Review by Sonia Caballero

The short: 

With a voice to combat the violence of the Lebanese civil war and send a message of love and peace to the Middle East, Fairuz is the biggest contributor to the golden era of Arabic music alive today.

The long: 

Nouhad Wadie' Haddad (November 20, 1934), known as Fairuz (فيروز) is the Arab world's most listened-to singer. Her patriotic, romantic and melancholic lyrics are considered to have shaped the Lebanese identity, since her career started right after the independence from France and continued during the atrocious civil war (1975-1990), where Lebanese citizens devoted to different religions confronted each other. However, Fairuz’s music remained, and continues today, as a symbol of unity, becoming “the soul of Lebanon” for everybody in the country. It is more common than what you expect to take a taxi in any place from Tripoli in the north to Sidon in the south and be listening to Fairuz’s “Kifak Inta” or “Bahebek Ya Lebnan” on the radio. Fairuz’s love and nostalgic songs spread all over the Arab world specially during the golden era of Arabic music in the decade of 1950-1960, when she performed non-stop in various capitals, like Damascus, Amman, Cairo, Algiers, Tunis, and Rabat. In her career, Fairuz has recorded nearly 1500 songs, being one of the best-selling singers in the world.

To listen or not to listen:

Fairuz will probably be the first name that you may hear if you set foot in the Arab world, so yes! YES! But, if you are looking for the most local experience, follow this tip: Fairuz for breakfast and Umm Kulthum for dinner!