Khaliji Vs Lebanese Haddad
Despite firstly establishing herself as a Lebanese artist, whose hits in the 1990s followed more on the lines of the traditional Lebanese beats found similar in the music of Lebanese folk singers Najwa Karam and Majida El Roumi, rather than her Khaliji style of today.
In recent years, her popularity and album sales are still increasing as is her fanbase. Many old fans from her native country of Lebanon feel disappointed with her latest Khaliji style, with some going as far as accusing the singer of "selling out" her Lebanese roots and wishing for her to return to her original "Lebanese" style. However this negative view is mainly held by fans from Lebanon.
In an Interview with Diana Haddad and her husband Suhail al-abdoul when they were titled as one of the UAE's 2007 Hot Power Couples, they made the same list the previous year in 2006 which was conducted in "Ahlan!" magazine where she stated her love for Khaliji Gulf traditions and saying "I love Dubai,”. “You can find everything here – it’s a cultural city. I even sang for Dubai’s National Day in 2006. That was a big event for me."
Her connection to the Gulf Region and influences can be traced back to her childhood where she spent mostly in Kuwait and her marriage to Emirati video director Suhail Al-abdool playing a major role. The irony is that despite Khaliji music being a specific style of Arabic beats, instruments, and dialect, and while it may be possible for a non-Khaliji to perform, it is almost never accepted as genuine material. However, Haddad has managed to break that barrier and stereotype. She is very popular among people in the Gulf Region and has been somewhat "adopted" into Emirati culture and society.
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