Arab TV talent shows display Palestinian ‘soft power’

posted on: Apr 21, 2015

In recent years, Palestinian artists have gained fame on popular TV talent contests broadcast across the region, enabling the conflict-ridden territory to display a new kind of “soft power,” UAE-based daily Gulf News reported on Sunday.

The most prominent example may be Mohammad Assaf, a 23-year-old Palestinian whose voice wowed judges and fans, catapulting him to victory on the Middle East Broadcasting Center’s (MBC Group) Arab Idol TV talent contest in the summer of 2013.

Assaf’s own path to winning – and even entering the contest – had not been smooth. After a two day drive to the Egyptian capital Cairo, he had jumped over the hotel wall to get a chance at entering the contest, and showed up without having registered. After singing in the hotel lobby, another Palestinians contestant surrendered his place in the auditions, saying that Assaf had a “much better voice.”

Source: english.alarabiya.net