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
sasaeed@thenational.ae
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
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Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
Ahmed Raza
UAE cricket captain
Age: 31
Born: Sharjah
Role: Left-arm spinner
One-day internationals: 31 matches, 35 wickets, average 31.4, economy rate 3.95
T20 internationals: 41 matches, 29 wickets, average 30.3, economy rate 6.28
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%3Cp%3EThe%20UAE%20flag%20was%20first%20unveiled%20on%20December%202%2C%201971%2C%20the%20day%20the%20UAE%20was%20formed.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EIt%20was%20designed%20by%20Abdullah%20Mohammed%20Al%20Maainah%2C%2019%2C%20an%20Emirati%20from%20Abu%20Dhabi.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EMr%20Al%20Maainah%20said%20in%20an%20interview%20with%20%3Cem%3EThe%20National%3C%2Fem%3E%20in%202011%20he%20chose%20the%20colours%20for%20local%20reasons.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EThe%20black%20represents%20the%20oil%20riches%20that%20transformed%20the%20UAE%2C%20green%20stands%20for%20fertility%20and%20the%20red%20and%20white%20colours%20were%20drawn%20from%20those%20found%20in%20existing%20emirate%20flags.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The biog
Name: James Mullan
Nationality: Irish
Family: Wife, Pom; and daughters Kate, 18, and Ciara, 13, who attend Jumeirah English Speaking School (JESS)
Favourite book or author: “That’s a really difficult question. I’m a big fan of Donna Tartt, The Secret History. I’d recommend that, go and have a read of that.”
Dream: “It would be to continue to have fun and to work with really interesting people, which I have been very fortunate to do for a lot of my life. I just enjoy working with very smart, fun people.”
