Yacoub Shaheen (; born 27 February 1994) is a

Palestinian Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...

singer. Having grown up surrounded by music, he engaged in musical lessons from his youth and aspired to become a singer. He is most well known for having won

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 ...

in 2017, catapulting him to popularity in his native Palestine.

Biography

Shaheen was born to an ethnic Assyrian family on February 27th, 1994 in the city of Bethlehem. He would spend his childhood there and began to develop a passion for music after discovering

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

and Assyrian folk-pop music, and at the age of seven, he began to study music at the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music. He would master several musical instruments, including the bozouk and

clarinet The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...

, while he also developed his skills by participating in school and church choirs. Shaheen also studied

interior design Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. With a keen eye for detail and a Creativity, creative flair, an ...

at the

Palestine Polytechnic University Palestine Polytechnic University (PPU; ) is a university located in Hebron, West Bank, Palestine. The school was founded in 1978 by the University Graduates Union (UGU). PPU has six colleges: Engineering and Technology, Medicine and Life Scien ...

, before eventually pursuing music full time.

Career

In 2005, Shaheen participated in the Palestinian Muhawm program where he would win the title of "Star of Palestine". 7 years later, he would win first place in the Palestinian Talent Program, and the following year, the young artist released his first song, "Human Spirit", composed by lyricist Elias Gres alongside himself. The song was recorded at RJ Productions in Bethlehem. In 2017, Shaheen won the TV program ''

'', a program with approximately 120 million viewers in 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 ...

. His win could be attributed to his singing abilities allowing him to rise very early into the competition, with judge

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 ...

noting that he was "charming, magical, and enchanting". He became the second Palestinian to win the contest after

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 ...

who grew up in a

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip, also known simply as Gaza, is a small territory located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea; it is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories, the other being the West Bank, that make up the State of Palestine. I ...

refugee camp and won the Arab Idol in 2013. During his performance, hundreds of citizens of Bethlehem, including the mayor Vera Baboun as well as Palestinian president

Mahmoud Abbas Mahmoud Abbas (; born 15 November 1935), also known by the Kunya (Arabic), kunya Abu Mazen (, ), is a Palestinian politician who has been serving as the second president of Palestine and the President of the Palestinian National Authority, P ...

gathered to watch the program live. Many Palestinians celebrated the occasion of Shaheen's win by waving the

Palestinian flag The flag of the State of Palestine () is a tricolour of three equal horizontal stripes—black, white, and green from top to bottom—overlaid by a red triangle issuing from the hoist. It displays the pan-Arab colours, which were first comb ...

and playing some of the songs that he performed, and local youth tagged the sides of buildings with graffiti reading "Suryoyo" (Assyrian). After his victory, Shaheen performed Assaf's song "Dammi Falastini". After Shaheen's win on Arab Idol, he was accompanied by the Awtar Band led by The Maestro Yacoub Al-Atrash in some

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

and international festivals. He performed at the Bethlehem Cultural Festival in 2022.

Personal life

Shaheen grew up attending the

Syriac Orthodox Church The Syriac Orthodox Church (), also informally known as the Jacobite Church, is an Oriental Orthodox Christian denomination, denomination that originates from the Church of Antioch. The church currently has around 4-5 million followers. The ch ...

, and was a deacon at his local parish. He has previously been vocal about both his Palestinian and Assyrian heritage, writing a message that read "Seyfo 1915" to raise awareness of the

Assyrian genocide The Sayfo (, ), also known as the Seyfo or the Assyrian genocide, was the mass murder and deportation of Assyrian/Syriac Christians in southeastern Anatolia and Persia's Azerbaijan province by Ottoman forces and some Kurdish tribes during ...

. He is also a member of the Palestine Scout Association. Shaheen has regularly participated in philanthropic activities, donating parts of his winnings to orphanages and regularly celebrating his birthday at them. He also owns a fashion store in his native Bethlehem, and has two sisters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shaheen, Yacoub Living people 1994 births Assyrian musicians Palestinian people of Assyrian descent Palestinian male singers Palestinian Oriental Orthodox Christians Palestine Polytechnic University alumni Palestinian television personalities People from Bethlehem Singing talent show winners Syriac Orthodox Christians Arabic-language singers of Palestine