Lead:
Maya Diab granted a candid interview to Okaz that revealed a persona at odds with her public reputation for fearlessness, while Elissa released her fourteenth studio album under her full birth name, Elissar, in what columnists framed as an assertion of artistic and personal independence.
Voices & Positions:
In Okaz, an unnamed columnist covering Maya Diab's remarks notes that the Lebanese entertainer contradicted her media image by disclosing moments of shyness and self-doubt. The writer portrays the exchange as humanizing, stripping away the artifice of camera lenses to expose what Diab herself termed selective bravery rather than constant fearlessness.
In Okaz, another columnist examines Elissa's album "Elissar" as a watershed moment marking creative maturity and full autonomy. The writer highlights Elissa's stated intention to reclaim her birth name—Elissar Zakaria Khouri—as both personal reclamation and historical reference to the Phoenician queen, encoding messages of strength and independence into the artistic choice.
Tension & Convergence:
Both pieces celebrate Lebanese female performers, yet they emphasize opposite trajectories. Diab's narrative centers on humanization through admission of limitation; Elissa's centers on empowerment through assertion of control. The columnists converge in treating these moments as departures from the manufactured celebrity image, but diverge sharply on whether that departure signals vulnerability or dominance.
Editorial Takeaway:
The dominant voice today treats personal narrative and artistic choice among Lebanese entertainers as acts of cultural significance rather than mere celebrity gossip.