Najwa Karam (Arabic: ???? ???? Lebanese pronunciation: ['na?wa 'ka?am], born 26 February 1966) is a Lebanese multi-Platinum singer, songwriter, and fashion icon who has sold over 80 million albums worldwide witch makes her the best selling female recording artist in the Middle East.
Karam, widely known for her vocal powerhouse Mawwal talents, gained an international audience for her distinct blend of traditional Lebanese music and contemporary sounds and contributed to the spread of the Lebanese dialect in Arabic Music.
In 2011, Karam debuted as a judge on the reality competition television series, Arabs Got Talent; she has since appeared on all six of its seasons.
As one of the highest selling Arabic language singers, Karam holds the records for highest selling Arabic language album during the years of 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2008.
2011.
In 2017, Forbes Middle East ranked Karam number 5 on the list of "The Top 100 Arab Celebrities" with 26.58 million social media followers.
Karam rose to stardom throughout the 1990s, earning the moniker, Shams el-Ghinnieh ("The Sun of Song"), from her eponymous album and topping the charts throughout the Arab World with her albums, Naghmet Hob, Ma Bassmahlak, Maghroumeh, and Rouh Rouhi.
In 2000, Karam's tenth album Oyoun Qalbi became her highest selling album.
In 2001 her album Nedmaneh sold millions of copies worldwide, earning Karam a Murex d'Or award for Best Arabic Artist and Rotana Records awards including, Artist of the Year, Album of the Year, and Highest-Selling Album of the Year.
In late 2002, Karam began meeting with the Lebanese "tarab" star, Wadih el Safi.
The two of them decided to make a duet together, depicting the trials of a father-daughter relationship.
The song was titled W Kberna (We grow old together).
By the time her record Saharni was released in 2003, she had established herself as one of the most prominent Lebanese singers and as a Middle Eastern pop icon.
Throughout the late 2000s, Karam's commercial success endured via her albums, Hayda Haki, Am Bemzah Ma'ak, and Khallini Shoufak.
Karam frequently worked with the renowned musician and composer Melhem Barakat and has collaborated with the legendary singer, Wadih el Safi on their critically acclaimed 2004 duet titled, W Kberna ("We Grow Old Together").
In 2011, Karam collaborated with Sony Entertainment and Rotana to produce the Arab World's first 3D music video for her song, "MaFi Noum" from her record Hal Layle...
Ma Fi Nom.
Karam has since released well-received singles and music videos and has continued touring throughout the Arab World and internationally.Karam's 20th and most recent studio album to date, Menni Elak, was released in May 2017.
Karam remains one of Rotana's most prominent artists.
On the Amazon World Music site, the album hit the list of the best-selling albums in German, American and British versions.
On 21 and 25 June, the songs of the album were broadcast as the first Arabic album on the international British Radio "FM 1 FM" in London, following a poll on Twitter.
The song "Ah mnel Gharam" from the album, was nominated for the 2017 XLIII Universal Music Award in Spain, while "Habibi Min" got the fifth place in the voting finals that lasted more than 8 months.
All 8 songs of the album were entered in the list of "The Hot 100 songs" on Fazboard Iran.
And after 11 months, "Habibi Min", another song from the album, was ranked number 1 on iTunes Uzbekistan.