Singapore Idol 3 : Episode 1

Its 2am, Monday August 10th. The day AFTER Idol Day.

I've just watched Episode 1 of Singapore Idol 3.

First reaction : Ok la.

After-some-more-thought reaction : Really ok la, not mind-blowingly fantastic, had a few 'huh?' moments, but generally pretty watchable. The Husband and I enjoyed it mostly, like 90%.

So I'll break this post down into things I didn't like, I liked and 'What The...?'

Did Not Like :

Krauser.

Big THUMBS DOWN. He was LAME. No, make that SUPER LAME.

AND extremely inconsiderate ..... what was the idiot thinking scaring a child like that?! As a mother, I totally reserve the right to SMACK HIM UPSIDE THE HEAD for pulling a stunt like that on a child. SO UNNECESSARY you LAME-O JERK.

And what about his SUPERBLY LAME audition? Dress up like that and people are gonna expect Black Sabbath or at the very least some Aerosmith - but John Lennon's Imagine? Speechless lor. In front of the judges meek like a kitten, once outside, growl at the camera. Dude. So UNCOOL.

Kimberley's Audition.

Not Kimberley per se, just the way her whole audition went. She wasn't that bad and didn't deserve all that drama - she seemed to me like a simple yes/no case. I wasn't that moved by her singing to her grandma, maybe you just had to be where Flo was to get the tears going. From where I was sitting, she looked like she was shouting at poor grandma (which I could hardly hear as it was drowned out by the loud clapping from her entourage). And poor grandma looked like she wasn't sure why her granddaughter was 'shouting' at her, but would ultimately OF COURSE say yes for her to go through la DUH!

Fahmi (guy who almost killed someone)'s story

I was so moved by this guy, was rooting for him, just like they wanted me to and then BAM!..the guy's out - didn't make it...Aiya. Such a downer that he couldn't sing! (on the flipside was Gabrielle's story - LOVED IT! See below.)

LIKED :

I liked seeing the judges again. It was so nice to see Dick, Flo and Ken back behind the table. So nice to see their camaraderie (ok Dick and Flo). So nice to see Uncle Ken again, doing what he does best.

Gabrielle Ferdinands' story.

I think her story was interesting, although to be honest, I spent most of my time just staring at her cos she reminded me right away of Mischa Barton (whom Perez calls affectionately calls Mushy due to her back thigh cellulite *evil Perez*). Gabrielle struck me as someone who has a lot of potential and she's humble, yet we know she wants it - which is good!

Kelly Mae Vernies. You tried out for Australian Idol and felt it didn't click? Well sweetie, if you really wanna make it to the Top 12 and possibly win, better start bringin' back your Singlish. :) I say this with utmost encouragement girl because I think you can sing. So don't lose votes by letting the audience feel alienated from you just because of your Aussie slang. See what happened to Jeassea Thyidor - great voice...Canadian though. I would have loved for her to get have gotten further, but I think her Canadianness may have gotten in the way.

Charles Wong the Beatboxer guy.

Deciding to beatbox, and doing it well, made him unique. He's like a walking subwoofer! The singing was just so-so, so Step it up at the next round b-boy!

Also cute as a button!

Benjamin Crutches-Guy's Accent.

I love that this guy speaks so well. Thats the good news. Bad news is for a minute it felt like he was 90 not 19. You're young dude, act your age! The Husband suspects the crutches are a gimmick. Dick said as much, "The stick helped you!" when he got the Golden Ticket. I'm still on the fence - how do you fake early onset arthritis? More importantly, if found out, wouldn't he face the wrath of like EVERYONE? So I doubt anyone would make such a stupid calculated move right? So, real crutches it is then!

Tabitha Nauser.

Tabitha looks like she has a lot of Swan potential. Just 17, she looks like girl next door, but her features look like with a bit of makeup and styling ....VA VA VOOM!

Daryl Lai's parents.

Daryl Lai's parents get props. They are such positive, encouraging parents. Despite their handicaps, they are supportive and optimistic - definitely a great example for everyone, especially their son!

Sezairi No-I'm-Not-Related-To-Najip.

Just thought the singing was good, better than what we got to see all night.

LOL Moments (Laugh-Out-Loud) :

Both The Husband and I cracked up at Gurmit's skit at the start of the show - he imitated the judge's habits quite well! Especially Ken's habit of rubbing his arms under his sleeves when talking, eyes peering above the glasses at the tip of his nose!

*Eh dun pray pray k....a LOT of people think Ken is sexy - some of the Top24 have told me so themselves too! I personally think its Ken's intelligence that makes him attractive. However, I still do not believe people have asked him what brand of underwear he wears - sure not Uncle Ken?)

Then there was that guy who said in broken Inggrissh : "Yes I'm a bit nervous, cos I haven take my breakfast yet." Kesiannya! (Poor thing hor!)

Deluded Avril Lavigne.

Or if you listen closely to her praise her idol, it could be Afreel Lerveeen or A-view Laveeen. Oh this girl made me laugh so much. Dick said it, "Do you live in the real world?" (Half of me thought she was gonna reply, "ya I do, cos I'm not a ghost you know!")

SUPER LOL MOMENT : When Afreel dovetailed the end of her singing with a question...Ho-oh, Ho-oh, Howsit?(sumore the face so deadpan - alamak almost keeled over laughing!)

Rachel 'I'm Not Ah Lian'.

Nothing wrong with being Lian right Flo? :) Clever move buttering up Flo (After Dick called Flo a 'Lian', Rachel defends. "She's not Ah Lian, she looks so sophisticated.")

After getting a Golden Ticket, I'm-Not-Ah-Lian says, "Real wan lehhhh!"<-- not Lian meh? Lian just admit Lian lah!

Anyway, I actually thought she was pretty cute and could sing. She shall from now on be known here as Ribbon Lian.

Careless Whisper put on weight and lost some hair and wasn't so whisper-y anymore. And like my source said, he really sang about the Recession. Not as funny as I thought it would be...letdown! (am waiting for ppl to post vids on youtube of these memorable clips so I can put them in the blog!)

Guy in red who sang Ning Baizura's 'In Another Place'. OMG. LMAO. Hello. CMI*.

*cannot.make.it.

Masked Selamat (featuring some guy in a surgical mask! LOL) <-- Goode One producers! Cheesy but unexpected, so props to you for sneakin' that one in!

Sky Ghostbuster Shaw

OMG. He was like in 'concert' mode! He has his shoes off (channeling Joss Stone?) and was waving his arms, asking the imaginary audience to 'Go Louder!'. What the..?

Then he gets to sing another song....Heavens Snow (what? thats NOT the title? But he was singing...Heavens Snow...Heavens Snow...)

No points for guessing the actual song title. Rick Price's 'Heaven Knows'.

Louis with the Irritating Voice.

LOL when he was describing how he thought he'd win judges over with his 'rocker' voice, only to be told by them that the 'rocker' voice was irritating. Then, decided to give judges a taste of his 'irritating' voice, only to find out that the Judges like it better! And I quote Louis :"Whats WRONG with these people?!" (Note to Louis : They din take their breakfast lor.)

Rohit The Hair.

This guy had hair like a Golliwog. Judges thought Slash. I thought.....Alleycats (70s group from Malaysia who thought they were black, but they were just Indian).

I didnt think his audition was that good but he got through anyway...we'll see how long The Hair lasts....

'Huhs?'

#1 : Radio guy who comes away with a Season Pass to the show? Who is he and what was that all about? Why does he get a pass?

#2 : Hady scouting for talent? huh? Why la? Didn't the talent queue up outside Cathay?

(random Hady pic, cos he's just so cute!)

Ken Lim as 7-Eleven Ambassador?!

During the commercial breaks, we got to see Ken Lim appear in his first-ever tv commercial (well I think its his first la, I haven't seen him in any before this).

It was for 7-Eleven, he lets a guy through auditions because he shops at 7-eleven. Cheesy much? Yes. It was.

But I'm glad to see Ken is able to not take himself too seriously and agree to doing stuff like this.

(Must go dig up more info on this (just found out an old friend was the Director of the commercials!) - I thought Taufik was the 7-Eleven Ambassador.... tsk, Uncle Ken stealing the limelight from your own protege?)

OVERALL, the show felt a little short, rushed, even, just ONE hour was not enough - I think everyone would have loved a full 2-hour premiere. (Just move News to 10.30pm la! No one cares about it right?)

Well, all in all, I had a good time with Ep 1 of Idol. I'm hoping to see more of the YAYs than the NAYs in Ep2 though. And perhaps more of the judges' witty remarks.

Singapore Idol Episode 2 airs Wednesday , 12 August, 8pm, on Channel 5!

Ok, end of review, time for bed *yawn* already 4.45am!

xoxo, s.