CNN reports:
When all-American Jennifer Grout first stepped on stage to audition, nobody could have anticipated how this 23-year-old from Massachusetts would take the Middle East by storm.
Now, she may very well win “Arabs Got Talent,” one of the biggest televised talent contests in the region.
During her debut appearance, she looked so out of place that many thought she’d flop altogether.
“It was nerve-wracking,” Grout said, “because I came on stage and I didn’t understand.”
The show’s judges were questioning her in Arabic, and Grout had great difficulty following, making for some very awkward moments.
But then she started strumming her oud, a traditional Arabic musical instrument, and the mood began to shift. She belted out a classic Arabic song. That’s when her life changed.
The American novice had chosen to cover an Egyptian diva, legendary songstress Umm Kulthoum, so revered throughout the region that many Arabic singers would be too intimidated to make such an attempt.
“When I’m performing, I’m in a different element,” Grout said. “So at that point, I wasn’t scared.”
To everyone’s surprise, her rendition of the classic “Baeed Annak (Far From You)” was a huge hit.
“When I finished, everyone was just shocked,” explained Grout. “Actually, when the judges were giving their comments after my performance, I didn’t understand them, either.”
She wasn’t the only one confused. Fans of the show wondered how a young foreigner who barely spoke Arabic could sing it so well.
