Umm+Kulthum

By 1934, Umm Kulthum must have been the most famous singer in Egypt to be chosen as the artist to inaugurate Radio Cairo with her voice on May 31 (Radio Cairo was maximized by Nasser to unite the Arab people). Over the second half of the 1930s, two initiatives will seal the fate of Umm Kulthum as the most popular and famous Arab singer: her appearances in musical movies and the live broadcasting of her concerts performed on the first Thursday of each month of her musical season from October to June. Her influence kept growing and expanding beyond the artistic scene: the reigning royal family would request private concerts and even attend her public performances.

In 1944, King Farouk I of Egypt decorated her with the highest level of orders, a decoration reserved exclusively to members of the royal family and politicians.

Her songs deal mostly with the universal themes of love, longing and loss. They are nothing short of epic in scale, with durations measured in hours rather than minutes. A typical Umm Kulthum concert consisted of the performance of two or three songs over a period of three to four hours. (Hours. I can't even think about singing for more than the common 3 minute WNCI pop song)

Even today, she has retained a near-mythical status among young Egyptians. She is also very popular in Israel, and her records continue to sell about a million copies a year