Early years and Layali Lubnan: 1985–1988 Najwa Karam was born on February 26, 1966 in
Zahlé,
Lebanon, to a Lebanese
Melkite Christian family. She is the youngest daughter of Karam Karam and Barbara Chahine Karam. Karam learned to sing at a young age. She attended an evangelical secondary school and later earned a bachelor's degree in
philosophy. Karam taught
geography and
Arabic at Eastern College in
Zahlé,
Lebanon, for two years. In 1985, she participated in the television singing competition
Layali Lubnan ("
Lebanese Nights") against her father's wishes. Karam sang the traditional Lebanese
Mawwal and won first place. She went on to study at the Lebanese Institute of Music for four years. During this period she was mentored by Lebanese composers
Zaki Nasif and
Fouad Awad. In 1987, she participated in another television contest called
Laylat Haz ("A night of shaking").
First Studio Albums: 1989–1993 Shams el-Ghinnieh ("The Sun of Song") & Ana Ma’akom ("I Am With You") The Relax-in International record label released Karam's first album,
Ya Habayeb ("Loved Ones"), in 1989. The album contained seven tracks, all in the traditional
Lebanese/
folklore style. Due to her previous exposure to the Lebanese public, the album was well-received in Lebanon but did not receive much attention from the rest of the Arab world. After “W Kberna,” Karam released her next album,
Saharni (Charmed). The album utilized traditional Lebanese musical elements, including trumbakke and wind instruments. Saharni reached the top of the charts and produced several singles; even though there was a lack of video clips for the songs, the album came through on top of the charts and produced several major hits, including "Edhak Lil Dounya" ("Smile to the world") and the title track "Saharni" ("He charmed me"). Karam made a world tour to complement
Saharnis success, taking in the Middle East and destinations such as France and the US with
Wadih el Safi. She also traveled to Australia for a sold-out multi-city tour. Her concert there still holds the record for the largest-ever recorded concert attendance of an Arabic artist. Karam was presented with many awards and achievements in 2003. These include "Highest Selling Album" from
Rotana, an award for the "Best Singer of Traditional Lebanese Song" from the Lions Club, and "Song of the Year": Edhak Lil Donya from Sawt El Ghad, Australia. Around this time, the Australian government had noted Najwa's positive impact on Australian and Lebanese relations. Australia has a large Lebanese diaspora and has noted its cultural impact and large following by the Lebanese Australian diaspora and the wider community. Due to this, Najwa was given an honorary award from the Australian Government. As the New Year came and passed, Karam began work on a new single to be included in her upcoming album. It was titled
Leish Mgharrab? (Why are you living abroad?). The song was about the hardships people face when leaving their home country for a better life. Coupled with this harrowing topic was a music video (directed by Sa'aed el-Marouk), which would transform modern-day
Beirut into a bleak and harsh wasteland in 2020. The original video—which also contained scenes of citizens protesting against the
Lebanese government—was banned from being aired by the
Lebanese Parliament. When the clip was edited, the music video was allowed to go on air. After a few months, Karam had completed the rest of her new album,
Shu Mghaira..!. Like
Saharni, it was distinctly
Lebanese, but modernized, with a reflective and sad overtone. Najwa continued her many live appearances to promote the album, and a notable event in 2004 was her sold-out concert in
Carthage,
Tunisia, where she performed for thousands of enthusiastic fans. The tracks "Bi Hawak" ("In your love") and "Shu Mghaira" ("How you've changed") were shot in an expensive dual video clip riddled with special effects. It remained at the number 1 position for 6 weeks on the Rotana Top 20 Chart. The two songs were the most popular from the album, and Karam was voted "Female Artist of the Year" by Musicana.net, which was decided via a large-scale internet poll.
2005–present In the second quarter of 2005, Karam released a new single and video clip called
Shu Jani. Shu Jani was a contemporary pop song that incorporated traditional Lebanese instruments. The video was filmed in the
Faraya ski resort in
Lebanon by director Sa'aed el-Marouk. It was to be on her upcoming 2005 album. The timing of the new clip was criticized in some tabloids because it was released during the tense electoral season in Lebanon and the
Cedar Revolution (Independence Intifada). These tabloids argued that it was disrespectful for Karam to release new material at such a time. Karam defended herself by putting the claim on her Saudi production company,
Rotana, which she says fast-tracked the release against her wishes. Although there was some controversy surrounding
Shu Jani, it fared well with the public. Due to the prolonged situation in the
Lebanon region, Karam's 2005 album was postponed from release in June, then July, and finally postponed until November 2005. However, Karam released another single in late July called "Bhebak Walaa," which was an upbeat, contemporary/traditional song. On September 6, 2005, Karam released the video for "Bhebak Walaa", directed by Salim el-Turk.
''Kibir'el Hob'', (Love Got Bigger) In November 2005, billboards and unipoles all over
Beirut displayed a lady's hand upon a cloudy horizon. No writing was on the posters. The advertisement had the public wondering what message the posters were relaying and who the mysterious hand belonged to. Soon, it was generally concluded that the hand belonged to a recording artist, but there were many conflicting suggestions as to whose it was. Gradually, the billboards had bits of the lady added to the picture until, on 30 November 2005, the "mystery lady" was revealed as Najwa Karam. On the same day, Karam's 15th studio album, ''
Kibir'el Hob (Love Just Got Greater)
was released. The album was promoted through an extensive advertising campaign, including billboard posters and television appearances, with billboard posters, many television appearances [on popular variety programs such as Dandana
, and Akeed Maestro
], and music video clips for singles. Kibir'el Hob
topped the highest-selling album chart in Lebanon for Rotana during the Christmas sales period and remained in the number one position through the New Year. In April 2006, Karam released a third and final single from the Kibir'el Hob'' album, accompanied by a video clip, and proved to be among the most popular Arabic songs of the year 2006. In response to the
2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict, Karam teamed with Lebanese singer and songwriter
Melhem Barakat to record the song
Rah Yebqa El Watan. The track, which Barakat wrote and composed, called for unity among all Lebanese people.
2007–2008: Hayda Haki, (That's What I'm Talking About) & Aam Bimzah Maak, (I'm Kidding With You) On May 28, Sawt el Ghad and several other Arab radio stations began to play the new hit "Hayda Haki". On June 6, 2007, the company Rotana released Najwa's 16th album, titled
Hayda Haki. A new Lebanese album with Najwa Karam's special flavor in it. This album included 8 songs with different kinds of styles. A powerful
mawal in ''Raje' Tes'al 'a Meen
and a nice/soft mawal
for El hanone
. Law ma btekzob
is like her 90s songs, and Ana Rouh,
and Nawer Eyami
are romance songs. Hata Be Ahlamak, Hayda Haki,
and Behkik
are upbeat songs with different styles in each one. Hayda Haki
was the next song (after her 2006–2007 hit Shu Hal Hala'') that Najwa Karam shot as a video clip with Lebanese director Said el Marouk. From the first week of the release of Hayda Haki, it became the best-selling album in Lebanon, the UAE, and Kuwait. The album achieved success in its first week of release in Lebanon, the Gulf, Libya, Syria, Jordan, and other Arab countries. On June 29, 2007, Najwa Karam was a guest on the show
Album on
MBC 1. In June, she also released a romantic video clip
Hayda Haki. On its first day on the charts, it landed in first place. Najwa Karam toured the United States and Canada with Lebanese Stars
Wael Kfoury and
Fadel Shaker. The tour lasted for a little more than a month as they visited major cities and was a success. The American concerts were in Chicago, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Detroit, New Jersey, Boston, and Miami. In Canada, concerts were in Ottawa, Montreal, and Toronto, singing in the biggest and most important venues. After four days, Karam released a video clip for "Law Ma Btekzob" directed by Fadi Haddad. Karam appeared on the TV show Al Arab (Final), hosted by Nishan, which aired on May 31. She sang a medley of her old and new songs and added songs for
Fairuz,
Sabah,
Wadih El Safi, and
Samira Tawfiq. She also sang one of her old mawal, "Wainak Ya Ra3i Deni" (Where are you God?) aka "Mawal El Adyan". On July 17, 2008, Rotana released Karam's 17th studio album, ''
Am Bimzah Maak (I'm Joking With You)''. The album received considerable success and positive reviews. The album contained eight songs. One of the most famous Arabic composers, Melhim Baraket, composed two songs from the album: "Kammil 3ala Rouhi" and "Gatalna El Khof". The album stayed for three months #1 in
Virgin Mega Store Lebanon, 4 weeks #1 in UAE Virgin Mega Store, 8 Weeks in
Saudi Arabia, etc.;
Rotana, Karam's production company, said that Najwa Karam's last album
Am Bimzah Maak was one of the top 3 best-selling (Rotana) albums in the Middle East. It was chosen by Virgin MegaStore Jordan as the Top 3 most selling albums in 2008. While four songs from Aam Bimzah Maak; "Am Bimzah Maak", "Enta El Shams", "Amanti Galbi", and "Taa Khabik" were achieving success all over the Middle East, Karam released her second video clip from her latest album "Ma Bkhabi Aleyk" where she collaborated for the first time with Lebanese young director Randa Aalam. Karam shot a 3rd video clip from her successful album "Aam Bimzah Maak" called "Taa Taa Khabik". And it played on many Music channels in the Middle East and received commercial success in Lebanon,
Maghreb,
Syria,
Jordan, and the
Gulf countries.
2009: Khallini Shoufak, (Let Me See You) In February 2009, Karam attended one of the Middle East's most important concerts, Hala Febrayer 09 in
Kuwait. She performed a mixture of old and new songs for a very active crowd. On March 9, 2009, specifically on Mother's Day, Najwa Karam released her single "El Deni Em" (A mother is a whole world), which received commercial success and stayed #1 for three weeks on the Online Magazine "Elaph". In May 2009, Najwa Karam traveled to Morocco to perform at the Mawazine Festival 2009. Her opening performance attracted a crowd exceeding 90,000. On June 10, 2009, Rotana released Karam's 18th album, entitled
Khallini Shoufak (Let Me See You). The album contains eight songs, each with a different musical style. Along with the lead single, "Khallini Shufak," three additional songs received commercial success: "Eidak" (your hand), "Allah Yesghello Balo" (may God make him worry), and "Aboos Eynak" (kiss your eye). The remaining songs are: "Wale'"(light the fire), "El Deni Em" (a mother is a whole world), "Albi Masna' Baroud" (my heart is a gun factory), and "El Haramy" (the thief). The album is considered Karam's strongest return to her original style since
Saharny (2003). Karam said, "It's full of folkloric, balady songs, similar to Saharny and her 90s releases". Her video for "Khallini Shoufak" was released around the same time as her CD. Karam was a guest performer on Star Academy 6's (Lebanon) final prime. She sang "Am Bemzah Ma'ak" (I'm joking with you), "Ta'a Khabeek" (Let me hide you), and her latest single, "Khallini Shoufak" (Let Me See You). She then appeared on Layali El Samar on 25 March 2010 on ABU DHABI TV. Also, Karam was the guest star on Taratata, Dubai TV, and soon after, she appeared on the TV show Akher Man Ya3lam.
2010–2011: Bil Rou7, Bil Dam (in the soul, in the blood) & Lashhad Hobbak (I’ll beg your love) On May 10, 2010, Sawt El Ghad Radio, Beirut, started playing Karam's new hit "Bil Rou7, Bil Dam" (In the soul, in the blood). The new hit single was the first song of Karam's that was produced directly out of Rotana in 17 years. The song, along with its video clip, which featured the
Guinness World Record's largest plate of tabbouleh, sponsored by Karam, was well-received and reached great success. On November 11, 2010, Karam released her next single, "Lashhad Hobbak" (I'll Beg for Your Love). Its video clip aired on Rotana Music Channels, attracting a large audience through its classy styles, such as the spider-webbed characteristics. The song became very popular among the masses. Karam wore a beaded spiderweb bodysuit, designed by Lebanese designer
Zuhair Murad. It was later worn by
Jennifer Lopez in her music video "On the Floor". In late 2010, although there were doubts about a new contract between Karam and Rotana Production Company, after several meetings with Salem El Hendi, Karam agreed to return to Rotana.
Haifa Wehbe attended the dinner party held after the press conference, telling the press that she was glad to accept Karam's invitation and delighted to be part of the celebration. After Karam decided to postpone her upcoming album, a song called "Wayn" appeared on the internet. The song was stolen from the Najwa Karam Office and released without her permission. The song was recorded three years prior in 2009 and was removed from that year's album,
Khallini Shoufak. Although illegally released, the song was well-liked and was played on numerous radio stations.
2011: Hal Leile...MaFi Noum (Tonight, There's No Sleep) On June 28, 2011,
Rotana released
Hal Leile...MaFi Noum (Tonight...There's No Sleep), Najwa Karam's 19th album. "MaFi Noum (There's No Sleep)" and "Shu Hal Leile (What a Night)" were both released as singles before the album's release, while "Law Bas Taaraf" (If You'd Only Know) was released as the third and final single. Three days following its release, the album notched the top spot on
Virgin Megastore Charts, replacing
Nawal Al Zoghbi's album, ''Ma'rafsh Leh
, which had been dominating the Lebanese charts for five months. Karam is credited as the writer of three of the songs appearing on the album: "Mafi Noum", "Shu Hal Leile", and "Eainy Bi Eainak". The title track and lead single "MaFi Noum" employs innovative "Doum Tac
" Derbake notes as a part of its chorus. Karam reiterated in interviews the meaning and significance of the "Doum Tac''" music notes and her reasoning behind their usage. It has since become a signature label of Najwa Karam's music. Two weeks after the album's debut, a 3D music video was released for the title track, "Ma Fi Noum", becoming the first 3D music video in the Middle East. The music video was produced by two professional teams from the US and the UK in collaboration with the Lebanese W&P Production Group. Directed by Waleed Nassif, the video was created by
Sony and produced by Rotana. The video's opening sequence features Season 1 ''
Arabs' Got Talent contestant, Abdelmalek Al Baljani, from Morocco, in a break dance solo. During his appearance on Arab's Got Talent'', Karam was impressed by Al Baljani's abilities and promised on Live TV to cast him in her next video. The 3D music video premiered at the ABC Achrafieh theater in Lebanon on 25 July 2011 and was played in 600 3D Sony showrooms and outlets throughout the Arab world. A 2D version was also released for Television and YouTube. The "MaFi Noum" 3D clip had one of the largest production budgets in the Middle East.
2017: Menni Elak (From Me, To You) Karam's latest album,
Menni Elak, was ranked among the Top 4 on iTunes worldwide, and top 1 for five weeks in the Middle East and Arabian countries. It was also ranked top 1 for six months in Virgin Megastore in Lebanon and broke the list of the 100 best albums on iTunes Brazil.
Menni Elak ranked the top 1 on the Chinese website "Pan European Music". Following the album's release, Karam was listed among the most listened-to singers on Yotta radio in Japan and appeared on the cover of the Malaysian magazine Akshak. On the Amazon World Music site, the album hit the list of the best-selling albums in German, American, and British versions. On June 21st and 25th, the songs of the album were broadcast as the first Arabic album on the international British Radio station "FM 1 FM" in London, following a poll on Twitter. The song "Ah min el Gharam" from the album was nominated for the 2017 XLIII Universal Music Award in Spain, while "Habibi Min" got fifth place in the voting finals that lasted more than eight months. All eight album songs were entered in the list of "The Hot 100 songs" on Fazboard Iran. After eleven months, "Habibi Min", another song from the album, was ranked number one on iTunes
Uzbekistan. ==Personal life==