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Bio
"We had a few close calls with bombs going off," recalls Nadina of her childhood growing up in war-torn Lebanon. "Wherever we drove, my parents made sure we didn't look outside the window because they didn't want us to have photographic images of the war in our heads. I know people died nearby in some instances. It was really hard at times."
Surrounded by war, danger, struggle, and hardship, Nadina both found and gave solace in music. Her father, who was a folkloric and ballet dancer, recognized her talent very early on and encouraged her to sing and dance, fostering a lifelong passion for the arts in the process. When she was five-years-old, Nadina became the youngest member of a traditional Lebanese choir.
In 1986, Nadina became the first child from Lebanon and the Arab world to ever participate at the Zecchino D'oro UNICEF festival in Italy. The contest required participants to perform a song of their choosing translated to Italian without any prior knowledge of the language. Delivering a powerful rendition of "Vola, Palombella" [Fly Bird of Peace] to a television audience of over 25 million worldwide, judges awarded the young singer a gold medal, and the song became something of an international phenomenon. Instantly, her voice stood out, and she swiftly embraced the stage at charity concerts and functions across her native Lebanon and Internationally.
"Lebanon was in the midst of civil war, and I got the chance to do something positive," she goes on. "I was able to unite people through music, and I realized there was a deep power inherent in that. I tried to utilize the spotlight to do good."
As her star continued to rise, Nadina opened and closed The Giffoni Film Festival—the European equivalent of The Academy Awards—merely a year later. Among the 10,000 attendees giving Nadina a standing ovation, an encounter with one audience member still sticks out for her.
She smiles, "Vanessa Redgrave actually asked for my autograph. She was so nice and complimentary. I still can't believe it to this day."
Shortly after, Nadina was handpicked to perform at the Banner of Peace Festival in Bulgaria where 150 countries met to promote world peace. Nadina's invigorating performance ignited a standing ovation, and ambassadors shook her hand one-by-one as she exited the stage.
However, in 1989, violence hit too close to home once and for all. After a truly terrifying encounter while coming back from a television interview, Nadina's parents decided that the family should relocate to Canada.
With the relocation, Nadina began to pursue another passion—swimming. She fractured her back at the age of thirteen but still managed to get her National standings. She was ranked third in British Columbia and top seven in Canada. After swimming five years with an injury, she retired. In 1997, she temporarily returned to the sport to represent Lebanon in the Pan-Arab Olympics, winning five bronze medals in the process.
Nadina turned her attention to coaching swimming, and also spent time as a computer programmer/web developer, but music always beckoned to her, just like it had when she was a child, so she once again began to create and cultivate original music fervently.
In 2008, Nadina passed a demo along to Nettwerk C.E.O. Terry McBride, and soon after, she joined the label's family. Her 2012 debut album encapsulates her story, diversity, and dynamic myriad of talents. Crafting a sound of her own, Nadina sings in
—English, Lebanese, Egyptian, and Classical Arabic on the record and distills a variety of textures and moods into her music.About her style, she comments, "It's an amalgamation of North American and Middle Eastern sounds. I wanted to merge classical Arabic strings/instruments and modern Western beats. I tried to bridge all of these styles so the music doesn't lean far one way or the other."
That combination comes to life in the record's first single, "Shou Baddou Yseer." Hypnotic strings entwine with airy, ethereal production for cinematic sonic bliss while Nadina's angelic vocals take hold. About the song, she elaborates, "The phrase 'Shou Baddou Yseer' basically means what is going to be will be. The song is about confidence and believing in yourself. You give all you can and allow nature to take its course. You let it out and leave it to the world. You accept and face the trials of life."
Another track, "Sorrows & Goodbyes," directly delves into Nadina’s childhood and the war surrounding her. It's an intense, yet invigorating track colored by the Nay flute and Nadina's vibrant lyrical storytelling as she croons, "Flashbacks of the war appear in dreams."
"It's about my experiences in the war," she reveals. "I wrote the song so it could apply to other people's experiences as well. It brings me back to that time, specifically when I could feel the bombing. When I'd perform back then, I could feel what was going on outside. The song also reflects on others who had to fight and how many people lost their loved ones."
From turmoil to love, the record traverses a scope of emotions as diverse as the soundscapes themselves. Never losing sight of both of her homes, Nadina will even release separate versions of the album worldwide.
Ultimately, Nadina crosses both cultural and aural barriers and creates something entirely her own with this debut. To celebrate this distinct background, the album will be released in two versions: English and Arabic.
"My life experiences have brought me to the point of getting this album out," concludes Nadina. "I've excelled in all of these different avenues, and they've made me a better person. They've also helped my music and writing. I'd love for people to appreciate and enjoy the music, and I hope it inspires. It's a milestone for me, and I'll cherish it forever."
Listeners undoubtedly will as well.
Bio written by Rick Florino
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- Check out my new song 'Sabotage' that was almost sabotaged! At www.nadina.tv #canttouchthis #sabotage
- Nadina: “Sabotage” – The Story I and Bakhos Alwan and Dolly Shahine had agreed that Dolly and I will do a duet together and that I am in charge of the song for this duet. I and two of my team, Christie Lee Smith and Amira Khalil wrote and composed the song “Sabotage” (in Egypt, reporters called it “comming together”) and during my conversation with Bakhos Alwan while I was in Canada, he insisted that I come from Canada to Egypt at the soonest possible time to shoot the music video for this song and that the music video for this song was very crucial. The agreement from when I was in Canada was that I contribute 50% of the music video fees for the duet “Sabotage” with an agreed budget of $20,000 USD total. That meant I pay $10,000 USD and the other party, which is Dolly Shahine, will put down $10,000 USD towards the music video and both of us will be co-producers. The agreed timeline that I needed to be in Egypt for was October 15, 2013 to December 8, 2013. Bakhos claimed that this was all the time needed to produce the video, get it on Mazzika, market and book performances. We arrived in Egypt on October 15 and my husband and I gave Bakhos Alwan, Dolly Shahine’s husband and director of the music video the $10,000 USD CASH that he asked for. He insisted from Canada that I pay him the $10,000 USD in cash. I had already asked him to prepare a receipt for me from Canada once I deliver the funds. I asked for the receipt once I gave him the money, he said he would have to get it for me when he goes to the office. For nearly 3 months, I had been asking him over and over and over for the receipt to which he just kept making excuses saying that he’ll get it for me the next time he goes to the office, even though every day he would claim he’s at the office and it was less than 15 minutes away from his home. On Dec 30 2013, he FINALLY scribbled on a piece of paper a $10,000 USD deposit, took a picture of it and sent it to me on Whatsapp. The first month was fruitful. We had a lot of preparations for the outfits (by Mahmoud Ghaly), the dance choreography (by Mohamad Sameh) and the building of the décor (by Waleed Gneady) so it’s understandable that the video might have taken up to a month of prep time. We finally shot the music video on November 27, 2013. The Naqaba came to the set. Bakhos told us not to say that he’s the director and also hid my husband in a back room until they left because he was a foreigner, he said. Bakhos told us that in the case they ask who the director is, we should say it is Mahmoud Rida. They even told me that in case they ask, I'm not the singer with Dolly for the duet, and that I'm actually just a model in the video. I thought the model part was very weird and I told them I didn’t want to lie about that. Not to mention the duet was all over the media! The Naqaba delivered a fine for 6500 Gineh. After a full day of work for the crew, the word was that the Executive Producer, Hashim Farahat, left the set to go home and sleep and took the money that he was supposed to be paying the crew with. That was around 4:00am November 28, 2013. The crew then began to protest and fight and refused to work any further before getting paid, and since they worked for long hours they were asking for time-and-a-half for their wages and they had not been paid a penny yet for their work. They continued to argue and protest for about 5 hours while Dolly and I waited in our boxing outfits waiting to see if filming would resume. Every time I left the room to find out what was going on, Bakhos or Ramy Ayoub (Red Sea Academy) would tell me to go back into the room and lock the door. Hashim ended up coming back to the set and Bakhos asked Ramy Ayoub to go to Bakhos’s house and get cash to pay the rest of the fees. They got paid only for their first day and all I know is that they packed everything up and left the set. From this moment on, Bakhos would say that he was trying to change the location without anyone knowing so the Naqaba wouldn’t come again to fine him. Also, that he was changing the crew from the previous one as he didn’t trust them because they will tell the Naqaba about him. In my attempt and dedication to the music video, on November 28, 2013 my husband and I changed our flight ticket to January 15, 2014 as Bakhos said he needed more time to complete the video. He kept pushing the second day of filming further and further back and would tell me to book a certain day for it and I would cancel engagements, interviews and/or appearances to accommodate and then he would cancel the last minute on me. It was the first time I’ve ever had to spend the holidays away from my family. Also, I regretfully had to cancel many appearances and the last one I cancelled was for the disabled because I was told we were filming on Monday January 13, 2013, two days before I was scheduled to fly home. After extending the stay in Egypt and specifically in December, Dolly Shahine sends me a ‘Tanazol’ to sign for the song. She wanted me to sign it in order to pass all my rights over to her. Again, the agreement from Canada was that we share the song as both of us are singing this duet and not only her. Why would I pass over all my rights in the song completely to her? I wrote and composed this song “Sabotage” with Christie Lee Smith and Amira Khalil. Dolly only added the Arabic lyrics in the song replacing what we already wrote in the English bridge. To be fair, I even registered “Sabotage (Arabic Version)” with SOCAN, BMI and SACEM with a small percentage for her contribution for the Arabic lyrics. She and Bakhos got so angry with me that I didn’t want to sign the Tanazol; she even threatened that because “[she] is Dolly Shahine”, she could “pay someone off to say that this is only [HER] song and that she created it [herself] and can find a fake witness”. She was adamant that she would get away with it knowing it is illegal and immoral, she actually blatantly stated she didn't care. She is not aware that SOCAN, BMI, AND SACEM are globally recognized and they protect their artists anywhere in the world. I have also have Sabotage, the original version registered, the one that doesn’t contain her Arabic lyrics. Law is law whether it's in Canada, USA, Europe or the Middle East. She really wanted everything on a silver plater! And for free! Bakhos kept delaying till the last minute before my travel. He kept pressuring me to sign the Tanazol before confirming video completion. Because he was pressuring me, and against my lawyer’s decision I ended up being the one that wrote agreements in English and had them translated to Arabic to be signed. I even got Amira and Christie to notarize the agreements that allowed me to sign on their behalf in their best interest. Because Bakhos had lied to me on multiple occasions, I had to protect my team. I told him I wasn’t willing to sign the agreements yet before confirmation of video completion. Can you imagine if I sign to share the song and then him and Dolly don’t complete the music video with me in it? Then I'm simply giving Dolly a song for free that she could do a video with only her in it. Bakhos insisted that Mazzika told him that he could not shoot the next day of filming before having these forms in his hand. I spoke to someone at Mazzika and they said that once the video is completed, we deliver it to them and give them ‘war2it ahda2’ – dedication paper to allow them to broadcast the media. So he was making up a story on their behalf to scare me to sign the agreements. I told Bakhos he will have the signed documents (sharing of rights agreement that I wrote and had translated which him and Dolly agreed upon and the notary forms from Christie and Amira) in his hands once I have a copy of the completed music video in my hand. I was advised to do that in order to protect myself as he had been lying endlessly and had no concrete plan and especially that I found out that he was planning to shoot the entire clip with only my MONEY, the $10,000USD (half the agreed budget). He was aware that we were leaving Egypt to fly back to Canada on January 15, yet he kept procrastinating. On January the 12th Bakhos wrote on Whatsapp “my papers we shoot no papers we don’t shoot final decision and by the way you have ten minutes to reply”. I told him “you made the decision so go ahead as you wish. Cancel”. Why would I pay my own way from Canada, pay accommodation and living expenses in Egypt, pay again to change the ticket date while still having running expenses in Canada during my time in Egypt, cancelling multiple engagements/performances etc. and I wouldn’t want to complete a music video when I already invested more than $20,000 USD on this project? That does not make any sense to me that I would decline the clip. I was advised to report him to the police and to the Naqaba but I chose not to at that time thinking perhaps that he will fulfill his promise to complete the music video. When Bakhos and Dolly threatened me, I lost all respect for them. I have a lawyer appointed in both regions. If they decide to take my song or any parts of my song or change it in any way or form legal actions will be taken. Thank you to all my friends and fans all over the world that have stuck by me through this awful ordeal. Your support made me stand up strong on my feet. I have too many names to thank from Egypt for the support so I am thanking you all from the bottom of my heart. I love Egypt, I love the people in Egypt and don’t worry this experience made me stronger. Here’s the original version of my song “Sabotage”. Funny how relevant these lyrics seem to be now! http://youtu.be/-DL4OS6AZQI
- Here's the original recording of "Sabotage" - the song that was supposed to be the duet. The picture is a behind the scenes from the music video which was never finished. Funny how much more relevant the lyrics have become! Sabotage will not be sabotaged! Written & Composed by: Nadina, Christie Lee Smith & Amira Khalil Arranged by: Joey D'Angelo-Lajoie Mixed by: Charbel Mnayer http://youtu.be/-DL4OS6AZQI
- http://maktoob.omg.yahoo.com/news/بالفيديو-نادينا-quot-فولا-فولا-quot-تتهم-دوللي-220800810.html
- For those who are having trouble hearing the original video here's a HIgh Quality of Nadina: "Sabotage" - The Story re the duet that never happened. http://youtu.be/ijnyvUQKpD0
- Nadina: "Sabotage" - The Story re the duet that never happened. http://youtu.be/7z1W2ck5t3Y
- God works in mysterious ways! Be a good person and good things will happen if you keep your eyes out for them :)
- Due to missing Christmas with our family due to the duet video clip that never happened, my fam kept the Christmas tree up for us! Nessa & Linden opened their Christmas presents from us! They were so excited!!! Now they'll remember that we never missed Christmas with them, it was only late! @bhayden2012
- $11.99 for my sandwich! Liiiiiittle bit of a price difference from Egypt! That would be 84 Gineh!