The first-ever hijabi to take part in the French version of popular TV talent show 'The Voice', has gone viral all over social media.
The French-Syrian singer, Mennel, stunned both audiences and judges during the show's blind audition episode - where judges sit with their backs to contestants, only turning their seats if they're moved by a performance.
Stepping on stage, the young talent performed Leonard Cohen's 'Hallelujah', adding an entire Arabic verse to her rendition.
All four of the show's judges for this year's season, including French singer Zazie, British-Lebanese singer Mika, singer Pascal Obispo, and musician Florent Pagny, turned their seats during the course of Mennel's performance.
She eventually decided to join Mika's team and will be coached by him on the program's upcoming episodes.
Even though she is considered the first hijabi to feature on the French version of the talent contest, she's not alone when it comes to other international adaptations of the show, including the Arabic one.
Mennel's TV debut is going viral
A video of the young singer's performance started making the rounds online earlier this week and has since taken social media by storm.
However, given her background and religion, the media attention didn't come without hate. Soon after her performance went viral, the singer's existing social media accounts were targeted by several Islamophobes and supporters of Zionism.
According to The Middle East Eye, "pro-Israel sites have accused her of being 'a member of the Muslim far-right' and a 'conspiratorialist'" because she previously took a stand against Israel and questioned the involvement of armed Islamists in the Nice terrorist attacks on Facebook.
Amid the backlash, these posts seem to have been removed from her online social media pages and she has yet to comment on the matter.
A few online trolls also targeted the singer for being Muslim, ridiculing her hijab (head cover), and criticizing her for having previously shared an Islamic scholars' video on Facebook.
Speaking to French newspaper Le Figaro earlier this week, the songstress spoke out about her turban-style hijab, saying that as a Muslim woman, she sees it as a modern way of wearing the traditional veil.
Nevertheless, and even amid the backlash, Mennel's performance on the show continues to outshine the unacceptable trolling and criticism.
