| Arab Idol | |
|---|---|
| Season 4 | |
| Release | |
| Original network | MBC 1 |
| Original release | 4 November 2016 – 25 February 2017 |
| Season chronology | |
After more than a year-long hiatus, the fourth series of Arab Idol was relaunched on MBC, with its premiere on 4 November 2016. Once again, just like in the previous season, the jury was composed of singers Wael Kfoury, Nancy Ajram, and Ahlam, as well as music producer Hassan El Shafei, and Ahmad Fahmi returned as host of the show. The first four episodes covered the first round of the show, the auditions process, which took place in nine different Arab countries and, for the first time ever, in Turkey. Although thousands of hopefuls put forth their candidacy, only 64 went through to the second round of auditions in Beirut, Lebanon by the end of which, the 25 semi-finalists were picked to go through to the third round, the live show. The Palestinian contestant Yaacoub Shaheen won the title.
There was no change in judges from season held in 2014. The judges for the season were:
The candidates who qualified successfully are listed below. Each candidate is from the host country, unless otherwise stated.
Morocco
Jordan
Turkey
Algeria
Iraq
Palestine
Bahrain
Lebanon
United Arab Emirates
Egypt
This round began with the 64 candidates' arrival to Beirut, Lebanon. Before settling down, the beginning of the group challenge was announced to the candidates by host Ahmad Fahmi. In pre-determined groups of four to six people, these small groups had to each perform a pre-determined song in front of the jury, immediately after which, performers deemed not good enough to continue were cut from the competition. The songs chosen for this round and the results are as follows.
For the female contestants:
Group 1 Group name: Safar Al-Angham (Travel of the Melodies) Song choice: "Galaw habibak Missafer" by Thekra[52]
This group comprised four Moroccans and a Saudi. They rendered the late Thekra Mohammed's hit song "Messafer". When their result was announced, judge Ahlam attempted to test the group members' patience by saying that "only one person" had advanced – and that person was "Safar Al-Angham", in other words, the whole group had advanced successfully. All five group members erupted into spontaneous applause.
Group 2 Song choice: "El Areeb minnak Baeed" by Najat El Saghira [53]
Group 3 Song choice: "Samahtak" by Assala Nasri[54]
Group 4 Song choice: "Aala Bali" by Sherine Abdel Wahab[55]
This team had a problem with the song that they chose. It turned out that the song, "Aala Bali" by Sherine Abdel Wahab, was not suited for their voices. This had a major impact on their performance and led to the elimination of all the members in this group.
Group 5 Group name: Jazairastin (Algeria and Palestine) Song choice: "Ahou Dalli Sar" by Sayyid Darwich[56]
This team was distinguished by not only the voices of the participants, but also the commonalities that brought them together. The participants were of either Palestinian or Algerian nationality, which inspired their group name, Jazairastin – a portmanteau of "Jazair" (Algeria) and "Falastin" (Palestine). Their creative rendition of Fairuz's "Ahou Dalli Sar" ensured survival of all the members of their team to advance to the next round.
For the male contestants:
Group 1 Group name: Altuyur (Bird) Song choice: "Walla Ya Teir" by Fadel Shaker[57]
Group 2 Song choice: "Sallamtak Bi Id Allah" by Kadim Al Sahir[58]
Group 3 Song choice: "Zeina Lebset Khelkhalha" by Samir Yazbek[59]
Group 4 Group name: Jalsa (Meetup) Song choice: "Ya Munyati", popular Yemeni song [60]
This group was composed entirely of Gulf citizens. Their rendition of a popular Yemeni song, completely captivated the jury – so much so that judges Hassan El Shafei and Ahlam gave them a standing ovation at the end. All members of this group qualified for the next stage successfully.
Group 5 Group name: Alkhultat Alsihria (Magic Mix) Song choice: "Aannabi" by Karem Mahmoud[61][62]
This team comprised six members, each from a different Arab country – which inspired their group name Alkhultat Alsihria (Magic Mix). They performed a song "Annabi", but their magic mix unfortunately did not captivate the jury. Out of their six members, only two – Nader Hammouda and Mohammed Fergani – successfully advanced.
Group 6 Group name: Alwahda (Unity) Song choice: "Khallas Tarak" by Saber Rebai[63]
Comprising mostly Iraqis and Egyptians, this group was the most unfortunate of the male groups – largely due to the lack of harmony and chemistry between the group members during the performance of the song. The jury decided to allow only one member of this group, Hussein Mohammed of Egypt, to advance.
Group 7 Group name: Assalam (Peace) Song choice: "Ya Salat El Zein" by Sayed Mekawy[64]
This team's rendition of a Sayed Mekawy piece, brought a rousing end to the group challenge, once again with a standing ovation from the judges, as well as all six members advancing successfully to the next round.
By the end of the group challenge, 40 contestants remained : 16 female contestants out of the original 23, and 24 male contestants out of 41. These 40 remaining competitors then had to pick one last song, from a list of 14, for their final individual challenge before the Top 24 is picked. This year, however, a maximum of six people could pick the same song, adding to the pressure competitors had to endure, as it was done on a first-come-first-served basis.
The 14 songs in the individual challenge, and the contestants who chose each song, are as follows:
"Ouli Aamalak Eih" by Mohammed Abdel Wahab
"Ya Tira Tiri" by Sabah Fakhri
"El Oyoun El Soud" by Warda Al Jazairiah
"Laila bterjaa ya layl" by Fairuz
"Eiratni belchib" by Nazem Al-Ghazali
"Rasayel" by Mohammed Abdo
"Ahebbak law takun hader" by Talal Maddah
"Kama al Reisha" by Abu Bakr Salem
"Eldayia" by Sabah
"Emta Hataraf" by Asmahan
"Weli Law Yedroun" by Moeen Charif
"Ma Dam Tuhibu" by Umm Kulthum
"Sawah" by Abdel Halim Hafez
By the end of the individual challenge, and after the 24 competitors to advance was announced, the jury felt as though the previously eliminated candidate Rawan Aalyan deserved a second chance, and so, she was asked to come back, bringing the total number of semi-finalists to 25 (7 female and 18 male). These semi-finalists arise from 12 different Arab countries : 6 from Egypt, 6 from Palestine, 2 from Lebanon, 2 from Tunisia, 2 from Yemen, and 1 of each from Algeria, Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and Syria. Each semi-finalist has their own voting number, varying from 1 to 25.
| Voting No. | Contestant | Song Choice | Result |
| 1 | Israa Jamal | Ana Fi Intezarak – Umm Kulthum | Wild Card |
| 2 | Amir Dandan | Allah Ma'ak Ya Beit Samed Beljanoub – Wadih Alsaffi | Advanced |
| 3 | Badr Al Hassan | Ya Beadhum Kelohum – Abdelmajeed Abdulla | Eliminated |
| 4 | Bandar Mougri | Bent Alnour – Mohammed Abdu | Advanced |
| 5 | Tamer Daher | Ya Seif Aala Alaada Tayel – Marwan Mahfoudh | Wild Card |
| 6 | Houssam Al Shoueikhi | Targhali Ya Targhali – George Wassouf | Advanced |
| 7 | Hussein Mohammad | Ebaatly Gawab – Sabah Fakhri | Eliminated |
| 8 | Dalia Said | Lola Al Malama – Warda Al-Jazairia | Advanced |
| 9 | Rabii Zayyoud | Alloulou Almandood – Sabah Fakhri | Eliminated |
| 10 | Rawan Aalyan | Aadeit Nejmat Alsama – Mueen Sharif | Eliminated |
| 11 | Samar Al Husseini | Yama Alqamar Aal Bab – Fayza Ahmed | Eliminated |
| 12 | Shadi Dakwar | Aala Shat Bahr Alhawa – Karem Mahmoud | Wild Card |
| 13 | Abdallah Alkhelifi | Kelma Walaw Jabr Khater – Abadi AlJawhar | Eliminated |
| 14 | Ammar Mohammad | Waqif Aala Babakum – Naeema Sameeh | Advanced |
| 15 | Camelia Ward | Waayouni Sahara – Cheb Jilani | Wild Card |
| 16 | Kawthar Berrani | Ma Feeni Shi – Thekra | Advanced |
| 17 | Mohammad Ben Saleh | Ta'a Nensa – Melhem Barakat | Wild Card |
| 18 | Mohammad Said | Hawa Ya Hawa – Fadl Shaker | Eliminated |
| 19 | Mohammad Moustafa | Wala Ya Wala – Abdelghani AlSayed | Eliminated |
| 20 | Muhannad Hussein | Sarlak Youmein Ma Aajebni – Mohammad AbdelJaber | Wild Card |
| 21 | Nader Hammouda | Badi Shoufak Kol Youm – Wael Jassar | Eliminated |
| 22 | Nadine Khatib | Alaeei Zayek Fen Ya Ali – Sabah | Wild Card |
| 23 | Houmam Ibrahim | Hayra – Adel Akla | Advanced |
| 24 | Walid Bechara | Baktob Ismak Ya Baladi – Joseph Azar | Wild Card |
| 25 | Yacoub Shahin | Lahjar Qasrak – Sarya AlSawwas | Advanced |
The 8 contestants who received the most votes automatically advanced to the next round. The judges were able to each select two of the remaining contestants as wild cards. Each pair would sing and then the judge would decide whom to save, advancing them to the next round.
| Contestant | Song Choice | Selected by | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Israa Jamal | Mali Wana Mali – Warda Al-Jazairia | Nancy Ajram | Advanced |
| Nadine Khatib | Ya Sa'a Belwaqt Igri – Nour AlHoudda | Nancy Ajram | Advanced* |
| Mohammad Ben Saleh | Qaletli Kelma – Ali Al Riahi | Hassan El Shafei | Advanced |
| Shadi Dakwar | Toba Toba – Abdel Halim Hafez | Hassan El Shafei | Eliminated |
| Camelia Ward | Kan Ya Makan – Mayada El Hennawy | Ahlam | Eliminated |
| Muhannad Hussein | Ana Ya Tair – Fouad Salem | Ahlam | Advanced |
| Tamer Daher | Sawt Alheda – Assi El Helani | Wael Kfoury | Eliminated |
| Walid Bechara | Alazaab – Melhem Barakat | Wael Kfoury | Advanced |
*After being initially eliminated, the judges unanimously decided to save Nadine Khatib and she became the 13th Finalist.
| Week | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | 6-7 Jan | 13-14 Jan | 20-21 Jan | 27-28 Jan | 3-4 Feb | 10-11 Feb | 17-18 Feb | 24-25 Feb | |
| 1 | Yacoub Shaheen | Winner | |||||||
| 2 | Amir Dandan | Runner-up | |||||||
| 3 | Ammar Mohammad | Eliminated | |||||||
| 4 | Mohammad Ben Saleh | Eliminated | |||||||
| 5 | Muhannad Hussein | Bottom 3 | Bottom 4 | Eliminated | |||||
| 6 | Dalia Said | Bottom 3 | Bottom 4 | Eliminated | |||||
| 7 | Houmam Ibrahim | Bottom 4 | Eliminated | ||||||
| 8 | Walid Bechara | Bottom 4 | Eliminated | ||||||
| 9 | Kawthar Berrani | Eliminated | |||||||
| 10 | Nadine Khatib | Eliminated | |||||||
| 11 | Israa Jamal | Eliminated | |||||||
| 12 | Bandar Mougri | Bottom 3 | Eliminated | ||||||
| 13 | Houssam Al Shoueikhi | Eliminated | |||||||
On finale night, February 25, 2017 Yacoub Shaheen from Palestine was crowned the winner of the fourth season of Arab Idol in a tough competition against Ameer Dandan from Palestine and Ammar Mohammed from Yemen . For the first time of Arab Idol history 2 of the last 3 contestants were Palestinian.
The finale night also had two very touching moments. The first was during the performance of the Hussain al Jassmi song "Hobilaha" (My love for her)[94] by finalist Ammar Mohammed of Yemen, who broke down uncontrollably halfway while singing,[95] and judge Ahlam had to come onto stage to console him.
The second was shortly before the crowning ceremony, when the 13 finalists, led by Yacoub Shaheen, Ammar Mohammed, and Ameer Dandan, got together on stage to sing a special song, "Cursed are the wars".[96] Judge Nancy Ajram was seen in tears near the end of the song.