By Haajar Boutafi
Fez – The striking news that Samira Said announced lately about her intention to quit the world of music surprised many of her fans.
It was all the more, especially that she still is remarkably present and sought for by the most notable production companies in Egypt and the gulf, despite the age factor, the swift towards commercialized album lyrics and the spread of a wave of ‘unethical’ choreographic clips that favor physical potentials over voice quality.
Samira is definitely not the only Moroccan star glittering in the Eastern galaxy. Many other stars like Rajaa Belmlih, Fatima Marqdadi, Aziza Jalal and Jannat imposed their names as voices reflecting the Arab varied extensions and the original Moroccan touch. However, Samira was their dream legend and a model that shared a lot in common with the myth Artist Warda.
A quick flashback to Samira Said’s music journey reveals a great deal about her singing career, her hard work and determination, her deliberation in ceasing the opportunities and, as well, in choosing her songs and lyrics.
When Samira Said first appeared on the stage of a Moroccan talent Show at the age of 9 singing one of the best songs of Oum Kalthoum, nobody expected her to hide underneath a tiny figure and a naïve look an epic voice that inspired thousands of Arabs worldwide. Being a young participant of the time, she created a smooth sensation with her performance, allowing the audience as well as the jury to form a positive picture of a potential star in wait for fame.
She continued to impress her audience with the Moroccan style of Music she chose at the beginning of her career with the songs ‘Shkun l hbabna’ and ‘koul l Mliha.’
Like many beginner singers at the time, she dreamed of a stage like that Oum Kelthoum sang in, a stunning reputation of an iconic Arab singer that resembles that of Abdelhalim and Shadia, and a musical school of her own different from that of her contemporary artists Baligh Hamdi, Abdelwahab, Mohamed el Mougi, Faiza ahmad and Mohamed Sultan.
So she took her dream with her to Egypt believing that her strong voice would definitely find a place there. Indeed, she was subject to thousands of juicy offers to join the best production companies of the time, which were betting on the quality of her voice and the beauty of her traits.
Samira conquered the hearts of a large audience for years and left a legacy of 43 albums, 23 singles, 6 duos and 14 national songs, most of them were video clips.
Describing Samira’s success scale would give the impression that each step this artist has taken was planed and counted. Although most people who had the chance to meet Samira described her as shy and a woman of manners, Samira, the artist, is very sensitive and emotional in transmitting the feelings hidden in every word used in her songs. Art is not about music, sculpture or painting, rather it is what the artist meant by what he or she produced; that is what we can call the sense of the artist in his or her art.
Samira’s reasons for quitting the music domain at the peak of her success are similar to what the actress Shadia said when she decided to quit as well: “I want people to remember Shadia in her youth, beauty and strength of voice because it counts for me what picture my audience will carry in mind forever.”
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