BEIRUT: A 12-year-old girl from Lebanon with no musical training was declared the winner of the first season of MBC’s Arab talent competition, The Voice Kids Ahla Sawt.
Lynn Al Hayek was one of six youngsters who made it to the final round of the show and sang live from Beirut on Saturday night in front of a television audience of millions.
The finale was the culmination of 10 weeks of tears and laughter as dozens of children between the ages of 7 and 15 competed for the top prize.
The March 5 finale began with a special Arabic rendition of “We Are the World,” where children from S.O.S. took part in the heart-warming performance along with the top 6 contestants.
Al Hayek will receive a scholarship worth SR250,000 and the opportunity to record a single that will be produced by Platinum Records. The rest of the finalists received SR10,000 each, and every child who auditioned for the show — even those who were not chosen — went home with SR5,000 riyals, The National reported.
Al Hayek, whose mature vocals and enviable range defy her years, lives near the northern city of Tripoli and dreams of studying chemistry. She said that when she is not riding her bike and climbing trees, she is singing.
“I haven’t studied music, but the sound of the sea and the streets are music to me,” she says. “I like to go to my favorite spots near our home and just sing.
“I just can’t believe it at all, that I’m part of this. I used to dream I’d one day be on The Voice when I grew up, so I just had to audition when I heard about The Voice Kids. I never dreamed I would come this far.”
Al Hayek was coached by Iraqi superstar Kazem “The Caesar” Al Saher, who was also mentor to 11-year-old Mirna Hanna from Iraq.
“I learnt so much from Mr.Kazem,” Al Hayek said before her performance in the final. “I was so shy — he taught me how to be confident and show what I’ve got. I’m a new person now when I sing.”
Al Hayek performed two technically difficult songs in the final: Saudi Arabian performer Mohammed Abdo’s Aba’ad Kuntum and the late Tunisian singer Thikra’s Kol Eli Lamouny.
Lebanese girl wins MBC’s The Voice Kids
Lebanese girl wins MBC’s The Voice Kids
Some Warren Buffett wisdom on his last day leading Berkshire Hathaway
OMAHA, Nebraska: The advice that legendary investor Warren Buffett offered on investing and life over the years helped earn him legions of followers who eagerly read his annual letters and filled an arena in Omaha every year to listen to him at Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meetings.
Buffett’s last day as CEO is Wednesday after six decades of building up the Berkshire conglomerate. He’ll remain chairman, but Greg Abel will take over leadership.
Here’s a collection of some of Buffett’s most famous quotes from over the years:
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“Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful.”
That’s how Buffett summed up his investing approach of buying out-of-favor stocks and companies when they were selling for less than he estimated they were worth.
He also urged investors to stick with industries they understand that fall within their “circle of competence” and offered this classic maxim: “Rule No. 1: Never lose money. Rule No. 2: Never forget Rule No. 1.”
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“After they first obey all rules, I then want employees to ask themselves whether they are willing to have any contemplated act appear the next day on the front page of their local paper to be read by their spouses, children and friends with the reporting done by an informed and critical reporter.
“If they follow this test, they need not fear my other message to them: Lose money for the firm and I will be understanding; lose a shred of reputation for the firm and I will be ruthless.”
That’s the ethical standard Buffett explained to a Congressional committee in 1991 that he would apply as he cleaned up the Wall Street investment firm Salomon Brothers. He has reiterated the newspaper test many times since over the years.
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“You only find out who is swimming naked when the tide goes out.”
Many companies might do well when times are good and the economy is growing, but Buffett told investors that a crisis always reveals whether businesses are making sound decisions.
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“Who you associate with is just enormously important. Don’t expect that you’ll make every decision right on that. But you are going to have your life progress in the general direction of the people you work with, that you admire, that become your friends.”
Buffett always told young people that they should try to hang out with people who they feel are better than them because that will help improve their lives. He said that’s especially true when choosing a spouse, which might be the most important decision in life.
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“Our unwavering conclusion: never bet against America.”
Buffett has always remained steadfast in his belief in the American capitalist system. He wrote in 2021 that “there has been no incubator for unleashing human potential like America. Despite some severe interruptions, our country’s economic progress has been breathtaking.”
