Sound Treks: Idols Around the World

By Rachel Devitt

He's got the whole world in his hands.

Sure, you love Kelly, Clay and Jordin. And Randy, Simon and Paula? They're like old, kind of annoying, possibly crazy friends by now. But what about Rini, Thaeme and Timi? The winners of Indonesian Idol,  Idolos Brasil and Idols West Africa might not be household names in the U.S., but they're well on their way to becoming big stars in their home regions, thanks to the many Idol spin-offs that have cropped up around the world since the franchise launched in the U.K. in 2001. We review the best, the brightest and the most YouTube-worthy moments of Idol's international incarnations.

Music Idol (Bulgaria)
If you've been perusing Perez Hilton lately …What's that? You say you don't read trash-talking gossip blogs known for drawing dirty, lo-fi line art on celeb photos? Oh, yeah, neither do we. But, um, a friend or a bird … or someone … told us that Perez is at least partially responsible for the instant Internet celebrity one Bulgarian Idol wannabe attained for her rendition of "Ken Lee" (aka Mariah Carey's "Without You"). That contestant owes the blogerati a big old blagodaria (that's "'thank you"). Although she didn't make it as an official finalist, Music Idol let her do an encore of her smash web hit (now, with improved English!).

And then there was this guy, whose cover of "Bad" was even more wacko than Jacko. Seriously -- is William Hung a producer for this show?

Popstar Alaturka
Popstar Alaturka isn't an official Idol franchise, but Turkey's version is the same basic idea. The show is twice as long (episodes sometimes last up to four hours), thanks in part to extensive commentary from the celebrity judges, incorrigible egomaniacs who often take over the stage to show contestants just how it should be done. Popstar's jury includes Orhan Gencebay, often referred to as the father or the Elvis of Arabesque, one of Turkey's dominant pop genres.

And then there's Bülent Ersoy, who enjoyed success in his early career as a light classical singer named Zeki Müren; then he had a sex change and transitioned into the female Bülent in 1981. After several years of being censored by the military regime then ruling the country, transsexual people were legally recognized in 1988 and Bülent went on to become even more famous as a female singer. As a Popstar judge, she's made headlines for her divalicious behavior and outlandish looks, as well as marrying 2007's winner Armagan, a male singer a couple of decades her junior (see them duet on the show here), and criticizing Turkey's recent military incursion into northern Iraq.

Star Academy Middle East 
Star Academy is a Spanish franchise that combines an Idol-esque talent contest with Big Brother-style living arrangements; contestants reside at "The Academy," a kind of boarding school where they receive coaching. Versions of Star Academy exist all over the world, but the Lebanese-produced Pan-Arab edition got a lot of attention last year when Shada Hassoun took home the prize. The child of an Iraqi father and a Moroccan mother, Hassoun became a national icon for beleaguered Iraqis, who voted for her by the millions despite the fact that she has never set foot in their country.

Here's Hassoun performing the well-chosen "Baghdad Wal Chouarra" (a song made famous by another iconic pan-Arab diva, Fairuz). And here she is duetting with another Star Academy contestant on (of all things) "It's Now or Never."