Shania was nominated for Best International Female Artist but the award was never handed out. Read below.
First Arabian Music Awards night turns into a fiasco
It was to be a lavish awards night: stars would strut down the red carpet and excitement would build on live TV until the best male and female Arab artists of the year picked up their trophies at the first Arabian Music Awards.
But few of the nominees promised for a "star-studded" ceremony hyped as the Arab world's Grammys showed up on Saturday night (May 15) at the Dubai International Convention Centre, delaying the start by 2½ hours until after midnight. The audience hissed, booed and walked out - abandoning seats they'd paid up to R9 000 to sit and be seen in.
Confused presenters whose microphones cut in and out weren't sure who should be on stage when. And by 3.30am Sunday, the last 100 or so members of the original audience of 2 000 gave up and left, along with many of the performers -ending the show with a pile of awards yet to be handed out, including best artists.
The one saving grace: Live broadcasting to the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia was brief, with organisers saying they pulled the plug themselves after eight minutes.
"It wasn't early to leave, it was already too late," said Rami Ibrahim, a Jordanian architect who walked out barely an hour after after the show began. "It was very disappointing. It could have been so nice if it weren't for the bad organization and technical problems."
Organisers from the Arab Music Academy and Dubai Media City, which sponsored the event, said they would issue a statement later on Sunday. Mohammed al-Mulla of Dubai Media City said only that technical problems were to blame.
The Academy's chairman, Shuckri Z Bundakji, declined to comment.
The Arab Music Academy is a newly formed body aimed at honoring Arab artists and protecting copyrights. The winners represented the choice of the people, with the results based on voting from April 15 through May 10 on the Internet and through mobile phone short messaging.
Several awards were handed out, and among the attending artists were Lebanese pop star Nancy Ajram, who was nominated in four categories, including twice in the best video clip category.
Ajram, in a short white dress with a plunging neckline, turned heads as she walked down the red carpet. After performing Oh, and A Half, she greeted her fans and tersely referred to the technical troubles, saying: "Thank you. I won't talk much so that the mike does not go off."
Ajram also received a special award as the best performer in the Arab world.
International music trophies never got awarded, but Danish pop band Michael Learns to Rock - nominated in the best international pop band category - and the Danish rap group Outlandish, up for best international band, entertained the ever-dwindling audience.
Outlandish's Waqas Qadri tried to reassure the public on stage and reporters later, by cutting the academy some slack.
"It's the first time this event is organised. I think it is a very good initiative to honor Arab music," he told reporters. "A lot of mistakes happen at the first time, I hope this does not discourage them."
Those who persevered heard brilliant performances by Britain's Sarah Brightman and a number of popular Arab stars, including Lebanese legend Milhim Barakat and Rai Algerian star Cheb Mami.
Mami, a Monte Carlo World Music Award winner, received a special award as best ambassador for the Arab song.
Winners who were noticeably missing included Egyptian pop king Amr Diab, who won best song and album by an Egyptian male performer, and Iraqi Kazem al-Saher who won the same award in the Levant performers category.
Egyptian rising star Shereen, up for best song by an Egyptian performer, left halfway through the show and missed receiving an award later.
The War Is Over sung by Iraqi al-Saher's and Brightman won best duo. - Sapa-AP
Published on the web by Tonight on May 17, 2004.
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