Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Bassima kills it impersonating Piaf!

The first episode of the much touted program on MBC4 Chaklak Mich Gharib (you look familiar) whereby known people actually impersonate other known celebrities (but could also be seen as a vehicle for Haifa Wehbe being in the jury judging voices far superior than hers) left me lukewarm leaning towards super cold.
There was little "vibe" in the program despite the massive ad campaign, the production efforts and what transpires to be a professional team to prepare the candidates. Still, where there's no spark, there's no spark.
One of the "contestants" of Chaklak Mich Gharib is Lebanese singer Bassima - who was one of the winners of Lebanon's most known talent competition "Studio el Fan", which was a major TV show organized usually biyearly and masterminded by Simon Asmar and which was the ancestor of reality shows as we know them and even then, talent did not get you far (otherwise how to explain the rise to prominence of winners of such a show who have incredibly limited vocal range such as Elissa).
Bassima, let's be honest, has a career full of hits but also misses. She was never as big as Elissa, Haifa Wehbe or Nancy Ajram, she was never as much of her image as Carole Samaha, she was under-served by major label Rotana when she joined them, and heck, if I am to remember her I would go back to the anecdote found here!
Bassima has been off the airwaves for a while, but this week's performance (even if she was not crowned winner despite what - from social media comments - seemed hugely unfair) of her impersonation of Edith Piaf proves her incredible vocal range, her ability to inhabit a character, and to overall go places where other stars and starlets who rose to prominence only dream of.
Watch all the video above, even the rehearsals are worth it and when she offers a post-performance bonus (I shall keep it a surprise) she just blows things through the roof.

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