US embassy cable - 03AMMAN5339

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 005339 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, SOCI, PHUM, SY, JO 
SUBJECT: BIRTH OF A JORDANIAN "SUPERSTAR" -- AND SOME 
COMPARISONS OF "ELECTIONS" 
 
Ref:  AMMAN 5245 
 
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SUMMARY 
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1.  (U)  Diana Corazan, a young Jordanian singing sensation, 
was declared the new "Superstar" of Lebanon's Future TV 
August 18 after winning an Arab-world wide vote.  Thousands 
of Jordanians got on the internet or called in to vote for 
their favorite daughter.  After the announcement of 
Corazan's victory, thousands of young Jordanians took to the 
streets in celebration, honking horns, singing songs, and 
snarling traffic for several hours.  Some political 
commentators in Amman see in the Lebanese satellite Future 
TV "election" -- in which Corazan defeated a svelte Syrian 
singer by 52 to 48 percent of the vote - a freer and fairer 
election (or, at least, opinion poll) than is customary in 
the region.   END SUMMARY. 
 
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A STAR IS BORN, OR, RATHER, ELECTED 
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2.  (U)  While the Jordanian Parliament was in session 
debating a vote of confidence in the new Cabinet and 
temporary laws (ref), the Jordanian public was engaged in a 
different kind of debate.  Jordanians went to the (phone and 
internet) polls on August 18 to vote for Diana Corazan, a 
national singing sensation and participant in Lebanese 
Future TV's "Superstar" competition. 
 
3.  (U)  The "Superstar" show is a Pan-Arab television 
talent program that has captivated audiences all over the 
Arab world, overshadowed newspaper headlines about Iraq and 
Palestine, and monopolized conversations everywhere. 
Jordanians and the rest of the Arab world were glued to 
Lebanon's Future TV satellite channel to watch 21 episodes 
of "Superstar" (a rough equivalent of the UK program Pop 
Idol or the U.S. Star Search).  The program was so popular 
in Jordan that the Islamic Action Front (IAF) warned that 
the program "distracted citizens from national issues, and 
was a corruption of the public taste, harming social 
values."  The IAF further alleged that the show was 
"cultural imperialism imported from the U.S." 
 
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A COLLECTIVE EFFORT FOR CORAZAN 
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4.  (U)  Jordanians went to the phones and internet in great 
numbers to vote for their candidate.  Voters in the 
"Superstar" competition paid out of their own pockets to get 
their candidate to win.  Companies and restaurants put out 
large TV screens for people to watch their favorite 
contestant and the country seemed united in a national 
electoral effort.  One Jordanian viewer commented "People 
believe that their vote counts, and that they have a 
responsibility to get their candidate to win.  Without their 
vote, Diana wouldn't have made it."  In one day, 55,000 
Jordanians spent nearly USD 750,000 on long distance phone 
charges to vote for Corazan. 
 
5.  (U)  One of the leading Industrial conglomerates gave 
out free minutes on mobile phones for its 2000 workers to 
vote for Diana.  Ice-cream vendors gave one extra scoop for 
anyone who voted for Diana.  Everyone from all echelons of 
society was rooting for Jordan's "Superstar" because they 
felt she was a symbol of national pride and beauty.  "I 
voted for her because she has a beautiful voice and she is 
one of us," commented one Jordanian, echoing the sentiments 
of thousands of others.  Other fans commented that Corazan 
attracted them because of her "authenticity."  "People voted 
because they believed that she is good and is worth their 
time and money," said one fan. 
 
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A NARROW MARGIN OF VICTORY IS EVEN SWEETER 
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6.  (U)  The result announced August 18 in favor of Diana 
Corazan over her Syrian counterpart (Corazan received 52 
percent of the votes to 48 percent for the Syrian candidate) 
was received with much jubilation.  People took to the 
streets holding large posters, hung out of cars waving 
Jordanian flags, and exchanged congratulations as if in a 
communal wedding -- an unusual and uplifting sight, except 
for the several-hour long traffic snarl that resulted.  One 
contact commented that the perceived openness of the 
election and closeness of the victory made Corazan's (and 
Jordan's) victory all the more satisfying.  To many 
Jordanians, Corazan's victory and resulting celebration 
meant Jordan was alive and well despite the war in Iraq, 
violence in the West Bank, and economic pressures.  "It 
takes so little to make people so happy, they just need to 
let loose a bit," said one commentator.  Of course, in 
security conscious Jordan, police were stationed in large 
numbers to prevent any damage or incidents caused by the jam- 
packed roads and the throngs of people. 
 
7.  (U)  While most Jordanians were patting themselves on 
the back for having secured Corazan's win, others offered 
alternate reasons for her victory.  Some believe that 
Lebanese Christians -- a large share of Future TV's audience 
-- voted for Corazan in order to vote against the Syrian 
candidate, goaded by the fact that the failing Lebanese semi- 
finalist urged his supporters to vote for the Syrian.  An 
alternate theory holds that Saudi and Gulf viewers voted for 
Corazan -- who sang more traditional songs and who is a bit 
overweight - because she was the antithesis of the Syrian 
candidate, who was modeled on the typical anorexic Lebanese 
"pop tart." 
 
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COMMENT 
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8.  (SBU)  While "Superstar" may have been just a TV show, 
it demonstrates that Jordanians have a strong national 
identity, and can organize behind a national cause when they 
are inspired.  The jubilant reaction to Corazan's victory 
was a mix of that national pride and a release of nearly 
three years of pent-up frustration over the al-Aqsa intifada 
and the war in Iraq. 
 
9.  (SBU)  The most frequent lament that we hear about 
Corazan's victory is that Jordanian politics and elections 
were not able to generate the same sense of national 
involvement.  Several press pundits commented wryly that it 
took a Lebanese TV station to show the Arab world how to run 
a (reasonably) transparent "election" (or, at least, 
unscientific opinion poll) and inspire popular 
participation. 
 
10.  (U)  This cable was drafted by one of the FSNs in the 
Political Section.