Tamer Hosny has landed in Abu Dhabi to film two music videos – and he says planes will feature prominently in one of them.
"There will be planes. There will definitely be planes," says the Egyptian singer and actor, who recently wrapped up his first stint as celebrity judge on the first season of the Arabic, MBC-sponsored talent competition The Voice Kids. Over the next few days, a few scenes will also be filmed at St Regis Abu Dhabi.
“What floor did I just come from? The 48th? My ears are still popping. I can’t hear a thing,” says Hosny, speaking to The National soon after he checked into the hotel. “This place, it is gorgeous and so chic, with the most beautiful views, but the buildings sure are high around here.”
One of the videos is for his long-awaited eleventh album, yet untitled, following the success of 180 Daraga (180 Degrees) in 2014. The album, featuring 12 songs in the Egyptian dialect, will be released by Rotana during Eid Al Fitr. The other video, a self-produced project, focuses on the 15 kids he mentored on The Voice Kids. The first season, which concluded in March, saw Lynn Al Hayek, a 12-year-old from Lebanon, walk away with the top prize.
“This single with the children is not just about the finalists, but all the kids,” says Hosny. “Those who made it to the end, and those who didn’t. Because I promised them.”
Titled Lissa 'And Waa'di (I've kept my promise), the song will be released after Hosny's hotly anticipated new album. Besides Abu Dhabi, the video will features scenes shot in Egypt and Lebanon.
"I want to present these children to the world as stars, not as mere kids," he says. "Even though this is a song with kids, I want them at their best. This is art coming from the Arab world and hopefully reaching the entire world. Bringing Arab culture and talent to the world is important to Hosny. An artist with a wealth of international experience, he has collaborated on songs with Shaggy (Smile in 2012), Snoop Dogg (Si L Sayed in 2013) and Akon (Welcome to the Life in 2014), and is working on a new song with Pitbull.
“It pains me that we don’t cooperate with one another as Arab artists on songs, like Western artists do so easily,” says Hosny. “Why do we make it so difficult to work with one another on duets, or feature other Arab artists in our songs? I’ve never seen this with western musicians. It’s strange, really, we need to get over this mentality and just make music. It will be good for all our fans and all audiences. It has to happen.”
Will Hosny return as a judge on the second season of the hugely popular The Voice Kids??
“I definitely loved the experience, and I got so much out of it both personally and professionally,” says Hosny. “These kids meant a lot to me, but it was a very emotional rollercoaster, and it broke our hearts as judges to deal with these incredibly talented children, who were all so resilient and so gracious.
“I truly don’t know yet if I can do it again and if I will be back. Let’s wait and see. It was very hard, very stressful, and also very wonderful.
One thing he’s sure about, however, is the need for such programmes.
“These shows are a source of hope for children coming out of constant war and bloodshed and destruction. They want to see stories of hope and success, not the constant horrors of the wars they are living.
“Let them be ambitious, let them have dreams and plans – it’s good for them. Let us nurture these talents.
“The world needs to see how much talent we have as Arabs.”
artslife@thenational.ae