Forbes Middle East reveals Arab Celebrity 100 list

Amr Diab. Courtesy of Al Ittihad

Forbes Middle East released their first top 100 list for Arabic celebrities and it proves that music is king. From the list, 51 are musicians, 37 are actors, 11 are television and one a composer. Three Emiratis also cracked the top 100.

Based on the length of time in the industry, their influence on pop culture and social media following, the Egyptian singer Amr Diab came first followed by pop star Nancy Ajram and her fellow Lebanese singer Elissa.

Iraqi crooner Kadim Al Saher came fourth with Lebanese music diva and fashion icon Najwa Karam rounding out the top 5.

When it comes to local talent, Emirati singer and television personality Ahlam Al Shamsi came in at number eight, followed by singer Hussain Al Jasmi at 18 and the much loved sports commentator Faris Awad at 98.

The most popular actor is the comic and Arabs Got Talent judge Ahmed Helmy who came in at 11, followed by fellow Egyptian Ahmed Al Sakka who came in at 17.

On the presenting front, notorious television prankster Ramez Galal came in at 35, with Syria’s Mustafa Agha at 48 and Saudi Arabia’s Laojain Omran at 55.

The sole composer to make the list is Egypt's Hassan El Shafei at 25, no doubt this was propelled by his television gig as a judge on Arab Idol.

The list also illustrates that Egypt remains the region’s cultural leader with 46 entrants. This was followed by Lebanon with 24, Syria with 8, Saudi Arabia (5), Morocco and Tunisia (4 each), UAE (3), Jordan (2) and Algeria, Iraq, Palestine and Yemen all having one personality each on the list.

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