The age of Ajram

We cross the border to Jordan in a temperature of 100 degrees with dozens of fans of the Lebanese singer, Nancy Ajram, the Arab music world's princess. Ajram is scheduled to appear at the Jerash Festival. Photo: Merav Yudilovitch. Editor: Tami Avraham If you ask music critics, they'll tell you that this is the "age of Ajram." At 24, four years after her breakthrough with the song "Akhasmak Ah" (I'm not talking to you) that revolutionized the Arab popular music scene, Ajram is the hottest name around. The Jerash Festival, which includes a performance from Ajram, is taking place for the third time. Launched in 1981 by Jordan's Queen Noor, the festival aims to encourage an interaction between Arab cultural figures and foreign cultures. It quickly became a success and its seminars and poetry-reading nights have become an inseparable part of the contemporary literature scene. The festival gained worldwide acclaim with tens of thousands visitors attending the month-long event at Greco-Roman city of Jerash, (30 km. north of Amman). Althought there is no official data, the number of Israeli Arabs who travel to the festival is estimated at 3,000. Arab music's princess (Photo: Muhammad El Shayeb, 'Kul al-Arab') The taxi driver who took a group of Jewish and Arab reporters from Israel to the hotel in Amman was confused. "So, you are Jewish Muslims?" he asked. In a black-and-white world, good and evil, the Israeli reality blurs simplistic definitions. At Ajram's press conference, the cameras kept flashing. Ajram sat relaxed, patiently answering questions about her private life. Yet organizers were caught unprepared when Smadar Peri, an Israeli journalist from Yedioth Ahronoth, asked Ajram to say something for her fans in Israel. Ajram decided to ignore the question and Peri was escorted out of the press conference. Details of the incident quickly spread and reporters began looking for the bold Israeli journalist. One of the Arab reporters said: "Ajram is a Lebanese singer who was in Beirut during the war last summer. The question was offensive." Others claimed the event was taken out of proportion. Internet website that published a report about the press conference received many talkbacks. "People must understand not all Israelis are bad," one of the comments said. Another wrote: "Ajram should have answered Peri and said that as a Lebanese she will not sing to Israelis who support the actions of the Zionist government." Yet by choosing to disregard the question, Ajram turned herself into the sweetheart of Jordan. The singer, who was widely criticized in the past for appearing in a Coca Cola campaign, has previously been boycotted by the Kuwaiti government, provoking a fiery discussion about the influence her music has on Muslim moral and modesty. $2 million campaign for Coke (Photo: Merav Yudilovitch) The audience at the show was mixed: Women in veils were next to teens in T-shirts with American companies' logos. Men in traditional Arab garb sat next to others in suits or jeans. Ajram worked her magic on all of them. Her childish charm caused the crowd to go wild, they joined her in singing the words to her hits "Shater Shater" and "Ah Unus" (Yes and a-half) – a single that sold millions of copies worldwide. Audience (Photo: Muhammad El Shayeb, 'Kul al-Arab') The audience at Jerash looked exactly like the one filling the Caesarea amphitheater for Shlomo Artzi's shows. "Initially, people couldn't figure her out because of her daring combination of East and West, but she proved she's the people's singer," said reporter Shadi Bilan. He meant that Ajram's success goes beyond sales, interviews and sponsorships. Ajram brings together the split Arab society. Perhaps that is the power of culture.

The age of Ajram

24 year-old Nancy Ajram has changesd the Arab music industry and proves that Pop and Coke are not curse words. We watched the Lebanese phenomenon on stage in Jordan