Singer Profile: Beauty, Charm and Allure Lead Haifa Wehbe to Success

17/01/2005

Haifa Wehbe first entered beauty pageants at age 16 and a few years later earned runner-up status in the 1995 Miss Lebanon contest. The success led to many fashion shows seeking her inclusion and appearances in over 100 magazines.

(Arabicnights.com – 05/07/04, 30/07/04, 06/11/04, 13/11/04, 27/11/04; Daleelaustralia.com; Daily Star – 06/03/04)

[File] Stage acting is the next challenge for Wehbe.

Her combination of charm, presence, elegance, and allure led to her fans and the Rotana music company to convince her to pursue a singing career. Most of her music features a fusion of Western-Gypsy Kings style with Arabic rhythms, a trend common in today's Arab music scene. Wehbe saw immediate success with her first album, "Howa el Zaman."

Great prudence is exercised by the singer in selecting music, lyrics, producers, and arrangers. A poll conducted by Egypt's Hurriaty magazine determined her to be the Best Young Female Arab singer.

But not everyone in the Arab world is a fan of Wehbe. Many of Wehbe's videos, known for depicting her in scantily clad alluring poses, have drawn criticism from conservative elements in the Arab media.

Interestingly, Wehbe is critical of female Arab singers who wear revealing clothes in their videos. Kuwaiti newspaper Al Rai Al Aam recently reported Wehbe's repulsion at seeing women wearing skimpy clothing and acting seductively in music videos, a practice she attributes to such performers not being real singers.

The seductive and racy image the public has about her is at odds with her real self, according to Wehbe. She asserts that her videos are actually classical and that the lascivious videos made by would-be imitators are misguided.

At the London Lebanese Fashion show in 2004, Wehbe appeared in a skin-tight outfit more revealing than that worn by many of the models. She also enthralled the male attendees by playfully pawing her hands at them and acting in a flirtatious manner. "I don’t really care about the fashion show, I'm here to see Haifa," said one excited fan.

Wehbe's dream of appearing in great music events was realized when she was selected to perform last July at the Carthage Music Festival in Tunisia. Attendees did not seem to appreciate the Lebanese singer's sensuous singing and dancing as the performance only drew about 200 unenthusiastic onlookers.

[File] Much of Wehbe’s success is generated from her videos.

The event also caused a rift between Wehbe and Rotana as she claimed to the press that her appearance at the company-sponsored event was solely at the behest of Tunisia's Ministry of Information. She went on to say that Rotana actually attempted to prevent her performance. Further strain in the relationship occurred when one of Wehbe's music videos was televised on the competing Melody channel, which caused Rotana to issue a warning to the singer and insist that the video not be shown again on outlets other than its music channel.

An unbridled optimism governs Wehbe's future aspirations. She will appear in Faisal Nida's "In Kibir Ibnak" play, a story of how young people try to evade restrictions and guidelines to find their freedom. An agreement has also been reached to appear alongside famed Egyptian actor Ahmad Zaki in a movie titled "Rasa' el Al Bahr." Wehbe said she is honored to work with the actor. In addition to acting, the singer's other interests include painting, writing, and enjoying nature.