Although Dominique Hourani is a fairly new artist who doesn’t posses strong vocals, her first album definitely set a new standard for artists who depend on remakes and remixes of Egyptian old school songs. The most commonly known in this case is Marwa, who had released her 2005 album entitled “Sheel 2eedak,” then completely disappeared off the spotlight. Perfect timing for Hourani who did an incredible job with the genre Marwa gained much fame for.

Hounrani’s music portrays a unique sophistication when it comes to her Egyptian oldschool songs like “3atrees” and “Gannenni 2elwaad.” This is ironic as many of the songs that fall under this genre are aesthetically appalling.  Hounrani’s songs diverge from the common image of a woman chewing gum with her mouth open, to “the perfect level of being orientally seductive.”

Hourani made up for her vocal weaknesses by focusing on enunciation and articulation. In the song “3atrees” she sings, “3alashan 2el 3omda 7maida/ wo marrto 2el 7agga zbeida/ gaybelli 3arees 2asmar wi ka7eel.” The way she pronounces the words “7maida,” “zbeida” and further more in the song, “maleesh,” “mageesh,” and “2al eih,” placed me at the center of rural Egypt. Hourani also sings, “Law 7ata gabooli dahab wo lori/ 7a5edhom wagi ma3ak.” This is an example of how she was able to maintain the image of rural Egypt throughout the entire song.  Although I generally discourage artists who have only depended on their physical appeal to make it in the business, I don’t think “3atrees” would have been successful if someone with a stronger vocal performance would have sang it.

“3atrees” was definitely a great choice for the album title. It’s unique, entertaining, and less self-centered. “Farfoora,” the song Hourani attained her nickname from would have been the worst choice. Having that song in the first album is making me concerned about new and developing artists accrediting their own selves before their albums are even on shelves. Even Nancy Ajram’s “Nancy, I love you”  in the song “2ool tani keda” was in her 4th album and after the success of her 2002 album “Ya Salam,” while Haifa Wehbe’s “Ana Haifa ana/ Meen ‘3ayeri ana” in the song “Ana Haifa” was in her second album. “Farfoora ana/ zanbi eih/ amoora ana/ wa3mil eih” just begs the question: Really? But, who is Dominique Hourany?

Although Hourani had done a great job with the Egyptian oldschool songs, her sole Lebanese song “Elsa3a” was a disappointment. The chorus is catchy when she sings, “Byisa2alni 2adaish el sa3a kelma-yla2eeni/ kelma-yla2eeni byis2alni 2adaish el sa3a,” but the melody did not go in hand with her vocal capability. Hourani avoided the necessary trills at the end of many parts, which did not do justice to the song. It was also evident that the back-up vocals were restrained in many parts in order to level out with Hounrani’s weak vocal performance.

The album is definitely a fun, party album. There are no slow songs; a smart choice from Hourani,

as slow songs generally need strong vocals. There were many songs used just to fill the space like “El 3ain di wel 3ain di” and Ah ya 2albi,” but she was still able to maintain a high level of sophistication, which should definitely be acknowledged.

Dareen Awwad - Radio Sawt Beirut International " This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it "