IraqiGeek's Blog

Abd Al-Haleem Hafiz vs. Um Kalthoom

For those of you who aren’t familiar with Arab clulture, Abd Al-Haleem and Um Kalthoom are without any argument the two greatest male and female, respectively, arab singers the world has ever seen.

Personally, I listen to Abd Al-Haleem much more than Um Kalthoom. Its not that I like him more than I like her. Its that each of them is a different experience to listen to, conveying a different array of emotions.

Listening to Um Kalthoom is a very serious matter, like sitting in an opera house listening to Mozart’s 40th symphony being played by an orchestra of more than 100 instrument players. Every part of your body goes numb except your ears, which are trying to keep up with all the instrument sounds, and your brain, which is trying to soak in all that range of emotions. Its a very enjoyable experience, yet one you don’t want to go through often, and when you do, it will be with a very serious expression on your face.

Abd Al-Haleem, on the other hand, is a whole different affair. To me, listening to Abd Al-Haleem is like cruising through a valley in a convertible roadster with the top down, surrounded by grapevines on a sunny spring afternoon. It stimulates all your senses. Excites every cell in your body. Its something you go through with an ear to ear smile on your face. Grin like you have found the reason behind life itself.

I think this is why you hear the audience in Um Kalthoom’s concerts suddenly shout “3athama 3ala 3athama” (which translates literally to “greatness upon greatness”), while in Abd Al-Haleem’s concerts you hear them say “mnil 2awal tani” (which is a request to start again from the beginning). The first is great, but the second you can’t get enough of.