Bostonian Jennifer Grout, 23, reaches final of Arabs Got Talent

‘We have for so long imitated the West, and this the first time that a person who has no whatsoever link to the Arab world, an American girl who does not speak Arabic, sings Arabic songs.’

Jennifer – from Cambridge, Massachusetts – was raised singing in choirs and playing the violin.

She asked for a one-way ticket to Morocco for her college graduation gift and she has been living there since last year.

Come again? Jennifer Grout at her audition – where she did not understand the judge’s introduction

Susan Boyle moment: American Jennifer Grout blew away a giggling audience by covering Umm Kulthum

The show also features 18-year-old Mayam Mahmoud, Egypt’s first hajib-wearing rapper, who is praised for standing up for women’s rights. She said she wanted to rap not ‘about any old thing but something with value’

LOST IN TRANSLATION: SINGERS WHO SWITCHED TO ENGLISH

Foreign singers have always learned English to conquer the pop market – but it rarely works the other way round.

Swedish 1970s pop icons ABBA launched their career in English instead of their mother tongue to win over more foreign fans.

Colombian diva Shakira (above) had a huge audience in Latin America but hit the big time when she released her fifth album Laundry Service in English in 2001.

Spanish-American crooner Enrique Iglesias was born in Madrid but sang his hit single Hero in English, earning himself global fame.

Puerto Rican singer Enrique Martín Morales had limited success in a boy band – until he adopted the stage name Ricky Martin for his hit Livin’ La Vida Loca (the crazy life).

Iceland’s postmodern darling Bjork sings in English, earning her an eclectic audience all over the world.

And radio stations in France have even tried to stop singers deserting their mother tongue – by dictating that at least 40 per cent of playlists must be in French.

‘I’ve been working on it and practicing a lot and I listen to it all the time,’ she told the show. ‘I get a translation or I have one of my Arab friends do a translation for me.

‘It was a little bit strange for my family in the beginning, but now they totally support what i do. They pushed me to come here to Lebanon to do the show.’

She won over the audience on the talent show by singing Baeed Anak (Away From You) by Umm Kulthum, one of the most celebrated singers in Egypt’s history.

She also sings in the Berber dialects of traditional communities in Algeria, Morocco, Lybia, Mali, Niger and Tunisia.

Jennifer is now up against top performers from across the Middle East and North Africa including one of the world’s first hijab-wearing rappers and a Saudi stand-up comic.

The rapper, Egyptian Mayam Mahmoud, 18, could pose stiff competition – as she has been praised for standing up for women’s rights in the conservative Middle East.

The show is in its third season and is a spin-off from Britain’s Got Talent and America’s Got Talent.

Her success is so great, there are even rumours she is not actually from the West.

‘Her voice is strong, very pretty and she commands the style of the repertory very well.

‘If I were going to criticise, I’d say the rhythmic structure of the piece escapes her a bit, but otherwise she sang very well, I thought.’

All-American girl: Jennifer Grout grew up in Cambridge, Massachusetts, singing in choirs and playing the violin

Talent: Jennifer, 23, has become a star appearing in media all over the world, from Egypt to the U.S.

The show, a spin-off of Britain’s Got Talent and America’s Got Talent, also features a hijab-wearing rapper

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