Boston-born Jennifer Grout has amazed Middle Eastern viewers, reaching the Arabs Got Talent final despite speaking little Arabic

Born and raised in Boston, Grout’s Arabic accent has inspired debates about whether she is merely pretending to be a westerner. Her fellow contestants are from different parts of the Middle East, and include Mayam Mahmoud, 18, billed as Egypt’s first hijab-wearing rapper.

Seth Dixon‘s insight:

TV shows have regionalized networks, but sometimes the audience wants something beyond their local borders and that pushes the limits of what many think that audience might want or even redefine the audience itself.  Hijab-wearing rappers and blond-haired, blue-eyed girls from Boston singing in Arabic certainly blur the distinction between what we think is Middle Eastern and what think of as American.  Globalization is increasing erasing those cultural lines.

See on www.theguardian.com