Lebanon's favorite felines, 4 Cats, have released their latest music video clip before setting out a series of concerts across the region and beyond.
The new production from Nicole, Zeina, Chantal and Dalid is titled Ma ba'aeeda (roughly translating as Never Again) which was creamed off the album Leil Nahar (Night and Day), released two months ago. It's a love song with touch of bitterness, according to its writer and the band's director, Gassan Rahbani.
The first song off the album was a little difficult," says Rahbani, "so we wanted to release a simpler pop song with more immediate appeal."
The video featuring the feline foursome was directed by Chady Hanna of television comedy SLChi fame.
The captivating quartet, often described as the Lebanese Spice Girls, flew to Dubai last Saturday for a live concert there, with another show this weekend near the pyramids at Giza, Egypt.
According to AFP, the 4 Cats, the Arab world's only all-girl pop group, insist they have a message for the youth of their region that is quite different from that of Britain's Spice Girls.
"We reject the comparison. We're different, we're Lebanese and, anyway, our songs are in Arabic," argued Zena, who was in Dubai with the band for a concert Friday to launch Zen TV, a channel for the Arab world's mostly young population.
Rahbani, their manager who formed the group in November 1997 and is the style guru for the singers aged between 20 and 27, feels they have a mission. "The girls were chosen for their looks. Through this beauty, we want to send a message to the Arab youth," he told AFP.
"There is chaos in the feelings of young Arabs. We want to give the Arab youth a new beat, without imitating anybody." The repertoire of Arabic pop is based on a remix of traditional songs, "but with something new added," said Rahbani.
The girls, who wear jeans rather than short skirts on stage in deference to conservative tastes in the Arab world, are more natural looking and less racy than the Spice Girls, more like Ireland's BWitched, said a fan at the Dubai concert.
"They aim to have the same dazzling look as when girls go shopping or off to university," Rahbani tried to explain. "But maybe, one day, we'll give the Arab world a small shock."
Apart from Zena, the group is made up of Dalida, who was Miss Lebanon in 1997, Nicole, a blond half-Armenian who was a contestant in 1998, and Perla.
The report added that the Cats, who draw mostly teenaged fans, have performed in several countries but only once outside the Arab world, at the Dorchester Hotel in London. Their biggest concert to date was before a 40,000 crowd in Oman.
Rahbani is also negotiating to organize a return for the four Cats to London. He views the outlook for his attractive ensemble with supreme confidence.
"If things keep going on like this," smiles Rahbani, "the future will be perfect." – Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
