They're safe, and they'll be continuing their quest for glory in The X Factor, but The 5's performance on Saturday night did not please the celebrity judges on the TV talent show.
Ragheb Alama warned the newly formed boyband, whose members hail from Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco and Algeria, that they would have to do better, and said only BMD – the Algerian rapper – had delivered a decent performance.
“Said and Kazem, you were average, and Adil and Ahmed, you were both below average. In this competition, you all have to be well above average, all of you,” said Alama.
The 5 sang Rag'een, which was a hit for Amr Diab in 1995 and a favourite of the group.
The theme of the evening was classic hits.
By the end of the night, the 12 hopefuls had been reduced to 11 as the first act was voted off the show.
The four singers in Alama’s “solo international” category and the four in Elissa’s “solo Arabic” category made it to the next round, but Egyptian judge Donia Ghanem lost one of her groups – the Aves Band.
Despite their mediocre performance, The band – created by the judges on The X Factor, not unlike how Simon Cowell created One Direction – are clearly the favourites of the audience, and the most talked about contestants on social media.
Saturday’s episode gave fans the chance to learn more about the five young men. The boys teased and jostled one another, and revealed a little bit about their personalities.
“All of us in the group consider Adil to be our big brother,” said Said Karmouz, 19. BMD, 21, added, “Adil is the factor that brings us all together as one.”
BMD wrote original verses that the band added into both Rag'een, which the group sang on Saturday, and Saad Lamjarred's Enty, which they sang live last week. He said he wrote the new lyrics so that he could add a rap element into the songs and give them an edge.
“In any song we sing, when we reach BMD’s part and he starts singing, the entire audience reacts with him,” said Said.
“But he has one problem,” added Ahmed Hassan, 21. “If a war erupted beside him, he wouldn’t wake up.”
Adil Echbiy, 29, said: “The best thing about Ahmed is his self-confidence. When he has such confidence, it affects all of us in the group.”
That left Kazem Chamas, 19, whom the group loves to tease for his young age.
“Just like he said about himself in his audition, Kazem has all the perfect qualities,” said Said, while the rest of the band laughed. “He just needs to develop them!”
• The next live episode of The X Factor will air on Saturday at 10pm on MBC4 and two acts will be voted off this week
arstslife@thenational.ae
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Sun jukebox
Rufus Thomas, Bear Cat (The Answer to Hound Dog) (1953)
This rip-off of Leiber/Stoller’s early rock stomper brought a lawsuit against Phillips and necessitated Presley’s premature sale to RCA.
Elvis Presley, Mystery Train (1955)
The B-side of Presley’s final single for Sun bops with a drummer-less groove.
Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Two, Folsom Prison Blues (1955)
Originally recorded for Sun, Cash’s signature tune was performed for inmates of the titular prison 13 years later.
Carl Perkins, Blue Suede Shoes (1956)
Within a month of Sun’s February release Elvis had his version out on RCA.
Roy Orbison, Ooby Dooby (1956)
An essential piece of irreverent juvenilia from Orbison.
Jerry Lee Lewis, Great Balls of Fire (1957)
Lee’s trademark anthem is one of the era’s best-remembered – and best-selling – songs.
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Analysis
Members of Syria's Alawite minority community face threat in their heartland after one of the deadliest days in country’s recent history. Read more
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