Domination: 1994-1999

Najwa success

Najwa's fortunes took a turn for the better when she was approached by the Middle East's largest recording label, Rotana. It was owned by the Saudi Arabian Royal Family, and headed by Prince Walid Bin Talel. An agreement between the parties was made, and Najwa was now part of the "Rotana family of artists".
Naghmet Hob (1994)
Naghmet Hob (1994)

Work on a new album began immediately. Expert poets, writers and composers were enlisted to help Najwa make a fresh new musical image for herself to revitalise public interest, and finally draw attention from the wider Arab audience. By mid-1994, an album consisting of 8 new songs had been compiled and was ready to be released to the Middle East. Naghmet Hob (The Rhythm of Love) fused Lebanese tradition with Arab pop. Its catchy Lebanese dance song Law Habaytek (If I loved you) was an instant hit, introducing Najwa Karam to all of the Middle East. The song and its video clip dominated the Arabian charts. Its follow up hits from the same album were Wrood Eddar (Roses of the Garden) and Elala (la la) received similar success.
Ma Bassmahlak (1995)
Ma Bassmahlak (1995)

The wide success of Naghmet Hob fueled a concert tour and a number of awards for Karam, including a prize from the Lebanese Broadcasting Association for "The Best Artist of 1994".

Karam had been thrust to the top of the Arabic Music scene in less than a year, and was now constantly in the public eye. In 1995, Najwa started work on her second Rotana album, her fifth release in total. It was titled Ma Bassmahlak and closely followed the traditional style of Naghmet Hob. The main difference was the lyrical and vocal nature of the tracks which had more depth. Riding the wave of her celebrity, two of the songs were hits, namely Ma Bassmahlak (I don't get you) and Hakim el-Qady (The Judge has spoken).

[edit] Good Luck
Hazi Helo (1996)
Hazi Helo (1996)

With five albums under her belt, the latter two of which witnessed ground breaking success, Najwa was becoming a familiar face in the Arabic music industry. On the 16th of June, 1996, Karam released her newest album entitled Hazi Helo (I'm Lucky). The title track, Hazi Helo, and three other songs, "Khayarouni", "Ala Mahlak" and "El-Ghorbil", were the most popular from the album.

Following the release of Hazi Helo, Najwa set off on a large scale world concert tour, which would take in many Arab states, parts of Europe, and America. She found a number of fans in the U.S., and performed to sold-out concerts all over. To honour her success in the States, Najwa was given an Honorary Citizenship of the United States of America, and she was also presented with the Key to the City of Chicago.

[edit] Ma Hada La Hada and Maghroumeh
Ma Hada La Hada (1997)
Ma Hada La Hada (1997)

After the sell-out world tour, Najwa returned to Lebanon with a fresh mind and new song ideas. And so work began on her next studio album - Ma Hada La Hada. The tracks on the album were quite different to those of Najwa's previous albums, with a more contemporary sound. For example the song "El Helw" was heavily influenced by foreign beats and synthesised melodies. Three months prior to the album's official release, the song El Tahady was distributed to the Arabic radio stations. By the time of the album's release, the song's popularity had dwindled, and Ma Hada La Hada's relatively poor sales were attributed to this factor. However, the title track did become quite popular. It had harmonious musical arrangements which used the traditional Lebanese instrument the Qanoun, along with other traditional instruments such as the violin and the accordion. These musical stylings, along with an uplifting song topic and a powerful "mini movie" video clip made the song a huge hit.
Maghroumeh (1998)
Maghroumeh (1998)

The 1998 release, Maghroumeh, marked Karam's "official" transition from purely traditional Lebanese artist to the blend of traditional and contemporary Arabic that she is famous for today. It had poetic Arabic lyrics sung with Najwa's trademark power and authority; extensive use of Arabic instruments (trumbakke, mijwiz, zamour, tabal... etc) and contemporary ones; and a brand new look for the album cover. Maghroumeh was another success from Karam. The title track, Maghroumeh (I am in Love), was shot as a video clip, and was the biggest hit off the album, hitting number one on most radio stations in the region. Other hits were the feisty Ghamza (The Wink) and the sad love song Noqta al-Satr (Somewhere along the line).
Rouh Rouhi (1999)
Rouh Rouhi (1999)

[edit] Rouh Rouhi

The new year brought about a number of changes in Karam's career lives. Najwa's new album was set to be released in the summer, and her personal changes were showing in her new album Rouh Rouhi. It was similar to the Maghroumeh album, but had a number of tweaks in the vocal and musical styles. The musical arrangements were heavily detailed and technical, and the lyrics were more poetic than all other Karam albums. The tracks Ariftu Albi La Meen (Do you know who my heart belongs to?), Atchana (Thirsty), and the title track, Rouh Rouhi (Soul of my Soul) were the major hits off the album, the latter two being shot as music videos. Many other songs succeeded like "Kif Bdawik (How do I treat You?)", and "Ma Berda Ghayrak (I Don't Accept Anyone Beside You)".