Emirati Humeid Abdouli survived the Arab Idol axe over the weekend, just managing to scrape through to the next round of the singing competition.
The 23-year-old from Fujairah was again clearly battling severe nerves as he sang for his place in next week’s top 12.
He took to the stage on Friday night with another regional song, this time Khales Hananak by the Saudi Arabian crooner Abdul Majeed Abdullah.
It was a serviceable performance – Abdouli technically hit all the right notes but failed to channel the passionate lyrics.
This clearly troubled the judging panel – the UAE diva Ahlam, the Egyptian producer Hassan El Shafei and the Lebanese pop stars Nancy Ajram and Wael Kfoury.
“Humeid, I want you to tell me, are you angry?” said Ajram. “Because what I really love about you is that big smile of yours and the positivity you bring to your performance. Today that was missing. Bring your smile back.”
Ahlam praised Abdouli’s mawal – the introductory vocal improvisation – but told him he needed to concentrate more.
Abdouli’s performance didn’t totally convince the audience either – on Saturday he and Egypt’s Mu’min Khaleel garnered the least votes from their group of five contestants.
With only one person leaving the show this round, Abdouli was chosen to sing another day and the relief on his face was palpable.
But the audience choice caused another Arab Idol shock – Khalil, whose smooth crooning style had him pegged as a hot favourite in the early rounds, again had his fate decided by the panel.
A majority decision was needed to save him, with each judge having only one final yes vote that they can use during the live rounds.
Kfoury was not prepared to use his vote this early in the show’s run, and said: “Sorry Mu’min, but I want to save mine.”
Ajram, a fan of Khalil since his audition, voted yes for the Egyptian. But it was for nothing. With two more yes votes required, Khalil needed the green light from both El Shafei and Ahlam – and did not get them.
The disappointment on El Shafei’s face was clear – but he had used a vote last week to keep Khalil in the competition and wasn’t prepared to give him another chance.
“I never expected you to be in this stage, Mu’min,” he said. “I would like to save my vote because I also want to be fair to all the other contestants. Thank you but I am sorry.”
• Arab Idol is broadcast live on MBC1 on Fridays and Saturdays at 10pm
