Category: Lebanon

Aline Lahoud A Brilliant Female Vocalist

February 19, 2014

By Mihran Kalaydjian, CHA

Consultant, Strategist, and Writer

Amazing performance by Lebanese singer Aline Lahoud.

Image

Aline Lahoud is a Lebanese singer and the daughter of well-known singer Salwa Al Katrib and producer Nahi Lahoud. She was selected to sing for Lebanon at the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 in Kiev, where the nation had been due to make its debut in the competition. However, Lebanon abruptly withdrew from the contest.

Not only can young artist Aline Lahoud sing in several different languages, she has also proven herself as an actress. Between 1997 and 1999, Aline studied singing and dramatic art. By 2002, she had graduated from university with a BA in Communication Arts, majoring in Screenplay and Directing Studies. She supplemented her singing career by acting in plays and directing short films. In 2003 she worked as assistant director on a full length film, Mes Cousines et Moi.

Aline Lahoud is to take part in a talent show in France, but she is no stranger to the public. She was the artist that the Lebanese broadcaster Télé Liban has chosen to represent the country in its planned debut in the 2005 Eurovision Song Contest. The country had announced Aline’s participation with Quand tout s’enfuit on 3 November 2004. After a withdrawal due to financial constraints and a new confirmation of participation, Télé Liban confirmed withdrawal alleging that the it was not permitted to broadcast the performance of the Israeli participant, thereby breaching the rules of the Eurovision Song Contest 2005.

She won the international prize at the Megahit festival in Turkey, in collaboration with prolific songwriter Jad Rahbani. The Lebanese selectors looked towards recreating the same winning combination on the Eurovision 2005 stage in Kiev.

Image

It seems I was the last to know that a Lebanese would be competing again on France’s The Voice, but I daresay the Lebanese candidate this year is probably the best so far with Salwa el Katrib’s daughter, Aline Lahoud. Lebanese people were surprised that she sang a song they all knew, in her mother tongue. French people were bewitched by her good looks and charisma.

The judges were all fighting to get ahold of her. She ended up choosing Florent Pagny, contrary to what everyone expected her to do by going with Mika, who’s of Lebanese origins. I guess it was a big risk for her to sing a style that none of the judges was familiar with, in a language that they didn’t understand, but it paid off big time with her as Aline Lahoud’s audition quickly became the most discussed The Voice audition this year with about 5000 tweets/minute.

Amazing performance by an amazing star. Aline Lahoud enchanted the Jury of The Voice France. WOW

Image

Armenians in Lebanon Waving Goodbye to Half Our Language

February 9, 2014

By Mihran Kalaydjian, CHA

Armenians in Lebanon Waving Goodbye to Half Our Language

Image

I’ve been reminded of a sad situation twice in recent weeks.  We may soon preside over the death of Western Armenian, handing Talaat and Ataturk yet another murderous victory.

Some three years ago, a friend mentioned seeing Western Armenian on a U.N. list of endangered languages.  More recently, another friend e-mailed the link to a site that showed decreasing use of Western Armenian.

Then, I had a conversation with one of the best versed “young” people (40-something) in the language.  This friend remarked that facility with Western Armenian was becoming more significantly decreased through disuse.  This was not solely a reference to others, but to the situation on that person’s own life.

But the clincher, the one that really hurt, was a comment from a good friend of my parents … this is my go-to source of new (to me) words.  It was really bone chilling: “Don’t waste your time trying to save Western Armenian, it’s over”.  Given the source, this was really shocking.

No doubt some will take great pleasure in observing the irony of addressing this issue in English.  But that’s part of our problem, the overwhelming presence of the Diaspora’s host countries’ languages.  It leads to disuse of our own language.  Given that the segment of our nation that was subjected to Genocide and now lives in dispersion was/is the Western Armenian speaking one, it is that half of our language and all its innate wealth that will succumb.

I a twist of positive irony, a glimmer of hope may be coming from those Armenians who have lived underground within Turkey’s borders for the last three generations.  If their process of rediscovering the fullness of their Armenian roots really takes hold, they will become the new and long-term speakers of Western Armenian

Regardless, I’m a bit too stubborn to accept this looming defeat and invite you to join me in maintaining and even building on what we have.  Let’s speak it, write it, and most importantly, teach it to all our Western Armenian compatriots.

                        “There is risk and truth to yourselves and the world before you. ”