Opinion: The musical world of theme songs (Part 2)

The Role of Gender:

It seems that the drama series which has a male central figure such as Ahmed Ezz in “Abu Omar Al-Masry” automatically end up with theme songs that are sang by a male singer, and in this case its Hussein Al Jasmi; though it is reflective of the drama storyline and has a tune that can be replayed over and over again.

“Ayoub” series starring Mostafa Shaaban is sang by the young singer and composer Abdu Saleem, while Yasser Galal’s much hyped series “Rahim” does not have a theme song but has a promotional song provided for the series called “Ana Ibn Aboya” (I Am My Father’s Son) sang by one of the old school legends of theme songs; Medhat Saleh.

Hamada Helal on the other hand chose to sing the theme song for his own series “Qanon Omar” (Omar’s Law), Hani Salama's series “Fouq El-Sahab” (Over the Clouds) is sang by Baha Sultan, while the voice for Amr Youssef's well publicised series “'Taey'a” is Wael Al Fashni.

The comedy series “Al Wasyea” (The Will) starring Akram Hosni is sang by Emad Kamal. The one exception is Taim Hassan's drama “Al Heyaba” which returns with the same song “Majbour” that had proved its popularity across the Arab region last year.

Rivalry will take place most likely between female singers and not the established superstars such as Elissa who has returned this year with Ghada Abdel Razek in
“Dedd Maghoul” (Against the Unknown) or Nancy Aram's song “A'am Batghyer” (I’m Changing) for the Lebanese series “Julia” starring Maggy Bou Ghosen or Angham’s surprise first time collaboration with Zeina in her series “Mamno’ Al Eqterab aw El Tasweer” (Do Not Come Closer or Take Photographs).

Yasmeen Ali who has already proven popular and loved on social media with her raw and delicate voice that gives people positive energy vibe makes her the ideal choice for the credit song of Karim Fahmy’s and Dina Fouad’s series “Amr Wakea” which echoes with words of hope. The tune is fun, memorable and suits the age of social media where everyone likes to share positive images or quotes and feel better about themselves.

The song that has been most popular on social media and the one that so many people especially women have found real in expressing raw emotional struggles that exists in most relationships, is Mahgoub's “Ana Modmena” (I Am Addicted) for Amina Khalil and Dhafer L’Abbdine’s series “Layali Eugenie’’ (Eugenie Nights), which address the turmoil of addictive love. It fits well with the concept of the series and its plot, plus the composition and tune of the song resemble almost a musical ballad from another era which is reflective of the period that the series is set in, the 1940s. All these factors will surely make Mahgboub a household name and her song will be remembered for years to come.