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CNN Live Saturday
Singer of Arab Descent Hopes to Make her Mark on U.S. Music Scene
Aired August 03, 2002 - 12:54 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Coming to a stage or a radio station near you, the sounds of a promising young songwriter and singer named Lamya. The songstress of Arab descent released her first solo album this week. For years, she has been on a campaign, though, of her own, trying to find a place as a Middle Easterner in the Western music industry.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(voice-over): Her name and voice foreign to most Americans. The music of Lamya Sultan Al-Megheiry.
LAMYA SULTAN AL-MEGHEIRY, SINGER: Sort of hip alt rock pop, I guess, with a bit of Middle Eastern thrown in.
WHITFIELD: Twenty-eight and blending Western and Middle Eastern sounds through her five-octave voice. And any one of five instruments she plays.
AL-MEGHEIRY: I am Arab, you know, within other cultures.
WHITFIELD: A citizen of Oman, a country of two million in the southeastern Arabic Peninsula, Lamya was born in Kenya. Educated in England and Egypt, she earned a degree in anthropology.
AL-MEGHEIRY: But the whole time I was planning on singing.
WHITFIELD: And coming to the U.S. to find a career like her idol, pop star Madonna. Even though such a sultry pursuit stands to upset Muslim fundamentalists back home.
AL-MEGHEIRY: You know, I had visions of becoming Salman Rushdi, you know.
WHITFIELD: Her parents, still living in Oman, supportive now, but not at first.
AL-MEGHEIRY: They didn't really think that that was a career for a young woman, a Muslim woman.
WHITFIELD: This Muslim woman got one of her first breaks in the Western recording industry in the '90s, singing back-up for Duran Duran. Last year, she caught the attention of J Records' head honcho, Clive Davis, responsible for recently hoisting to Grammy Award winning status Alicia Keyes and Santana. She admits, she's in good company, but still has moments of isolation.
AL-MEGHEIRY: When I was looking for, I guess, being in this business, not feeling so alone. (UNINTELLIGIBLE), because I think I'm more alone now than I've ever been.
WHITFIELD: Alone because her beat, her image, all tied to her roots in the Middle East, Europe and Africa. She hopes to fit into America's music world without losing herself and without having to explain all things Arab in this post-9/11 culture.
AL-MEGHEIRY: I think I have to be careful, because I wouldn't want to be a poster child or a spokesperson for that.
WHITFIELD: So far, it's Lamya's music, not her political views, in the spotlight.
AL-MEGHEIRY: I am actually really, really sort of like taken aback and thankful.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Now, in Europe promoting her album, "Learning From Falling," Lamya begins a U.S. tour of small clubs later this month.
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