Forbes Middle East has rolled out its list for 2020’s “Top 100 Arab Celebrities”, with Egyptian superstar singer Amr Diab as number one.
The list ranks the popularity and influence of actors, singers and television personalities from around the Arab world.
“Egypt, the most populous Arab country and the hub of Arabic cinema, dominates the list with 45 stars, followed by Lebanon with 25 entries,” the list explained.
Diab boasts over 30 million followers on various social media sites, while Lebanese star Nancy Ajram came in second place with over 48 million followers and is the highest ranking woman.
Despite Ajram’s higher follower count, Diab came in first place as the list took into account the length of the celebrity’s career and other activities.
“We looked at over 500 Arab celebrities’ social media platforms and took forward those with a total number of over nine million followers. We gave the most weight to social media, but we also calculated the length of the celebrity’s showbiz career, and we explored their activities outside of their dominant field, such as whether they are employed as goodwill ambassadors for the UN and other points,” the magazine explained.
“Judging a celebrity’s influence in this digital age naturally involves looking at their personal brands, their notoriety and the scope of their reach on social media,” Forbes said.
“The advent of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube have opened a new world to the entertainment industry—one where celebrities can connect directly with their consumers, and fans can build relationships with their idols that need never switch off,” it added.
Thus, Forbes explained that people in the public eye can hold more influence and monetize their fame more than ever before.
Lebanese singer Elissa ranked in third place, but boasted the highest number of twitter followers at 12 million.
The majority of the list’s names are from the music industry, with 51 overall. Of the 37 listed actors, acclaimed Egyptian actor Adel Emam took the top spot.
