Released December 25, 2011 Label Platinum Records | Length 54:20 Release date 25 December 2011 | |
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Producer Fahd Al Naser, Hosam Kamal, Ashraf Salem, Karl Wolf, Hamad Rashid Al Khodr, Omar Basel, Wessam Al Amir, Yaser Jalal, Ahmad Mohyee Similar Saken, Ahl Al Esheg, Men Diana Illa, Jarh AL Habib, Ya Bashar | ||
Bent Osol (English: A Good Girl) is the twelfth studio album by Lebanese recording artist Diana Haddad. The album was released by Platinum Records Christmas 2011. Bent Osol marks her first album in various Arabic dialects since her 2006 self-titled album Diana 2006 (2006).
Contents
Background and development
In 2008, Haddad announced that she was going to include a duet with a well-known R&B female artist on her upcoming album. The announcement came after Haddad's performance at the Mawazine festival which lead the press to guess that the act Haddad was talking about was Whitney Houston since she performed the same night Haddad performed. However, later that year Haddad revealed that she meant Alicia Keys who asked an enormous amount of money that Haddad couldn't afford. According to Yamazaj newspaper, Keys asked for a million and a half US dollars for the duet.
Haddad first revealed the theme of the album in 2009 when she recorded a song with Canadian artist Karl Wolf.
Release and promotion
The album faced many delays prior to its release due to reasons such as Haddad's divorce in summer 2009 and the death of her father in October 2011. Eventually, Haddad's official Facebook account announced the release of the album on December 14, 2011
Haddad paid for the album production herself, but Rashed Al-Majed's label, Platinum Records, took care of the promotion and the distribution of the album in the Arab world. By December 15, 2011, Middle East Broadcasting Center channels aired several promos for the album's release.
As a part of the album's promotion, Haddad appeared on the new show "Hatha Ana" with the TV personality Rania Bargoth on January 23, 2012. The episode was set to air on the 16th but it was delayed due to an Arab Idol live episode. She also appeared on two different shows, "Taw Al Lail" and "Banat O Bas" on the Kuwaiti channel Al-Watan where she talked about her new release and performed some of the album's songs on January 18, 2012 and January 22, 2012. Haddad made an appearance at the Marina FM studios in Kuwait.
During her visit in Kuwait it was announced that Haddad will be performing along with Nawal El Kuwaiti and Nabil Shoail on the fourth night of Hala February, a popular Kuwaiti festival that started in the late 1990s. However, it was announced on February 8, 2012 that all the concerts have been canceled due to the 2011–2012 Syrian uprising.
Singles
"Kol Hayati", featuring Karl Wolf, was released as the lead single from the album. It premiered in the United Arab Emirates on Panorama FM radio on December 15, 2011. Haddad talked about the song in number of occasions to the press since 2009. Zaharat Al Khaleej magazine covered the recording process of the song in one of its issues.
Although Haddad released number of singles before the album's release including "Galat Diana" in 2011, "Majnona" in 2010, and "Ya Aibo" in 2009, none of them is considered a lead single and only "Galat Diana" is included on the album.
The Kuwaiti soap opera song "Al Dakhila" also known as "Ya Wagt" is included on the album. Al Dakhila is a ramadan 2011 soap opera starring Huda Hussain and Hind Al Bloshi.
"Galat Diana" is considered the first music video from the album. It premiered on May 30, 2011. The music video shows Haddad wearing 12 different costumes and looks representing the 12 zodiac signs.
The second music video from the album, "Wadi Haki", premiered on April 6, 2012.
Critical reception
The album received positive to mixed reviews by critics. Generally, the album has been negatively criticized for having more songs in Khaliji dialect than any other dialect especially Egyptian and Lebanese which are more popular in the Arab World than Khaliji. Bashar Zaidan from Beljaw electronic magazine thought that "Eah Rayak", a song in Egyptian dialect, was the highlight of the album and that the big number of Khaliji songs hurt the album. Haddad's previous singles and album Men Diana Illa (2008) were all in Khaliji dialects. He criticized the song "Kol Hayati" lyrics for being "too common" and not surprising and suggested a fresh music video to handle this problem. He added: the song doesn't compare to "Mass And Louly" from Diana 2006 (2006) which was a huge surprise and a big hit.
Zaidan mentioned that the album reminded him to the old 1990s Diana. He also mentioned that the song "Esmaa Kalamhom" sounds similar to Haddad's single "Emshi Wara Kidbohom" from Yammaia (1998). In terms of lyrics, Haddad's divorce affected the selection of the lyrics and most of the songs on the album are about betrayal, Zaidan said.
Personnel
Personnel credits adapted from the album's booklet.
Songs
1Bel Raha Alaya4:08
2Wadi Haki3:59
3Bent Osol3:38