Diana Haddad (; born 1 October 1976) is a Lebanese actress, singer, and television personality who also holds Emirati citizenship and is based in the United Arab Emirates. Haddad is one of the most popular Arabic pop musicians in the Arab World and has been so since the mid-1990s. Her debut album Saken (1996) was one of the best selling albums of 1996, being certified platinum by Haddad's label Stallions Records. The album also introduced Haddad and her Bedouin music style to the public.
Haddad's biggest breakthrough came in late 1997 when she released her third album Ammanih accompanied with a major hit single of the same title. During this time, Haddad formed a successful team with her Emirati ex-husband Suhail Al-Abdul who directed all of her music videos up until 2005 when she decided to work with new directors. Haddad also stepped out of her comfort zone when she started performing in dialects other than Lebanese and Bedouin in her fourth studio album Yammaya (1998) which included songs in Khaliji, Iraqi, and Egyptian dialects. Hadded's career saw ups and downs, but overall she was able to produce memorable hit singles. These include songs like "Saken" and "Ammanih" in the 1990s, "Mani Mani", "Mas & Louly", and "Ya Aibo" in the 2000s, "La Fiesta" and "Ela Hona" in the 2010s.
Life and career
1976–1992: Early life Haddad was born to a Maronite Christian father, Joseph Haddad (originally from Maghdouché, Sidon District), and a Muslim mother, Mouna Haddad, in a small Lebanese village called Bsalim. Due to the Lebanese Civil War which began in 1975 (one year prior to her birth) and lasted over fifteen years, Haddad spent her early years in the more stable Arab states of the Persian Gulf. Her parents moved to Kuwait in the 1970s where she received her education at the national school in Fahaheel District. In 1990, Kuwait was invaded by Iraq, which forced Haddad's family to move back to Lebanon. During this period, Haddad lived between Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates where she met her Emariti husband Suhail Al-Abdul. Haddad was raised in her father's religion along with her four siblings, Lolita, Danny, Fadi, and Sameer. In terms of age, Haddad ranks third. As a child, Haddad was known to be a "tomboy" in her family. Haddad's musical talent was discovered in an early age when she was only eight years old. During her teen years, specifically in 1988, Haddad performed in multiple Kuwaiti national events. Haddad never received a college degree even though she was interested in archeology. For this reason, Haddad enjoyed shooting the song "Yammaya" in the Giza pyramid complex in 1998. In 1992, she received a diploma in computer science before she joined a popular singing competition called Studio El Fan in Beirut.
1993–1997: Saken and Ahl Al Esheg With the help of Studio El Fan, which was broadcast nationally on LBC in 1993, Haddad was able to come to fame at sixteen. She joined the competition with an original song entitled "Tayr El Yammameh", which was later included on her debut record Saken in 1996. Haddad was listed under the category of traditional Lebanese folk song. The song was written and produced by Elias Abou Gzale. At the beginning of her career, Haddad was best known for her Bedouin music style which also incorporates modern beats and instruments. Thus, she has been compared to Lebanese musician Samira Tawfik. Haddad's music is considered an update of Tawfik's early work. Haddad's debut album also included other hits such as "Lagaitek", a cover of Issam Rajji's classic hit, and "Al-Sahra".
Her second album, Ahl Al Esheg produced the hit single "Ahl Al Esheg" in early 1997 and the moderate hit "Bizal Minak" in summer 1997. "Ahl Al Esheg" is considered one of Haddad's signature songs and is still performed in most of her concerts. "Bizal Minak", while not as successful as "Ahl Al Esheg", had a controversial music video which was shot in London. The song's chorus can be translated to "I showed you the right way, but you're still walking in the wrong direction". Hence, the black and white music video, which was directed by Haddad's then-husband, shows padestrians in London walking backwards while Haddad is the only person walking in the correct direction. Haddad claimed that she memorized the lyrics of the song backwards in order to make the video works. The video also shows Prince Charles walking backwards in reference to his marriage problems. Ironically, Princess Diana died few months after the shooting of the video.
1998–1999: Ammanih, Yammaya, and Shater
Following the release of her first two albums, Saken and Ahl Al Esheg in 1996 and 1997, respectively, Haddad had to plan her third album more carefully in order to sustain her success. After careful planning of a third album, radio stations around the Arab world started airing "Ammanih", the lead single of her third studio album, in late 1997 which later became Haddad's biggest breakthrough. Several reasons contributed to "Ammanih"'s success. One of which, is the innovative use of the Turkish style "Amanes" in a Bedouin song. The imagery incorporated in the music video was also an important factor in making "Ammanih" a major hit. The video, which was also directed by Haddad's husband at the time, was shot in Turkey and showed both the modern and the traditional side of the country. In the first scene, young Turkish dancers are seen dancing in causal black shirts and jeans. In other scenes, dancers are shown wearing Ottoman clothes such as kaftans and turbans. The video is considered one of the early media exposures to the Turkish culture in the Arab world and therefore it promoted Arab tourism in the country. Shooting Arabic music videos in Turkey became a trend in later years and peaked in the early 2000s. On 19 July 1996, Haddad gave birth to her first daughter Sophie. The birth of Sophie inspired the second single from "Ammanih", the ballad "Ya Benti" which was shot by Al-Abdul in a poor rural area in Lebanon and shows two-year-old Sophie suffering poverty with her mother. In the lyrics of "Ya Benti", which translates to "Oh my daughter", a mother apologizes to her little daughter for not being able to take her out or afford life luxuries and toys.
Haddad's first three records contained songs exclusively in Lebanese and Bedouin dialects, which defined her unique musical style during the early years. However, the release of Haddad's fourth studio album Yammaya in late 1998 saw a big change in Haddad's music. The album's lead single "Yammaya" incorporated ancient Egyptian beats, but still maintained a Bedouin dialect. Al-Abdul allotted a high budget for "Yammaya"'s music video which was shot in the Giza pyramid complex. Big part of the budget went to well-known Arab actors such as Muna Wassef and Sawsan Badr who appear in different roles in the video. The video takes place in ancient times Egypt where Haddad uses a witch (played by Wassef) to restore her throne from the current queen (played by Badr). The video also shows slaves moving to the music in a choreographied dance inspired by ancient Egypt. Both "Yammaya" and the second single from the album, "Emshi Wara Kidbohom", were able to become popular across the Arab world despite the poor promotion following the death of Haddad's mother at the time of album's release. "Emshi Wara Kidbohom" marks Haddad's first single ever in a dialect other than Lebanese or Bedouin. The song, performed in Egyptian dialect, ultimately became one of Haddad's most recognized hits in Egypt. Yammaya also included songs in Khaliji, Iraqi, and classical Arabic dialects.
In summer 1999, only a few months after the release of Yammya, Haddad released her fifth studio album Shater. The first single, "Shater", was one of the most popular singles in 1999 and was well received especially by toddlers for the use of the word "shater" meaning "clever", a word that is commonly associated with young children. The song was directed by Al-Abdul in Jebel Ali in Dubai. It featured peacocks, cocktails, and extras and dancers wearing colorful clothes in a sunny summer day. Due to lack of time, Haddad's plans to shoot the music video in a tropical island were canceled. Instead, a low budget music video was made for the song "Wainhom" back to back with "Shater". "Wainhom", while not Haddad's first song in a Khaliji dialect, is her first Khaliji music video. Haddad's first official Khaliji recording appears on her previous album Yammaya, a song called "Men Ghebt". "Wainhom", which was released a few months after the success of "Shater", is about the Kuwaiti prisoners of war who never came back from Iraq. Haddad dedicated the song to her childhood friends in Kuwait.
2000–2003: Jarh Al Habib, Akhbar Helwa, and Law Yesaloni
The final single from Shater, "Al Fosol Al Arba'a", another Khaliji song, was released as a music video in early 2000. The song, produced by Saudi musician Aseel Abu Bakr Salem, is about a love interest who changes instantly like the four seasons. The music video was shot in a green screen and used 3D graphics.
In summer 2000, the song "Mani Mani" was released as the lead single from Diana Haddad's sixth studio album Jarh Al Habib. Haddad returned to her home country of Lebanon for the music video of "Mani Mani" since the song combines Bedouin and Lebanese lyrics. The song contains unique arrangements and sound effects which contributed to its success. Jarh Al Habib saw a successful attempt to break into the Egyptian market again as it included four out of nine tracks in Egyptian dialect. One of these tracks is the title track "Jarh Al Habib" which is a duet with Egyptian Chaabi legend Mohammed Al Azabi. In early 2001, "Adlaa Alaik" was released as the second and final single from the album. The Khaliji song had limited success in Arab States of the Persian Gulf, although the music video featured a second appearance of Haddad's daughter Sophie, aged four years old at the time. Haddad's seventh studio album Akhbar Helwa followed in July 2001. "Elli Fe Bali" was the only music video to be released from the album. This is Haddad's first upbeat music video in Egyptian dialect, which helped it become more popular across the Arab world. The music video, which is set in 1972, draws heavy influences from the popular musical Grease (1978). Stallions Records, Haddad's label since her debut, was sold to Rotana Records in 2002, which impeded any further promotion of the album. However, several greatest hits albums were released by Stallions including a DVD release with most of Haddad's music videos in 2003. In addition to Stallions' sale, Haddad suffered a miscarriage and was sued by Lebanese rival Nawal Al Zoghbi, which also affected the promotion campaign of Akhbar Helwa in 2001.
Al Zoghbi sued Haddad due to her and her husband's accusations that Al Zoghbi pays more attention to her looks than her music and that she is just a "performer". Al Zoghbi took the couple to court in Lebanon on grounds of "emotional distress" she suffered as a result of Al-Abdul and Haddad's criticism. Al-Abdul also stated that Al Zoghbi's voice was "out of tune". However, in 2002 the court rejected Al Zoghbi's case and the ruling stated that "the statements made by Al-Abdul and Haddad are not classified as defamation of the claimant as it does not have any impact on her basic artistic position but is rather linked with her performance. The claim that the plaintiff is a singer or performer is a flexible classification that conforms to personal standards".