I could not write about Nadine without returning once again to the very beginning, when she first appeared on the screen. At the time, the Emirati artist Ahlam called her “the gazelle,” the Gazelle of Palestine, not only for her beauty and passion for singing, but also for the grace, authenticity, and discipline of her voice. Nadine, the daughter of Nazareth, advanced to the final stage of the famous Arab program Arab Idol, where we came to know her as a remarkable artistic talent and a devoted, loving daughter of her homeland, carrying Palestine on her shoulders wherever she goes.
Sometimes the ear loves before the eye
In keeping with the saying “the ear sometimes falls in love before the eye,” Nadine married shortly after the end of her journey on the program, to a hearing specialist. She jokes that his hearing is exceptionally sharp, so he fell in love with her voice first. Over seven years of marriage, she gave birth to four children.
She returned to her audience with musical clips featuring three of her children, “the fourth is still three months old.” The clips were admired by many, as female artists rarely appear on social media in their role as mothers, accompanied by their children.
She says, “When I was young, I dreamed of becoming a pediatrician because of my love and attachment to children, but an accident that happened in front of me during my studies made me change my mind. When it was time to choose a major, I chose music and studied it at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance.”
Reviving my mother’s talent
Although medicine and music are worlds apart, Nadine realized from an early age that she had artistic talent, especially since she was raised in an environment steeped in traditional music. Her mother was an artist who was denied opportunities.
She says: “My mother was an artist with a great singing talent, and she actually pursued her dream, traveling to Jordan and staying away from us for months to record her own album, which she worked on with great writers and composers. But because she was unknown, no company bought the album, and they offered to release it only without pay. She couldn’t bear to see her hard work go to waste, so she chose not to release it and has kept it to this day.
Although decades have passed since this story, Nadine still feels sad about her mother’s talent, insisting that the lack of social media at the time did her an injustice and did not give her the same opportunities that young singing talents have today.
For this reason, Nadine is considering re-recording her mother’s songs in her own voice, to revive her talent and honor her efforts.
Nadine’s mother was not only an unsung hero in terms of her talent, but also in terms of Nadine’s artistic success over the past years. Having four children and continuing to work in the arts is not easy, and would not have been possible without the support of her mother, family, and husband.
“It’s not easy!”
On one occasion, she received an invitation from artist Marwan Khoury to film an episode with him. They had a family event, and she had two small children, but her mother and family insisted on supporting her so that she could participate in the episode.
Although she faced many challenges, especially given the complications of travel for Palestinians of 48 land to Arab countries, she was able to go, and Khoury recorded a wonderful episode with her, in which she sang many folk and classical songs.
It’s not easy: “Mesh hwaien,” says Nadine in the beautiful Palestinian Nazareth dialect, expressing the difficult journey she is going through. Usually, female artists choose to continue their artistic work at the expense of starting a family and raising children, but being an artist and a mother of four children is never easy.
Nadine says: “I didn’t plan it this way. When I got pregnant with my fourth child, I cried and told my husband that I have a talent for singing and I don’t want to waste it, but God gave it to me, so who am I to reject God’s blessing? I continued with my pregnancy.”
“I gave birth to one of my daughters in the car”
Nadine’s talk about pregnancy and motherhood shifted the conversation from a formal interview between a journalist and an artist to a warm discussion about the intersection of women’s dreams and the burdens of motherhood. It was not surprising for a woman who had experienced a very difficult pregnancy and birth to ask another woman, “Even if you are an artist, did you give birth naturally or by C-section?”
Surprisingly, this question brought up one of the funny stories Nadine experienced when she gave birth to one of her children.
She felt labor pains late at night and decided to wait a little before going to the hospital, but the baby came faster than expected, and Nadine gave birth in the car at the hospital door.
She says, “Thank God, all my births were easy and natural, but this birth was easier than it should have been. I arrived at the hospital door and my husband went to get the nurse to help me. When they came back, they found me holding the baby in my arms.”
A mother-and-children choir
Regarding Nadine and her children appearing in videos singing old, difficult songs together, she says: “I sing, and they listen to me and quickly memorize the songs and repeat them with me. I asked them once, ‘What do you think about recording a video? They were excited and loved the idea, so we started filming our videos and posting them. The remarkable thing is that they sing correctly and hit the right notes.”
Nadine, who raises four children, the oldest of whom is six years old, refuses to give them any electronic devices, even if that creates an additional burden and challenge for her. She says, “I try to keep them busy with activities and games, and that takes more time and effort on my part.”
Nadine: Teaching music is difficult and tiring
Until last year, Nadine taught music in Arab private schools in the 48 land of Palestinian, but her voice became tired because teaching music requires double the vocal capacity. She decided to give up teaching and keep only a few classes for some talented students whom she believes have a bright future in the world of art.
As a result of recording and posting singing lessons on social media, Nadine says that talented individuals from across the Arab world contact her to ask for singing lessons.
Although Nadine organized many concerts after Arab Idol and participated in numerous festivals in Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt, and Lebanon, and MBC produced a song for her called “أنا كنت جمبك” meaning: I Was by Your Side”, as soon as the war on Gaza broke out, she stopped all her artistic work and refused any hosting outside the context of what was happening in our homeland.
Despite the severe censorship imposed by the Israeli occupation on Palestinians inside Israel, which intensified during the war on Gaza, Nadine never stopped posting throughout the war, saying: “I am not separating myself from my people, they are my concern.”
A Palestinian song will soon see the light
At the end of the interview, Nadine shared with us her joy at a Palestinian artistic work, written for her by a poet from Tulkarm and composed and arranged by a musician from Gaza, which will be released early next year. The happiness in her voice made it clear that this beautiful work, as she describes it, carries the euphoria of victory and overcoming the challenges faced by ambitious women when they also choose motherhood.
