Salma Rachid

Salma Rachid (Arabic: سلمى رشيد, Moroccan pronunciation: [ˈsælmæ ɾɑʃiːd]; 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, 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 among her main inspiration. Originally from the Tafilalt oasis in south-east Morocco, Salma was born and raised in the Hay Mohammedi neighbourhood of the Ain Sebaa-Hay Mohammedi district of Casablanca. From a very young age, Salma was passionate about music, drawing and fashion. During an interview with MBC, she revealed that she used to steal clothes from her family, tear them apart, and stitch them together to create new outfits. In the same interview, she also said that she had once almost been hit by a car, but her best friend had saved her by losing her own life. Salma graduated from high school in June 2012 with her baccalauréat, after which she enrolled at university to study economics. At the age of 18, Salma decided to take a chance and auditioned for the second season of Arab Idol. 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, Ahlam, Nancy Ajram and Egyptian producer Hassan El Shafei. Salma was then accepted by all of them and flew to Beirut, Lebanon, to pursue the casting process. She performed then "El Ward Gamil" from Umm Kulthum with five other contestants, than she performed "Awal Marra" by Abdelhalim Hafez 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'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.