to her by the Lebanese people and media because of her vocal abilities. The album was recorded by another small record company, CM. The style of the album was more romantic and contemporary, in comparison to Karam's debut album, Ya Habayeb, which was more traditional. Shams el-Ghinnieh was received very well by the Lebanese public. Ana Ma'akon (I'm With You) The next year, in 1993, Karam signed with another record label for her new album. This time it was an even less-known Saudi Arabian company. The new album was called Ana Ma'akon ("I am with you"), not reflecting Karam's artistic identity. The album was classic in style and quite different from Shams el-Ghinnieh. Despite her discontent, she had no choice but to release it, bound by a contract with her production company. As expected, the album failed to do as well as Shams el-Ghinnieh. Poor marketing and lack of resources did not help much either and were blamed for the low sales of the album. It remains Karam's least-known album. Domination: 1994–1999 Karam's fortunes took a turn for the better when she was approached by the Middle East's largest recording label, Rotana, owned by the Saudi Arabian Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal. An agreement between the parties was made, and Karam was now on Rotana's roster. Work on a new album began immediately. Expert poets, writers, and composers were enlisted to help Karam make a fresh new musical image for herself to revitalize public interest and draw attention from the wider Arab audience. By mid-1994, an album consisting of eight new songs had been compiled and was ready to be released to the Middle East. Naghmet Hob (The Rhythm of Love) fused Lebanese tradition with Arab pop. Its catchy Lebanese dance song "Law Habaytek" ("If I Loved You") was an instant hit, introducing Najwa Karam to all of the Middle East. The song and its video clip dominated the Arabian charts. Its follow-up hits from the same album were "Wrood Eddar" ("Roses of the Garden") and "Elala" ("La La"), which received similar success. The wide success of Naghmet Hob gave Karam a chance to do a concert tour and attain a number of awards, including a prize from the Lebanese Broadcasting Association for the Best Artist of 1994. Karam had been thrust to the top of the Arabic music scene in less than a year, and was now constantly in the