American Idol of Mideast contestant unites Iraq
"In the northern Iraqi town of Irbil, thousands packed into a shopping mall courtyard and stood before a massive screen, shouting for the victory of their candidate: 'Shada! Shada!'
The chestnut-maned object of their obsession was Shada Hassoun, Iraq's contestant on the fourth season of the Lebanese talent show 'Star Academy,' the 'American Idol' of the Arab world. . . . Iraqis everywhere were in a Shada frenzy this week -- causing many to observe that, win or lose, Hassoun, a 26-year-old who professes to love jet-skiing and Antonio Banderas, had managed to engender a sense of national cohesion that has eluded Iraq for years.
. . . Hassoun might seem an unlikely ambassador for Iraq, because she's never been to the country. Born in Casablanca, Morocco, she lays claim to Iraqi nationality through her father.
. . . But what really counts, fans said, is that the beautiful, Paris-educated Hassoun embraced bombed-out, struggling Iraq. Iraq, in turn, embraced her.
'She is doing all the things that all the Iraqi girls cannot do now: singing, dancing, being free. She is representing freedom,' she [an Iraqi anchorwoman] said. 'Vote for Shada and make Iraqis feel happiness again.' "
source
Brulliard, Karin. (The Washington Post). Iraqis Unite Behind Their Heroine on Arab 'Idol'. March 31, 2007.
posted: monday, april 2, 2007, 5:25 AM ET
tags: iraq shada hassoun
The chestnut-maned object of their obsession was Shada Hassoun, Iraq's contestant on the fourth season of the Lebanese talent show 'Star Academy,' the 'American Idol' of the Arab world. . . . Iraqis everywhere were in a Shada frenzy this week -- causing many to observe that, win or lose, Hassoun, a 26-year-old who professes to love jet-skiing and Antonio Banderas, had managed to engender a sense of national cohesion that has eluded Iraq for years.
. . . Hassoun might seem an unlikely ambassador for Iraq, because she's never been to the country. Born in Casablanca, Morocco, she lays claim to Iraqi nationality through her father.
. . . But what really counts, fans said, is that the beautiful, Paris-educated Hassoun embraced bombed-out, struggling Iraq. Iraq, in turn, embraced her.
'She is doing all the things that all the Iraqi girls cannot do now: singing, dancing, being free. She is representing freedom,' she [an Iraqi anchorwoman] said. 'Vote for Shada and make Iraqis feel happiness again.' "
source
Brulliard, Karin. (The Washington Post). Iraqis Unite Behind Their Heroine on Arab 'Idol'. March 31, 2007.
posted: monday, april 2, 2007, 5:25 AM ET
tags: iraq shada hassoun
Labels: entertainment, iraq
posted by eric at 4:03 AM
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