Reputation Formation of Fairuz: Factors, Media, and Analysis

This essay provides a comprehensive analysis of the reputation formation of Nouhad Wadie' Haddad, popularly known as Fairuz, a highly respected and famous singer in the Arab world. It examines various factors that contributed to her public image, including her personal characteristics, musical aptitude, and the impact of her performances. The essay explores how her self-motivating nature, voice, and courageous traits resonated with audiences. Furthermore, it delves into her personal life, including her marriage and religious conversion, and how these aspects influenced her career. The study also investigates media reputation, highlighting her appearances in radio and television, as well as the controversies and political affiliations that have affected her image, such as her concert in Damascus and the legal issues concerning her music. The conclusion emphasizes her enduring legacy as a cultural icon in the Arab world and the lasting impact of her music.

Running head: REPUTATION FORMATION
Reputation Formation
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author note:

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Thesis Statement: The selected diva is Nouhad Wadie’ Haddad, popularly known as Fairuz.
The selected factors are the personal characteristics, public image and other traits, her
personal life, media reputation and controversies associated with her.
Nouhad Wadie’ Haddad, popularly known as Fairuz or Fairouz, is a famous singer
and respected living legend in the Arab world. She is one of the most admired personalities
and her melodious songs are heard constantly throughout their region. She came into
limelight after appearing at the “Lebanese Nights”. Formerly, she is known as the
“Ambassador of the Arabs”, titled from one of her albums named, “The Moon’s Neighbor”.
Her musical aptitude and pretty voice became noticeable in the community she lived in. She
started performing at a very young age, in school celebrations and festivals. A local musician
noticed her and encouraged to join his music classes to receive basic training. From there, her
journey to the world of music began (Almashriq.hiof.no 2017).
Fairuz’s self motivating nature, pretty voice, bold and courageous characteristics won
the hearts of many people. Being a public figure, she presented Arab femininity, local loyalty,
human decency and accomplishment, which is recognized by people over generations. In the
onset of the twenty first century, her impactful performances successfully won the hearts of
the then young generation. People remained in awe of her personality and music. During the
period of her vocal training, she learned reciting the Qur’an, as this was viewed as a
necessary element for correct pronunciation and understanding elegant Arabic language as
well as its poetry (Biography.yourdictionary.com 2017).
Born to an orthodox and poor family of Lebanon origin, Fairuz’s life was filled with
joy and happiness. Since her childhood, Fairuz had a knack for singing and sang at school’s
events. Her father saved some money from his limited income, for the education of his
children. She was admitted to the Saint Joseph School for Girls but later due to World War II,

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she moved to some public school. She attended school, where her pretty voice got immediate
recognition by a trained musician. She converted her religion after getting married to Assi
Rahbani, who again framed her career in singing. Her contribution to Arab world’s music is
imperishable. She has been a world renowned singer, famous for her accomplishment in
musical career and commitment she has to the values and concerns of Lebanon culture as
well as the Arabian world (Almashriq.hiof.no 2017).
In her youth, Fairuz met enthusiastic music listeners all over Lebanon. One of her
meetings was with the Rahbani brothers, Mansour and Assi. They were the rising talents as
lyricist and composer respectively. They collaborated and composed modern Western tunes
into Arabian music. The trio got huge public exposure and people loved their taste of music.
They started producing experimental forms of music of various genres (Doyle 2016). In
several instances, Fairuz’s music expressed graceful qualities, which extended the appeal to
the listeners belonging from different national as well as social backgrounds. Later in the year
of 1954, she got married to Assi Rahbani at a church, which was attended by a huge crowd of
their respective fans. She converted her religion, which didn’t pose a threat for their musical
careers. The married couple set up a villa in the Antelias, suburb region of Beirut, which later
served as an inspiration to many of their composed songs and music (Encyclopedia.jrank.org
2017).
However, her life was involved with controversies and several alleged political
affiliations. Her concert at Damascus in the year 2008, angered many of her fans as well as
some Lebanese politicians as it described the country Syria, as a territory of enemies.
Moreover, since many of her works were written by the Rahbani brothers, after a year of
Mansour’s death, Lebanese court banned her from performing the songs which involved the
Rahbani’s contributions. This occurred due to the issue being complained by one of

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Mansour’s children, which led to several protests all over the world and her fans gathered
around Beirut’s National Museum (Malley 2013).
Fairuz has always been the hope of the Arab world; she has gained mass popularity
and attention. Her great personality and sweet voice has entertained millions of people for
several decades. She received immense popularity worldwide and her singing often seems
effortless. She appeared on radio at the time, when the media type dominated the world. She
performed Egyptian music and her shows lasted for half an hour or more. She received global
appreciation, articles and several papers related to her success are published in various
newspapers, journals and books. Her page on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram has millions
of followers worldwide. Her interviews are broadcasted over television and at time aired on
radios of the Arab world (Npr.org 2017).
Fairuz was a shy kind of a person, as she mentioned in one of her personal interviews.
She feared stage performances, but her love for music never faded away. Her musical
aptitude and pretty voice became noticeable in the community she lived in. She started
performing at a very young age, in school celebrations and festivals. A local musician noticed
her and encouraged to join his music classes to receive basic training. From there, her journey
to the world of music began. Her pretty voice, self motivating nature, bold and courageous
characteristics won many people’s hearts (Thenational.ae 2017). Being a public figure, she
presented Arab femininity, local loyalty, human decency and accomplishment, which is
recognized by people over generations. In the onset of the twenty first century, her impactful
performances successfully won the hearts of the then young generation. People remained in
awe of her personality and music. During the period of her vocal training, she learned reciting
the Qur’an, as this was viewed as a necessary element for correct pronunciation and
understanding elegant Arabic language. Her good qualities helped in shaping her personality
and reputation, which attracted her fans (Wetzel 2013).

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Tragic incidents occurred to her life when her name got associated with some
controversies and other alleged political affairs. Moreover, her concert at Damascus in the
year 2008, angered many of her fans as well as some Lebanese politicians as it described the
country Syria, as a territory of enemies. Moreover, since many of her works were written by
the Rahbani brothers, after a year of Mansour’s death, Lebanese court banned her from
performing the songs which involved the Rahbani’s contributions. This occurred due to the
issue being complained by one of Mansour’s children, which led to several protests all over
the world and her fans gathered around Beirut’s National Museum. In addition to this, her son
sparked controversy in the year 2013, in an interview when he was regarding his mother’s
political vision. His statements even went viral over the social media and politicians went
furious. However, her fans stood by her side and protested against it
(Biography.yourdictionary.com 2017).
To conclude, Fairuz is the most famous in the world of Arab, her songs her widely
renowned and accepted all over the world. Her songs are popular and mostly listened among
the Lebanese and Arabian groups. Her performances are widely loved by the people. She is
melancholic and hieratic and becomes motionless, while performing live on stage. However,
she still feels the stage fright, at times. For several decades, all the Arabic radio stations start
their broadcast with her song. She became the first singer from Arab to perform at Greece
and her performance was widely accepted by over nine thousand people.

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References
Almashriq.hiof.no (2017). Fairuz - Biography. [online] Almashriq.hiof.no. Available at:
http://almashriq.hiof.no/lebanon/700/780/fairuz/legend/biography.html [Accessed 27 Oct.
2017].
Almashriq.hiof.no (2017). Fairuz - her music. [online] Almashriq.hiof.no. Available at:
http://almashriq.hiof.no/lebanon/700/780/fairuz/legend/music.html [Accessed 27 Oct. 2017].
Biography.yourdictionary.com (2017). Fairuz Facts. [online] Biography.yourdictionary.com.
Available at: http://biography.yourdictionary.com/fairuz [Accessed 27 Oct. 2017].
Cannon, M.E., 2013. Just spirituality: How faith practices fuel social action. InterVarsity
Press.
Doyle, P., 2016. Lebanon music. Bradt Travel Guides.
Encyclopedia.jrank.org (2017). Fayruz (1933–) - personal history, biographical highlights,
personal chronology:, legacy of a star, influences and contributions, the world’s perspective.
[online]Encyclopedia.jrank.org.Availableat:http://encyclopedia.jrank.org/articles/pages/
5680/Fayruz-1933.html [Accessed 27 Oct. 2017].
Malley, R., 2013. The Essentials: Music Selections for Cultural Learning.
Npr.org (2017). Fairuz: Lebanon's Voice Of Hope. [online] NPR.org. Available at:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128431817 [Accessed 27 Oct. 2017].
Thenational.ae (2017). Singer Fairouz dragged into Lebanon’s political fray. [online] The
National. Available at: https://www.thenational.ae/world/singer-fairouz-dragged-into-
lebanon-s-political-fray-1.314985 [Accessed 27 Oct. 2017].
Wetzel, R., 2013. The Globalization of Music in History (Vol. 2). Routledge.