Amr Diab' s diehard army of fans have had a rough few days. It started when reports emerged earlier this week that the Arab World's largest record label Rotana Records was trying to block the release of the Egyptian superstar's new album "Ahla We Ahla."
Just days ahead of its official release on Apr. 28, Rotana reportedly submitted a formal request to the Egyptian Culture Ministry's Artistic Works Department to prevent the release of the album in Egyptian stores until the ongoing legal disputes between Diab and Rotana are resolved.
Rotana then shut down Diab's official YouTube channel on copyright grounds late on Apr. 27, hours before the release of the album online, which prompted angry reactions from Diab's fans on social media.
Diab's fans started the Arabic hashtags "Amr Diab is a Red Line" and "Boycotting Rotana," which remained a top trending topic in Egypt for more than 12 hours Thursday.
"The memories of years and generations will not be erased by YouTube, his voice has been present on everything that has passed in the past 30 years," one fan wrote on Twitter using the hashtag, while another wrote : "All artists have an audience, except Amr Diab, he has a people."
"Amr doesn't need Rotana or anyone to buy the CD for the album to succeed, the album succeeded without anyone's help. Al-Hadaba [The Hill, Diab's fan nickname] above everyone," another fan said.
Egyptian singer and head of the Egyptian Musicians Syndicate Hany Shaker also announced his support, tweeting : "My brother and friend, the artist Amr Diab, I announce on a personal and syndicate level my solidarity with you and that we are ready to provide assistance to end the problem on all levels."
Diab's camp was quick to respond as well. In addition to releasing the album on iTunes, where it skyrocketed to the No. 1 spot in most of the Middle East just an hour after its release, the album's producer Egyptian media company Nay for Media released the full album in one video on its own YouTube channel after Diab's channel was blocked.
Moreover, the album hit Egypt's stores on Thursday as planned, with Nay even holding an album release celebration for fans in one of Cairo's biggest Virgin Mega Stores.
The channel wasn't gone for long either, as it appeared again on YouTube late on Thursday. However, Diab's official YouTube channel reappeared without any content from or even about "Ahla We Ahla," with the only posts concerning the new album on YouTube being on Nay's channel.
This latest string of events comes as a part of an ongoing legal battle between Diab and Rotana. It started in November 2015 when the two parted ways after working together for more than 10 years.
Diab and Rotana released conflicting narratives about the cause and circumstances of the split, with each side claiming they initiated the termination of Diab's contract. The legal issues between the two sides, which are before the Egyptian judiciary, include a $1 million contractual penalty clause and the copyright dispute over the new album.