SuperStar was an Arabic television show based on the popular British show Pop Idol created by Simon Fuller's 19 Entertainment & developed by Fremantle Media. The show unites the Arab community by democratically choosing the next singing sensation. The show is broadcast worldwide on Future TV, a Lebanese television station. It is also the first Idol franchise to feature contestants from multiple countries.
Star Academy Arab World or Star Academy Arabia, is an Arab world televised talent show, which aired from December 5, 2003, to January 29, 2016. The show features a group of young male and female candidates who are selected from a pan-Arab pool of more than three-thousand and are sequestered for four months in "The Academy," a four-story building in Lebanon, where they live, train, and compete against one another every week. The show became an instant success and an everyday much-watched event across the Arab world.
Abdel Halim Ali Shabana, commonly known as Abdel Halim Hafez, was an Egyptian singer, actor, conductor, businessman, music teacher and film producer. He is considered to be one of the greatest Egyptian musicians along with Umm Kulthum, Mohamed Abdel Wahab, Farid Al Atrach, Mohamed Fawzi, and Shadia. As his popularity grew, he was given the nickname 'el-Andaleeb el-Asmar, meaning The Dark-Skinned Nightingale. To date, he has sold over 80 million records.
Carole Samaha is a Lebanese singer, actress, and performer. She has released six studio albums. Samaha has a Master's degree in acting and directing, which she earned in 1999 from the Saint Joseph University of Beirut.
The X Factor Arabia, originally aired on March 26, 2006, with the title XSeer Al Najah is the Arab version of The X Factor. The Arabic-language version of the program also created by Simon Cowell has a similar format to the British version, in that there are judges who each have a team of contestants to mentor and compete with each other for the X Factor title. The 14-episode first series was broadcast in 22 Arabic-speaking countries. In its debut, it was known as being one of the most watched programs on television and was produced and supported by Rotana, one of the largest production companies in the Arab World. The winner of XSeer Al Najah earned a chance to sign with Rotana. However, with the continuing success of the rival pan-Arab series Star Academy on Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation (LBC), XSeer All Najah lost most of its pan-Arab appeal and was discontinued after season 2. In 2023, season 5 was released.
Syco Entertainment is a British media entertainment and production company, headquartered in London, founded and owned by British entrepreneur and record executive Simon Cowell. The company focuses on TV production. The company was formed in 2005 through Sony Music Entertainment entering a joint venture by purchasing Cowell's shares of his record label S Records and television company Syco Television. In 2009, Sony and Cowell entered a joint venture agreement that covered the joint ownership of Syco's television formats, which include the Got Talent and The X Factor franchises. Until 2020, the company operated television and music projects with Sony Music labels around the world and television production company Fremantle. It employs a staff of more than 50 in offices in London and Los Angeles, and manages a string of television and music brands through partnerships with the label Sony Music and the television production company.
MTV Middle East, formerly MTV Arabia, was a free-to-air music television channel, and the Middle Eastern incarnation of MTV. As an addition to the MTV network, it was a joint venture between MTV Networks International and Arabian Television Network, a subsidiary of Arabian Broadcasting Network, and part of Arab Media Group, the largest media group in the United Arab Emirates. Launched as MTV Arabia, the channel was rebranded as MTV Middle East on August 30, 2011.
X-Factor is the Ukrainian version of The X Factor, a show originating from the United Kingdom. It is a television music talent show for aspiring pop singers drawn from public auditions. Auditions were held in major cities of Ukraine: Dnipro, Lviv, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kyiv, Poltava, Korosten, Zaporizhzhia, Simferopol, Mykolaiv, Chernivtsi, Uzhhorod, Lutsk, and Rivne.
Mohamed Ahmed Ali, also known by the mononym Mohamed, is a Danish singer. Ali was born in Nørresundby, Aalborg. In 2009, he took part in Season 2 of The X Factor, coming third after winner Linda Andrews and runners up Alien Beat Club. After the series, he signed a contract with Sony Music. On the occasion, Karina Foss Fenn of Sony Music Entertainment Denmark was quoted as saying: "It is rare that we in the music industry encounter a natural talent like Mohamed Ali. Both in his vocals and his physique, he oozes musicality – and his voice has both power and a sweetness that makes his rhythm quite unique." The music will no doubt to reflect Mohamed's personality". This contract resulted in a debut album Keep It Simple of 12 original songs and his single "Rocket" became one of the best downloaded songs.
Arab Idol is an Arabic television show, based on the popular British show Pop Idol created by Simon Fuller's 19 Entertainment and developed by Fremantle Media and recorded in Beirut, Lebanon. The first season premiered on 9 December 2011. The show was broadcast worldwide on MBC 1 and simultaneously aired on LBC. The second season debuted on 8 March 2013, the third season on 5 September 2014, and the fourth season on 4 November 2016 on MBC.
The X Factor is an American reality television music competition show created by Simon Cowell and produced by FremantleMedia North America and SYCOtv, a partnership between Cowell and Sony Music Entertainment, which aired on Fox. Based on the original UK show, and an addition to The X Factor franchise, the series found new singing talent, drawn from public auditions, and they competed against each other for votes. The winner is determined by the show's viewers via telephone, the Internet, and SMS text voting, and is awarded a recording contract with Cowell's record label Syco Music, worth $5 million in seasons one and two, and $1 million in season three. America voted for the following winners: Melanie Amaro, Tate Stevens, and Alex & Sierra, respectively.
The Collective were an Australian boy band consisting of members Trent Bell, Julian De Vizio, Zach Russell, Jayden Sierra and Will Singe. They were formed during the fourth season of The X Factor Australia in 2012 and were the last contestant eliminated. The Collective subsequently signed with Sony Music Australia and released their debut single "Surrender", which debuted at number six on the ARIA Singles Chart. The group's self-titled album, The Collective, was released in December 2012 and debuted at number 11 on the ARIA Albums Chart. The Collective disbanded in 2015 to pursue solo careers.
The Voice: Ahla Sawt is the Arabic version of Dutch show The Voice of Holland created by John de Mol and produced by Talpa Media Group. The first season of MENA's version of The Voice debuted on 14 September 2012 and was broadcast worldwide from Beirut, Lebanon via MBC 1, a pan-Arabian television station. Through an agreement, the show was also simulcast via LBCI's channels. The first two season's main host was Egyptian actor Mohammad Kareem and Arwa Gouda. Nadine Wilson Njeim hosted from backstage.
Brian Vaughn Bradley Jr., better known by his stage names Astro, Stro, and the Astronomical Kid, is an American rapper, producer and actor. He is known for being a contestant on the first season of The X Factor USA in 2011. Astro took the judges with his original song shot at Simon, for looking at his mom. His mentor was producer and label executive L.A. Reid. Astro was the seventh contestant eliminated in the competition. After his appearance on The X Factor, he starred in an episode of Person of Interest. In 2014, he co-starred in the major films Earth to Echo and A Walk Among the Tombstones, and the Fox series Red Band Society.
Marlisa Ann Punzalan, also known simply as Marlisa, is an Australian singer. She won the sixth season of The X Factor Australia in 2014, aged 15, the youngest contestant to have won the show. Punzalan subsequently received a recording contract with Sony Music Australia and released her debut single "Stand by You", which debuted at number two on the ARIA Singles Chart and was certified platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association. This was followed by the release of her self-titled debut album Marlisa, which debuted at number six the ARIA Albums Chart and was certified gold. "Stand by You" was nominated for the ARIA Award for Song of the Year in 2015.
The third season of Arab Idol premiered on 5 September 2014. Auditions were held in Beirut, Bahrain, Kuwait, Algeria, Cairo, Alexandria, Dubai, Morocco, Palestine, Iraq and on the European continent, notably in Paris and Berlin. Emirates Airlines was a major sponsor of season 3. The winner of the season was Hazem Shareef from Syria.
The5 were an Arab pop boy band composed of Kazem Chamas, Ahmed Hassan, Adil Echbiy, Said Karmouz and Mohamed Bouhezza. They finished third in the fourth series of the Arabic televised singing competition The X Factor Arabia in 2015
Marwan Motawea, popularly known as Marwan Pablo, is an Egyptian rapper from Alexandria. Influenced by the genre of Hip Hop, Pablo is one of the pioneers that popularizes trap music in Egypt. He is known for Free, Ghaba, El Gemeza, Sindbad, Barbary, and more.
Tamer Hussein is an Egyptian lyricist and composer, who has won several awards and honors as the best poet in Egypt.He has composed Egyptian-genre songs for numerous singers in the MENA region, including Amr Diab, Tamer Hosny, Elissa, Samira Said, Sherine Abdel Wahab, Husseini, Amal Maher, Mohamed Hamaki, Jannat, Nancy Ajram, Carole Samaha, Asala, Bahaa Sultan, Wael Jassar, Hani Shaker, and others. He also composed the score for the film "Al Molhed" in 2014.
