Yousef Arafat Leaves After Prime 8
Jordanian Arab Idol finalist, Yousef Arafat, came to the end of his Idol journey after the 8th prime of the program, on Saturday night.
His departure leaves two finalists, Donia Batma and Carmen Sulaiman, competing for the title next week.
The 8th prime on Friday night was a fantastic one, and I wouldn't have guessed that Yousef would be the one to leave, but Alas, such is the game!
The ever-so-beautiful Nancy Ajram was the guest of the week and she surely took a good share of the spotlight.
During the Friday night prime, each finalist sang 3 songs and the trio shared the stage for a medley entitled "Ummi" or Mother, on the occasion of Mother's Day, which is next week.
Do you think it was fair that Yousef leaves the show?
Will it be a hard competition between Donia and Carmen?
Who do you think will be the winner of Arab Idol?
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very sad news! he had a fantastic voicee! bas its okaay... Alwayss the talented leaved so soon! melhem zein , saad ramadan , qwaider , sara farah , bashar alshatti , basma bousil One direction and so on... so we r waiting his albums
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i was so upset to see him leave! i have never loved someone so much on a show!! I dont think its fair that he left, i think its fishy but its ok he will always be my idol!!!
Do you guys think he will become very famous though? i hope so but im scared he wont because hes not lebanese or egyptian ?
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yes we try all the best to support yousef arafat .... for us and all Jordanian he is already arab idoll ...
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yes we try all the best to support yousef arafat .... for us and all Jordanian he is already arab idoll ...
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i want him to come out with an album soon!
i love his voice
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if Youssef doesn't deserve the save me card then who does ???I'm sur that if Carmen was in his shoe Hassan elshafi3i will do the impossible to use the save me card !The Show has no credibility and I'm telling u they'll give the title to Carmen it's beyond obvious !I have no Idea why talent shows in middle east keep cheating and giving titles to egyptians????
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you must see this!!!! i believe yousef was supposed to stay!!
http://www.khaberni.com/more.php?newsid=71630&catid=5
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@ khouloud
the judges did not use the save card because they're not allowed to use it as it's the finals. The last opportunity for them to use it was when the saudi guy got out. Also I think this show considerably credible compared to other shows such as Star Academy as the 2 best voices have remained to the final and the fact that its based solely on the audience vote.
I think Hassan Elshafi3i and any other judges for that matter should have too use the save card if Carmen needed it as she by far has one of the most beautiful voices I've ever heard, especially for her age. From your comment, it sounds like you've got a grudge against egyptians, but you shouldn't judge people on their nationality but on their talent. I'm aussie lebanese and am secretly hoping Carmen wins as she's come a long way as well as this being her first opportunity at becoming a star (Dounia has already entered a talent show and released a single apparently). That being said, I wouldn't mind if Dounia wins as she has a gorgeous voice as well.
Anyways good luck to both and may the best woman win!Much love,
Jenny <3
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I disagree ! Or, would agree with khouloud - the show has NO credibility, or not more than any similar talent "competition" ... You are either not familiar with this type of show business, or need to have more common sense in your approach. What makes you belive the audience vote is as they tell you ? The producer is looking for the overall max gain in the profits and shuffles the cards accordingly. Two weeks ago Carmen had the lowest voting, and now Yusef is out ?!; or, the Syrian (Nadia ?), with that awful voice, with her country in deep troubles and not voting, could stay that long ?! That talent wins, as you say, does not make sense; people do not vote for the talent but for their compatriots. That is why the producer has to make a balance between the profits and some sense that the finalists deserve to be there. Lesser talented can go a long way too, but it is a risk for the production (that's why the saudi candidate was dropped; nobody can make me believe that he had less support than Nadia !; in terms of the votes, the profits for the producer).
It is not true that cheating in the starac is the worst - it is not true as all these shpws "cheat" (have some strategy) ! It is also not true the most talented do not get to the finals in the starac. The starac producer has made only one adjustment in the last two seasons: they take now one less talented candidate, relatively speaking, who, on the other hand, can generate a lot of votes (Ahmad, and Rahma before). Overall, the starac is getting stronger and stronger by each season, and if you take just the last one, none of these Arab Idol "top voices" can measure to the starac finalists. The large majority of the Arab Idol candidates are mediocre, voice-wise and otherwise, and would not have been even considered for the starac.
To make it all short: the countries matter in the show - as much as the talent ! In the show it is OK to judge contestants by their nationality. It is OK to have a grudge against Egyptians, because they are important market for the MBC and it is not unthinkable they can make Carmen a winner for their business purposes - if that may be the case (we will see). The only "pure talent show" ever has been the Studio al Fan in Lebanon, for the lebanese only. Once you get in talents from more countries the equation changes, and it cannot be otherwise.
(Btw, take the najm al khaleej: this is where the Egyptians have no chance, no matter what talent they show - the Dubai TV does not care much for the Egyptian market, and the voters in Egypt have little interest in the show and do not vote, and even if they wanted they could not beat the khaleeji voters.)
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I beg you pardon, but the last Star Academy season was so far the worse in terms of talent. The only one who could actually sing and have charisma were Sarah, Nesma, Layane and Oumayma even if I was not found of her voice. The guys were all shalow, beside Ephrem, but who couldn't reach the level of previous Lebanese contestants such as Joseph Attieh or Saad Ramadan. And Dounia Batma and Carmen Slimane have georgious voices, and I always thought of Arab Idol and Super Star as way more relevant talents shows than Star Academy, where you can have people selected even if they can't sing. It's all about glitter and charisma, more than voice. Tell me one Star Academy winner who reached the level of Diana Karazon, Ruwaida Attieh, Melhem Zein beside Shada Hassoun ? Star Academy is all about young guys and girls stuck in a house, they are chosen for their look and personality first, then for their voice (and even that, I am convinced). How can "performers" like Tania, made it to the initial casting, specially when Lebanon has such amazing voices? Can you compare her to Brigitte Yaghi?
Carmen had the lowest votes probably because people thought she was in the safe side, since Egyptians usually vote a lot, and specially after the votes from Star Academy. But placing Carmen in this position made realize that she could lose, so people voted much more for her. Youssef was amazing, but his last performances were mediocre and that's the reason why he left. Nadia Manfoukh being gone, the votes were between Dounia (who has an amazing support from Morocco and other North African countries) and Carmen from Egypt, it's pretty obvious that Youssef wouldn't make it to the finals. Since the first week, I always knew it would be a girl vs girl final, and that it will be between Dounia and Carmen. These two girls have amazing voices, charisma and stage presence. And it's not true that people vote for their countries only. Mohammed Taher from Saudi Arabia was random. We knew much more talented contestants from Saudi Arabia. Like Ahlam said, if Saudi Arabia wanted him to stay, they would have vote. Not all the Saudis make it to the finals.
And I am sorry but Dounia and Carmen can definetly compete with Nesma and Sarah. Dounia's performance of "Darret El Ayam" was the most beautiful performance of Umm Kulthum song I have seen in a musical competition since Shahd Barmada's Alf Layla wa Layla. The four of them are amazing singers, and they all have very special voices and charisma. And not only they would definetly get in Star Academy, but they would actually be runner-up or winners. Shada Hassoun tried to get into Super Star season 2 and she didn't make it to the final round. So was Mohammed Daqdouq and many others who tried to get into SuperStar and didn't make it. I am agree about Studio El Fan because some of the greatest voice in the Arab music came from there, but the Arabic music industry is more and more open to other nationalities, and it gets more global. Now Khaleeji singers and Lebanese singers sing in Nothern African dialects, more North African singers are making it to the Middle-East and I really like that.
Finally I would say, these show aren't really about the winner. How many winners actually became stars in Star Academy ? Joseph Attieh and Shada Hassoun, that's it. Meanwhile the bigger stars from Star Academy mostly didn't win (Ahmed Cherif, Sofia El Marikh, Amani Souissi, Zeezee Adel, Saad Ramadan, etc..). So I think we cannot generalize about the votes and winning. And with Najm El Khaleej, I think the first winner was Egyptian.
I reaally hope Dounia wins
xoxoxo
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Ahlan Jenny
Dounia was a part of Studio 2M, a Moroccan version of Studio El Fan, but so was Carmen who did many competitions (you can actually check on youtube). Plus Studio 2M is very trivial, Moroccans if they want to make it to the Arabic music industry, they need to go either to Egypt, Lebanon or Gulf, because we don't have good managers and producers from Morocco in the Arabic music industry. Thats why all the Maghrebian singers, wether Moroccans (Samira Said, Laila Ghofran, Jannat), Algerians (Warda, Fulla) or Tunisians (Saber Roba'i, Latifa,..) need to go to the Middle East. And most people who get into musical competions already did many other competitions. Shada Hassoun was a part of Moroccan competition show "Noujoum wa Noujoum" and then she tried SuperStar before trying Star Academy. Nesma Mahjoub was already a performer, so was Sarah Farah. So was Oumayma who was in SuperStar two or three years ago. And what about Rahma was in "SuperStar" and "Najm El Khaleej"... because they got more and more experience. Dounia Batma released one single that she produced herself (the song is good but the clip is Windows Movie Maker's material).
I hope Dounia wins... she has a georgous voice, and she can sings more kind of songs than Carmen... plus Carmen comes from Egypt, there's so many different producers and lyricists there, she can make a carreer there directly, not like Dounia. Plus Egyptian already won this year Star Academy (for the second time), they won Arabs Got Talent and Moroccans rarely win, beside Rajaa Qasabni from X-Factor (and she is a lame performer) and Mona Amarcha and Abdelfattah Grini from Album, but this show had no envergure. It's time we win something bigger....
May the better win
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I'm a fan of Dunia myself. Her talent is a notch above everyone else in this show, including Carmen (a quite average Egyptian voice), but, as you said, we should not be obsessed about who is winning, as, most of the time, these winners stop right there and have no careers afterwards. However, the showbusiness is not fair and it is guided by the profits in the first place, and certainly the MBC has a larger market in Egypt than in all the Maghreb al Arabi - for this reason the result of the show is hard to predict.
I also agree the SuoerStar was the top pan-Arab show of the kind, mostly because Elias Rahbeni made it after he left the Studio al Fan; but, the Future TV had to close down the show, and it is permanently. Unfortunately !
The 8th starac was not the "worst" at all. By any measure it was just a typical season - with some super-talents the LBC was lucky to get in. The afiliated instructor to the show Ousama Rahbeni said himself the talent level was significantly higher than ever before ! You must remember that after the first prime everyone was in awe so much so that people were wandering if that what they watched was relly the starac ! Yes, four candidates were superior to others - plus Efrem (who IS at the level of Saad R.!) - but that is the typical starac formula ! Every season they have a diverse group as the show is not only about the singing: besides the primes the show has the reality TV part, and some "students" are selected for their acting ability - in the sense of the reality TV (not the stage). Also in the primes there is more singing in the foreign languages than in any other music shows. The starac is a mix of many features and it offers a bit to everyone. It is a differennt show and cannot be compared to the A.Idol. About the careers after these shows, you are right, but it is not becaause the talents cannot be compared - rather it comes from the system different producers have in place (or the lack of it). All thoswe you listed come from the SuperStar, and they were prospering thanks to Elias R. and the support he organized in the first years of the show. You can remember that Asma al Jabri was a tremendeus talent in the last S-S season, but after the show she has sadly completely disappeared.
I cannot prove, but it is clear to anyone after a while of watching these shows that the votes are always subject to the producer's business strategies. They make it always reasonable, so you can find some reasons - as you did. People vote for their country representatives most of the time; not always. In the Eurosong show it is lowd and clear (in an indirect way though); why would be the arab countries be different ? What Ahlam said is irrelevant, because teh judges do not know what the producer (they work for) is doing . Shada and Daqdouq were dropped nowhere close to the final rounds - they did not get even to the primes !
I am sorry, but, if you compare Carmen and Dunia to Sarah and Nesma I am assuming you are talking about you personal liking. For instance you may like their voice color. Objectively though, the difference between these pairs of finalists is so huge, I think it is not worth even talking about it. The Najm al Khaleej winners (season 1-5), by country: ksa, yemen, tunisia, yemen, yemen.
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I am sorry , But carmen is not an average egyptian voice! the conception that anyone that does not shout while singing is average is so wrong
Donia has a strong voice yet it is not above any of the other talents! He voice in high notes is literally anoyying!
and to the person that said youseff last perfromance was medicore! r u serious:D! His alli garaa song was by miles better than any other song sang on the show!
regardless of whether the votes r fair! I think both current finalists r amazing talents! But for me .. yousef is the one who will succeeed ! coz apart from his talent his has charisma which i blv is key!
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Oh my mistake for Najm El Khaleej, an Egyptian told me that they won the first season LOL. When I speak about Dounia and Carmen being at the range of Nesma and Sarah, I am really being objective. Honestly as a Moroccan, there's really a few Moroccans I really supported in all these seasons of pan-Arabic competitions : Bassma Boussil (even if her attitude within the Academy pissed me off) from Star Academy 6, Asmaa Lazraq from Najm El Khaleej and Dounia Batma and Saad Lamjarred from SuperStar 4. Sarah has amazing vocals abilities, so is Dounia who can hit really high sounds and whose "3orab" is mind-blowing. Nesma is more a voice for Opera and Western type of music, not really suited for Arabic music, but she was my favorite with Sarah. Anyway for me the best seasons in terms of voice qualities was the 1st, the 3rd and the 6th.
Well Ruwaida Attieh, Diana Karazon and Melhem Zein prospered because they were amazing. Charisma, voices, I mean they were the best TOP 3 among all the seasons of Arabic TV competition. I remember at this time, I used to live in France, and I couldn't say whose victory I wanted to see... they were amazing. Even Nancy Zaabalawi who left I think during the third prime, she was outstanding. The bar was way high... Not all the SuperStar contestants got successful but some of them became really big artists. Asmaa El Jabri, she had great vocals but no charisma.. and unfortunately you can't make it if you don't have both. On the other hands, Mona Amarcha and Abdelfattah Greini who both won MCB's Album have both charisma and voice and they are at their third album.
About Shada and Daqdouq, I don't know if you remember Superstar, but the final rounds are actually the primes, before the final rounds, its the whole audition process.... That's why I said they didn't make it to the final rounds.
Anyway I know Carmen will have the chance to have a great carreer in Egypt, but Moroccans need to go to the Middle-East to start a carreer, and I am sure Dounia is promising, she will be able to sing in all dialects and all type of songs. The last thing that we need is a Jannat bis.
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As for the Najm al K. I could give you some proof regarding an Egyptian winning: in the first two seasons only the nationals of the Arabian peninsula countries were allowed to apply (including the south Iraq). The highest ranking Egyptian has been the candidate this year (4th place). That show is very unusual as since the first season they are changing the show format every year ! This season they looked similar to the starac; next year who knows ?! However, every season they have excelent judges, unlike the A.Idol !
You were rigth about supporting Bassma ! That year the LBC was bought by that rich Saudi guy, and it was not unexpected when Abdulaziz won. Bassma was by far the best, but was there at the wrong moment. I was quite angry, yet, that is how the business works ... I would agree with your opinion about all the individual talents you mentioned and would not go into details - except that I disagree about Sara and Nesma. Both are the best we have heard for years in their respective fields. Nesma could sing in some musical right after the starac as some profesional, and as for Sara, listen to the clips of her with Ruwaida and Najwa (or Samira), few times and carefully, and forget all about the image Rula Saad had for her in the reality TV part of the starac, and you may change your mind (of how good she is - that, for instance, Ruwaida herself felt slightly intimidated).
Sorry about the SuoerStar terminology, I was always getting confused about it. Pity so good program has been terminated ! As for Carmen and Dunia, we always wish great careers to all finalists, but, unfortunately, it never happens for real. The grip on the music "market" by the agents of the established stars and the disc production industry is so stiff that is has strangled all attempts of the new talents, no matter if they are even better. I am pesimistic, both these finalists will disappear after the next few moths of the customary TV interviews ...
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I did not mean "average" in terms of the national average, but in reference only to the talents in different shows over the last several years. Ypu may disagree but an example of a recent Egyptian talent above the average (as specified above) may be Shahinaz (starac; season 5). To stick out you need good command of your lungs - plus some specific voice color ! I am trying to be objective: Carmen does not have this combination; too often she is running out of the suficient breath ! The voice does not have to be "strong" - as your remark is correct - as there are some greaat more "silent" singers. Well, neither Dunia's voice is specific enough, but at least her breathing is excelent. Plus, she has more charisma. Btw, I think too that Yousef should have been in the final. Overall, if you are a Carmen fan, you should not be too anxious: the winner in these shows is often selected by the producer, and as the MBC has a strong interest in the Egyptian market ... But, who knows ?!
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Vote for Carmen!!! She is young and deserves to be credited for having great talent at such a young age. If you are young and didn't your chance to prove to people your talents then vote for somebody that can show the world teenagers are not stupid or irresponsible as the world thinks. Let her be the person to prove to the world that fire starts from the smallest of flames.
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ana bmout fik love you bb youssef arafat
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i love yousef arafat his voice was amazing......for me he is the best among of them..
sara
Mar 18, 2012
ana mahabitx yousf yakhrog ban arab iydl