Salma Rachid (, Moroccan pronunciation: ; born 13 June 1994) is a Moroccan pop singer and actress who gained fame at the age of 18 following her participation in the second season of ''

Arab Idol ''Arab Idol'' is an Arabic television show, based on the popular British show ''Pop Idol'' created by Simon Fuller's 19 Entertainment and developed by Fremantle Media and recorded in Beirut, Lebanon. The first season premiered on 9 December 201 ...

'', broadcast on MBC. The youngest contestant, she earned fifth place and was praised for the strength of her voice, her ability to master various styles, and her charisma. She was nicknamed ''El Sultana'' by her fans and considers

Umm Kulthum Umm Kulthum (; 31 December 1898 – 3 February 1975) was an Egyptians, Egyptian singer and film actress active from the 1920s to the 1970s. She was given the honorific title (). Immensely popular throughout the Middle East and beyond, Umm Kul ...

among her main inspiration.

Early life

Her family originally from the

oasis In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment Tafilalt Tafilalt or Tafilet (), historically Sijilmasa, is a region of Morocco, centered on its largest oasis. Etymology There are many speculations regarding the origin of the word "Tafilalt", however it is known that Tafilalt is a Berber word meaning ...

, a region south east

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

, Salma was born and raised in the neighbourhood of Hay Mohammedi, in the

Ain Sebaa-Hay Mohammedi Ain (, ; ) is a French department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, Eastern France. Named after the Ain river, it is bordered by the Saône and Rhône rivers. Ain is located on the country's eastern edge, on the Swiss border, where it nei ...

district of

Casablanca Casablanca (, ) is the largest city in Morocco and the country's economic and business centre. Located on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Chaouia (Morocco), Chaouia plain in the central-western part of Morocco, the city has a populatio ...

, Morocco. Salma was passionate about music, drawing and fashion from a very young age. She told MBC during an interview that she used to steal clothes from her family, tearing them apart and then stitching them to create new clothes. She also said in the same interview that she almost got hit by a car when she was younger, but her best friend saved her, losing her own life. She graduated from high school in June 2012, getting her

baccalauréat The ''baccalauréat'' (; ), often known in France colloquially as the ''bac'', is a French national academic qualification that students can obtain at the completion of their secondary education (at the end of the ''lycée'') by meeting certain ...

and enrolled into

university A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

where she pursued her studies in

economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

Participation in ''Arab Idol''

At the age of 18, Salma decided to take a chance and auditioned for the second season of ''

''. The Moroccan audition took place in Casablanca, and Salma performed "Ya Moniyati", a Yemeni song that is extremely popular throughout the Persian Gulf region, in front of the jury panel composed by Arabic superstars

Ragheb Alama Ragheb Alama ( born 7 June 1962) is a Lebanon, Lebanese music artist and television personality. Alama began his career in the 1980s when he appeared as a contestant on the talent show broadcast Studio El Fan, on which he received the Platinum Aw ...

, Ahlam,

Nancy Ajram Nancy Nabil Ajram (, ; born May 16, 1983) is a Lebanese singer, television personality, and businesswoman, dubbed by Spotify as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Arab Pop". With the support of her father, she began performing ...

and Egyptian producer

Hassan El Shafei Hassan El Shafei (; born 9 October 1982) is an Egyptian record producer and media personality, el-Shafei was distinguished by his modern style in choosing music. He also cooperated with important names in the music world from all the Arab countri ...

. Salma was then accepted by all of them and flew to

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

, to pursue the casting process. She performed then "El Ward Gamil" from

with five other contestants, than she performed "Awal Marra" by

Abdelhalim Hafez Abdel Halim Ali Shabana (), commonly known as Abdel Halim Hafez (, ) (21 June 1929 – 30 March 1977), was an Egyptian singer, actor, conductor, businessman, music teacher and film producer. Abdel Halim is considered to be one of the greatest E ...

and managed to be picked among the 27 finalists who would compete to get into the finale stage. During the first prime, she performed

Talal Maddah Talal Maddah (5 August 1940 – 11 August 2000; ) was a Saudis, Saudi Arabian musician and composer . He was named Maddah after his mother's family and was commonly nicknamed as "The Earth's Voice" (). He had a substantial influence over 20th ...

's classic "Zaman El Samt", but even if the jury was convinced by her beautiful and powerful voice, her interpretation was judged too aggressive. Ahlam nevertheless said that if she just focused a bit more and doesn't get carried away in her performances, she would "break" the Arab world (as being the new Arabic musical sensation). Unfortunately, Salma didn't manage to get enough votes, and she was one of the eight contestants picked by the jury to perform in order to get one of the 4 wildcards. She was picked by

and performed

's "Ya Msaharni" for survival. She was eventually saved alongside Bahraini contestant Hanane Reda, which allowed her to finally be part of the thirteen finalists. Salma performed various songs during the competition, from classic singers such as

Sabah Sabah () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah has land borders with the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and Indonesia's North Kalima ...

, Mayada El Henawi, to folk singer such as Fouad Ghazi or

Arabic pop Arabic pop music or Arab pop music is a subgenre of pop music and Arabic music. Arabic pop is mainly produced and originated in Cairo, Egypt; with Beirut, Lebanon, as a secondary center. It is an outgrowth of the Arabic film industry (mainly Egy ...

singers like

Samira Said Samira Abdelrazak Bensaïd (; born 10 January 1958), professionally known as Samira Said (), is a Moroccan-Egyptian singer who has lived in Egypt for more than 40 years and is known for her Egyptian Arabic genre. She represented Morocco in the E ...

Sherine Sherine Sayed Mohamed Abdel Wahab (; born 8 October 1980), known professionally as simply Sherine, is an Egyptians, Egyptian Singing, singer, Actor, actress and music judge who is dubbed ''"The Voice of Egypt"''. Sherine was formerly a judge on ...

. What was remarkable about Salma's path is that even if she didn't get enough votes in the beginning, she managed to be in the safe zone most of the time, thanks to her on-growing fanbase. She was acclaimed by the jury and the audience each Friday and even Egyptian superstar

Mohammed Mounir Mohamed Mounir (; born October 10, 1954) is an Egyptian singer and actor, with a musical career spanning more than four decades. He incorporates various genres into his music, including classical Egyptian music, Nubian music, Blues, Jazz and Reg ...

told her : "You have something rare in the Arab world : a great voice with a huge charisma". She was contacted by many people from the Arabic music scene who praised her for her voice, such as

Syrian Syrians () are the majority inhabitants of Syria, indigenous to the Levant, most of whom have Arabic, especially its Levantine and Mesopotamian dialects, as a mother tongue. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend ...

singer

Rouwaida Attieh Rouwaida Attieh (; born July 1, 1982) is a Syrian vocalist. Rouwaida was the first runner-up on the first season of Super Star, the pan-Arab import of "Pop Idol". Along with Lebanese contestant Melhem Zein, she was a favourite to win the contest ...

and Lebanese lyricist Salim Assaf (who wrote songs for top singers like

Carole Samaha Carole Samaha (; born July 25, 1972) is a Lebanese-Egyptian singer, actress, and performer. She has released six studio albums. Samaha has a Master's degree in acting and directing, which she earned in 1999 from the Saint Joseph University of B ...

Najwa Karam Najwa Karam (; ; born 26 February 1966) is a Lebanon, Lebanese singer, songwriter, producer, fashion icon, and television personality. She has sold over 60 million records worldwide and was recognized as the highest-selling Lebanese people, Leba ...

Ramy Ayach Ramy Abu Ayach (, born August 18, 1980) is a Lebanese singer, composer, and actor. Commonly referred to as the "Pop Star" in the Arab world for his impact and contribution to the contemporary Arab music scene and Pop Culture, Ayach is a winner o ...

and who told her he will write her a song) as well as various people from the Moroccan scene. On the 7th prime, she performed Ahlam's tube "Nawaylak Ala Niya", then sung with Lebanese pop singer

Diana Haddad Diana Haddad (; born 1 October 1976) is a Lebanese actress, singer, and television personality who also holds Emirati citizenship and is based in the United Arab Emirates. Haddad is one of the most popular Arabic pop musicians in the Arab World ...

the folk song "Bayn El Assr wa El Maghreb" during a medley dedicated to the star of

Bedouin The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu ( ; , singular ) are pastorally nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia (Iraq). The Bedouin originated in the Sy ...

music

Samira Tawfik Samira Ghastin Karimona (; born 25 December 1935), better known by her stage name Samira Toufic (, surname also spelled ''Tawfik'', ''Tawfiq'', ''Toufiq'' or ''Taoufiq'') is a Lebanese singer who gained fame in the Arab world for her specializing ...

and rended the cult song "Mistaniyak" from Moroccan diva

Aziza Jalal Aziza Jalal (, ''Aziza Jalal''; born 15 December 1958)
sur alrai.com, consulté le 15 août 2014. is a Morocco, Moroccan Arab ...

with the two other female contestants. On 8 June 2013, she was voted off with

Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish language ** Northern Kurdish (Kurmanji) **Central Kurdish (Sorani) **Southern Kurdish ** Laki Kurdish *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern ...

contestant Parwas Hussein, being ranked 5th. Even if she lost the competition, she was praised by the jury as being the surprise of this edition, and as being a rare voice. According to jury member Hassan El Shafei's Twitter, Salma signed a ten-year contract with Platinum Records, the music recording label affiliated with MBC and directed by

Saudi Saudi or Saudi Arabian may refer to: * Saudi Arabia * Saudis, people from Saudi Arabia * Saudi culture, the culture of Saudi Arabia * House of Saud, the ruling family of Saudi Arabia See also *Saud (disambiguation) The House of Saud The H ...

superstar

Rashed Al-Majed Rashed Al-Majed (; born 27 July 1969) is a Saudi singer, actor, musician, and record producer. He has been active since 1984. Rashed Al-Majed is one of the most famous singers in the Middle East and has released almost 40 records. His songs oft ...

. She will tour with

in all his concerts and was chosen with

Mohammed Assaf Mohammed Jaber Abdul Rahman Assaf (; born 1 September 1990) is a Palestinian pop singer well known for being the winner of the second season of ''Arab Idol'', broadcast by the MBC network. His victory received worldwide coverage from the media a ...

from

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

, Ahmad Gamal from

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

and

Farah Youssef Farrah Yousef () (born July 20, 1989) is a Syrian singer who was the first runner-up on the second season of the television program ''Arab Idol'' in 2013.

from

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

to be a part of the contestants who will tour throughout the

Arab world The Arab world ( '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, comprises a large group of countries, mainly located in West Asia and North Africa. While the majority of people in ...

Performances in Arab Idol

Performances during the auditions

*Casting (Casablanca): "Ya Monyati" by Abdelmohssen El Mohanad *Casting Beirut (Group audition): "El Ward Gamil" by

*Casting Beirut (Finale audition): "Awal Marrah" by

Performances during the primes

* Top 27: "Zaman El Samt" by

* Wildcards Survival Prime: "Ya Msaharni" by

* 1st Prime: "Lazraalak Boustan Worood" by Fouad Ghazi * 2nd Prime: "Aal Bal" by

* 3rd Prime: "Li Sabr Hdoud" by

* 4th Prime: "Zay El Aassal" by

* 5th Prime: "Ana Baash'ak" by Mayada El Hennawi * 6th Prime: "Kattar Kheiry" by

* 7th Prime: "Nawaylak Ala Niya" by Ahlam

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rachid, Salma 1994 births Musicians from Casablanca 21st-century Moroccan women singers Living people Contestants from Arabic singing competitions Moroccan film actresses Moroccan television actresses