The 6th annual Murex d’Or award ceremony took place in the luxurious hall of Le Casino Du Liban, Saturday January 28th 2006, and was later aired on LBCI Monday February 6th 2006. Tourism minister Joe Sarkis, members of the Lions Club, members of the press, actors, singers and many TV personalities attended this ceremony.

The evening started off by a dancing Phoenician portrait by the Hayakel dance group. The theme of the night was inspired by the Phoenician culture, seeing that the Murex itself is a Phoenician Symbol, representing a “shellfish”. The Murex d’Or is an annual award festivity honoring the artists of Lebanon and the Arab World.This year, the Murex committee wanted to try it in another perspective, so they divided the voting process into:

• 40% votes of the public, who were able to vote online through Naharnet, on the radio through Sawt Al Ghad, and in all Dar Al Sayyad publishing.
• 60% voting from a carefully selected jury combining various artists and specialists in the field of the arts.
• The members of the jury did not have any of their works nominated for an award.

After showing a video of the 2004 winners of the Murex, the trophies started raining down on many artists. Some were honorary trophies celebrating their life’s work, and some others were given upon winning in their category. (See end of article for a detailed list of the nominees and the winners for each category.)
Many singers performed their wonderful breathtaking songs, such as Haifa, Assi Hallani, Hussein El Jasmi, Adam and many more.

The Murex committee is not only about trophies, each year they visit “forgotten artists” and present them with an amount of money as a token of appreciation for all the work they offered throughout the years. This year, the jury visited Souaad Karim, Hind Taher and Ghattas Daw. And finally, how can we forget our lost dear ones? Elie Sneifer, Toufic Al Basha, Alia Nemri, Lamya Feghali, Wassim Tabbara, Moustafa Al Akkad, Ahmad Zaki, Samir Kassir and Jubran Tueini.

The Awards:

Honorary trophies were given to:

• Cindy Rome for being a very talented international star.
• Madiha Youssri for her long career as an arab actress.
• May Chidiac for journalist of the year.
• Walid Gholmieh for being a pioneer in music composition.
• Sabah received a Lifetime achievement award.
• Roberto Filla, an Italian composer.
• Antoine and Latife Moultaka, a theatrical couple.
• Michel Jeha, a poet.
• Alain Merheb, Lebanese great artist.
• Samir Khoury, a choreographer.
• Walid Toufic, Lebanese artist.

PS: Names In RED Are The Winners For Each Category.

Best Lebanese Male Singer:
Fares Karam
Fadel Shaker
Assi Hallani
Wael Kfoury

Best Lebanese Female Singer:
Elissa
Nancy Ajram
Najwa Karam
Nawal El Zoghbi

Best Arab Male Singer:
Nabil Sheil
Saber Al Roubaii
Amr Diab
Hussein El Jasmi

Best Arab Female Singer:
Assala
Samira Saiid
Sherin Abdel Wahab
Waed

Most Popular Male Star:
Ahmad El Sherif

Most Popular Female Star:
Haifa

Promising Male Voice:
Adam
Iwan
Rayan
Fadi Harb

Promising Female Voice:
Darine Hadchiti
Mikaella
Hiba Mounzer
Yara

Best Lebanese Song:
Ahla Osha’ – Zein El Omar
M’assar Fiyyi – Fadel Shaker
Bhebak Walaa – Najwa Karam
Bhebak Ana Ktir – Wael Kfoury

Best Arabic (non Lebanese) Song:
Awini Bik – Samira Saiid
Rouhi Ya Rouh – Nawal El Zoghbi
Meshit Khalas – Wael Jassar
Ana Nater – Nabil Sheil

Best Songwriter:
Elias Nasr
Marwan Khoury
Nabil Abou Abdo
Nizar Francis

Best Music Composer:
Jean-Marie Riachi
Samir Sfeir
Tarek Abou Jaoude
Marwan Khoury

Best Video Clip Director:
Nadine Labaki – Inta Eh (Nancy Ajram)
Salim Turk – Hobbak Wajaa (Elissa)
Tarek Alayli – Rouhi Ya Rouh (Nawal El Zoghbi)
Walid Slaylati – Sahran Maaki (Ahmad El Sherif)

Best Lebanese Actor:
Georges Chalhoub
Adel Karam
Ammar Chalak
Walid Al Alayli

Best Lebanese Actress:
Rita Labaki
Roula Hmadi
Karmen Lebbous
Carole Hajj

Best Arab Actor:
Ahmad Saka
Ahmad Ezz
Jamal Sleiman
Yehya El Fakhrani

Best Arab Actress:
Abla Kamel
Yousra
Layla Oulwi
Mona Zaki

Best Drama Writer:
Genevieve Atallah
Zinardi Habis
Mona Tayeh

Best Lebanese Movie:
BOSTA by Philippe Aractingi

Best Soundtrack For A Movie:
Kamal Saykali for Nasmit Sayf

Best Theatrical Play:
Kezzeb Kbir by Georges Khabbaz.