Tamer Ashour: The Dog Is Innocent of the Song 'Metlakhabta Ahwaly'

Doubt arose due to the volume of comments, and he considered removing the sound effect.

A controversy erupted over the past few days on social media platforms regarding the song “Malkhabita Ahwaly” by artist Tamer Ashour, part of his new album “Miryat al-Hubb” (Mirror of Love), which competes in the summer 2026 album season. Some claimed that a dog’s bark was accidentally included in the song’s background. In response, arranger Hassan El-Shafy posted a video clip on his Instagram account showing a call between himself and Tamer Ashour to address the recent controversy. The duo clarified that the sound in “Malkhabita Ahwaly” is not a dog’s bark at all, but rather a well-known musical effect called “Vocal Chops.” This technique involves manipulating segments of human vocals by altering their pitch and sonic characteristics to serve the music. However, a segment of the audience misinterpreted the sound immediately upon the song’s release.

For his part, Tamer Ashour said, “I woke up to find people talking about a dog’s sound. I saw comments like that as soon as the song dropped, and they started noticing… You and I hear it and know what it is, and we’re certain it’s not a dog’s bark.” He joked, “When I saw the comments increase a lot, I started going along with them. I found myself hearing the same thing they wanted to say.”

A poll was launched on social media platforms to let the public decide the fate of this sound effect: either keep the current version as is or modify it, replace it with a new version, and re-release it on YouTube and various digital music platforms. He confirmed that the final decision would be based on the audience’s voting results.

On his side, Hassan El-Shafy decided to isolate the sound effect and play it separately to demonstrate its musical nature, noting that the audience’s impression and mistaken perception might lead them to continue hearing it the same way despite the musical clarification.

“Malkhabita Ahwaly”

It is worth noting that the song “Matalkhabita Ahwali” was released as part of the album “Miryat Al-Hubb” (Mirror of Love), with lyrics by Alim, music by Madyan, and arrangement by Hassan Al-Shafey. Since its release on YouTube on July 20, it has garnered over 600,000 views. The song is among the tracks on Tamer Ashour’s 2026 album, which features 12 diverse songs: “Miryat Al-Hubb” (lyrics by Samir Tarek, music by Tantawi, arrangement by Amadio); “Nazalt Atmeshit” (lyrics by Tamer Hussein, music by Aziz Al-Shafey, arrangement by Hussam Al-Saqqaf); “Wlad Halal” (lyrics by Tamer Hussein, music by Aziz Al-Shafey, arrangement by Osama Al-Hindi); “Jad’a” (lyrics by Mohamed Mostafa Malek, music by Mahmoud Anwar, arrangement by Ahmed Ibrahim); “Wusooli” (lyrics by Tamer Hussein, music by Amr Mostafa, arrangement by Sherif Fahmy); “Tamennati” (lyrics by Tamer Hussein, music by Aziz Al-Shafey, arrangement by Toma); “Makani Al-Sahih” (lyrics by Ahmed Al-Maliki, music by Mohamed Khalaf, arrangement by Ilhami Dahima and Ahmed Hussam); “Matalkhabita Ahwali” (lyrics by Alim, music by Madyan, arrangement by Hassan Al-Shafey); “Shoftni” (lyrics by Amr Abdo Ali, music by Amr Al-Shazly, arrangement by Mohamed Yasser); “Asif” (lyrics by Ahmed Al-Maliki, music by Mohamadi, arrangement by Osama Al-Hindi); “Mesh Faragly” (lyrics by Mohamed Gashm Pasha, music by Samer Abutaleb, arrangement by Nader Hamdy); and “Ehsasi Bik” (lyrics by Adham Moataz, music by Hesham Shomly, arrangement by Osama Al-Hindi).