Farrah Yousef

Once every few years I’ll fall down a wormhole of watching Idol videos on Youtube. Not American Idol, mind you, but the many, many Idol shows from other countries. (Sweden, for instance.) They all have the same format and same theme music, but the cultural differences are fascinating. Syrian singer Farrah Yousef was placed third on Arab idol in 2013, though she almost missed her first audition because of the civil war. Since then, though, she’s become something of a powerhouse in the Arabic-speaking world. Now based in Los Angeles, she’s making a rare local appearance for a belated Valentine’s Day concert.