Amr Diab

Amr Abdel Basset Abdel Azeez Diab (Arabic: عمرو عبد الباسط عبد العزيز دياب, [ˈʕɑmɾe ʕæbdelˈbɑːsetˤ ʕæbdelʕæˈziːz deˈjæːb]; born 11 October 1961) is an Egyptian singer, composer and actor. He has established himself as a globally acclaimed recording artist and author.

He is a Guinness World Record holder, the best selling Middle Eastern artist, a seven-times winner of World Music Awards and five-times winner of Platinum Records. Named the "King of Arabic Pop", Rolling Stone ranked his song ‘Tamally Maak’ first on their list of "50 Best Arabic Pop Songs of the 21st Century".

Diab was born as Amr Abdel Basset Abdel Azeez Diab on 11 October 1961 in Port Said to a middle-class Egyptian Muslim family from the countryside of Menia Elamh in Sharqia Governorate. Diab graduated with a bachelor's degree in music from the Cairo Academy of Arts in 1986.

Diab released his first album entitled Ya Tareeq in 1983. Diab's second album, Ghanny Men Albak (1984), was the first of a series of records he released with Delta Sound; including Hala Hala (1986), Khalseen (1987), and Mayyal (1988). His later releases include Shawa'na (1989), Matkhafesh (1990), Habibi (1991), Ayyamna (1992), Ya Omrena (1993), Weylomony (1994), and Rag'een (1995).

By 1992, he became the first Egyptian and Middle Eastern artist to start making high-tech music videos.

In 1996, Diab released his first album with Alam El Phan entitled Nour El Ain, and he won the World Music Award for the first time, which proved an international success and gained Diab recognition beyond the Arabic-speaking world. Diab recorded four more albums with Alam El Phan, including Amarain (1999). Diab also collaborated with Khaled (on the song "Alby") and with Angela Dimitriou (on the song "Bahebak Aktar").

According to research by Michael Frishkopf, he has created a style in the song "Nour El Ain", termed as "Mediterranean music", a blend of Western and Middle Eastern/Egyptian rhythms.

In the summer of 2004, Diab, having left Alam El Phan, released his first album with Rotana Records, Leily Nahary, which he followed up with the hugely successful Kammel Kalamak (2005), and El Lilady (2007).