'Learn to resist!'
The show, the fourth of its kind, also served as a showcase for up-and-coming talent, such as Ahmed al-Qrinawi from Gaza, a Palestinian enclave under Israeli blockade for the past 15 years.
He was a twice-published poet when he started teaching himself the oud -- a kind of lute widely played in the Middle East -- at the age of 22.
He would sit under a shelter he built on the family's roof in Gaza City, to avoid the disapproving ears of his conservative family.
To learn music theory, he used copies of music books borrowed from friends at a music school he couldn't afford to attend.
Last weekend, three years later, he appeared on stage playing an unusual seven-stringed oud, home-made with the help of a carpenter friend.
He said he had only heard about the competition shortly after the deadline, and composed, recorded and submitted his song in just an hour.
Fortunately, judges accepted the entry, and he went on to become one of the winners and perform with a professional band.
"I will only be free when I have a normal country, where death doesn't keep an eye on me," runs the first line of his song.
"In Gaza there's no freedom," Qrinawi said.
"Freedom's not just about food and drink. You can get a bird and put it in a cage and bring it food, but it's still in captivity."
For Lebanese actress and comedian Makki, who has a tattoo on her forearm reading "resist", the show was a chance to deliver another message.
"You can't stay in your house with your hands tied or stay silent," she said.
"Learn to say no to oppression and repression."
