Iraq "Pop Idol" offers escape from daily grind

[jasmeel]

Are they serious?
snip>
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - When their electricity isn't zapped by daily power cuts, Iraqis can pretend they live in a normal country with a normal cultural life by tuning into the Iraqi version of "Pop Idol."

Despite collapsing public services and the constant threat of death, more than 2,000 young Iraqis signed up for the talent show when al-Sumeria TV announced the venture earlier this year.

Many Iraqis already obsessively watch "American Idol," a version of the original British "Pop Idol" franchise, and a glitzy Lebanese copy called "Arab Superstar" on free-to-air Arabic satellite channels.

But "Iraq Star" is a brave indigenous effort to perk up the spirits of a depressed nation. The studio set is spartan and drab, and there is no studio audience, though viewers are being promised tinseltown touches when the finale is held in Beirut.<snip>
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050821/wl_nm/iraq_music_dc_1

Distract them-that works for Americans I guess.