As we discussed in class, Dana International is a transgendered Israeli pop star of Yemeni descent who is considered among the most popular musicians in Israel. In particular, I would like to focus on her song “Saida Sultana”. This track was produced early in International’s career, a period in which she gained fame by satirizing famous female stars. “Saida Sultana” was a satire of Whitney Houston’s “My Name is Not Susan” and gained considerable fame allowing International to begin a successful career that lasts until this day.
Saida Sultana contains a number of important elements that warrant discussion and comment. Stylistically, the song successfully blends elements of Western pop music, as well as traditional eastern forms such as the tabla drums and opening piano riffs. International’s choice to recreate her own version of “My name is not Susan” is perhaps also a personal identification not of a man, but as a woman. Many of the listeners of this song at the time were unaware of her transgender status. Furthermore, it is likely that many listeners would have never heard the Whitney Houston version. With her blending of eastern and western styles, I find myself curious: would a listener from the Middle East find the Houston or International version more pleasing? Would this song be pleasing to a listener in the West? IE- Does International create a product that successfully blends a number of musical styles thereby removing her song from “time and place”?
Regarding whether or not a listen from the Middle East would find Dana International’s song better than the original Whitney Houston song depends on which version they heard first. I listened to the Whitney Houston version way before ever hearing the Dana International version, and even though I love Dana International, I would say Whitney Houston had the more pleasing song. But even as I say this, I am a Westerner looking at these songs from a Westerners’ approach. Whitney Houston would be considered more famous to me because I’ve grown up listening to her music and getting involved in her celebrity. It’s a completely different story with Dana International. I think each song has a distinct quality to it that makes it great and I feel like, even though “Saida Sultana” is a satire of the original Whitney Houston song, it stands out on its own as a Dana International song if that makes sense. Basically, its difficult to compare both of them since they are so different.
I watched Dana International’s video for Saida Sultana twice, once with music, and the second time on mute. Her video mimicked many of the music videos that aired during the 90′s on Yo MTV RAPS. I find it interesting that she decided to mirror a western music video although Saida Sultana was her rendition of Whitney Houston’s song I am not Susan, I do not think she had to use a Western music video style. I wonder if her Middle Eastern audience was aware of the western style of pop music video? I also would like to know who was aware of Whitney Houston’s version of the song.
We now live in a generation of music where many artists cover others music and copy lyrics, I wonder if credit was given to where credit was due.
I think it’s also important to consider whether the listener is appreciative of the Hip hop/R&B flavor that Houston’s song has as opposed to Dana International’s pop song. Although the latter was inspired by the former, I’m not sure if it’s fair to compare the two songs like this. Like Kendrick said, Dana International’s song stands out on its own.