Worldwide magazine, Forbes, just announced their top 10 most influential singers in the Middle East, and four of them are, unsurprisingly, Lebanese.
The rankings were determined upon three criteria: the singer’s social media accounts, which should count over 3 Million Instagram followers, the length of their showbiz career, and their influential activities outside of their domain.
Nancy Ajram
Ranking second on the list after Egyptian singer Amr Diab, Lebanese sweetheart Nancy Ajram takes the lead between the four Lebanese singers, and the lead among all in regards to social media followers.
Nancy counts 48.14M followers, followed by Elissa 43.48M followers, while Amr Diab counts 30.26M followers.
Nancy kickstarted her career at an early age, appearing on several TV shows and landing a recording contract with EMI at just 15 years old.
In October 2009, Unicef announced Ajram as their first female regional ambassador for the Middle East and North Africa. Aside from her position, Nancy recorded several songs for charity and partook in charity balls.
Elissa
Ranked 2nd after Nancy, Lebanese singer Elissa is the 3rd most influential singer in the Middle-East according to Forbes.
Elissa graduated with a degree in Political Science yet went for a career in show business in 1992, becoming a successful widely loved singer in Lebanon as in the region.
Her charity works are derived from her personal battle with breast cancer. In the late-2017, she released a music video Ila Kol Elli Bihebbouni (To all those who love me), revealing her survival from the illness, shocking and inspiring her 43.48 Million Instagram followers.
Najwa Karam
Ranked 5th in Forbes’ list after the widely loved Iraqi singer Kadim El-Saher, Najwa Karam is the 3rd Lebanese singer who made it into Forbes’ list. Her total number of social media followers amounts to 26.58 Million.
Najwa rose to fame ever since the 1990s and became known for her own style, which includes introducing the Lebanese dialect into her songs.
The singer, who also became one of Lebanon’s fashion icons, earned herself many awards, including the key to Chicago City in 1996.
Ragheb Alama
Ragheb Alama ranked #9 following Assala Nasri and Ahlam Alshamsi, with his social media accounts totaling 13.05 Million followers.
Ragheb Alama introduced new ideas into the regional music being the first singer to film a music video in the Middle East.
He was a judge in both the Arab Idol and The X Factor and participated in OHM Live 24-hour live stream charity alongside Dua Lipa back in May to raise funds for global COVID-19 relief.
