Amal Maher to Arab Today: You can't compare me to Amr Diab

After a long disappearance the Egyptian singer Amal Maher is back with a bang, with her two songs for the al-Daeya (The Preacher) TV series credits receiving acclaim as the best title music for a Ramadan show this year. In an exclusive interview with Arab Today, Amal confessed: "I did not expect to the title music to be such a success, especially as the conditions [in Egypt] at the current time mean viewers don’t care about soap operas and title music. “But thank God for proving me wrong, with the title songs achieving such impressive success and outperforming most other title music, and it’s at the top of the polls in most websites and arts newpapers.” She added that her happiness was doubled when one of the two songs was used during the June 30 demonstration that led to the ousting of former president Mohammed Morsi, which the star described as a proud moment. On the subject of the long time that has passed since her last album, Maher explained she is not the kind of singer who rushes to release records, saying she is very careful about which songs to include. Her last album, Aref Menen (How Could I Know), took about three years to complete, she said, adding that its success has prompted her to take care to ensure her new release is of the same standard. The star said no release date had been set for the new record, but she’d like it to be in stores by Eid al-Adha (expected mid-October), adding that she hopes the crisis in Egypt will be over by then. “It’s not easy to sing while people are killed every day in the country,” she said. Turning to her supposed rivalry with Egyptian superstar Amr Diab, Maher said: “I have not determined my album release date so far and I don’t think Diab has either. But a good album will succeed regardless of the release date. My last album was released at the same time as Diab’s and was very successful - because you can’t compare me with Amr Diab.” As for what listeners can expect from her upcoming release, the vocalist said: “Just like my previous albums, there will be variety and a mixture of dramatic, sad songs and fast ones, but with a focus on the first.” Amal Maher has released three albums to date: Fee Geer Alzeman, Isalni Ana (Ask Me), and Aref Menen (How Could I Know).