After two years running on the Saudi-owned Rotana and one on Egypt's CBC, X Factor Arabia relaunched Saturday on MBC4 and MBC Masr. The program was removed from the other channels' line-ups due to poor ratings, particularly in comparison to competitors such as Arab Idol and The Voice Arabia .
The judges for this season are Lebanon's Elissa, Lebanon's Ragheb Alama and Egypt's Donia Samir Ghanem. Elissa was also a judge on the previous season but the other two judges are new to the program. Ghanem admitted that she was initially unsure about participating on the show until she found out who the other judges were.
“It was then that I made my final decision to be part of this remarkable program,” Ghanem said, according to The Daily Star .
Prior to the premiere, the program was officially announced at the Jumeirah Beach Hotel in Dubai last Wednesday with a performance by Little Mix, the pop group that won the 2010 season of the British X Factor.
During the premiere a lot of great moments already occurred for the new season. Egyptian contestant Mustapha Abdulwahab proposed to Elissa with a flower following his performance, receiving a kiss from the celebrity, but unfortunately a no from the judges. Syrian contestant Mohamad Hussein performed the popular Arabic folk song "Mariam Mariamti" and revealed that he had actually written the song in the 1980s to the surprise of the judges. Still, the tough judges gave him a no as well.
A heartwarming story to arise during the premiere was of Algerian contestant Sebastian. Having been adopted as a baby, Sebastian never knew his Arab family and doesn't speak Arabic. He is competing on the show in hopes that his birth parents will watch and realize he is their lost son.
Following Sebastian's performance in French, 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." Sebastian received a "yes" from the judges.
Overall, 16 acts were allowed to move on to the next round. Six moved on from the Arabic soloist category, five in the international soloist category and five from the group category.
Will Sebastian find his family? What other touching moments will occur over the course of the new season? We'll just have to stay tuned to find out.