Monday, September 14, 2009

Breaking News! MJ pulls out of Idol!


Resident Idol hottie MJ Kuok has decided to pull out of Idol :(

Sigh. I've been keeping this to myself since Saturday. And so have the other Top 12 Idol contestants and everyone in the know on the Idol production.

MJ did not turn up for the trailer/photoshoot over the weekend (notice he's not in the group picture that was MMS-ed to me?), and everyone was abuzz with why.

The official reason released by his camp is that "MJ has pulled out due to personal matters, and to please respect his privacy." As of now, according to Official Blogger Iz, he's on a plane to HK to see his grandfather and cousins. :(

It must have been a really tough decision to make, especially at this stage when he's already invested so much in the competition.

MJ is one of the most hardworking and humble contestants on the show. He has never complained about the long hours or the waiting (of which there is plenty) in between shoots, keychecks, vocal training etc.

His only gripe, and this was only a small one, was about the 'character' he was assigned to play for the recent shoot - he was slated to play Elvis when he would really rather have played Justin(Timberlake, not Jap). But the sweetheart that he is, he went along with it at the 2am fittings anyway. (Don't tell me he pulled out cos he had to be Elvis! <--siao! no way! he's much too easygoing to be that picky!)


I, personally, will miss MJ. To me, he's one of the most genuine contestants. You know he's really listening when you speak. He's also the one Idol who'd come up to you and ask you how your day has been or how your weekend was. That says a lot about him as a person - he's caring. He's also the most polite (Teddy too), and that says a lot about his upbringing - his Mom musta done a good job raising him.
(Alamak, I look so groupie, which is why I normally don't take fanpics or post pics of myself, but anyway, just felt like it just this once.)

I started to hear rumblings a few days earlier that all may not be well. Friday morning, those rumblings got louder, and I hoped and hoped that it would not come to pass.

But by evening time, MJ's Idol journey was over.

That same evening, an announcement was made to let the other contestants know, and cameras were there to record every shocked face.

This shocking piece of news was to be embargoed until today and 8days got the scoop - it is reported in the issue thats on stands this morning. The proper announcement will be done at the Media Conference happening shortly at 2pm.

The remaining Top 12 were asked to keep this top secret and not to contact MJ to respect his decision and his privacy and let the issue settle down.

2 Idols were very affected by his departure. Sezairi, his pendejo bro, and Mae. Sezairi especially had already received a big blow when Teddy and Jon left the competition. The four of them had formed a little clique and called themselves the 'Pendejos'. Google that to find out what it means.

Friday night, Sezairi cried. He's the only pendejo left standing. *sob*

The other person extremely affected by MJ's leaving, was Official Blogger Izk. I noticed Iz wasn't his usual bubbly self most of Saturday.

Since they weren't allowed to contact him, I decided to record some vids for them so he'd get to see them. Here are the vids I recorded with Airi, Iz and Mae, its their message to MJ, so MJ dear, I hope you get to see this wherever you are. We miss you so very much and wish wish wish you were still in Idol.






After producers announced that MJ was pulling out, Idol contestants were probably thinking "So is this gonna be a Top12 or is someone comin' in to take MJ's place?"

In walked the answer : Nurul.

MJ was voted in by the public, so I supposed it was only right that his place go to the person with the next highest public votes. And that lucky person is Nurul.

I have heard from more than one person, that when Nurul walked in, although some yelped in joy that their friend was now in the Top 13, a few were visibly less than keen - Nurul represents a new threat to the throne, especially to the girls, with her husky vocals and groovy moves. (Let the claws come out! meowrr!)

What's Nurul's take? She's just happy to be given another chance. Apparently producers broke the news to her in the most dramatic fashion ever - hope we see this on tv - and almost gave her a heart attack whilst doing it. However, she does feel like she's not wanted by some people in the competition. Lets see if this feeling goes away or gets worse. My money is on the latter. Will check back with her soon.

I asked her how she felt about the whole MJ leaving, here's her vid.


Lastly, I also decided to grab ask Tabby if she'd like to send him a message, she was his duet partner. Their song was such a hit with Flo, she's waiting to put it on radio once Tabby & MJ pass her a proper recording of it. Here's Tabby's vid.


On Saturday, I was one of those who received a touching mass message from MJ (sent out to the Idols, me and Iz) that made me tear, here's an excerpt :
"I have (met) amazing people like you and I hope that we can keep in touch :) Give me a call anytime and know that I'll be supporting you and your dreams always, just like u've been supporting mine x MJ."

That's just classic MJ. Polite, considerate and sincere.

We love you MJ, don't ever ever leave the music industry - you are so talented, you've got a bright future in this ahead of you. We'll definitely keep in touch cuz, and I wish you well in all your future endeavours. You will always always be part of the Idol family wherever you are. Muaks!

xoxo, s.

14 comments:

  1. OMG, Nurul got in? Yay! ;D;D
    She has such a great voice. =D

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  2. I think it's kinds of a sad thing that MJ pulled out just like that... To say the truth here, i would rather wish anyone of the contestants who were outsed previously to replace MJ except for nurul. Guess she won't last long in the top13 anyway... Cuz the rest are obviously way better than her... What a mistake that she got into top13... Sigh. :(

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  3. well that's your view. to some or most, she does hv a great voice. you cannot say that the rest are obviously way better than her. that is selfish.

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  4. Okay, I take that sentence back, but I still have to say that theodore,jannah or any ousted contestants deserved that spot more than her and that it wouldn't be long before she is out of stardom again.... No offence to all her fans out there... :)

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  5. MJ =(((((((((((((((((((((((((9

    ABD SUMMERR, I CAN'T WATCH THE VIDEOS, THEY ARE MARKED AS "PRIVATE"!

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  6. whats the url for iz's blog?

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  7. Singapore idol official blog: http://blogs.xin.sg/idol/

    PS: izked updates that blog. :)

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  8. hi all, sorry it got marked as private, i uploaded them as usual and din see that they were marked as private - usually its like share with the world!
    Its been amended you should be able to watch now!
    Once again, my sincerest apologies - I'd wanted to share these vids wit you the moment I broke the news!

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  9. I can't believe you even bother with the official blog. its so boring. this blog is so much better. that izked guy can't even speak English properly. His writing style is so difficult to read. summerr why aren't you the official blogger?

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  10. I agree. The official blog is not updated regularly. The writing is poor. The last post was like a badly written essay. The blogger needs to get someone to proofread his posts to check on grammar, spelling, missing words etc etc. He tweets lots of pics but who follows him on twitter anyway, and its not even linked to his blog.

    Bad mistake SI people. Now rectify your mistake and officially make Summerr in the Shower the official SI blog.

    You deserve the recognition for your excellent work Summerr.

    ps: didnt mean to hantam the official blogger here but cannot tahan alredy!

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  11. I personally think that the 4th, 5th and 6th vote getters were robbed - I now realise that American Idol is more fair as the judges there do NOT take the matter into their hands by picking 6 contestants whom they love but have the lowest votes. Since the judges will have the final say on which of the bottom 2 contestants to stay in the competition, then I will not vote for the judges' favourites becos they will sure 100% stay all the way. This year's format is too predictable and thus becomes boring though there are more competent contenders. Some are powerhouses but just lack ren qi.

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  12. to quincy, what makes u think that the judges' choices had the lowest votes? you're just assuming that. They could have been 4th, 5th or 6th place. how do you know Tabitha wasn't in 4th place? She has a lot of fans.
    I think American Idol has just got a huge population to get votes from that form a critical mass. Singapore is so small as it is already. So a small number of people can tip the scales easily - like all those little girls who vote for boys. Which is why people who love the talent, should also put their money where their mouth is cos I'm sure we can affect the votes if make the effort.
    I have agreed with all the judges choices except for fathin because i think theodore or jannah should have been given that place instead of her. she is the only one in the top13 that lacks ren qi.

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  13. I REALLY THINK THAT SINGAPORE HAS TO BE MORE REALISTIC ABOUT HOW THEY VOTE. THE ODOL WINNER IS SOMEONE WHO WILL BE REPRESENTING SINGAPORE AND THAT MEANS, THE WINNER HAS TO HAVE EXCELLENT TALENT. I AM IN SHOCK THAT TABITHA HAS BE IN THE UNSAFE ZONE FOR THE 2ND WEEK. WAKE UP SINGAPORE AND LISTEN TO THIS GIRL. SHE HAS GOT A FANTASTIC VOICE AND EXCELLENT TALENT. IT WOULD MAKE ME A PROUD SINGAPOREAN WHEN I SEE TABITHA REPRESENTING SINGAPORE AS THE NEXT SINGAPORE IDOL!!!

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