Kaslik, causing material damage

Future News: An explosion shook a nightclub in Kaslik, causing material damage only.

I just read this news on Naharnet. Why would anyone target Senses in Kaslik? Even though the blast only caused material damage, its timing and location are worrying.

Let’s just hope it’s some personal matter not more.

Update: According to VDL radio, the bomb explosion at the senses club was due to a personal dispute between the investors.

” Only an exclusive few will realize the greatness of this event and take immediate action to be part of it. The World’s #1 DJ Armin Van Buuren accompanied by the biggest ever selection of international performers and the most extravagant and high-tech setup for the one and only NYE’s eve pre-party of the decade at Biel”.

I stopped listening at “pre-party”. I don’t know about others, but why would I want to attend an NYE-1 party? What’s the point of celebrating NYE a day earlier? And how will I be able to attend another NYE party the next day? Are Pre-NYE parties popular around the world?

I heard there’s an NYE-2 party in Lebanon as well but I forgot where it was.

This video is from the last Fairouz concert held on December 23rd 2011 at the Platea. [YouTube]

I played the video clip like 3 times to make sure what I was watching was truly a Lebanese artist. What would be funny though is to have an Arabic version of it!

Thanks Rita

The Lebanese rock band JLP will be performing at ABC Ashrafieh on 16/17/18/22 and 23rd of December. They’ll be playing 2 sets consisting of popular rock and Christmas songs, one set at 7pm the other at 8:30pm. For more information check out the poster [Here]

Every concert Fayrouz has held in her 30+ years career has been a major success and a night for all to remember. Back in 2010, people stood in line for hours to attend Fayrouz’s performance at Biel, and she managed to exceed their expectations even after 4 years of absence.

Having said that, the last two concerts Fayrouz held at Platea in Jounieh on the 9th and 10th of December were pretty disappointing, or not as expected, from what I heard, and they were not marketed as well as a Fayrouz concert should be. Indeed, I was surprised to hear many Lebanese unaware that she is holding new concerts.

To begin with, this new place “Platea” is unheard of and its location (Sahel Alma) is a nightmare for concerts. There are 4 restaurants facing it (Schtrumph, Al Balad, Tilal al Sahar and Serail), no parking lots, poor residential areas around it and small roads leading to it.

Second of all, I was told this place is supposed to be an opera house in the near future, but from what I heard, it is still unfinished and not well prepared to host a concert worthy of Fayrouz. Lighting was bad and there were black drapes all over the place.

Third, a friend who went there told me the orchestra was not that good and Fayrouz took a break between every 2-3 songs while they continued singing her songs. Added to that, she did not surprise the audience with new releases.

Fourth, even the closest seats were far from the stage and you could barely spot Fayrouz. No cameras were allowed and there were security everywhere monitoring those who take pics. I never really understood why we are not allowed to take pictures in Fayrouz concerts. I guess she likes it that way and we have to respect it.

Having said all that, watching Fayrouz live is a dream for many, and I am sure fans were pretty happy to see her perform again on stage, but it seems as if those concerts were rushed and badly managed and not worthy of a legend like Fayrouz.

PS: There are still two scheduled concerts at Platea on the 16th and 17th of December.

Her father is Egyptian/Italian and her mother is Lebanese. Lara was a semi-finalist on the Lebanese reality talent competition Star Academy during the 6th season. [Wiki]

Crappy song.