The Muslim Singing Sensation of TV’s Strangest Reality Competition

Late last year, Fox aired arguably the most bizarre addition to the crowded field of reality singing competitions. The show was called Alter Ego, and the concept was simple: Instead of having aspiring stars perform onstage and be judged based on superficial physical qualities, the producers had contestants design a digital representation of themselves that would appear in their place. By using this avatar, singers would be able to transcend physical disabilities, their gender appearance, and anything else that might prevent their music from being received on its own terms.

In practice, this meant that you had digitized purple people stalking the stage and performing pop hits. Judged by singers Alanis Morissette, will.i.am, Grimes, and Nick Lachey, it was … weird. And if you know anything about me from this newsletter by now, it’s that I like weird stuff. Naturally, I watched the entire show.

There were many fascinating story lines woven into the season, from a contestant struggling with Crohn’s disease to singers purposely performing as another gender—something the audience only discovered when they were eliminated and came onstage for their goodbye song. But I was particularly captivated