Arab Idol
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| Arab Idol | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Genre | Reality television |
| Created by | Simon Fuller |
| Presented by | Annabella Hilal Abdallah El Tulehi (S1) Ahmed Fahmi (S2) |
| Judges | Ragheb Alama (S1+S2) Ahlam Hassan El Shafei Nancy Ajram (S2) Wael Kfoury (S3) |
| Country of origin |  Arab World |
| Original language(s) | Arabic |
| No. of seasons | 3 |
| Production | |
| Running time | Varies |
| Release | |
| Original network | MBC 1 |
| Original release | 9 December 2011 – 13 December 2014 |
| External links | |
| Website | |
Arab Idol Arabic: أراب آيدول, also called Arab Idol : Mahboub El Arab (Arabic: أراب آيدول : محبوب العرب), is an Arabic television show based on the popular British show Pop Idol created by Simon Fuller's 19 Entertainment and developed by Fremantle Media. The first season premiered on December 9, 2011. The show was broadcast worldwide on MBC 1 and simultaneously aired on LBC. The second season debuted on 8 March 2013 and the third season on 5 September 2014 on MBC. The live shows are recorded in Beirut, Lebanon.
Contents
Background
Arab Idol is the successor of a previous pan-Arab rendition of the Idol series called Super Star, and that aired on Future TV for 5 seasons, beginning in 2003. MBC 1 expressed desire to revive the show in a revamped version. The concept is still the same: ten young contestants from all over the Arab world are selected after many auditions, and should perform a song on stage in front of the public and the judges on the main weekly show every Friday. Then there is a 24-hour time period during which the viewers can vote for their favorites by SMS. The one who receives the least amount of votes is eliminated during the results show, and this every week, until there is one left. The winner receives various prizes, including but not limited to a recording contract with Platinum Records (recording label affiliated with MBC) for a debut album, and a Chevrolet Corvette. The show was unveiled to the public on July 21, 2011 when MBC 1 began airing the first advertisement. The name was changed from Super Star to Arab Idol and a new logo was launched.
Season 1 (2011-2012)
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The first season was hosted by Kuwaiti actor Abdallah Tulehi and Lebanese model Annabella Hilal. The judging panel consisted of
Ragheb Alama - Singer and composer
Ahlam - Singer and composer
Hassan El Shafei - Music producer, record producer and vocalist
On finale night, March 24, 2012, Carmen Suleiman from Egypt was crowned the winner of the first season of Arab Idol in a tough competition against Dounia Batma from Morocco.
Season 2 (2013)
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The second season is hosted by Egyptian singer and actor Ahmed Fahmie and Lebanese model Annabella Hilal. The judging panel consisted of
- Ragheb Alama - Singer and composer
- Ahlam - Singer and composer
- Hassan El Shafei - Music producer, record producer and vocalist
- Nancy Ajram - Singer
The second season premiered on the 8th of March 2013.
On finale night, June 22, 2013, Mohammed Assaf from Palestine was crowned the winner of the second season of Arab Idol in a tough competition against Farah Youssef from Syria and Ahmad Gamal from Egypt.[1][2][3][4]
Season 3 (2014)
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The third season premiered on 5 September 2014. Auditions were held in Bahrain, Kuwait, Algeria, Cairo, Alexandria, Lebanon, Dubai, Morocco, Palestine, the Iraqi-Kurdish city of Irbil and on the European continent, notably Paris and Berlin. Emirates Airlines is a major sponsor of season 3.
Three of the four judges returned with only Ragheb Alama being replaced after two consecutive seasons by another well-known Lebanese singer, Wael Kfoury, who was recently a judge on the pan-Arabian version of The X Factor. Now the judging panel comprises:
- Wael Kfoury - Singer and composer
- Ahlam - Singer and composer
- Hassan El Shafei - Music producer, record producer and vocalist
- Nancy Ajram - Singer
On finale night, December 13, 2014, Hazem Shareef from Syria was crowned the winner of the third season of Arab Idol in a tough competition against Haitham Khalailah from Palestine and Majed Madani from Saudi Arabia.
