"Aïcha" (; ; ar, عائشة, Latn, ar, ʿāʾisha, ; arq, عايشة) is a song written by French singer-songwriter
Jean-Jacques Goldman
Jean-Jacques Goldman (; born 11 October 1951) is a French singer-songwriter and music record producer. He is hugely popular in the French-speaking world. Since the death of Johnny Hallyday in 2017 he has been the highest grossing living French p ...
, performed by
Algerian
Algerian may refer to:
* Something of, or related to Algeria
* Algerian people
This article is about the demographic features of the population of Algeria, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, econo ...
raï
Raï (, ; ar, راي, Latn, ar, rāʾy, ), sometimes written rai, is a form of Algerian traditional music, folk music that dates back to the 1920s. Singers of Raï are called ''cheb'' (Arabic: شاب) (or ''shabab,'' i.e. young) as opposed ...
artist Khaled. In 1996, the song was released as a single containing two versions: a French version and a bilingual version sung in both French and Arabic. The Arabic lyrics were written by Khaled. On his 1996 album ''
Sahra
''Sahra'' is a studio album from Algerian raï artist Khaled, released in 1996. It was the artist's biggest production to date, being co-produced by Philippe Eidel, Don Was, Jean-Jacques Goldman and Clive Hunt, and including performances by man ...
'', the bilingual version is featured. The song's music video, which also uses the mixed language version, was directed by
Sarah Moon
Sarah Moon HonFRPS (born Marielle Warin; 1941) is a French photographer. Initially a model, she turned to fashion photography in the 1970s. Since 1985, she has concentrated on gallery and film work.
Biography
Marielle Warin was born in Vernon, ...
.
Lyrics / theme
The song's lyrics are about a woman named Aïcha, who is being wooed by a man. He promises her pearls, jewels, poems, and other luxuries and romantic things, to which she replies:
:''Keep your treasures''
:''I am worth more than all that''
:''Bars are bars, even if made of gold''
:''I want the same rights as you''
:''And respect for each day''
:''I don't want anything but love''
The song's chorus has the following words in French (with English translation):
:' = Aisha, Aisha, listen to me
:' = Aisha, Aisha, don't go away
:' = Aisha, Aisha, look at me
:' = Aisha, Aisha, answer me
The lyrics were all in French. The Arabic verse, written and sung by Khaled, is as follows:
: (''Nbghīk ʿāysha wanmūt ʿalīk'') = I want you Aisha and would die for you
: (''Hādī ksayat ḥayātī waḥabbī'') = This is the story of my life and my love
: (''ʾAnti ʿumrī wʾanti ḥayātī'') = You are my years and you are my life
: (''Tmannīt nʿaysh mʿāk ghayr ʾanti'') = I wish to live with you, only you
Track listings
; CD single
# "Aïcha" — 4:20
# "Aïcha" (version mixte) — 4:20
Charts
Peak positions
Year-end charts
Certifications
Outlandish version
In June 2003, Danish hip hop band
Outlandish
Outlandish is a hip-hop music group based in Denmark. Formed in 1997, it consisted of Isam Bachiri (born in Denmark and of Berber background), (born in Denmark and of Pakistani background), and (born in Honduras and of Cuban and Honduran de ...
released an English version of the song, "Aicha", that was included on their album ''
Bread & Barrels of Water
''Bread & Barrels of Water'' is the second album by Outlandish
Outlandish is a hip-hop music group based in Denmark. Formed in 1997, it consisted of Isam Bachiri (born in Denmark and of Berber background), (born in Denmark and of Pakistani b ...
'' (2002). Their version was produced by the band along with Mintman. The song peaked at number one in Germany, the Netherlands, Romania, Sweden, and Switzerland and became a top-10 hit Austria,
Flanders
Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...
, and Norway. A video was also shot for the single.
The original song has since been remade by several singers and bands:
* The French version was performed by Khaled with fellow Raï singer
Faudel
Faudel Belloua ( ar, فُضيل بيلوى; born June 6, 1978) is a French raï singer and actor of Algerian descent. He released studio albums, notably '' Baïda'', '' Samra'', ''Un Autre Soleil'' and ''Mundial Corrida'' and the live album '' ...
at the famous 1998 1,2,3 Soleils concert in Paris
* Between 1996-1997, the Egyptian-born Brazilian singer ''Gilbert'' performed the song. The song was part of 1997-1998 Brazilian telenovela Por Amor soundtrack.
* A zouk version was made by
Kassav'
Kassav' is a French Caribbean band formed in Guadeloupe in 1979. The core members of the band are Jacob Desvarieux, Jocelyne Béroard, Jean-Philippe Marthély, Patrick St. Eloi, Jean-Claude Naimro, Claude Vamur, and Georges Décimus (who left ...
* A salsa version was made by
Africando Africando is a musical project formed in 1992 to unite New York-based salsa musicians with Senegalese vocalists. Musicians from other African countries were later included under the name Africando All Stars.
Salsa has been a hugely popular style in ...
* A cappella versions by
Penn Masala
Penn Masala is an American a cappella group. It is the world's first and premier South Asian a cappella group. Formed in 1996 by students at the University of Pennsylvania, Penn Masala's music has been influenced by the Eastern and Western cultur ...
Alaa Wardi
Alaa Wardi (Arabic: علاء وردي)(Persian:علا واردی) (born 13 January 1987) is an Iranian singer, songwriter, a cappella artist, and producer. He gained popularity through the online video sharing platform, YouTube, where he publis ...
, and Aquabella
* Indian/Dubai based singer, Rayshad Rauf adapted Outlandish's chorus part in one of his Mashups ''Don't'',
* A nasheed (Islamic) version by Omar Esa
It has been adapted to several other languages:
* An
Coke Studio Coke Studio may refer to:
* ''Coke Studio'' (Pakistan), a Pakistani television series featuring live music performances.
* ''Coke Studio'' (India), an Indian television series featuring live music performances.
* ''Coke Studio Bangla'', a Banglade ...
.
* A French / Arabic version by Lobo Ismail with altered lyrics and added a uniquely composed Arabic language rap sequence
* An English rock version by Outlandish
* A
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles
Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...
version by Magma
* A
Malay
Malay may refer to:
Languages
* Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore
** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century
** Indonesi ...
version with bits of Arabic by Yasin, titled as Aishah .
* A Serbian version was made by
Dragana Mirković
Dragana Mirković ( sr-cyr, Драгана Мирковић, ; born 18 January 1968) is a Serbian pop-folk singer and entrepreneur. She rose to prominence in the eighties as a member of the popular collective Južni Vetar. Today, Mirković is reco ...
and was titled ''Hajde pogledaj me'' (Come on, look at me)
* A Korean version by
Tony An
Tony Ahn (; born June 7, 1978) is a South Korean singer, best known as a member of boy band H.O.T.
After H.O.T. disbanded in 2001, its ex-members Tony Ahn, Jang Woo-hyuk and Lee Jae-won formed the dance music trio jtL. Eventually, JTL unoffic ...
titled Aisha
* A
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
version, titled "Aisha" ( he, עיישה), was written by
Ehud Manor
Ehud Manor (Hebrew: אהוד מנור; born Ehud Weiner; July 13, 1941 – April 12, 2005) was an Israeli lyricist, translator, poet and radio and TV personality. He is widely considered to have been Israel's most prolific lyricist of all time, h ...
and performed by
Haim Moshe
Haim Moshe ( he, חיים משה, , sometimes Chaim Moshe on recordings),
born 20 September 1955 is an Israeli singer whose musical style has crossed over from Yemenite and Mediterranean "ethnic" music to include mainstream Israeli and western po ...
* A Turkish version by Mutaf, titled "Ayşa"
* A Turkmen version by Mekan Ataýew, titled "Aişa"
* A Greek version, titled "M'aresei" (Greek: M'αρεσει), was performed by Kostas Bigalis. Video o youtube
* A second
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
version, titled "Alithia Sou Leo" ( el, Αλήθεια σου λέω), was performed by
Stamatis Gonidis Stamatis ( el, Σταμάτης, links=no) is a given name and surname of Greek origin, a diminutive of Stamatios (Σταμάτιος). Notable people with the name Stamatis include:
Given name
*Stamatis Benas (born 1985), Greek basketball player
...
in 2006
* A
Spanish
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* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
/
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
version titled "Aicha" by Amistades Peligrosas
* A Croatian version was made by Duško Lokin. Song title is Aisha.
* A
Norwegian
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*Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe
* Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway
* Demographics of Norway
*The Norwegian language, including ...
Breton
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*anything associated with Brittany, and generally
** Breton people
** Breton language, a Southwestern Brittonic Celtic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken in Brittany
** Breton (horse), a breed
**Ga ...
techno
Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time (4/4) and often ch ...
,
Oriental
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German
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version titled Aicha by Moe Phoenix
* A
Mandarin Chinese
Mandarin (; ) is a group of Chinese (Sinitic) dialects that are natively spoken across most of northern and southwestern China. The group includes the Beijing dialect, the basis of the phonology of Standard Chinese, the official language of ...
version titled Aicha by Ayisha Elseenya on youtube
See also
*
List of Romanian Top 100 number ones of the 2000s
Founded in 1995, the Romanian Top 100 was the national music chart of Romania. It was compiled by broadcast monitoring services Body M Production A-V (1990s and 2000s) and by Media Forest (2010s), and measured the airplay of songs on radio statio ...