Friday 21 Friday, November 17, 2017 Lifestyle | Features Egyptian singer Grappling with fame, success faces trial after Smith still sings from the heart mocking the Nile am Smith thought he had cracked it - it Multi-platinum status work on his music. Fast forward two years being “fame.” He released the first sin- His debut album, “In the Lonely Hour,” later, and Smith, 25, is back with a batch of Sgle from his new album, the groovy launched more hits, reached multi-platinum songs that represent the last few years of burner “Too Good at Goodbyes,” and didn’t status and was lauded for its emotional his life. “Thrill,” like his first album, is a co- put his face on the single artwork or do much songs and Smith’s strong vocals. He won hesive set of songs that are both heavy and TV promotion for the song. He felt like he about every major award - from Grammys to beautiful, with Smith’s piercing voice in the had re-entered the celebrity world without a Golden Globe. He was even named best starring role. He had a hand in writing all of dealing with the usual drama that comes with new artist at the BET Awards. But it wasn’t the songs. being famous. Two months later, when the all golden: The inevitable backlash that album came out, things changed, and the comes with mainstream success also hit ‘I got dumped on the phone’ “freak out” happened. Smith. Some criticized his music for being “I knew that I wanted this album to be “I get really upset because it was literally too sappy, but perhaps more hurtful to Smith more personal than the first one,” said Smith. overnight. As soon as the album came out, were critics from the gay community. The “A lot of this album is about me and how I everyone was recognizing me again, and it star was lambasted after the 2015 Academy didn’t like myself a lot while I was making scares me,” said Smith, days after his second Awards, when he took home an Oscar and this record and how I can be my worst album, “The Thrill of It All,” was released. he inaccurately said he was the first openly enemy.” He worked again with “Stay With “Whenever the fame stuff gets mad again, I gay person to win the prestigious award. Me” co-writer Jimmy Napes on the project, Egyptian fishermen row on the Nile River in Cairo. — AP just remind myself what I am. I am a singer. “My Oscar speech - that was my fault,” but also invited other major players to the I’m a songwriter. I’m here to make music. I said Smith, who won best original song for sessions, including Timbaland, StarGate (Ri- famous Arab singer will stand trial next month in her na- don’t want to fuel gossip, you know?” “Writing’s on the Wall” from the James Bond hanna), Malay (Frank Ocean), Poo Bear tive Egypt over a video clip in which she advises a con- That’s been the biggest struggle for the film “Spectre. “If I’m going to say something (Justin Bieber) and country singer-song- Acert fan against drinking from the Nile River, officials performer since he found success - the bal- on a big scale like that in front of nine million writer Cam. said Wednesday. The clip shows Sherine Abdel-Wahab, widely ance of Sam the celebrity, a normal twenty- people I should go over it again, and again, “I think he’s grown just as a person, even known by her first name, saying “You are better off drinking before music. He’s still young, but it’s a big Evian,” a reference to a French brand of mineral water. difference. He was 19 when I first met him The fan had asked her to sing one of her hit songs, named ...and he’s 25 now. He’s grown up into a man. for an Egyptian saying, that one who drinks from the Nile is And I think his voice has reflected that,” bound to return. Sherine now faces a host of charges, including Napes said. “He’s gotten a little bit wiser to incitement and harming the public interest. The remark, clearly be able to dig a little bit deeper into the made in jest, set social media ablaze, with some users calling it world and his life, and I hope we captured an insult to Egyptian national pride and others saying the real that on this album.” One of those songs culprits are those who pollute the river. ended up being “Baby, You Make Me Crazy,” The trial, before a Cairo misdemeanor court, is due to start the album’s liveliest moment inspired by on Dec. 23, according to the court officials. The case arose from Smith’s breakup. a complaint filed by a lawyer after the video surfaced this week. “I got dumped on the phone,” Smith says If convicted, Sherine could face up to three years in prison or a with a light laugh. “A phone call. It still pisses heavy fine, but she will have recourse to appeal. The officials me off.” “I remember putting down the spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not au- phone, walking into my garden and my thorized to brief the media. Egypt’s government and media have friends were there and I was (like), ‘It’s over,’” relentlessly stoked nationalist sentiment since the military over- he added. “We all decided, ‘...Instead of being threw an elected Islamist president in 2013, portraying nearly depressed tonight, let’s just go out and have all criticism as part of an international plot to undermine the the most amazing night.’” “Scars” is another country’s stability. In this Nov 2, 2017 photo, musician Sam Smith poses for a portrait in New York to promote personal song on the album, focusing on his his latest album, “The Thrill of It All. — AP mom and dad, “Pray” was inspired after a trip Crackdown on dissent to Iraq for charity work, and a boy coming Activists, artists or writers who dare speak critically of gov- something who has to live his life with and again, till it’s cemented in my mind. That out to his father makes up “HIM.” The latter ernment policies or the country’s general-turned-president, constant cameras around him, and Sam the is my responsibility. But I also just think that was also created in response to an article Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, risk vilification on popular TV talk shows. singer, who just wants to perform songs he’s comes with age. You know, I mean, I ... just Smith read about the singer not saying “he” Thousands have been jailed in a wide-scale crackdown on dis- written about his life. He achieved a break- turned 23 when all that happened.” or “him” in the songs on his debut album, sent. “At the time when the government is working to revive through almost as soon as he hit the music After the incident, Smith said he felt like even though he was a gay man. “I remember tourism, the singer acted with crude mockery, which drew scene: In Europe it was with “Latch,” the he was “losing my mind. Like, I just needed thinking, ‘(Expletive) you, I’m going to write laughter from the crowd that amounted to an insult to the electronic dance hit with Disclosure, and in to get back to normal life because I wasn’t a song and call it ‘HIM’ because I’m just not Egyptian state,” Lawyer Hany Gad wrote in his complaint. the United States with “Stay With Me,” the enjoying it. It wasn’t real life to me.” So he trying to hide anything here.’ I never have. I Sherine has also been banned from performing in Egypt winner of both record and song of the year took a break from the public, spent time think maybe I was scared of saying the by the local musicians union, which said in a statement that Grammys in 2015. with family and friends, and continued to wrong thing,” he said. — AP her comment was an “unjustified ridicule and mockery of our dear Egypt.” The agency that runs state TV and radio infor- mally instructed employees not to broadcast her songs until further notice. Sherine apologized for her comment in a Face- book post. “My beloved Egypt and its children: I apologize Stone Temple Pilots back with new singer from all my heart for any pain I may have caused you,” she wrote. “It was a bad joke that I would never use if I go back in time.” The Musicians Union said the concert was in runge rockers Stone Temple Pilots Chester Bennington, the frontman of returned to his native Michigan. Stone Lebanon, but Sherine’s statement said she believed it was in are back with a new frontman, Linkin Park. Bennington left Stone Temple Temple Pilots had put out a call for a new the United Arab Emirates more than a year ago. The video Gchosen in an audition of 15,000 Pilots amicably and earlier this year killed singer and received around 15,000 sub- clip emerged at a sensitive time. applicants after their previous two himself. missions but Gutt was invited to audition Egypt fears a soon-to-be-completed upstream dam in singers died. The band with heavy guitar Stone Temple Pilots marked their re- after bassist Robert DeLeo was intro- Ethiopia could cut into its share of the river, which supplies and dark introspection were a leading birth on Wednesday with the release of duced to him while playing in Michigan.