Emirati singer makes it to last 26 of Arab Idol

Good attitude helps the 'ecstatic' young man proceed to the talent show's next stage.

Humeid Abdouli, the Emirati star of Arab Idol’s third season. Courtesy MBC

Humeid Abdouli never appeared on screen without a grateful grin on his face, no matter how high the tensions were running on Arab Idol.

His smile was well-placed: the 23-year-old from Fujairah was the only Emirati to get through the auditions in Dubai in March and win a place in the final stages, which will be televised live starting on Friday.

He had remained positive throughout the rigorous and highly competitive selection process.

“I am really optimistic about myself and, God willing, they will tell me that I get to go to the live show,” said Abdouli, as he awaited his face-to-face showdown with the four intimidating judges. His upbeat attitude paid off. “I like the smile on his face – so confident,” said the judge Hassan El Shafei, an Egyptian music producer, as Abdouli assured the judges he was fine with whatever their decision may be.

"Well," said the Emirati judge Ahlam, "we insist on having you with us. You stood proud and you sang and you were wonderful, so welcome to Arab Idol."

Abdouli will be joined in the final stages by the 26-year-old oud player Majed Al Madani, from Saudi Arabia, who also emerged successful from the auditions in Dubai.

Like Abdouli, he impressed all four judges, and Ahlam told him he is exactly what they were looking for. “Every year, we search for unique voices from the Gulf,” she said, adding that Al Madani fell into that category.

Two other contestants who auditioned in Dubai were not so lucky. The Iraqi singer Karar Sultan, 26, had to be told twice that it was time to go home by the Lebanese judge Wael Kfoury as he wouldn’t believe it. “A stage needs presence, acceptance, and you have these things but your performance for us as a judging panel wasn’t successful,” said Kfoury. Sultan walked out shocked.

The Japanese singer Nao Koyasu left in tears. The 29-year-old from Tokyo, together with four other female participants, sang Sa'alouni El Nas for Fairouz. Unlike the four girls she sang with, Koyasu's performance did not pass the judges' high ­standards.

El Shafei thanked Koyasu “for appreciating our culture, for doing such a great effort to be here and to learn our music and to learn a lot of details maybe some other Arabic native speakers cannot do as good as you do”. The final verdict, however, was a resounding “no”.

“I should have studied more,” said Koyasu, fighting back tears.

Friday night’s episode divided the 80 participants into 14 teams, to perform classic Arabic songs and folk tunes in front of Ahlam, El Shafei and the Lebanese pop stars Nancy Ajram and Kfoury.

Of the 80, chosen from thousands of hopefuls who auditioned to take part in the third season of the show in 12 cities around the world, 52 were invited to move on to the next round.

On Saturday’s episode, each of them sang short solos in front of the judges before hearing their final verdict. By the end, the 52 had been whittled down to 26.

Abdouli was "ecstatic" to reach the finals. His message to viewers was loud and clear: "Please vote for me, don't forget me, stay with me and vote for me. God willing, Arab Idol will be from the Gulf and God willing I am the next Arab Idol."

Arab Idol will be broadcast live on MBC1 on Fridays and Saturdays at 10pm