Although she has performed in other Asian venues, this month marks the first time she has appeared on the Chinese mainland.

Yue-sai Kan, the celebrated TV-hostess-turned-business woman, highly praises the "warm, husky, low and sexy" voice of Fygi.

Her songs are a mix of Brazilian and Latin music styles turned into jazz. And she emphasized the importance of emotions and stories in music when she came to Shanghai in September to promote her coming concert.

"All these music types have the same rich emotions and tell of rich personal experiences," she said. She defined music as "telling a story in singing".

She told one of the stories before singing it to a Shanghai audience - "He Saw Her There", which tells how her parents met each other.

Fygi's mother was a belly dancer in Cairo in 1945 when her father saw her and fell in love and took her to his homeland.

Fygi said she would even try to do some belly dancing herself on the stage. "I am not only a singer," she said. "I am an entertainer. I like to have interaction with the audience and let them be involved."

In one of her albums, Fygi sang a Chinese song as a tribute to the late Taiwanese singer Teresa Teng. Having learned the lyrics word by word from a Chinese teacher, she will present the tribute to her Shanghai audiences.

Fygi started her Asian tour last May and her only stop on the Chinese mainland is Shanghai for two performances.

November 21-22

Shanghai Center Theatre

1376 Nanjing Xilu

Tel: 6217-2426, 6217-3055

150-800 yuan

(Shanghai Star November 15, 2002)