deliver the news, people will judge her abilities
the music they love and enjoy, but present it in
based on what’s in her head, not what’s around it.
English. We attract a lot of non-Arabic speaking
One day Australia will get over their obsession and
listeners and I think that’s a reflection of the
fear of hijab and see veiled Muslim women as
universality of Arabic music. You don’t have to
Australians rather than some sort of foreign concept.
understand the lyrics to enjoy it or feel a connection
to it. We hope to follow the huge success of SBS
PopAsia while also creating our own unique path to
success.
What has been the response to the program from
audiences?
So far, it’s been incredible. We are very new but
once people discover the program on the channel
they instantly fall in love with it, and it brings a
smile to my face knowing we are offering people
that little bit of fun and excitement in their day-today life. I get a lot of great feedback from listeners
and they are always keen to tell me what they want
to hear – which is fantastic because we want to cater
to our listeners.
Who are some of the artists who are most popular
in this genre?
It seems to be a female-driven industry at the
moment – a lot of the listeners love to hear Nancy
You are currently the host of PopAraby on SBS
radio. What are the goals of this program, and
what is the audience it caters for?
Ajram, Haifa Wehbe, and of course the Queen of
Arab Pop Najwa Karam. But we also have Egyptian
male artists who dominate the charts including Amr
Diab and Tamr Hosny. So it’s a mixture, but overall
SBS PopAraby caters for all ages, but there is a
I think the ladies take it out!
special focus on young Middle Eastern people who
love Arabic music, though perhaps may not speak
the language. Our aim is to cater for them by playing
What do you see as the influences on pop music
from the Middle East today? Does it reflect