Yemeni star Arwa would not perform for free

Yemeni star Arwa Beirut – Nicola azar Yemeni star Arwa said that her new song is not about her husband as artists should never sing their personal feelings. Her song is titled “your mistake is right.” She believes that some female artists in Lebanon agree to appear alongside other artists just to get themselves ‘out there,’ without even charging a fee for it, which she said she would personally not accept, especially that her name “brings money.” Here’s what else Arwa had to talk to us about:
Arabstoday: this is the first time you release a Lebanese song. Why now?
Arwa: I have previously released a song in the Lebanese accent titled “The story used to say,” but it was part of an album. However today I am releasing a Lebanese song of baladi-style music.
AT: but it was not sponsored by anyone?
A: I did not sponsor it but it was broadcast on many Lebanese radio stations such as Rotana Delta and Al Jaras and others.
AT: why did you release a Lebanese song now even though you said you intended on doing so more than once before?
A: it’s is because of the stability in Lebanon right now, as before I focused on Egyptian and gulf works because I lived in Cairo, and thank God I have produced many successful Egyptian works. But since I am now resident in Lebanon and my husband is also Lebanese, I felt that it was my duty to present a Lebanese song for them, bearing in mind that Lebanese media has always been there for me.
AT: many people think that whatever a singer sings about regarding love, divorce etc that they are singing about their personal experiences and feelings. Today people have linked your new song to your latest marriage and some said that you are directing a message to your husband through it. what’s your comment on this matter?
A: that song has absolutely nothing to do with my marriage and is not directed at my husband or anyone else. Artists should not sing about their personal feelings and what I sang about does not apply to me at all. A composer from the Gulf presented me with a song that he believed “matched my emotional state,” so I said then that ‘my personal and emotional state is my own business.” I may sing something about betrayal so would that mean that my husband has betrayed me? Of course not.
AT: the entertainment scene currently faces ‘artistic recession’ from a words and music side, and baladi-style songs have become popular, not to mention that many use words we hear for the first time about killing and threatening and such. Some have described this stage as “repulsive,” what do you think?
A: I don’t see it like that at all, I enjoy those songs especially when they translate into the reality we are living now, like the power of the Lebanese man and the traditions of people in the mountains, bearing in mind that topics put forward in Lebanese works are not done anywhere else. Some artists resort to using different words and music to succeed, but this doesn’t really suit me personally. Fares and Saleem were careful to give me something that’s in the same direction as my type of music (tarab) so this song is special because it as a mountain-style (mountain region music) music which is what made it special, and you cannot cancel out the baladi feel to it especially that many Arabs love this style, and I sometimes perform it at my concerts.
AT: you host many concerts in the Gulf and Egypt, except for your concerts in Lebanon are almost non-existent, and you haven’t had any concerts in Lebanon during Eid el-Fitr. Why is that?
A: concerts are usually dependent on production companies, whether it is in Lebanon or any other Arab country, and most artists have contracts with companies, and I still don’t. but this does not affect my stardom at all and the evidence is in the large number in my concerts which I hold in the Gulf, and I consider the highest fees the ones I receive in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf in general, and in Egypt as well. Some artists in Lebanon would accept to appear alongside other artists just for the sake of it and without charging a high fee for it, but I personally do not accept that especially that my name “brings money.” I have refused some concerts because I felt that they would not have added anything new for me.
AT: some artists pay to hold their own concerts and they are sometimes successful. Would you ever do the same thing?
A: what’s the point in that? To make myself famous? I have a big fan base and my name is out there whether it is through concerts or the two shows that I presented on TV.
AT: do you have a new album coming out?
No. I’m not thinking about releasing one as it requires a lot of time and I prefer releasing a single every 3 months. Soon I will be releasing an Egyptian song which will be followed by a Gulf-style one and each one will have its own video clip as well.
AT: why aren’t you with any production companies?
A: what will those companies give to me? Most of them now turned to distribution companies.