Magic System is an Ivorian zouglou and coupé-décalé music group, formed in 1996 in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. When it was created, the group had more than fifty members, the best known of whom today are A'Salfo, Goude, Tino and Manadja. The sounds drawn from zouglou ignited the African scene for more than a decade. Their songs are also used to denounce unhappiness and all forms of abuse in Ivorian society. However, dissensions arise within the group, which breaks up and gives birth to the group as it is known today with the four "magicians".
Nancy Nabil Ajram is a Lebanese singer, television personality, and businesswoman, dubbed by Spotify as the "Queen of Arab Pop". With the support of her father, she began performing as a child and appeared on several television shows in her early years. By the age of 15, Ajram signed a recording contract with EMI and released her debut studio album Mihtagalak (1998). In spite of being under the legal age, Ajram was exceptionally accepted to the Syndicate of Professional Artists in Lebanon. The following year, she released her second album Sheel Oyoonak Anni (2001).
"Could It Be Magic" is a song written by Adrienne Anderson and composed by American singer-songwriter Barry Manilow, inspired by Frédéric Chopin's Prelude in C minor, Opus 28, Number 20.
Vanessa Contenay-Quinones is a London-based singer-songwriter from Paris. She is a member of the band Vanessa & The O's and is currently releasing solo records in collaboration with UK based duo Skeewiff as Vanessa Contenay-Quinones. She was also briefly known as Vanessa St. James in 2002–03 working with Brian Higgins and Nick Coler, and Lou Reed.
Ya Tabtab...Wa Dallaa is the fifth studio album by Lebanese singer Nancy Ajram. It was released on February 21, 2006, through Art Line Music. Ajram worked with various producers on the album, including Tarek Madkour, Hadi Sharara, Omar Abdel Aziz, Mohammed Mustafa, Karim Abdel Wahab and Bassem Rizk. Inspired by a humorous Egyptian traditional vib, Ya Tabtab was a remarkable turn in Ajram's career. Its lead single and title track was released as a response for critics who had accused Ajram of singing "with her body". She appeared in the lead single's video fully dressed as a clown, showing no skin and wearing baggy clothes.
"Dona Dona", popularly known as "Donna, Donna", is a song about a calf being led to slaughter, written by Sholom Secunda and Aaron Zeitlin. Originally a Yiddish language song "Dana Dana", also known as "Dos Kelbl", it was a song used in a Yiddish play produced by Zeitlin.
Fady Maalouf is a German–Lebanese pop and crossover opera singer. He is known as the runner up of the fifth season of Deutschland sucht den Superstar, the German version of Pop Idol. He has released three albums to date, Blessed (2008), Into the Light (2010) and City of Gold (2012). He also released his EP Indigo (2017).
The following is a list of songs produced, co-produced and remixed by Swedish-Moroccan producer, songwriter and music executive RedOne.
Open Happiness was a global marketing campaign for The Coca-Cola Company that was rolled out worldwide in the first half of 2009, following the company's "Coke Side of Life" advertising campaign. It was developed by the Wieden + Kennedy creative agency.
"Pesenka" (Russian: Песенка, IPA:[ˈpʲesʲɪnkə], lit. 'little song'), sometimes known as "Pesenka (La La La)", is a song by the Russian pop–dance–techno group Ruki Vverh! (Руки Вверх!, 'Hands Up!'). The song, with lyrics in Russian and music by band members Sergey Zhukov and Aleksey Potekhin, appears in the band's 1998 album Sdelai pogromche! (Сделай погромче!, 'Make it a little louder!'). Lisa Rodnyanskaya is the vocalist.
"Allez Ola Olé" is a song in the French language performed by French singer Jessy Matador that represented France at the Eurovision Song Contest 2010. The song was chosen internally, and was announced 24 February 2010. The song was to be used by French broadcaster France Télévisions as The Summerhit of 2010 and also for promoting the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and the title of the song refers to the album Music of the World Cup: Allez! Ola! Ole!, released in 1998 to coincide with the '98 World Cup, held in France.
Khaled Hadj Ibrahim, better known by his mononym Khaled, is an Algerian raï singer, musician and songwriter. He began recording in his early teens under the name Cheb Khaled.
Lebanese singer Nancy Ajram has released twelve studio albums, four live albums, one compilation album, two reissues and 51 singles. As of 2007, she has sold 30 million records worldwide, making her one of the best-selling Middle Eastern music artists. Numerous of Ajram's singles have reached number one on several Arabic music charts, including Hit Marker and The Official Lebanese Top 20. By 2010, Ajram was announced the best-selling Middle Eastern female singer of the decade (2000–2009).
Ahmed Chawki, known professionally by his stage name Chawki, is a Moroccan singer, songwriter and producer. Chawki began his career in the early 2000s. He had a music band named La Paloma which mainly focused on Arabic and Moroccan music. On occasion of the 2014 World Cup, he was featured in a football-themed song "Magic in the Air" by Magic System, a hit in France and Belgium. He is currently signed to RedOne Records, an international record label founded and owned by the renowned producer.
"Habibi I Love You" is a 2013 song by Ahmed Chawki featuring rapper Pitbull. The original song was bilingual in Arabic performed by Chawki in Arab dialect and rap section in English performed by Pitbull. The single was produced by RedOne. The music video was filmed in Miami, Florida.
"Magic in the Air" is a 2014 single by Ivorian musical group Magic System, featuring Moroccan singer Chawki and produced by Moroccan producer RedOne. The track also appears on Magic System's album Africainement vôtre, released on 19 May 2014.
"Habibi (I Need Your Love)" is a song by Jamaican rapper Shaggy with ensemble of Congolese-Swedish singer Mohombi, Lebanese-Australian singer Faydee and Romanian singer Costi. In a later specially released version targeting English language markets, the song is retitled "I Need Your Love" crediting Shaggy as main performer featuring Mohombi, Faydee and Costi. The song was written by the Australian recording artist of Lebanese origin Faydee and Romanian recording artist Costi. The song is in Arabic, English and Spanish. "Habibi" means "my love" in Arabic language. Additionally a number of mixed language versions were released including Bulgarian, French and Russian.
"Yalla" is a song recorded by Romanian singer Inna for her eponymous fourth studio album (2015) and its Japanese counterpart, Body and the Sun (2015). It was released on 3 November 2015 through Empire and Roton. The recording was written by Marcel Botezan, Sebastian Barac, Nadir Tamuz Augustin and Inna, while production was handled by the first two under the name of Play & Win. A dance-pop and Eurodance track, "Yalla" is sung in both English and Arabic.
Summer Magic is the second special extended play and the seventh overall by South Korean girl group Red Velvet, marketed as their special "summer" EP following The Red Summer, which was released in July 2017. The EP is also the group's third major release to focus on their "Red" concept, following The Red Summer and the group's debut studio album The Red (2015). Released on August 6, 2018, the EP contains seven tracks, including the lead single "Power Up" and the English version of "Bad Boy" as a bonus track, making it their first song to be released in English.
Mahmoud Kassem was an Alexandria-born writer, translator, film critic, and professor. He is best known for his literary verses of children's books, novels, essays, and literary and artistic encyclopaedias. He has received numerous Egyptian and Arabic awards in children's writing and radio drama, most recently the Best Literary Study Award entitled "Arabic Literature Written in French."
