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Haifa Wehbe هيفاء وهبي
Haifa Wehbe, live in Cairo, Egypt in August 2007.
Background information
Origin	Mahrouna, Lebanon
Genres	Arabic pop music
Occupations	Singer, model, designer
Years active	1990s- (model) 2002 — present (Singer)
Website	www.haifawehbe.com

Haifa Wehbe (Arabic: هيفاء وهبي‎ is a Lebanese model, actress, and singer who rose to fame in the Arab world as runner up for Miss Lebanon and later through the release of her debut album Houwa El-Zaman (هو الزمن It is Time).

This article may be written from a fan's point of view, rather than a neutral point of view. Please clean it up to conform to a higher standard of quality, and to make it neutral in tone. (January 2010)

Biography

Haifa Wehbe was born in Mahrouna, a small Shiite farming town in Southern Lebanon.¹ She grew up listening to jazz and R&B. She began to work as a model at a young age and won the title of Miss South Lebanon at the age of sixteen.² Wehbe won an ancillary title at the Miss Lebanon competition, which she had to relinquish when it was discovered that she had already been married, disqualifying her. She also made a name for herself when she starred in a music video clip for the singer George Wassouf. By 1996, she had appeared on over a hundred magazine covers.

Musical career

In 2002, Wehbe released her first album, titled Houwa El-Zaman (هو الزمن, "It Is Time"), which became a commercial success, in part thanks to the popularity of her first single "Agoul Ahwak" (أقول أهواك, "I Say I Love You").

Her second album Baddi Eesh (بدي عيش, "I Want to Live") was released in 2005 and lived up to expectations due to the success of its lead single "Ya Hayat Albi." Released after the assassination of Lebanese politician Rafik Hariri, the title single of the album is about "freedom, considered to be among the most basic of human rights".³ Her follow-up single became her biggest hit to date, "Ana Haifa" (أنا هيفاء, "I Am Haifa"), which became her novelty song. In 2006 she released a follow up single "Bus al-Wawa" (بوس الواوا, "Kiss the booboo"), from her upcoming album Baby Haifa, to be released at the end of 2008 or early in 2009. The song was later used in a Pepsi advertisement. The song was also voted Song of the Year in 2006 by Radio Scope and Sawt Al Musika.⁴

Wehbe was the first Arab artist appear on the Italian TV channel Rai Uno at Piazza Navona in Rome, performing in front of celebrities and fashion designers. Haifa Wehbe has also performed with artists from outside the Arab world. On June 10, 2006, Wehbe became the first artist in the Arab world to perform with rapper 50 Cent when she performed the opening act for his first concert in Lebanon, at BIEL in Beirut. On July 4, 2008, Wehbe released the album Habibi Ana (حبيبي أنا, "My Love") which contains 15 songs including the single "Mosh Adra Astana".

Wehbe will release a children's album titled Baby Haifa with Rotana. The release date for the album has yet to be announced.⁵

Other works

In July 2005, Wehbe, along with 14 other celebrities from the Arab world, appeared on the live pan-Arab reality series Al-Wadi (Arabic: الوادي The Farm‎), based on the French reality show La Ferme Célébrités. The show aired for three months and featured weekly live performances in which Wehbe took on a central role as well as sang songs from her new album.

Her other non-musical works include a number of movie roles and work as a television host. Wehbe has also designed her own selection of diamond jewelry. She has been a spokesperson for Pepsi, and worked on Pepsi ads with football star Thierry Henry which were aired on Lebanese television during the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Wehbe starred in the Pepsi-produced film Sea of Stars released in 2008, along with Carole Samaha, Ahmad el Sherif, Wael Kfoury, Brigitte Yaghi, and Ruwaida al-Mahrooqi.⁶

Personal life

Wehbe is a Shiite Muslim, and has three sisters, though Haifa's mother is Egyptian. Wehbe's brother died at the age of 24 during the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon.⁷⁸

During Wehbe's marriage, she gave birth to a daughter, Zeinab Zaza.⁹ Wehbe's daughter has been living with her father ever since her parents got a divorce ten years ago. As of 2010, both daughter and father are living in Kuwait. On the other side Wehbe's office manager has released an apology on behalf of Wehbe for not participating in the movie "Baby Doll Night" due to her overbooked schedule. The singer will be starring in another movie with producer Muhammad Al Sabki. Needless to say that Haifa has agreed to work on the movie "Baby Doll Night" before, yet the producer is looking for a replacement.

In 2005, she announced her engagement to a Saudi businessman Tariq Al-Jaffali. After only a few weeks, she and her fiancé decided to split for personal reasons and family issues.

On June 25, 2007, Wehbe survived an accident while filming a music video for the song "Hasa Ma Bena" in Lebanon. In the video, a single engine airplane was to chase Wehbe as she drove a car. However, the airplane inadvertently hit the car, taking off the front windshield of the drop-top convertible she was driving.¹⁰ Despite the severity of the accident, Wehbe only suffered minor cuts and bruises.

Wehbe married Egyptian businessman Ahmad Abu Husheima on April 24, 2009 in Beirut⁵ Among the guests at the wedding party were singer Anastacia¹¹, Nawal Al Zoughbi, Najwa Karam, Ragheb Alama, Ahlam, and Sherine.⁵

Political views

During the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict, she left her home, in Verdun, Beirut and moved to Egypt for the duration of the conflict.³ In a concert in the Lebanese town of Jounieh, Wehbe congratulated Hassan Nasrallah for his stand against Israel during the war.⁸

In a further interview with Reuters, Wehbe stated that Israel attacked Lebanese civilians intentionally while Hezbollah attacked only military targets:

I believe the whole world knows who started this war and who aggressed on whose land. There isn't a war that starts from nothing and he who begins is the unjust one.¹²

Wehbe also refused to perform at any concert during the 34 days of the war including fundraisers, saying that there were more ways than one to show support for Lebanon.⁸

2007 Lebanon elections and concert in Beirut

Wehbe wore a shirt with the face of President Michel Suleiman during her performance at the celebrations to mark the election of the new head of state in downtown Beirut following months of politically turmoil and strife.

The Lebanese newspapers said scores went onstage when Haifa appeared despite attempts by police and the army to prevent them from reaching the pop star.¹³ She also sang the Fairuz classic "Ya Hawa Beirut" ("Oh my love Beirut"), which is nostalgic song written during the Lebanese Civil War that reminisces on the "Glorious Days" of Lebanon prior 1975.

Image

Wehbe was ranked 49 in the 2006 Edition of the Top 99 Most Desirable Women by the website AskMen.com.¹⁴ Some in the more conservative Arab countries deem her revealing outfits scandalous. One Bahraini member of parliament called her a sexual singer who spoke with her body, not her voice. Haifa said she was aware of the efforts to ban her from performing at the concert but chose to ignore their petty attempts to silence the diva.

"I am a performer and not a politician," Haifa said. "I know my fans want me and I am there for them. I am not concerned with the other issues."

¹⁵

In April 2008, the Islamist-dominated parliament of Bahrain passed a motion urging the government to ban Haifa Wehbe's show in the country.¹⁶ Despite the motion, Wehbe performed in Bahrain with a more modest dress.¹⁶ Wearing far more fabric than she is normally accustomed to, Wehbe was dressed in a long green gown with a low V-neckline during the performance. One fan, 37-year-old Adel Surour, commented on the event: "Her performance was measured compared to her usual demeanor. Haifa Wehbe was dressed modestly. She was almost veiled."¹⁵

Allegations of Racism

In 2009, content of Lyrics in one of Haifa Wehbe song's Baba Fein (from her anticipated 2010 kids album) where nubians seemed to be referred to as monkeys, exact translation:Where is my teddy bear and the Nubian monkey?. ¹⁷ Black Egyptians accused the artist of racism and singing a song that fueled racism and discrimination against them.¹⁸ In 2010 a lawsuit filed against Wehbe was dropped. Another serious incident occurred after the 2009 Egypt–Algeria World Cup dispute which has led to unofficial diplomatic war between the two countries. Many artists and entertainers across the Arab world (including Wehbe) being caught in the middle. Wehbe who is half Egyptian(via her mother), married to an Egyptian (Ahmed Abu Hashima b.1975) and is now currently living in Egypt with her husband.¹⁹ Wehbe was heard live on her phone to a Arab television show blasting the Algerian fans at the match as thugs their actions of as terrorism against Egypt and Egyptians. Many Algerians who felt insulted and appalled by Haifa Wehbe's comments and went on to interpret that she was calling the Algerian people terrorists and scum.²⁰ Haifa also went on to make statements that she would not be performing in Algeria anytime soon, because Algerians "wouldn't understand her music". Algerian officials and many Algerians went on to counter on Wehbe's statements stating she wouldn't be welcomed in Algeria anyway.²¹ Algeria's cultural minister stated that Wehbe will be banned from performing in Algeria for insulting Algeria and the Algerian people regardless if she apologizes.²² Haifa Wehbe went on to explain her initial comments to the Lebanese host Tony Khalife that she didn't mean to offend Algerians or Algeria as a country but was condeming the actions of a minority of Algerians during the match. She then added saying: "I couldn’t help it but cry when I saw the blood of an Egyptian woman on the stadium!".²³

Awards

2002:The "Golden Lion" Award in Egypt.⁴

2004: Best Young Female Arab singer in Egypt.²⁴

2005:The Oscar for "ninashnash" for her song Baddi Eesh from her second album.⁴

2005:The "Murex d'Or" award with the title "Best Artist of the Year".⁴

2006:The "Murex d'Or" award with the title "Best Artist of the Year".⁴

2009: The "Murex d'or" award with title "Most Popular Lebanese Singer"²⁵

Filmography

Films

• Sea of Stars (produced by Pepsi) - released July, 2008
• Dokkan Shihata - June 2009

Television

• Al wadi (2005) - reality tv show
• Haifa Wal Noujoum (November 2009)

Discography

Studio albums

• 2002: Houwa El-Zaman (It is Time)
• 2005: Baddi Eesh (I Want To Live)
• 2008: Habibi Ana (My Love)
• 2010: Baby Haifa [Children's Album]

Soundtracks

• 2008: Sea of Stars

Singles

• "Agoul ahwak"
• "Wa7di"
• "Ma Sar"
• "Ya 7ayat albi"
• "Bedi 3ich"
• "Ragab"
• "Ana Haifa"
• "Leik el wawa"
• "Naughty" (radio single only)
• "Mosh Adras Astana"
• "Ma t2oulch el 7ad"
• "Hasa Ma Bena"
• "Yaben el Halal"
• "Baba Fein/Lama El Shams Trawa7

References

Further reading

• Arab youth revel in pop revolution by Sebastian Usher, 21 May 2007, BBC

External links

• Haifa Wehbe.com: Official website
• Haifa Wehbe Music Videos