I'd like to link to this: Adrenaline.

Today is the Big Day

Kammil Kalamak, Amr Diab's latest album is finally out. Go to the nearest records store and grab your copy now.

Smart Move

I think the Amr Diab website have done a good thing when they decided to close the forums for a couple of days until the album hits the market. This way, they have limited the spread of the leaked version, which is available only on one site, and kept the potential damage to sales to a minimum.

However, even if the link to the page that has the leaked album has been widely distributed, I think only a few would be able to download it because the hosting server would crash down under the high demand. Reports talk about fake copies of the album being sold in Kuwait and Egypt, but I think real fans won't be fooled.

The Earlier, The Better

I guess I was right about the early release. ADW just reported that the album will be out on December 8.

Waiting, Leakage, and More

When Amr Diab was done with the new album and it was supposed be released on November 28, this time it is Rotana's turn to delay the album, and makes the fans wait for a longer time. Due to some problems with their promotional plans, Rotana said, the album will be released on December 14. This date is supposed to be official and final. The new album is called Kammil Kalamak, and Rotana has released samples of the ten songs of the album for mobile services providers. You can download the samples from ADW homepage (link 1, link 2).

However, the big news, and as I was expecting, is that several tracks of the new album have been leaked on the internet. The first track to be leaked was Kammil Kalamak, by one of the fans who recorded the song from Rotana FM (Jordan only) and put it in some forums. Not a long time later, some MP3 websites and forums leaked several more tracks, including Allah La Yehremni Minnak, Ma'ak Begad, Ayam We Ben'esh'ha, and We Malo, which is expected to be Amr's first video from the new album. UPDATE: The whole album has been leaked. I think Rotana should consider releasing it earlier.

It is said the source of leakage is one of Rotana local partners and distributors, who are supposed to be preparing copies of the album now to hit the market next week. Rotana, of course, is blamed, for the leakage. If they cannot control the behavior of their partners, and they were really concerned about the confidentiality of the album, they could make the process of copying and distributing the album central instead of depending on some unreliable people.

I have listened to the samples and some of the leaked tracks (guilty, I know, but I could not help it. I have not distribute them, and I have no intention to do so), and even though it is too early to have any reaction about it, I think the new album would make what Allem Albi and Leily Nahary could not make. I think the new album will bring Amr back to the masses he gained with records like Tamally Ma'ak and Aktar Wahed Behibbak.

For devoted Amr fans, the new album would taste so sweet because they have been waiting for a long time, and they will discover that it was worth it. It does not matter what kind of music he is using, or who arrangers he is collaborating with, because these fans are going to buy any CD with Amr's name on the cover, even if it was a blank CD. Now, I can't wait until it is Wednesday December 14 morning to go to Rotana music store and get my CD.

Official Release Date

ADW reports that Amr Diab's new album will be released on November 28, 2005. That means it will be ten days from now, which makes it really soon.

WAMA: The Best New Act

Thanks to the rise of Arabic music channels, Arab music industry has been producing new artists like mushrooms! However, music is always about quality, and never about quantity.

Many new comers, but very few worth watching. The best new act over the past one or two years, imho, is WAMA. Last year, this Egyptian boys band, composed of four college students, released their second album Ya Ghali A'aliya, and it was one of the best albums of the year.

The four boys are very talented, and even Amr Diab has collaborated with one of them, namely Nader Hamdi, to work with him on his last album, arranging most songs of Leily Nahary. During last Ramadhan, amongst the vast amount of religious songs that were produced, their song Kan Nefsi was one of the few that really stood out.

Production Companies War II

Last year was the year of war between production companies in the Arab World. Rotana, the biggest production company in the region, knocked out their main rival Alam El-Phan. First, Rotana signed Amr Diab in the biggest deal of its kind in the Arabic music industry, and then signed the rest of major artists who used to work with Alam El-Phan, such as Angham, Saber Al-Rubaie, and Mohammed Fouad. Later, Roatan purchased 60% of Alam El-Phan shares, and the war was practically over.

But with more than 100 artists, coupled with some bad management, Rotana was facing troubles, too. Many of their artists were complaining that they don't receive the attention and support they deserve from the company.

Recently, a new player has entered the market. Melody Music, a company owned by the well-known Egyptian businessman Nageeb Sawires, has called all Egyptian singers who have problems with Rotana to join them. The company, which has produced albums for some new comers such as Jad Choirie and Yara, has already signed with the Walid Tawfiq and Jwana Mallah, both from Leabanon. But the big news is that Kazem Al-Saher and Assi Al-Hellani are rumored to join the company soon.

At the end of their report (Arabic) on this subject, Al-Hayat newspaper was wondering if Rotana is paying enough attention to the changes in the market, and questions their ability to survive, even if they lost some of the major names on their list.

ADW, Relaunched

Amr Diab World, Amr Diab's official website was relaunched last week. The new website, dubbed version 4, looks impressive with a new blue theme, and a great design with a special attention to details. Many new features were introduced in this redesign, including a rewritten biography, a new 'Events' page, and a shopping section.

Something I really liked was that the forums were redesigned to look like an essential part of the website, and not like an offsite thing. Another great thing was that they provide RSS feeds for both news and forums, which makes keeping updated with the latest much easier. This emphasizes the importance of forums, and gives a whole lotta appreciation to the efforts of the fans. Congratulation to all members of the ADW community, and thanks to Tantawi and the rest of the ADW's crew.

Enough Said!

It's officially Eid al-Fitr, and the album is not released yet. However, many speculations are taking place in the forums, and among the fans. The news section at ADW says Amr told them the release date would be late November, while some members at the forums are suggesting an earlier date. What's more interesting, is that some members have posted the tracks listing of the new album, with credits provided. Another member has also posted some lyrics. The final date for the release of the new album is still not confirmed, but it is highly anticipated to be during this month. I, for one, am sick of the expectations game, so I decided I will just wait patiently, and when the album comes out, I'll go to buy it right away. Enough said.

Nothing

So yesterday was October 24, and nothing has happened. Looking back at the past two weeks, I was quite sure that the new album won't be released, because we didn't see any ads by Rotana promoting it, and there was nothing in the news either. The album will probably be out on Eid al-Fitr; about 10-12 days from now, but nothing is confirmed yet. Let's keep an eye on Rotana TV for the coming few days, and let's hope to hear some good news soon.