Latest news with #NancyAjram
Broadcast Pro
10 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Broadcast Pro
Yango Play enhances music experience with new features and regional releases
Yango Play on Apple Watch now supports direct music downloads, allowing users to enjoy their favorite tracks without needing an iPhone nearby. Yango Play, the AI-powered entertainment super app, has upgraded its music capabilities with a host of new features designed to deliver a more personalised and convenient listening experience. T These enhancements aim to provide users with a more personalised and seamless listening experience across various devices and platforms. Among the major updates is the new functionality on Apple Watch, which now allows users to download music directly to their device. This enables listening without an iPhone or internet connection, providing added convenience during workouts, commutes and other on-the-go moments. The app has also rolled out enhanced music control for Yasmina smart speakers. Through the Yango Play app, users can now manage their music library and playback settings directly from their smartphones. This integration offers a seamless way to curate playlists, organise songs and control queues, complementing existing voice command options across both iOS and Android platforms. Further elevating user engagement, Yango Play has introduced a smart playlist creation feature, enabling listeners to craft personalised playlists based on mood, genre or activity. Available on both Android and iOS, the tool allows for detailed customisation, including the ability to add titles, arrange track order and select cover images. Users can also share playlists with friends or make them public, fostering a connected and vibrant music-loving community. In parallel with these product enhancements, Yango Play continues to grow its music library with the release of albums and singles from major artists across the Arab world. Highlights include Nancy Ajram's eleventh studio album Nancy 11, showcasing her signature fusion of Egyptian and Lebanese influences, and Tamer Hosny's 15-track album Leena Maad, featuring collaborations with Reda El Bahrawy and Al Shami. Assala returns with her full-length album Daribet Al Bo'd, featuring standout tracks like Mesh Wehsha and Ana Hansak. Latifa drops Galbi Ertah, a 13-track album with collaborations that include three songs with Mohamed El-Kazmy and a notable feature with Kazem Al-Saher. Ramy Sabry's new album Ana Bahebak Enta offers 11 songs and includes a remix by Aly Fathallah along with two tracks launched as music videos. Najwa Karam presents her latest single Halet Tawari', while Fadel Chaker returns with the emotional ballad Elhob w Bass. To mark two decades in music, Melhem Zein has released 22, an album blending energetic Dabke beats with romantic ballads, celebrating his versatile vocal journey. Mohamed Mounir's latest pop single Malamehna and the heartfelt duet Kifak Ala Foragi by Fadel Chaker and Mohamed Chaker round out the list of new regional music offerings.
The National
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The National
Yallah: Arabic word for 'let's go' is a call to action and an encouragement
In Arabic, yallah is used to move things along. It is a call to action, an expression of urgency, encouragement or even impatience. It can be translated to 'let's go', but its meaning is shaped entirely by context. You might hear it when someone wants you to hurry up, when a group is ready to leave, or when a conversation has gone on too long. It can be warm, firm, supportive or exasperated. Yallah is a fusion of two words: ya, which is a vocative particle similar to 'oh' or 'hey' in English, and Allah, the Arabic word for God. It is a contraction of ya Allah, meaning oh God. Over time, it became secularised in daily speech. Its religious weight is not as overt any more, but the word retains the energy of its plea. If you are running late and you would like a friend to hurry up, you could say: yallah taakharna. If you're waiting for them downstairs and want to hurry up and make a move: yallah, ana taht. You could even use it to wrap up a conversation: yallah, binhki baadein – or yallah, we'll talk later. To encourage someone, you could say: yallah, feek taamilha – yallah, you can do it. You could even use it to cheer your favourite sports team, simply by shouting yallah, yallah. Yallah is one of those words that has outgrown its origins, perhaps due to its flexibility. This is most evident by its prevalence in pop culture and music. Nancy Ajram, Cheb Khaled and Ragheb Alama all have songs with yallah in their title, but non-Arab singers have also adopted the word. Romanian singer Inna has a 2015 dance hit named Yalla. Iranian-Swedish singer Arash also has a song with US rapper T-Pain called Yalla.
The National
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- The National
Eight reasons why Nancy Ajram still matters in 2025
The sound and image are familiar: Nancy Ajram walking down a sunlit street in a coastal town, waving to neighbours with an effortless smile that has charmed the region for more than two decades. Her latest single, Warana Eh, doesn't break new ground, but its breezy mix of Arabic pop and Mediterranean rhythms fits the season well. It's the kind of summer release we've come to expect from Ajram – light, catchy and anchored by a casual phrase that loosely translates to 'what do we have to lose?', used here to suggest a sense of freedom and letting go. The track is part of Ajram's new album, Nancy 11, and while it doesn't aim for reinvention, it continues a pattern that has quietly defined her career. Ajram's catalogue may not be as shape-shifting as that of some of her peers, but it has consistently delivered enough to stay afloat in the region's musical and cultural backdrop. Here are eight reasons why she's remained relevant for so long. 1. She has never disappeared Consistency breeds success – a motto Ajram has followed throughout her career. Without any definitive peaks or periods in the wilderness, she has remained visible on record, on screen and commercially for over two decades. Even the relative public absences, when she retreated to the studio or stepped back for a time, felt like part of a calculated rhythm. At the same time, it rarely felt like she was overexposed. 2. She knows when to pivot Given Ajram's evergreen appeal, it's easy to forget she first made a splash as a young pop provocateur. Her 2003 breakout Akhasmak Ah was full of lyrical innuendo and came with a suggestive video clip that caused controversy even as it thrilled fans. To be fair, Ajram wasn't the only one testing boundaries at the time. Fellow Lebanese singer Haifa Wehbe's 2006 hit El Wawa, with its sultry visuals, drew censorship and bans from conservative broadcasters, while Ruby's Leih Beydary Keda, released in 2005, faced similar scrutiny. Ajram, however, showed marketing instinct by adjusting course and opting for safer waters since then. 3. She pioneered the family-friendly star Ajram's foray into children's music was more than a side project. Albums such as Shakhbat Shakhabit (2007) and Super Nancy (2012) gave her permanent place in the lives of Arab families. The music was technically not a far cry from her pop formula. While it was simple and unsophisticated, it still retained those earworm melodies that made it a commercial success. More importantly, Ajram became the first fully-fledged Arabic pop star to take the children's market seriously, releasing albums and performing child-friendly shows. Others such as Tamer Hosny and Kadim Al Sahir only released sporadic singles. It was a move that led her to become a judge on the inaugural season of The Voice Kids: Ahla Sawt in 2016, an Arabic version of the talent quest, and performing a children-themed concert at Dubai's Modhesh World in 2015. 'I love performing for children and, you know, it's not just a fun thing to do, it is very important for me both as a person and artist,' she told The National ahead of that show. 'For me, I think it's the purest kind of love when a child loves you. That's because they have no barriers, they say what they feel and they are very brave.' 4. She owns formats and genres Ajram's cross-generational appeal is finely curated. As a television judge on Arab Idol, she presented herself as aspirational and slightly distant. On The Voice Kids: Ahla Sawt, she adopted a warmer, more maternal presence resonating with younger contestants and their families. This subtle shape-shifting is also heard in her musical choices. Classy ballads such as Akhasmak Ah (2003) and Ehsas Jdeed (2008) appeal to adult listeners, while fizzy pop works such as Ah W Noss (2004) and Maakoul El Gharam (2017) are geared towards younger audiences. This is all done without biting the latest music trends or compromising her evergreen persona. The result is fanbase spanning multiple generations. Some fans began as children listening to the 2012 hit Ya Banat (from the album Super Nancy), which surpassed 100 million YouTube views, and continued as adults singing along to later releases such as the latest single Warana Eh. By all measures, this represents a masterclass in audience development and brand longevity within the Arabic pop landscape. 5. She does things on 'Nancy time' Ajram's catalogue has rarely chased trends. There are no viral campaigns, no TikTok dances, no hashtags attached to her releases. Even Nancy 11 arrived with minimal fanfare – just the occasional teaser announcing a new single. While the Arabic pop industry increasingly measures success in streams and virality, Ajram works according to her own tried-and-tested timeline. Her albums are uniform, for better or worse, with few tracks standing out beyond the selected singles. Even the occasional experiment, such as the 2022 dance-pop track Sah Sah with Marshmello, stayed within her register. The blazing synths didn't override her steady, melodic tone. This measured pace isn't designed to beat the algorithm. With Ajram, you get what you expect. 6. She keeps her feelings in check An interesting aspect of Ajram's work is the emotional restraint throughout her lyrics. Unlike some of her peers, she rarely sounds desperate to confess or exorcise pain. The songs are romantic but never raw, heartfelt but never truly melancholic. In a pop music scene where emotional visibility is often equated with authenticity – consider Elissa and Carole Samaha – Ajram's restraint is a notable contrast. Whether it's an artistic or commercial decision, or simply a reflection of her peppy persona, Ajram's music has remained a consistent and familiar reference point for fans. 7. She is vibe, not a brand What defines Ajram's sound and career is not sonic innovation but emotional consistency. Like Amr Diab, she builds a world of feeling rather than genre exploration. But their methods differ. Where Diab raised production standards for recording and what it means to be a mega pop star, with all its ego and controversies, Ajram's influence has been rooted in something more domestic across the decades. Her brand is built on warmth, familiarity and low-stakes intimacy. You can hear her in the car, at home, at a wedding or during a Ramadan television campaign, and she never feels out of place. That ubiquity isn't just popularity, it's the kind of trust that virality can't buy. 8. She holds her ground Ajram's role in Arabic pop isn't measured by her influence. Few younger Arab artists name her as a direct influence – a reflection, perhaps, of changing tastes and a more fragmented industry. But her relevance comes from consistency rather than pioneering a new path forward. Her voice, image and tone remain steady in a scene shaped by churn and generational shift. Instead of reinventing or launching into era-like cycles, she simply remains on point. And for her generation of fans, they wouldn't want it any other way.
Arab News
19-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Arab News
Nancy Ajram lands Times Square billboard
DUBAI: Lebanese superstar Nancy Ajram was featured this week on a Spotify billboard in New York City's Times Square. For the latest updates, follow us on Instagram @ A post shared by Spotify العالم العربي (@spotifyarabia) She was named the EQUAL Arabia ambassador for July, coinciding with the release of her new album, 'Nancy 11.' EQUAL Arabia is a program that aims to amplify the work of women creators by giving them international recognition. With a career spanning more than two decades, Ajram is known for hits such as 'Ah W Noss,' 'Ya Tabtab' and 'Badna Nwalee El Jaw.' She has released several chart-topping albums, blending traditional Arabic melodies with modern pop, and has built a wide fan base across the region and internationally.
See - Sada Elbalad
19-07-2025
- Entertainment
- See - Sada Elbalad
Nancy Ajram to Perform Live in Lebanon on July 31
Yara Sameh Lebanese recording artist Nancy Ajram at the Casino du Liban, in Jounieh, Lebanon, on Thursday, July 31. She is set to present several of her popular and latest songs. The evening will also feature a performance by musician and composer Guy Manoukian. The acclaimed singer took to Instagram to promote the concert, saying: " A night of music, light, and everything in between…🎶 July 31 – Casino du Liban 🎶 With the incredible @guymanoukian 🎹" View this post on Instagram A post shared by Nancy Ajram (@nancyajram) Born on May 16, 1983, the acclaimed singer is considered one of the best female singers in Lebanon and the Arab world. Ajram began performing as a child and participated in several television shows. Ajra released her debut studio album 'Mihtagalak' in 1998. She rose to fame after the release of the controversial smash hit single 'Akhasmak Ah' and the debut of her third studio album 'Ya Salam' in 2003. Ajram is considered by many an Arabic music icon of the decade. She was described on Oprah Winfrey's show as one of the most influential personalities in the Middle East. She participated in the most significant Arabic festivals and won multiple awards, most importantly the 2008 World Music Award for best-selling Middle Eastern artist, the youngest Arab WMA winner to date, the 2012 WMA for the second time, and the 2014 WMA for the third time. The acclaimed singer is a multi-platinum Lebanese singer and Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF. read more New Tourism Route To Launch in Old Cairo Ahmed El Sakka-Led Play 'Sayidati Al Jamila' to Be Staged in KSA on Dec. 6 Mandy Moore Joins Season 2 of "Dr. Death" Anthology Series Don't Miss These Movies at 44th Cairo Int'l Film Festival Today Amr Diab to Headline KSA's MDLBEAST Soundstorm 2022 Festival Arts & Culture Mai Omar Stuns in Latest Instagram Photos Arts & Culture "The Flash" to End with Season 9 Arts & Culture Ministry of Culture Organizes four day Children's Film Festival Arts & Culture Canadian PM wishes Muslims Eid-al-Adha News Israeli-Linked Hadassah Clinic in Moscow Treats Wounded Iranian IRGC Fighters News China Launches Largest Ever Aircraft Carrier Sports Former Al Zamalek Player Ibrahim Shika Passes away after Long Battle with Cancer Videos & Features Tragedy Overshadows MC Alger Championship Celebration: One Fan Dead, 11 Injured After Stadium Fall Lifestyle Get to Know 2025 Eid Al Adha Prayer Times in Egypt Arts & Culture South Korean Actress Kang Seo-ha Dies at 31 after Cancer Battle News "Tensions Escalate: Iran Probes Allegations of Indian Tech Collaboration with Israeli Intelligence" Sports Get to Know 2025 WWE Evolution Results News Flights suspended at Port Sudan Airport after Drone Attacks Arts & Culture Hawass Foundation Launches 1st Course to Teach Ancient Egyptian Language
