NEWSWEEK: You visited Iraq for the first time last month. How was your trip? Shada Hassoun: It was very emotional. I was very happy, very proud. At the same time I was a little bit sad. After 26 years, it was the first time I went to my country.

How did the Iraqis react? They were very nice. When a woman came to me and said “Thank you,” it was like she was saying thank you to her daughter. They said “Bravo” and “You make us proud.” I was not expect­ing that.

Did you meet any Iraqi officials? I met the minister of culture. I was contacted by the foreign minister, who was very nice to me. He contacted me on the phone to welcome me and to say “We’re proud of you.” It was a very nice act.

Were you worried about the security sit­uation? Before going I was in Lebanon, and I was a little bit afraid. But the north in gen­eral is very secure. People showed happiness that I was with them, which made me very, very secure. I was in my homeland. I was with my family.

When you were on “Star Academy,” was your sectarian background an is­sue, or did most people accept you as an Iraqi? When I was on the show, people [did­n’t] know where I was from, exactly. They [didn’t] know if I’m Shiite or Sunni-they knew nothing about me. What they knew is that I am Iraqi, that I’m representing the country in a good way. All that made people support me, not because I’m Sunni and Shiite. In the Sunni and Shiite newspapers they were united and supported me all the way as an Iraqi woman.

Is it true that you chose a nose job over a trip to Europe? [Laughs] This question about my nose should be in the Guinness Book. Everywhere I go everybody asks me about that. When you see yourself [in the spot­light] all the time, you want to be perfect. But [nobody] is perfect. [I came to realize] these people like me for me and not for my nose.

So you didn’t get the nose job? No.

What was the prize? MTC, the telephone company, invited me to make promotions for telephones. Doing the biggest campaign for them. That was the prize for me because I was earning a little bit of money for that. So it was a good start.

What’s the next step in your career? I’ll continue singing. I have been working on three singles. Two romantic songs and one song for Iraq. It’s like a hope and a smile for Iraqis … to say we’re Iraqis and we should all be united. It’s a tribute song in a way. That’s what I’m doing.

Do you have any plans to go to Baghdad? I am thinking of it all the time. It’s a hope and it’s a dream. I hope that the situation will be much better than now, and then I can go and make a concert there.