CAIRO - More than three-and-a-half years ago, I attended a Christmas concert given by soprano Neveen Allouba and her students. One of them sang Mariah Carey's ‘All I want for Christmas Is You'. Of course choosing a Mariah song is a challenge, so I expected to be greatly disappointed, but when that young lady started singing I was very impressed. She was perfect in every way and since then the name Nesma Mahgoub has been carved into my mind. Now she is 22 and a lot has happened in a relatively short time. Her reputation precedes her everywhere and I've even heard a lot about her from an Algerian friend, singer Sofian Benfarhat, who told me that she has many fans in that area of the Arab world. I can tell that Nesma has a really strong character, yet she is very modest. She is also highly confident but quite cautious not to cross any lines. Finally, she is blunt but very decent. If you have heard of Nesma then you might know that she is the winner of last year's prestigious Star Academy and, if you haven't heard her singing, then you have missed a lot. I met her in April at the ‘Sing Egyptian Women' closing ceremony, where she was a guest star and sang three songs, each in a totally different style and excelled in all of them. I know it's a long introduction, but I don't meet such gifted artists every day. I think I still have some space for her to say “hi" or something... Tell us your story Nesma and make it short, because I've used most of the space to explain how talented you are. At the age of five I started playing the keyboard at home. My mother got me a teacher and we were also taking music lessons at school. I went on and off with the private lessons, then, when I was 10, another pupil was supposed to sing a number in a concert organised by our school, but she couldn't read the writing, because of the style it was written in. I was asked to read it and, when I did so, the music teacher decided that I was the one to sing it. I did and the concert was held in the Main Hall of the Cairo Opera House. Although it was a worrying experience, I didn't care that much because I was just doing what I loved and didn't consider it as a profession. My mother is a flight attendant and my father is a movie director, and both were out of the country on that day. When my mom returned, my grandma told her that I was really good and people loved me. She also heard the same from the mother of another pupil. Naturally, mom was interested in listening to me and, when she did so, she realised that this should be taken seriously. She asked around and finally enrolled me in Maestro Selim Sehab's Children Choir at the Cairo Opera House. Studying got harder so I had to stop participating, but I never lost interest in music. I used to sing at home with the piano. As for Arabic singing, I had a private music tutor at home, oud player Sayyed Mansour, who taught me a lot. Through my school I participated in competitions in Germany and won the First Prize twice. The first time the competition was dedicated to musicals. Our singing, acting and dancing were evaluated and I got full marks. The second time was about pop singing numbers by artists like Stevie Wonder and Mariah Carey. I, of course, have now finished school and I'm currently studying music and theatre at the American University in Cairo, from where I will graduate next year. But I'm still allowed to participate in that competition until I reach the age of 27. I would like very much to do so again. They teach us how to stand properly on stage, how to move and even how to open our mouths. It's quite educational and helps me in so many ways. I also miss the amazing and professional atmosphere. Despite their talent, it wouldn't be fair to have a professional like yourself competing with beginners. It's an opera competition and those artists so talented that one would think they were fulltime professionals, not contenders. I think of them as ‘professional amateurs' and, based on the points I get, I rank myself and know where I stand compared to Europeans. When I won the First Prize an article was written about how Egyptians conquered Germany. We played their own game on their ground and we won. As an Egyptian this makes me very proud. I know you sing different styles in an amazing way, but still I was surprised when Sofian told me he saw you singing an Indian song on TV! Yes, but I didn't study that. Our house is very Indian-oriented. The entire family from both sides loves Indian movies, which I enjoy watching more than movies made anywhere else. We love their art and sincere acting. My mother was watching Indian movies before I was born so I have got used to that and learned the language without studying it and now we don't need subtitles. That song was on Asala's show and I sang it with another singer called Belqeis, who lives in Abu Dhabi where many Indians live. She has a very beautiful voice and frankly I was surprised she sang in Indian I had never seen an Arab doing so before, so I was very happy and joined her although I'd never heard the song before. Tell us your Star Academy story. A singer friend of mine called Mustafa wanted to participate in Star Academy but was unable finish his military papers in time, so he couldn't participate although he was accepted. Back then I wasn't familiar with the show, never having watched a single episode, but I encouraged him. At the same time I received a call from a university colleague Mahmoud Shokry whom I hardly knew. He had participated in the previous season of Star Academy and was then in a car crash with Lebanese singer Ramy Shmali, who died as a result. Mahmoud was having surgery at the time and I was touched that he was trying hard to persuade me to participate as well. He kept calling may be five times a day for three weeks until I thought I'd watch parts from the previous seasons on YouTube. When I did, I was impressed by the atmosphere, stage, choreography, stage setting, everything. So I decided to give it a shot. Ironically, it wasn't Mahmoud but someone who claimed he was! He had a Facebook account pretending to be Mahmoud and he asked me to send him an iPod, which I did and I believe he has pulled similar tricks on others as well. So because of a fraud I applied, was accepted and won. All contestants had good voices, but those who could come up with some kind of a show had more potential. They were also nice people and I'm still in touch with some of them. What have you done since then? So much has happened and hopefully should happen this year, which has seen the release of my first song for this year's Olympics, ‘Matkhaleesh Haga Tetwa'afak' [Don't Let Anything Stop You]. It was sponsored by a cell phone network company and used for the TV show ‘El-Reyada El-Yom' [Sports Today] on Dream TV. Also, my song ‘Lazem Tetghaiar' [You Have to Change] was used on the last episode of Egyptian-Lebanese serial ‘Ruby', starring actress/singer Sherine Abdel-Nour. It was used for the finale. In addition to that, I released a prayer for Ramadan called ‘Getlak Ya Rubb' [I Turn to You, oh Lord]. Finally, of course, there was my debut album. We need to know more details please. My participation in Star Academy got me noticed by many in the field, so, after returning, I recorded my debut album ‘Hatqolli Eh?' [What Will You Tell Me?]. It includes 12 tracks 10 Egyptian numbers, an English one and a Gulf song. All of them are originals except the old Asmahan classic ‘Ya Teyoor' [Oh Birds], which was especially rearranged. The album was financed by my father and was released on the 30th August. I have to say that I really like you album, especially the title track and English song, ‘Life Won't End'. The variety is really impressive. I also sing Oriental metal. Mustafa and I are the vocalists for the band Origin. I still appear with the band as a guest. We perform Arabic and English numbers and although it's metal we have instruments like the oud [lute], percussions and a violin to add an Oriental flavor. Anyway, I am interested in the feedback of people, so I can know what they like most. I do care because, as a performer, I frankly want to achieve international status. I feel I have something to offer and I know I can perform various styles, and I wish to reach that stage. That's the spirit. It would be well deserved as well. It seems like you're having a hectic year, but you still have a lot of work ahead to promote the album. Any plans to do this? I am doing whatever I can and that includes concerts. The first one will be at MUST Opera House on the 27th September. But how will people know about your news? “They are welcome to visit Nesma Mahgoub's official page on Facebook and then they will receive all my news and updates. Anything else you want to add? I would like to thank God for everyone who has helped me, especially my parents without whom I wouldn't have been where I am today. I also want to thank my sister, good friends and everyone who has supported me. Last but not least, Dr Neveen Allouba and Frau Schuermann, my music teacher in the German school [DEO]. She encouraged me to enter competitions and also introduced me to Dr Neveen. Well said Nesma. Ladies and gentlemen, we have just given you someone who I think deserves to be exceptionally successful. Send me songs by Nesma to: [email protected]
