Majida El Roumi - 1956-1975: Early Life and Career Beginnings

1956-1975: Early Life and Career Beginnings

Majida El Roumi Baradhy, is the daughter of Lebanese musician Halim El Roumi and wife Marie Loutfi who were a Melkite Greek Catholic couple from Tyre, a city in South Lebanon. They got married in Egypt and lived in Kfarshima and had three girls Maha, Mona, and Majida, and a boy Awad. Halim El Roumi worked with many great singers with mentioning his discovery to many well-known artists, mainly the Lebanese singer Fairuz and introduced her to the talented musicians: the Rahbani brothers. They stayed in Kfarshima, which was home to many Lebanese singers, musicians, poets and writers like Philemon Wehbi, Melhem Barakat and Issam Rajji. The residence of Halim El Roumi in Kfarshima was a meeting place for many cultural figures. Growing up in an artistic environment, Majida listened to the works of Fairuz, Umm Kulthoum, Mohammed Abdel Wahab, Wadih El Safi, and Asmahan. Her vocal abilities attracted the attention of her family and neighbors. When she was 5 years old,she sang her first song which was "Miladak" (Your Birth) in reference to the birth of Jesus Christ and dedicated to her brother.

Raymond Safadi, Majida's cousin, thought that she should pursue singing as a profession. The only obstacle was her father who did not want her to participate in Télé Liban's Studio el fan. Nevertheless, Majida entered the talent show, sang songs for Asmahan like "Ya Toyour" and "Layali El Ouns Fi Vienna" and Leila Mourad's "Ana Albi Dalili". After the good review, Halim El Roumi gave Majida his blessings to pursue singing as a profession as long as she continues her higher education. Later on, Majida received her BA in Arabic Literature from the Lebanese University.