A 15-year-old Emirati girl made it to the next round of the reality television talent show The X Factor by the skin of her teeth.
Almaz, who sang an unidentified Arabic song, struck a fun, youthful appearance during a blink-and-you'll-miss-it audition on Saturday night's first episode of the show's fourth, revamped season.
Dressed in light-blue jeans and a pink top, with blue contact lenses and her face framed by brown, highlighted hair cut in long layers, Almaz was labelled "cute" by the Lebanese judge Ragheb Alama, who also liked her voice, but fellow Lebanese judge Elissa gave her a resounding "no". The teenager began jumping up and down in delight when Elissa finally changed her mind and conceded with a curt "for your eyes only" at Alama's urging.
If there's one thing that's clear about The X Factor this season, it is that Alama and Elissa share a close friendship, which began in 2000 when they collaborated on the duet Betghib Betrouh. Their camaraderie left no space for tension on the judging panel (unlike Alama's uncomfortable experience with the Emirati singer Ahlam during his stint as a judge on Arab Idol).
The third judge on the celebrity panel, the young Egyptian actress and singer Donia Ghanem - daughter of the renowned Egyptian actors Samir Ghanem and Dalal Abdel Aziz - is an easy-going peacemaker who had nothing but compliments for the contestants.
It's no surprise, though: the performers were of a high calibre, and The X Factor's premise that all are welcome - regardless of age, language, group or solo act - meant that a wide range of ages and backgrounds took to the stage.
It also meant that Sebastien, a French-speaking guitarist who auditioned successfully, might have a chance of finding his biological parents.
"I don't know who my real parents are," he told the judges. "I was adopted at three months. All I know is I am Algerian, I am Arab, I have Algerian blood. I don't know Arabic, but I am hoping my parents might watch this and realise who I am."
The 32-year-old performed the French song Papaoutai by Stromae and at the end of his audition, Elissa said: "Your singing reached my heart, and, God willing, through your participation in The X Factor you will get to know your real parents."
Sixteen acts received a "yes" from the judges - six in the Arabic Soloists category, including Almaz; five in International Soloists, including Sebastien; and five in the Group category.
The show's first episode also managed to solve a mystery that had been haunting Alama for years. The man behind the popular 1980s Arabic folk song Mariam Mariamti finally made himself known.
Mohammed Hussein, a 60-year-old from Syria, took to the stage to sing a song that he had written and at first, Alama said that was not allowed: "We don't allow personal songs, only well-known songs for your audition, please."
Hussein retorted with an assurance that the song is famous: "You will be surprised and pleased with the song, it has been sung a lot but you just don't know that I wrote it."
Hussein claims he wrote the melody and most of the lyrics in 1985 and felt it was his right to take credit and become known for his popular tune.
Although he did not make it to the next round, he received high praise from the judges.
Alama said: "I am so, so happy that you are here with us today, because my entire life I've wondered who wrote this song." Elissa said she was honoured to have met him, and Ghanem urged him to continue writing beautiful tunes.
. The X Factor is broadcast on Saturday on MBC4 and MBC Masr at 10pm. Visit www.mbc.net and follow the show on social media using #MBCTheXFactor
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