Iraq tunes in as a star is born
***
By Oliver Poole
BaghdadAugust 25, 2005
WHERE politicians and a draft constitution have failed, a television show has succeeded. Iraqis are united in their enthusiasm for a local version of Australian Idol.
Iraq Star has become a television phenomenon since it began six weeks ago, and more than 2000 hopefuls have risked the country's dangerous roads to audition for a chance at a career in pop music.
In a studio in a corner of Baghdad's Babylon Hotel this week, a teenage girl attempted a Lebanese song popular among young Iraqis, only to be mercilessly ridiculed for her inability to dance.
Then, in a musical critique rarely heard on the Australian version of the show, a singer was upbraided for making a grammatical mistake in her metaphorical tale about a humming bird. " 'Slaughtered bird' is masculine," the judge complained. "But you kept saying it is feminine."
The show is watched by about half of Iraq's TV viewing audience when broadcast at 9 o'clock every night.
Producer Wadia Nader admitted surprise at its success. "We have people coming from across the provinces to audition who say that everyone they know is watching it and talking about those who appear," he said.
Nader believes Iraq Star offers much-needed respite from the strains of daily life in the struggling nation racked by power cuts, water shortages and constant threat of death.
As in Australia, contestants take turns to audition before three judges. The most successful are invited back for the final rounds, in which the public will vote by telephone.
The show even has its own Kyle Sandilands, the feared shock jock whose caustic put-downs have reduced many Australian contestants to tears.
However, security fears mean there is no studio audience and the final will be held in Lebanon to avoid being targeted by bombers.
A 12-year-old boy from Mosul named Bilal is being tipped as a winner.
At the audition, he performed his own song that told of the destruction
of Iraq and the suffering of the children.
Halfway through he started to cry, and by the time he had finished all
three judges were weeping. Even the panel's Mr Nasty was sobbing
loudly.
Link Here
By Oliver Poole
BaghdadAugust 25, 2005
WHERE politicians and a draft constitution have failed, a television show has succeeded. Iraqis are united in their enthusiasm for a local version of Australian Idol.
Iraq Star has become a television phenomenon since it began six weeks ago, and more than 2000 hopefuls have risked the country's dangerous roads to audition for a chance at a career in pop music.
In a studio in a corner of Baghdad's Babylon Hotel this week, a teenage girl attempted a Lebanese song popular among young Iraqis, only to be mercilessly ridiculed for her inability to dance.
Then, in a musical critique rarely heard on the Australian version of the show, a singer was upbraided for making a grammatical mistake in her metaphorical tale about a humming bird. " 'Slaughtered bird' is masculine," the judge complained. "But you kept saying it is feminine."
The show is watched by about half of Iraq's TV viewing audience when broadcast at 9 o'clock every night.
Producer Wadia Nader admitted surprise at its success. "We have people coming from across the provinces to audition who say that everyone they know is watching it and talking about those who appear," he said.
Nader believes Iraq Star offers much-needed respite from the strains of daily life in the struggling nation racked by power cuts, water shortages and constant threat of death.
As in Australia, contestants take turns to audition before three judges. The most successful are invited back for the final rounds, in which the public will vote by telephone.
The show even has its own Kyle Sandilands, the feared shock jock whose caustic put-downs have reduced many Australian contestants to tears.
However, security fears mean there is no studio audience and the final will be held in Lebanon to avoid being targeted by bombers.
A 12-year-old boy from Mosul named Bilal is being tipped as a winner.
At the audition, he performed his own song that told of the destruction
of Iraq and the suffering of the children.
Halfway through he started to cry, and by the time he had finished all
three judges were weeping. Even the panel's Mr Nasty was sobbing
loudly.
Link Here
posted by Kangaroo Brisbane Australia at 8:16 AM
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