Sherine

Sherine (Arabic: شيرين‎, born Sherine Abdel Wahhab; also credited as Sherine Ahmed, though it is not her real name; October 10, 1980) is an Egyptian singer and actress from Egypt,Cairo. Sherine began her career with the single Ah Ya Leil in 2002, and has since released several albums that include 2 EPs and 3 LPs.

Early life
Sherine was born on October 8th, 1980 in Cairo, Egypt. She grew up next to the Citadel in a very modest and simple neighborhood. Though she wasn't technically poor or living in poverty, her lifestyle was far from luxurious. Since her early beginnings she developed a strong inclination and passion towards singing. She cites artists like Warda and Samira Saeed to be her definitive musical idols, influencing her singing style until this day. She also expresses her love for Shadia, Fayza Ahmad, Najat Al-Sagheera, Om Kolthoum, in addition to Thekra and Asalah from the modern era. She entered the Egyptian Music Institute and dropped out the second year, opting to perform for a living and seeking a record company to represent her and manage her musical career. Sherine has always demonstrated independence and strong will since the beginnings, fighting many obstacles and challenges until finally making it to the top.

Personal life
Sherine has always been very open about her love life. Before professionally becoming a singer, she was married to music arrager Medhat Khamis. The marriage lasted for a very short time, and ended with a divorce. Later on Sherine was involved with two men, being briefly engaged to them.

In 2007, Sherine married music arranger Mohammad Mustafa. According to both of them there was an on and off relationship before the marriage that spanned several years. The wedding was attended by the couple's family members and close friends including Asalah Nasri, Tareq Al Arian, Minna Shalabi, Waleed Saad, Hani Mahrous, Amir Abdul-Majid and Hani Rushdi. Sherine also has a daughter (Maryam) with her husband.

Sherine is quite popular for being loved by nearly all artists in the entertainment industry. Her close friends include Asalah, Angham, Samira Saeed, Nancy Ajram, Haifa Wehbe, Fadl Shaker, Ramy Sabry, Mohammed Hamaki, Hussein Al-Jasmy, Ahlam, Nawal Al-Kuwaitiya, Abdullah Ruwaishad, Nawal Al-Zoghby, and many others.

Musical career
Sherine met up with Free Music Productions' owner and manager Nasr Mahrous. Mahrous signed and released a debut album with fellow singer Tamer Hosny. The album included solo singles, as well as duets. Titled Free Mix, it is one of the mixtapes Mahrous usually produces but was exclusively for these two artists. Although Sherine was a new artist with Free Music, Tamer had signed with Mahrous earlier.

The album included Sherine's debut single, "Ah Ya Leil". The song included local musical styles from traditional Egyptian tarab voice techniques to usage of traditional Egyptian music instruments of the Shaabi genre.

In 2002, Sherine released her first album as a solo artist titled Garh Tany. The album's first single was the title track, "Garh Tany". The single consisted mainly of repetition, with intensive manipulation in voice tones and pitch. The music video was released one week earlier from the album release, and the album achieved success in the Egyptian and wider Middle Eastern music market. Sherine witnessed rapid and explosive popularity after this album[citation needed], and solidified her status as one of the most successful female singers[citation needed].

Sherine's second single from the album was "Sabri Aleel", which was an up-tempo song, uses slight traditional techniques, but included Nai, Tablah, Heavy Bass and multi-layered voices of Sherine in the choruses. The music video's version of the song was different from the album's, and it was titled "Sabri Aleel - Melody Mix". The song was exclusively broadcast on Melody Hits channel.[citation needed]

A compilation album for Sherine was released under the title Roo. The album included the movie-song "Balak", along with a few other songs such as "Afriqiya" (Africa) and other songs by Tamer Hosny. The album was considered unofficial, as it wasn't released under the Free Music label since Sherine was still signed with the company.

By this time, and before releasing the single "Ma Btefrahsh", it was reported in magazines and tabloid-newspapers that Sherine was having a fall-out with Nasr Mahrous, but it was not confirmed. Sherine was on a hiatus during that time, as she didn't release any singles or albums for quite a while. According to industry gossip, Sherine was angry with her producer and manager, Nasr Mahrous, for not fulfilling the terms of agreement in their contract.

In early 2005, promotions for Sherine's new song, "Ma Btefrahsh" showed up on Melody Hits, and a week later the music video was released. The song became quite popular, and it was heavily rotated on Melody Hits. It hit #1 on many countdowns.[citation needed] It was featured in a mixtape along other singles by fellow Free Music artists, such as Bahaa Sultan, Souma and Tamer Hosny. The mixtape featured another single by Sherine, "Einak". Both songs were frequently aired on Radio channels.

In August 2005, Sherine's new single was also promoted on Melody Hits TV. Another promo had a sample from her second single "Mafeesh Marra".

More than a week later, the single, titled "Lazim Aïsh" was released. It was also produced and directed by Nasr Mahrous. The clip started with focus on her nice feet, as she became a dream for a lot of men and a lot have seen she not only deserved to have people crawling at her feet but someone would be lucky if she decided to put her feet into his mouth. The song took a different form as it was a ballad. This was the title track as well. The album, Lazim Aïsh, was released and became the best selling album that year. The album also would be certified platinum as it made huge success. The second single music video of "Mafeesh Marra" was released.

In 2006, Sherine was chosen to perform the songs for the movie "An el-Ish' wel-Hawa". The movie's theme song, "Keteer Ben'sha", became a major hit. That same year, she released "Lebnan Fel Alb (Lebanon's in the Heart)", a song dedicated to Lebanon and the victims who fell in the Israeli-Lebanese conflict.

In 2007, she released a new duet with Hany Shaker under the title "Qalbi Leek" (My Heart’s Yours). The duet was originally intended to be two separate songs; however, the two versions were combined and released on Hany Shaker's album. She also sang the theme song for the TV series "Kashkool Likol Muatin" (A Notebook for Every Citizen).

In 2008, Sherine released another single: "Ma Sherebtesh Men Nilha" which premiered on Egyptian national television on the popular show El Beit Beitak. The song's title translates literally to "Haven't You Drunk From Its Nile?" and is dedicated to her home country Egypt.

In March 2007, Sherine signed a recording deal with Rotana. The contract states that the company will produce two albums for Sherine and there is no time limit to work on each album. Initially, her first album with Rotana said to include the songs: "Kan Helmi" (It Was My Dream), "Fadahteni" (You Exposed Me) and "Boss Ba'a we Hatshouf" (Peek and You'll See). The first two songs are arranged by Tarek Madkour and the second song is arranged by her husband. However, the album did not include these songs when released in July 2009.
Sherine celebrated Mother's Day 2009 by releasing "Bahibik Ya Omi" (I Love You, My Mother): a song dedicated to all mothers in the Arab World.
In July 2009, Sherine released her long anticipated album "Habeat". Sherine posed as the Greek goddess of wisdom in the cover of the album as a strong statement of her growing influence on Arabic music.

Acting career
Sherine appeared in the comedy titled Medo Mashakel. The movie was the #1 movie of the season, however, Sherine as well as critics did not approve of her role or her acting skills. In the movie, Sherine sings and one of the singles sung in the movie was broadcasted on music channels. The song was titled "Balak". It portrays Sherine, as one of the movie's scenes, getting on stage in a friend's wedding and performing the song. The song didn't get as much attention, as it wasn't released on any record.
In 2007, before her pregnancy, she was scheduled to appear in the film Tifa and Tuma alongside Egyptian singer and actor Mohamed Fouad.

Discography
* Free Mix 3 with Tamer Hosny (2002) - Label: Free Music Art Production
* Garh Tany (translation: Another Wound) (2003) - Label: Free Music Art Production
* Lazem A'eesh (translation: I have to Live/Survive) (2005) - Label: Free Music Art Production
* Bataminak (I'm Reassuring You) (2008) - Label: Rotana
* Habeat (I Fell in Love) (2009) - Label: Rotana

Info from Sherine on Wikipedia