Wednesday, December 30, 2009

What will summerr do now?

...a note from me...
The last time I was standing that close to a confetti blower was 1st December 2004. And the boy that took home the 'crown' that night made history, and even got a mention by the PM because he represented a Singapore that saw past racial lines. When Gurms shouted 'Taufik!', the feeling was just so overwhelming, and tears were free-flow for so many reasons. Pride, elation, sadness and exhaustion to name a few. I had invested so many hours of hard work, countless burned weekends and nights, and even a few days of my honeymoon for the show.

But it was worth it, the show topped ratings from its first episode to its last, beaten only by World Cup viewership. And I met and got to work with some of the nicest people ever (producers!) and befriended a very talented young man who's grown leaps and bounds since then. That was Singapore Idol Season 1.


Fast forward 5 years, unbelievably, I was standing in almost the same spot (just on the other side of the stage) when the confetti exploded, and the same emotion flooded my being. It was a combo of pride (I was so so proud of Airi and Syl), elation and a sadness that it had come to an 'end'. This time, I was privileged enough to really enjoy the journey WITH the Idols rather than working for the show, and if you've followed me from 6 months ago, I'm sure you'll agree its been an amazing vantage point.....all the fun and only a teeny tiny fraction of the stress. It has certainly been 'enter-dictive' (as matt.sg put it) blogging about it!

So anyway, I'd just like to take this opportunity to say a few thankyous.

Thank you Benny and Rahmat for opening the doors and letting me in. I would not be in this privileged position if not for the two of you. Rahmat, it was great working with you again, it was like London all over and extended! BennySoh, I love you la, nuff said!

Thank you to Idol host Gurmit and Idol judges DFK for never turning me away when I popped in for a question or a twitpic (and oftentimes that solid kopi-O at the Judges' room!) :) Uncle Ken, you da best, always free for a 'break'!

A special thank you to Supervising Executive Producer Steven Ong for your support and kind words each week. It still thrills me that you bother to read MY blog! LOL!





























To Belle, Lene, Eugene, Gillian PoCh and Henri, Suresh and Byron, thank you so much for always keeping me in the loop and accommodating me on your shoots/buses/makans/etc. You guys are truly the legs behind this production! This was such an amazing journey for me, more so because I got to see it from the contestants' POV - can hardly call this 'work' right? (but that doesn't mean I didnt work hard k!), and it was because YOU guys let me follow you! I apologise now for any toes I may have stepped on these past 6 months, and the multiple times my phone/cam flashed while you were filming - sorriiieeee! Also thank you to all the other producers and APs whom I've crossed paths with at one time or another on the show! I had soooo much fun!

To the overworked and underpaid interns who also answer to photographers/facebook admins/runners/idol-minders/ticket-managers. You guys did SUCH an amazing job this season - the promo team is lucky to have you all - especially when you come with such high-tech cams and lenses *fish-eye envy*drool*. Syarif (miss ya!), Ben, Aisyah, James (you're such a sweetie!) & Ash (dude!) - thanks for the TONS of great photos and the random help. Look forward to crossing paths with you again in the future!

To Kak Ann and Indra (whose seat I warmed many Spectaculars in a row), thank you for always being so kind and allowing me to sit in on your keychecks/training sessions. And to Zaki who allowed me to draw a whip on your pic! ;) (or more like din whip me for drawing that whip!)



To the readers who have been reading and supporting the blog, I so so SO appreciate it and I hope you'll keep coming back. I now plan to do what I had initially planned for this blog - review tv shows, ....American Idol is premiering in just 2 weeks folks, and there are a myriad of shows available On Demand now on mioTV/cable, so much to watch! PLUS, I will definitely continue to stay in touch with the Idols from this season and provide updates on their upcoming projects.
















And the final and BIGGEST thank you goes to the Idol contestants. Top 24, Top 13 and of course our very own Singapore Idol. Thank you so very much guys, for letting me 'share' your journey, and allowing me to 'share' it with the readers. You guys are the most talented bunch of people I've ever met and I hope you'll all keep pursuing your singing/musical dreams. It was a pleasure working & playing with you all!





Oh, and yes, to my buddy-in-blogging-crime Izked :) How could I forget you, you big teddy bear! Thanks for always sticking by me and sharing the 'intel'/pics/vids - I think we make a good team! We so totally rawked the online scene for Idol dint we? :) Triquetras for-evah!

xoxo, s.

ps. One last shout out to two very special people :
1. The sweetest format owner person I've ever met - Lisa. :) You are so cool!
2. Matt.sg - you are so young and so steady, I totally respect you for handling that crazy crowd week after week, you are the hardest working wubby/host I've ever met!

pps. If I left anyone out its not intentional. I'm just blur liddat.

ppps. Lene, I'm having LONG-DETAILED-SCHEDULE-EMAIL withdrawal LOL!

20 comments:

  1. awwwww summerr (: thanks for all the posts and brought us through idol 3 ! :D thanks so much , eheh , must do a review on AI horh , heheh . THANKS AGAIN , loveeeeeeeee !

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  2. Yeah, thanks summerr for bringing the idols fans through the journey by updating your tweets and blogs about idols! You've brought the fans so much closer to the idols! Now AmericanIdol is gonna be nicer to watch with your updates about it too! ;) I'll be dropping by your blog frequently regardless of anyth! :)

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  3. Awwwwwh, don't worry we'll still read your blog after Idol :D You helped us get sooooo much closer to the Idols, and it almost felt like we really know them. THANKS TO YOU AGAIN X)

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  4. Summerr,
    I could never ever thank you enough for all the updates that kept me sane whilst my wife was in the competition. I had countless nights alone at home (well not exactly alone, I had Ice-Cream curled up next to me) in Perth, Australia wondering what the heck my wife was up to and how the competition was going. Thankfully I had your blog, tweets and loved the twitpics which gave me something tangible to actually feel like a part of the competition until we moved to Singapore and I helped out behind the scenes to be a part of something as great as this show was. All my love and thanks, Michael Sta Maria.

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  5. hey summerr,thanks for all the updates and stuff. i can see that u are more updated than Izked. his last post was Airi winning the Idol. but let me ask u one question, Will there be a Singapore Idol Season 4???? hope there will!!!
    HAHAHAH once again thanks!!

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  6. Hi Summerr! I'm a Charice fan and a came across this blog. Firstly, I wanna congratulate the winner (is his name Airi?). =) Anyw, Charice was praising Sylvia on her facebook acc and twitter acc. After watching the vids that Sylvia performed, I have to say Sylvia's an amazing, brave, awesome lady. Indeed talented. This was quoted from Charice facebook acc, "Sylvia was so amazing last night. :) forgot to take a pic. :'(" I guess Charice is a "fan" of Sylvia now. Hope they have another chance to meet up again and take pics with each other! Please answer this ques: When will Sylvia's album be released? I'll fly all the way here juz to buy her album. I promise. This is a great blog. Please continue blogging! I'll be checking this blog to get updates.

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  7. :) aw you guys!!! SO SO TOUCHED!

    Michael Sta Maria - love ya. love that you and Mae now live here. Can't wait to visit when you have your own digs. Come over for makan some time (after I clean house - ask Mae - she knows what I mean!) - its too embarrassing to have people over now! LOL! I look forward to tons of updates on yours and Mae's music projects! I would love to 'break the news' so to speak - gimme!

    To Charice's fan, the Singapore Idol's name is Sezairi, but I call him Airi for short. Amazing that Charice is a fan of Sylvia's! No details on an album for her yet, but I will definitely keep everyone updated soon as I hear anything k! I also wanna say, you Charice fans are such amazing supporters and so very polite - u have no idea how many thank you notes i have received for just uploading Charice's vid! Thanks back for watching!
    LOV,s.

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  8. thanks summerr looking forward to your ai reviews!
    do you happen to know sezairi and sylvias elimination songs? if they were eliminated on the last spec. curious to know:)

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  9. I'll ask :) will be seeing them again later at 10pm for the full dress rehearsals for Celebrate 2010 - have y'all gotten your tickets yet?? :)
    s.

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  10. nice said summerr!! Thanks to you and Izked, we are one step closer to know the idols, to know whats gonna happen each week. Thanks to you and Izked also we know how random our idols are. (: We cant thanked you more. Thank you sososo much!

    Please continue to write reviews on the idols and other box office shows! (:

    Take care summerr aka Tracy

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  11. One thing I don't understand is

    under rating each post

    why is Cool (7pts) ranked higher than wicked (5 pts)? hahaa

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  12. Hey Summer! I'm really glad I came across your blog and I've been an avid reader from the start to the end of Singapore Idol. Thanks for sharing with us all the cool photos and vids, makes me feel like I'm seeing the idols in person myself. Haha! :) Hope you'll continue blogging, especially since American Idol is coming! Man, that's be gonna be exciting!!! All the best now, cheers! xoxo

    P.S Maybe try blogging about Gossip Girl?
    Hehhh I'm a huge fan!

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  13. Dear Anonymous 2 above :
    haha, thats not a ranking laaa..its the number o ppl who have voted that the post was 'wicked' 'cool' or 'funny'!

    To anon above,
    I am SUCH a huge GG fan! But the season's in hiatus at the moment! So YES will blog abt it when it comes back in March! :) loved the midseason closer featuring Chuck - awesome storyline!

    s.

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  14. uh cause 7 ppl rated it cool and 5 ppl rated it wicked? lol?

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  15. LOL , imma trying to blog about AI , help me kayy , summerr (: hehhe !

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  16. thanks for asking about the song thing. if you find out can reply back here? thanks alot :):):)

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  17. Alamak. Although i don't follow the Idol journey religiously like every one else, this entry actually made me want to cry seh :') Still can't believe the Idol competition has ended though.

    -B

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