Wednesday, May 24, 2006

Lionel Richie: They're Dancing in the (Arab) Street, All Night Long

According to ABC News, Lionel Richie is huge in Baghdad. Let's take a look:

"Grown Iraqi men get misty-eyed by the mere mention of his name. 'I love Lionel Richie,' they say. Iraqis who do not understand a word of English can sing an entire Lionel Richie song.... I asked Richie if he knows just how big he is here. He said, 'The answer is, I'm huge, huge in the Arab world. The answer as to why is, I don't have the slightest idea.' He has performed in Morocco, Dubai, Qatar and Libya. There is obviously something up there. The more we talked, the more he theorized as to the reasons his music might be so popular here. He thinks it is because of the simple message in his music: Love."

This is interesting, because when the Taliban were destroying those statues in Afghanistan, they also destroyed the bust of Richie from the "Hello" video. Now I know why: They hated love.

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