Shaima – The Singing Bee

Shaima, 30, isn’t just a pretty girl on stage. She is a talented Egyptian singer climbing the ladder of success with live gigs in Cairo. Her vsoice goes down like honey with a little bit of chili to spice up the pitches she skillfully throws at the audiences like a fisherman throwing his out net. She has soul and élan in her voice and knows how to get the crowds moving.

Shaima, born in Egypt and raised in Italy, moved back to Cairo on her parents’ will, which was when her talent was discovered. She always had a passion for music and through an old family friend from Italy working at one of the most reputable piano bars in Cairo she got the first time chance to sing for an audience. This is when all began.

Having turned 21 she packed her bags and left to Italy as she was not quite content with her life in Egypt. After the death of her father she returned and tried to find herself. “When I came back, I was devastated for my father’s death and there was this period of time that I didn’t want to work or do anything and I then decided that I must do something”, she explains.

Her talent and beautiful voice introduced her different venues where she sang at first for friends and friends of friends, then the crowds got wider and wilder, “when I was on stage I saw new people coming to see me and I was surprised and told myself they don’t even know me” she laughs. Shaima’s performance is different, she sings covers but in her own different interpretation which makes her performance unique and exciting. We saw her sing “Wild Horses” by The Rolling Stones in a total different manner which was a feast.

Shaima’s latest performance was at El Sawy Cultural Wheel where she wanted people to focus only on her music and her talent regardless her feminine looks “I intended to wear a plain white T-shirt and black trousers without any make-up to make people focus only on my voice and performance”, she comments. Shaima is looking forward to a commercial album and her live performances will be uploaded soon on Myspace.com