Arab Idol winner Mohammad Assaf deserves to win not just because of his compelling back story, but because he is a true artist, says Dubai-based entertainer Wonho Chung, who met the winner in Beirut during the taping of the show last week.
“At an artistic level, his is one of those voices you don’t hear everyday, he’s capable of doing all kinds of music from Gulf to the Levant and to classical. The first time I saw him audition, I saw a star,” says Chung, an Arabic-speaking Korean comedian and TV personality and a known name in the Arab world.
Chung, who is good friend of Egyptian music producer and Arab Idol judge Hassan Al Shafei, flew to the Lebanese capital last week to meet Al Shafei, and was introduced to the contestants and given a tour of the show.
“I think this year the voices of the contestants are unmatched by any other talent show in the region. And MBC has gone all out in terms of the calibre of the judges, the staging… they’ve upped the ante on every single level.”
Al Shafei is joined on the judging panel by Lebanese superstars Nancy Ajram and Ragheb Alama and Emirati singer Ahlam. The show, in its second season, is produced by the Saudi-owned MBC Group, with the competition starting in March with 27 contestants.
Assaf, a wedding singer from a refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, has been the front-runner in the show where contestants are eliminated every week. The 23-year old almost didn’t make it to the show, saying he had to plead with Hamas to let him leave Gaza, then bribe Egyptian border guards to let him enter the country en route to Lebanon. A fellow Palestinian gave up his slot during the audition phase because he believed Assaf had a better chance at winning.
His win will remind the world there is a country called Palestine, says Chung.
“The arts speak volumes and Assaf has made Palestinians proud in a way politicians haven’t been able to do — and reminded us that there are people still struggling under occupation,” he says, “He’s showed [the world] that Palestine is still around.”
