Singer Etab

Sofia · 10-15-2007, 11:58 AM

Etab was very popular in 1980 until about 1991 or so. Then she seemed to disappear - does anybody know what happened to her. Is she still singing, where?

Aisha Azar · 10-15-2007, 01:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sofia

Etab was very popular in 1980 until about 1991 or so. Then she seemed to disappear - does anybody know what happened to her. Is she still singing, where?

Dear Sofia,
Weeya danneh weeyah danneh, weeyah danneh weeya danneh, weea danneh weyah danneh, aylashannah aylashannah!!! ( The opening to my favorite song by her!!)
Etab was incredibly popular for a very long time. I will try to find out if anyone knows where she is now. She was one of my favorite singers. Do you know her history?
Just in case some of the people in the forum do not, Etab was born a slave in Saudi Arabia and she, like all other slaves was freed in the late 60s. (I think the year was 1968.) Etab had a beautiful voice and eventually became famous, and she moved to Egypt. She had this pretty strange television show, which Hallah Moustafa used to call "Arabs in Space". It was Etab and bunch of other people and they would go around the universe in their space ship and everywhere they went, people were singing and dancing Khaliji!! We adored the show and one of our friends used to let us watch his videos of it.
We were told that she used to return to Saudi Arabia to sing for weddings and things like that, and that she considered it to be her real home, had no hard feelings about the slavery issue. ( But... they also paid her outrageous amounts of riyals to show up and sing!!!!!!!!)
Regards,
A'isha

Mark_Balahadia · 10-15-2007, 06:31 PM

Often times, celebrities will disppear "in the mist" after they have enough stardom. I'm sure she just wanted to live a nice, quiet life of luxury (aka living on a huge hill of riyals) in the Gulf somewhere. I want to do that

Sofia · 10-16-2007, 07:40 AM

Thanks for your answers.
A'isha, funny I had heard the story quite differently: Etab was somehow connected with the royal family and they dissapproved her singing/performing (with dancing) in public. What I know is, that she owned a night club in Egypt. Through the Kuwaiti grapevine I had heard in those days that she was connected with an Egyptian (which certainly met great disapproval...).
Some rumors said then that she was shut-up - what ever that should be.
So I have just wondered after comming accros some of her old songs.
I admired her a lot and by the way I did see this freaky "Arabs in Space" thing.
Well, thanks, maybe your version comes closer to truth - people like to talk so much. And maybe we are able to find out more.

Aisha Azar · 10-16-2007, 01:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sofia

Thanks for your answers.
A'isha, funny I had heard the story quite differently: Etab was somehow connected with the royal family and they dissapproved her singing/performing (with dancing) in public. What I know is, that she owned a night club in Egypt. Through the Kuwaiti grapevine I had heard in those days that she was connected with an Egyptian (which certainly met great disapproval...).
Some rumors said then that she was shut-up - what ever that should be.
So I have just wondered after comming accros some of her old songs.
I admired her a lot and by the way I did see this freaky "Arabs in Space" thing.
Well, thanks, maybe your version comes closer to truth - people like to talk so much. And maybe we are able to find out more.

Dear Sofia,
I am not sure whether or not this would make a difference in the truth factor, but I heard this from Saud Al-Assaf, who's aunt was married to King Fahd of Saudi Arabia. ( There is no "queen" there. The king's wives are referred to as Princess.) He told me they used to hire Etab to come back to sing for royal weddings and that she and Rebab were favorites. She sang at his sister's wedding, if I remember correctly. I trust Saud's word, but then, maybe I am being naive. We talked about them because Rebab is one of my favorite singers.
Regards,
A'isha

Lydia dubai · 10-16-2007, 05:24 PM

She used to come a lot to The Uae ..i did perform with her aswell that time...i tell you beside singing ,this lady can dance!!! she moves just so cool,KHALEEGY i have nobody seen doing it better then her,Beside that she was the sweetest person to work with ...not a snob at all just sweet.
I dont know what hapened to her i only heard she got married...At that time the rumor was going she could never go back to saoedy because she became a singer ....she was living in Egypt that time....tums up for this lady she was from saoedy and the first one that hade the curage to go and sing in publick ,so for me she is the coolest Lydia

Aisha Azar · 10-16-2007, 08:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lydia dubai

She used to come a lot to The Uae ..i did perform with her aswell that time...i tell you beside singing ,this lady can dance!!! she moves just so cool,KHALEEGY i have nobody seen doing it better then her,Beside that she was the sweetest person to work with ...not a snob at all just sweet.
I dont know what hapened to her i only heard she got married...At that time the rumor was going she could never go back to saoedy because she became a singer ....she was living in Egypt that time....tums up for this lady she was from saoedy and the first one that hade the curage to go and sing in publick ,so for me she is the coolest Lydia

Dear Lydia,
Yes her show showed how well she could dance Samri and she did it with short hair! I do know for that she did return to Saudi Arabia to sing at some pretty important weddings... but then the royal family there is well known for talking one talk and walking a different walk, if you know what I mean. However, the story is just a little bit odd when we look at the whole picture. There are female singers who are very respected by Saudis and she is just one of them.
Regards,
A'isha

gypsy8522 · 10-17-2007, 07:06 AM

Etab passed away on August 19th after a long suffering of liver cancer. She was 66 years old. I don't know about her being born a slave, since Islam clearly forbids slavery in the Qura'an, Saudis would never admit it out in the open that they owned slaves. She was banned from Saudi Arabia for several reasons, one of them was her being a singer, the other was that she was married to an Egyptian. I am not sure about the second one and it could be a rumor, especially since Etab does not come from an Arabian tribe. Saudi Arabia is a tribal society and Saudis don't allow any outsider to get amongst them. Therefore, women who marry non Saudi men automatically lose their citizinship rights. This law applies to the entire Gulf region. The reason they came out with such a law is when the oil was discovered in their coutries and after they became rich, they began to believe that anyone who wants to marry one of them is into the money only. In Etab's case, this proved to be true. She did own a nightclub in Egypt which carried her name "Etab", it was managed by her ex husband (who was also her manager at the time) and she owned a studio, a cinema, a 700 seat movie theater and several other businesses. Etab met her husband while he was woking as an employee at the Ministry of Media in Kuwait. They were married for thirty years until recently. After the divorce, she filed a suit against him for stealing over 35 million Egyptian pounds from her. Although her career didn't last long, she was the first female singer to break into mainstream Arabic music after she had introduced the Saudi arts to the rest of the Arab world. She was very respected by Saudis and Egyptians alike, the same way most female performers were during that time... and so unlike most of the female performers nowadays! This was mainly because she always respected herself and the audience.

Lydia dubai · 10-17-2007, 07:38 AM

Hi Gypsy,that is terrible news...and a big loss...I did not know she passed away...she was a sweet person and she was still to young to go
I realy liked her...and specialy because her strong personality
She knew she could never go back home and would be banned if she would become a singer,but she did not care and just followed her dream..what a loss for the artist world she was truely respected and loved al over the arab world especialy in the gulf

Sofia · 10-17-2007, 09:24 AM

Hi Gypsy,
thanks for the information although it was rather unpleasant news. I am very touched since I admired her a lot.

10-15-2007, 11:58 AM	#1 (permalink)
Sofia Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Europe Posts: 53	Singer Etab Etab was very popular in 1980 until about 1991 or so. Then she seemed to disappear - does anybody know what happened to her. Is she still singing, where?

10-15-2007, 06:31 PM	#3 (permalink)
Mark_Balahadia Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: balad ra'eesa Posts: 204	Often times, celebrities will disppear "in the mist" after they have enough stardom. I'm sure she just wanted to live a nice, quiet life of luxury (aka living on a huge hill of riyals) in the Gulf somewhere. I want to do that __________________ badde 3eish!!! www.markbalahadia.com

10-17-2007, 07:06 AM	#8 (permalink)
gypsy8522 Moderator Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 558	Etab passed away on August 19th after a long suffering of liver cancer. She was 66 years old. I don't know about her being born a slave, since Islam clearly forbids slavery in the Qura'an, Saudis would never admit it out in the open that they owned slaves. She was banned from Saudi Arabia for several reasons, one of them was her being a singer, the other was that she was married to an Egyptian. I am not sure about the second one and it could be a rumor, especially since Etab does not come from an Arabian tribe. Saudi Arabia is a tribal society and Saudis don't allow any outsider to get amongst them. Therefore, women who marry non Saudi men automatically lose their citizinship rights. This law applies to the entire Gulf region. The reason they came out with such a law is when the oil was discovered in their coutries and after they became rich, they began to believe that anyone who wants to marry one of them is into the money only. In Etab's case, this proved to be true. She did own a nightclub in Egypt which carried her name "Etab", it was managed by her ex husband (who was also her manager at the time) and she owned a studio, a cinema, a 700 seat movie theater and several other businesses. Etab met her husband while he was woking as an employee at the Ministry of Media in Kuwait. They were married for thirty years until recently. After the divorce, she filed a suit against him for stealing over 35 million Egyptian pounds from her. Although her career didn't last long, she was the first female singer to break into mainstream Arabic music after she had introduced the Saudi arts to the rest of the Arab world. She was very respected by Saudis and Egyptians alike, the same way most female performers were during that time... and so unlike most of the female performers nowadays! This was mainly because she always respected herself and the audience. Last edited by gypsy8522; 10-17-2007 at 07:38 AM.

10-16-2007, 07:40 AM	#4 (permalink)
Sofia Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Europe Posts: 53	Thanks for your answers. A'isha, funny I had heard the story quite differently: Etab was somehow connected with the royal family and they dissapproved her singing/performing (with dancing) in public. What I know is, that she owned a night club in Egypt. Through the Kuwaiti grapevine I had heard in those days that she was connected with an Egyptian (which certainly met great disapproval...). Some rumors said then that she was shut-up - what ever that should be. So I have just wondered after comming accros some of her old songs. I admired her a lot and by the way I did see this freaky "Arabs in Space" thing. Well, thanks, maybe your version comes closer to truth - people like to talk so much. And maybe we are able to find out more.

10-16-2007, 05:24 PM	#6 (permalink)
Lydia dubai V.I.P. Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Dubai United arab emirates Posts: 1,338	She used to come a lot to The Uae ..i did perform with her aswell that time...i tell you beside singing ,this lady can dance!!! she moves just so cool,KHALEEGY i have nobody seen doing it better then her,Beside that she was the sweetest person to work with ...not a snob at all just sweet. I dont know what hapened to her i only heard she got married...At that time the rumor was going she could never go back to saoedy because she became a singer ....she was living in Egypt that time....tums up for this lady she was from saoedy and the first one that hade the curage to go and sing in publick ,so for me she is the coolest Lydia

10-17-2007, 07:38 AM	#9 (permalink)
Lydia dubai V.I.P. Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Dubai United arab emirates Posts: 1,338	Hi Gypsy,that is terrible news...and a big loss...I did not know she passed away...she was a sweet person and she was still to young to go I realy liked her...and specialy because her strong personality She knew she could never go back home and would be banned if she would become a singer,but she did not care and just followed her dream..what a loss for the artist world she was truely respected and loved al over the arab world especialy in the gulf

10-17-2007, 09:24 AM	#10 (permalink)
Sofia Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Europe Posts: 53	Hi Gypsy, thanks for the information although it was rather unpleasant news. I am very touched since I admired her a lot.