Najwa Karam's earworm

"Let me see you tonight, let me see you after sunset, there is not shame meeting at night, the night covers my sins/defects"... I never thought the day would come, but here I am blogging about the latest song from Najwa Karam - one of the Arabic songs most prestigious singers.

I remember on independence day, November 22nd 2007, I was serving in the army and Najwa Karam came to sing for the troops, what I witnessed that way was - from the top officers down to the latest recruit - was a frenzy of men barely able to control their hormones with Karam blasting the stage with incredible performance and a voice that would carry itself in all dignity through the fields of the Bequa'a valley. But this is not the reason why I am blogging about her.

And neither is the face that she is singing a song that would otherwise be called a social taboo under any other circumstance (A woman begging a man to meet her under the cover the night?)... But the fact that, with all due to respect to Najwa Karam's musical knowledge, she has created what musically called an earworm.

An earworm by definition is "a term for a portion of a song or other musical material that repeats compulsively within one's mind, known colloquially as "music being stuck in one's mind." Songs like Kylie Minogue's "Can't get you out of my head" or The Village People's "YMCA" or Queen's "We will rock you" are but obvious examples of songs to which you say: I can't get you out of my head (Pardon the pun!).... The secret to an earworm is simply minimal repetitive lyrics and a beat that goes on and one without much variation.

Listening to Najwa Karam's song last Tuesday made me repeat it over and over and over again as if someone pushed the loop button in my mind ever since. No wonder it will be the hit of the summer!