Amr Diab

• Genre: Middle Eastern Pop
• Hometown: Cairo

About

Egypt's heartthrob double-threat singer and actor doesn't exactly have humble origins. His dad was a high-up functionary in the Suez Canal Corporation, and after singing the Egyptian national anthem on the radio, Amr Diab ended up studying in Cairo at both the High-College for Arabic Music and the Cairo Academy of Art. But for all his privileges, Diab earned his success with his own gifts: movie-star good looks and unerringly ambitious, beautifully sung pop. After a string of unsuccessful albums, Diab broke through in 1987 with the hit song "Khalseen." Several hits the following year suggested he wasn't just a one-hit wonder, and Diab proved he was multitalented when he inaugurated his film career that year in El Saginatean. In 1990 Diab filmed what may have been the first music video in Arabic and began working with longtime producer Hamid El Shaeri. Over the years, Diab's producers have grown increasingly adventurous, embracing everything from Spanish guitar to house music. The result has rendered Diab a truly international sensation, landing his songs -- either on their own or as remixes -- on dancefloors around the world and even on a Brazilian TV show.

- Sarah Bardeen