Singer from Gaza wants to be Arab Idol

Arab Idol is an over-the-top TV ratings smash in the Middle East, and a young crooner from a Palestinian refugee family, whom admirers have nicknamed “the Rocket”, is stealing the show. The surprise breakout of the second season is a 23-year-old Gaza Strip resident named Mohammed Assaf, whose patriotic folk songs and romantic ballads – with their themes of grit, longing and love – have propelled him into the final rounds.

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