The Egyptian singer Mohamed Mounir stole the show on Friday’s episode of Arab Idol. The eccentric star was the guest of the night, singing with the show’s contestants and even performing a duet with the Lebanese judge Nancy Ajram.
The show’s judges welcomed the singing legend with open arms, referring to him as “the king” throughout the night and showering him with praise. The judge Ragheb Alama from Lebanon also made a heartfelt speech acknowledging Mounir’s contributions to Arab music.
Arab Idol’s diverse group of contestants all delivered stellar vocal performances on Friday, especially the girls. The 18-year-old Moroccan Salma Rachid, the youngest contestant on the show, dazzled the judges with her performance and was commended for her impressive vocal range. The Kurdish contestant Perwaz Hussain’s brave decision to sing a song by the legendary Egyptian singer Umm Kulthum elicited praise from the panel. And Ajram was delighted by the Syrian Farah Youssef’s cover of her romantic ballad Ihsas Jideed. Ragheb Alama was the guest performer on Saturday’s elimination episode, debuting his new song Shu Mahdoumeh. He sang with the contestants as well as Chico Castillo from the band Gipsy Kings.
The contestants kept things unpredictable on Saturday with their eclectic renditions of popular English tracks. Farah Youssef’s cover of Someone Like You by Adele was a hit and received a standing ovation from the Emirati judge Ahlam, but the biggest surprise came from the 22-year-old Palestinian Mohammed Assaf, who did a cover of the Backstreet Boys’ 1990s hit I Want it That Way.
It wasn’t a great night for the boys, though: Ziad Khouri from Lebanon, Abdelkarim Hamdan from Syria and Mohanad Al Marsoumi from Iraq were the bottom three. In the end, Al Marsoumi didn’t receive enough public votes and was eliminated. Only seven singers remain from the original 27.
• Arab Idol is broadcast on Fridays and Saturdays at 10pm on MBC1
* Reem Buhazza
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