Nancy Nabil Ajram

Nancy was born in Beirut and raised in new Sehaile. At the age of 4 Nancy started showing a real affinity for music, but it was at the age of 8 that Nancy really started to reveal her true promise. Nancy participated in a Unicef children’s singing competition show on LBC TV and took home a first place trophy. At age 10, she again took home the first place trophy.

NANCY NABIL AJRAM

Biography

Nancy Nabil Ajram is a multi-platinum Lebanese singer and Goodwill Ambassador for the UNICEF.

By 2007, Ajram had sold over 2 million records ranking 3rd best selling female artist in Lebanese history.

She has released seven studio albums to date and appeared in numerous music videos and commercials.

She participated in the most significant Arabic festivals and won multiple awards, most importantly the 2008 World Music Award of best-selling Middle Eastern artist, the youngest Arab WMA winner to date and 2012 WMA for the second time.

Nancy Ajram is the first and only female sponsor and spokesperson of Coca-Cola in the Middle East and Arab world.

Considered by many as an Arabic music icon of the decade, Nancy was described on the Oprah Winfrey Show as one of the most influential personalities of the Middle East.

Marriage and motherhood

In September 2008, Nancy married Dr. Fadi Hachem after a three-year relationship; the wedding was attended mainly by close friends and family. Nancy continued her work during pregnancy, during which she filmed “Lamset Eid” and her first Sony Ericsson commercial. She also participated in several concerts, such as Layali Febrayer and received her World Music Award.
On May 16, 2009, Nancy gave birth to her first child, a daughter she named “Mila. Nancy released a song for her daughter, “Ya Rab Tekbar Mila” (I Pray that Mila Grows Up) on the same day. In a survey done by Rotana Magazine, Nancy was voted as the “Most Beautiful Mom” of 2009. Nancy chose not to reveal photos of her daughter Mila until they both appeared on the cover of “Prestige” magazine in an exclusive photoshoot. Mila later appeared in the set of Nancy’s music video “Ya Kether” in the presence of the media who publicized her pictures.
In October 2010, a month after the release of her seventh studio album, Nancy announced that she was four months pregnant with her second child, a girl. During that period she had filmed “Sheikh El Shabab” and “Ya Kether” consecutively to be released during her pregnancy period. Nancy Ajram revealed on Mothers’ day special on MTV that she decided to name her daughter Ella. Ella was born on 23 April 2011.

Awards and titles

• 1995 Nojoom Al Mustaqbal Golden Award – (Ajram’s most significant pre-stardom award)
• 2003, 2005, 2007 Murex D’or Award – Best Female Lebanese Singer of the year, Beirut
• 2003, 2006 Murex D’or Award – Best Video of the Year, Beirut.
• 2003: Ya Salam – Nadine Labaki, 2006: Ehsas Jdeed – Said elMarouk)
• 2003 The Golden Lion Award, Egypt
• 2003, 2007 LG Music Award
• 2003, 2005 Zahrat elKhaleej Magazine – Best Female Arab Singer, Dubai
• 2004 Zahrat elKhaleej – Best Music Video of the Year, Dubai
• 2004 Arabian Music Awards – Best Female Arab Singer of the year, Dubai
• 2005 Newsweek – Most Influential Arab Personalities, Kuwait
• 2005 – Honor from the Opera House of Egypt
• 2007 – Certificate from the Pope of Rome
• 2007 Middle East Music Awards (Mobinil) – Best Female Arab Singer of the year, Cairo
• 2007-09 Arabian Business – World’s Most Influential Arabs, Most Influential Contemporary Female Singer in 2007, Most Powerful Arab Singers
• 2007 Kol elArab Survey – Best Arabic Star of the year 2007
• 2008 9th Annual Doha Festival – Honor Award, Doha
• 2008 World Music Award – World’s Best-Selling Middle-Eastern Artist, 20th Annual WMA, Monaco
• 2008 Student Choice Award – [College Student Survey]: Best Album of the Year 2008, Beirut
• 2008 AlJumhuriya newspaper, Freedom Magazine – Best Female Arab Star of 2008, Egypt
• 2009 Regional Ambassador for the UNICEF in the Middle East & North Africa
• 2009 Al-Jazirah Newspaper survey : Best Female Arab singer of the Year. Saudi Arabia
• 2010 Stars Cafe Magazine – Best selling female artist of the decade.
• 2010 World Travel Award – Best Female world singer of the Year .
• 2010 Sama Al Noujoum-Best Female Singer 2010/Fi hagat Best Music Video
• 2010 Panet Survey-Best Female singer
• 2010 Arab Sound Awards -Best Arabic Female Singer
• 2010 Music My Life- Fi Hagat Best Song Of 2010
• 2010 Best Of Lbc 2010- N 7 Best Album/Fi Hagat- Best Music Video
• 2010 Panorama Fm (MBC)-N 7 Best Arabic Album.
• 2010-2011 Jaras Scoop Awards-Best Female Singer
• 2010-2011 Melody Fm Awards-Best Female Singer
• 2011 Won two awards from “Murex D’or 2010” ceremony in Lebanon. First award as the Star of Lebanese song, and the second award for the category of best music video for the song “Sheikh El Shabab.”
• 2011 Best Female Singer- “Woujouh Men Lebnan” awards.
• 2011 Arabian Business- Most Famous Celebrity in the Middle East
• 2011 World Music Awards World’s Best-Selling Middle-Eastern Artist (Nancy 7)

Discography

Studio albums
Main article: Nancy Ajram Discography
1998: Mihtagalak (I Need You)
2001: Sheel Oyounak Anni (Get Your Eyes off Me)
2003: Ya Salam (Oh Wow)
2004: Ah W Noss (“Ah” and a Half)
2006: Ya Tabtab…Wa Dallaa (Pat and Spoil)
2008: Betfakkar Fi Eih?! (What Are You Thinking About?!)
2010: 7
2014: Nancy 8
Children’s albums
2007: Shakhbat Shakhabit (Scribbled Doodles)
2012: Super Nancy
DVDs and live albums
2004: Live at the Jarash Festival [DVD] – MegaStar
2005: Ma La Ta’arifunahu 3an Nancy Ajram [DVD] – MBC
2006: Ah w Noss: Collector’s Edition [CD and DVD] – MegaStar
2006: Ya Salam: Collector’s Edition [CD and DVD] – MegaStar
2007: Shakhbat Shakhabit [DVD]
2007: ElDonya Helwa – Live [Live CD]
2008: The Best of Nancy Clips [DVD]
2008: Greatest Hits [Compilation CD] – EMI
2009: Awwel Marra [Old Live Songs CD] – Artline Music
Non-album singles
Nancy released several songs dedicated to special countries in the Arab world, starting with “Kuwait alShahama” in 2005. In early 2006, she released a single, “Ana Masry” (“I am Egyptian”), timed to coincide with Egypt’s hosting and winning of the African Cup of Nations football tournament, taking it by storm. Its video showed Egyptians representing the diversity of the country lip-sync the patriotic lyrics of the song. Nancy also released a song for the rival Egyptian soccer teams “Ahly and Zamalek”, being the first to do so after Sabah. Nancy released a sensual song for Lebanon called “Habib elOmr” composed by Ziad Boutrous, which preceded the 2006 Lebanese war. After the 2007 “Nahr el Bared” war, Nancy dedicated a song composed by Samir Sfeir to the Lebanese Army, called “Khalleek Bwejj elGhadab”.

2001 “Fares”
2005 “Kuwait Al Shahama”
2005 “Ana Masry”
2005 “Ougbal” – (released in “Afdal Ma Endana” UAE compilation album)
2006 “Ahli w Zamalek”
2006 “Habib el Omr”
2007 “Khalleek Bwejj el Ghadab”
2007 “El Dunya Helwa” [Coke Single] – (featured in Live performances album)
2009 “Mila”
2009 “Efta7 Albak Tefra7” [Coke Single] – (released on Coke official website)
2010 “Masr el Ma7rousa”
2010 “Chagga3 Bi 3alamak (Waving Flag)” [For the FIFA World Cup 2010]
2010 “Salemoli 3alaih”
2011 “Wahshani Ya Masr”
2011 “7adri La3bek”
2011 “Papa Porto” [Bonus Track from her second children’s album “Super Nancy”]
2012 “Sallemooli Aleeh”
2013 “Ya Ghali”
2013 “A’mel 3akla”
2013 “Baddak Teb2a Feyik”
2013 “Bent Bmeet Ragel”
2014 “Shagga3 7elmak”
Group works
2003 for the Lebanese Marathon, featuring Haifa Wehbe, Dina Hayek, Joe Ashkar, and Yuri Mrakadi.
2005 La Ma Khelset El Hekaya (It’s Not Over) after the assassination of late president Rafiq elHariri, featuring Nawal elZoghbi, Haifa Wehbe, Wael Kfoury, Sabah, Maya Nasri, Many Others, Jean Sebastián Mebarak Chadid and Michelle Mebarak Chadid.
2008 ElDhameer el 3arabi (The Arab Conscience) the sequel to the well-known “elHelm al3arabi” along with more than 100 artists including Wadih elSafi, Assala, Latifa,Jean Sebastián Mebarak Ripoll, Michelle Mebarak Chadid and Cheb Khaled.
Soundtracks
– Ramadan 2009: Ibn elArandaly
• Intro: “Ya Ibn el Arandaly”
• Outro: “Kol elHekaya”
– Ramadan 2011: “Samara”
• intro: “Samara”
• outro: “Samara”
Global Coke slogans
Coca-Cola Middle East have always incorporated International Coke slogans into pan-Arab campaigns with Nancy. In 2007, Coca-Cola released their international trademark campaign of their popular slogan “The Coke Side of Life”, which focused on themes such as fun, happiness, colors, and life. A collaboration with Nancy Ajram lead to the making of the song “El Donya Helwa” (The World is Beautiful) for which a commercial was filmed with an American director on international standards and hi-tech effects. Nancy insisted on filming in Lebanon which had been hit by war a while back. “El Donya Helwa” is considered Coca-Cola Middle East’s and Nancy Ajram’s most successful commercial to date; the single became one of Ajram’s most successful songs, leading to its release as a single track in a “Live” album with live performances from her last studio album Atabtab.

In 2009, as the campaign was sequeled internationally with “Open Happiness”, Coke Middle East and Nancy released “Eftah Albak Tefrah”. However, due to Nancy’s pregnancy and giving birth, she was unable to participate in the print or TV campaigns that year and the song was used on the International commercial instead. A website was launched for that campaign entitled “Eftah Tefrah”.

In 2010, Coca Cola released an Arabic version of Wavin’ Flag originally by K’naan. The Arabic version “Wavin’ Flag / Shagga’ Bi Alamak Da” (In Arabic شجّع بعلمك ده) has Nancy Ajram featuring K’naan and meant for pan-Arab promotion of 2010 FIFA World Cup to be held in South Africa.

Read More:
Nancy website
Wiki (Nancy Ajram)