Ever wondered what happens on stage during that 1 hour break between Performance and Results Shows?
You've may have seen the pics on SI's Facebook page, but those are static, so thought I'd record some vids and share them with you.
What usually happens is Matt(the very hardworking wubby who keeps the crowd entertained and informed before the show, and in between commercial breaks and this hour-long break) will invite ex-Idol contestants and audience members to play games.
Tonight, Matt invited Duane, Malaque and Farhan up on stage to sing songs suggested by the fans/audience. Here are some vids.
I have no idea what song Malaque is singing, but apparently she sang this for her audition.
In this clip, you'll see Farhan and Duane doing a sing-off, suggested by Malaque, of Duffy's 'Mercy'. Not sure who won the sing-off LOL! Who's rendition did you prefer?
Here's Malaque singing a fan request, 'Kuch Kuch Hota Hai'. Imo she sounded pretty good despite having a terrible cold!
While the 3 ousted Idols were on stage entertaining the crowd, our Top 5 were busy practicing their group song choreo one last time with Zaki out at the foyer at B4. Check it out! (Sorry for the shaky cam, was trying my best to avoid the cameraman who was also walking backwards and almost backed into me a few times!)
Here's the group song recorded from my seat. Hope someone uploads the tv version soon. :)
Well, thats all the vids I have for you tonight, hope you enjoyed the show, my tweets/twitpics from studio - oMg 3am - nitey nite!
xoxo, s.
ps. Don't forget to catch Faizal's exit radio interview in the morning at 9am on Idol's Official Radio Station, 987FM with Dan & Young.
pps. Fyi, tomorrow is a super busy day for the Top 4, they'll be doing their profile shoots all morning (call time is 9am), followed by a visit to Ngee Ann Poly at 5.30pm, followed by vocal sessions with vocal coach Ann Hussein. Full day! Don't forget to check out Iz's tweets for the Poly visit tomorrow.
"Last Dance" turned out to be her 'last song'.....
It gets harder and harder every week to say goodbye to the Idols I've grown to love, and Malaque is one of the ones I truly truly sayang. She's always been so thoughtful and genuine and ready with a smile every time we meet. Definitely someone who's great friend material.
Over the course of the competition, she has sometimes come across as cocky or arrogant on air (tv and radio). But she is definitely neither. In fact, she's humble to a fault. She's just candid. And somehow, for Malaque, it tends to come out a bit salah :) dunno why.
Those who know her will attest to the fact that she is indeed the sweetest thing. Just ask ShanShan *wink* <-- LOL secret LODI codeword.
Anyway, I thought that tonight, Malaque did really well, I think Mizz Summer woulda been proud - this summerr definitely was. I was whoopin' and clappin', I think the Fremantle people(the people who own the rights to the Idol format) next to me musta thought 'wah so groupie wan this blogger - act yer age not yer shoe size girlfriend!'
But I guess someone's gotta go, and from an outside observer, although her vocals weren't the weakest tonight, Malaque's voting track record has not been the best. She's been in the 'unsafe' group many-a-time.
At least her Idol journey ended on a high. She agrees with this by the way, "at least I know I went out when I did my best and not sucky performance you know?"<-- well said sweets!
Here're her exit interviews, one with Producer Gillian, and the other for Idol TV.
And here's her exit VT (video clip) and song in full (yes its annoying how it always gets cut off in credits). I apologise for the poor vid quality, I was sat quite far away, and had to zoom. Shall ensure that I am beside the stage again next week.
I'm so gonna miss Malaque. She is one of the most caring, sincere, genuine people I've ever known. Plus she's hilarious and the girl is gorgeous to boot! And in my honest opinion, I think the tone of her voice is so beautiful. I hope one day, she cuts a demo and gets it out there, because I so totally believe that in a studio, if she's well produced, she could go places with that sweet voice.
In the meantime, she's goin' back to culinary school. Hopefully she'll come back to TV Land (camera loves your face babe, can't deny that!) and becomes a celeb chef good enough to rival Nigella herself!
To Malaque, don't ever think you're not good enough my dear. You have it in you, just always believe in yourself. You have touched the hearts of many, including mine, and with that Ms Syarifah Malaque Aimana bte etc etc etc Al-etc (sorry girl, its so long I can't remember! no disrespect to your father or grandfather at all k!)I hope we'll always be friends :) Don't be a stranger!
Much Love,
xoxo, s.
ps. Don't forget to catch Malaque's radio interview tomorrow at 9am on 987FM, the Official Idol Radio station :)
Despite not getting any sort of invite (aiya, why Ion, why liddat?) to the Carrie Underwood do, our Idols were not deterred nor disheartened.
CARRIE fans Tabby, Malaque, Duane and Farhan, along with Official Blogger Iz and I decided to go (The Husband, Kids and The Godmother also in tow!). Free concert, big star, Idol alum, why not? Who cares if its smellypits in the moshpits? Its CARRIE.
Strangely, the moshpit wasn't that moshy. So no smellypits. It was all quite civilised, except for the rather rude-ish wubby who kept picking on a poor Security guard (I mean, c'mon, so what if he's not a Carrie fan, he's there to maintain decorum, not be a groupie). Thank Gawd the real host for the night was Utt.
Anyway, once we got 'in', we realised we couldn't see the stage at all, so the 'emptiness' (or lack of moshyness) made sense. But the empty seats at the VIP section didn't make sense - I had assumed they had no more VIP seats to give out which was why the Idols didn't get an invite, you can throw THAT assumption out da window.... go figure!
But oh well, not a big deal anyway right?
I wasn't able to stay on, The Kids were restless (the promos said come at 6.30, so we were there at 6.30pm and after 90 minutes of waiting around, I couldn't keep them there anymore..tsk!). The Idols also decided that they'd try and get a better vantage point from the Prada store, so we split up...hope they saw more than I did!
Aiya, now I regret not taking more pics...
Ok, am off to bed....just 3 hours left til The Kids are up!
Before I go, here's an interesting vid Tabby found on Youtube! LOL! Stalkers? Fanarazzi? Love it!
xoxo, s.
ps. Heard from a reliable source that Ion Orchard paid millions to bring Carrie here for their Official Opening, so it kinda makes sense that they wouldn't want anyone to 'piggyback' on this 'paid gig'. Just seems like such a waste though, an Idol winner comes to SG but doesn't meet the current Idols in waiting. Am surprised they weren't keen to get some free tv airtime (because if our Idols got to meet Carrie, you can bet it will be recorded and aired on the show).
Voting details : Not available yet. Watch this space!
MJ Week Interview :
If you had 1 minute with MJ, what would you say/do? I would just keep praising him, shower him with all the praises I can think of!
If you had 1 hour with him, what would you do? Sit and have coffee with him and chat.
If you had 1 day with him, what would you do? Go to his house and ask him to teach me how to be a performer who is at least HALF as good as him. I’ll ask him to train me.
Did you believe the child molestation allegations? No, I don’t believe it. He cares so much about children, I don’t think he would have had the heart to do what they accused him of doing.
When you first heard that there would be an MJ themed spectacular, what was your reaction?And now that you’re through and will be doing an MJ song, how do you feel? Initially, I was like, ‘Are you serious?!’ MJ songs are all hits, and at the end of the day, if I can’t pull it off, confirm I’m gonna get damn teruk comments! Its really a challenge, cos his songs are tough to sing and people will expect a certain level of performance (because its MJ). He’s everyone’s Idol! Now I feel very nervous, but I’ll practice like crazy.
Spectacular 3 : An Asian Feast
Performing :Kuch Kuch Hota Hai
Asian Week Interview :
Who is your favourite Asian artiste?
Agnes Monica (Indonesian artiste), cos she's a superstar yet she's so young. She has a great voice and this superstar attitude that lets her stand out. But her great personality allows people to relate to her.
Who's the sexiest Asian star in your opinion?
OMG Rain!
Who is your favourite Asian person?
Taufik Batisah (big big grin!)
Favourite Asian food?
Pad Thai!
(actually Malaque favours Western cuisine, but after some thought she came up with Pad Thai :))
Favourite Asian destination?
Korea - so I can meet Rain!
What Asian culture fascinates you the most?
Indian culture, because they are so colourful. They have lots of festivals and its all so colourful, not just their clothes, but also the huge variety of food!
Music is also in the Indian blood, they dance at every occasion. They have the 'groove' built in them. I also love their fashion - Bollywood fashion is like wow! Its fashionable yet they manage to keep their Indian 'traits'.
What Asian trait are you most proud of?
Asians have the BEST hair. Jet black hair is really beautiful.
What is the one Asian superstition you've held on to since you were a child?
My mom always tells me not to sing in the kitchen or I'll get a very very old husband.
Apparently, Malaque likes to sing while she cooks, so her Mom always nags at her for that.
Random facts about Malaque :
An ex-contestants' mom told her that Malaque (if pronounced Ma-la-kee) means rubbish/nonsense in English (malarky)
Had to learn how to tweet once she got into the Top 13 (I walked her through account sign up over the mobile!)
Is a gourmet when it comes to the food she's preparing (she's studying to be a chef at Sunrice Academy) but when it comes to filling her tummy - she's always at Simpang Bedok.
Her instructor just happens to be Tabby's dad who is a chef.
Malaque was fat (gasp!)- so totally gorgeous now!
summerr thinks you'll love Malaque because :
She's a natural beauty with a great smile, and she can calm herself down and really let go tonight - she should be able to wow us with that great song choice of fast, slow and drama.
Malaque, like Tabby, is one of those girls who are just so pretty you can't help but stare. But the thing about Malaque is, she's also a big goofball who loves to laugh.
Here's the vid Izked recorded with her after she got into the Top 13.
Here's a quick sample of what she'll be singing tonight (recorded last week at choreo).
Its a pity that no one uploaded Malaque's piano show performance on youtube, so I can't share it with you (if you spot it, do let me know and I'll add it here). She sang Christina Aguilera's "A Voice Within" and garnered favourable reviews from Flo who thought she sang it with heart. Ken said her voice was ordinary.
Lets hope tonight's medley of fast and slow will change the judges' minds and show them that Malaque is anything but ordinary.
If you wanna know more about Malaque, click here for her detailed profile.
The Results Show was such a roller coaster ride. Thanks mostly to Gurmit who kept everyone in suspense at every point. "We'll find out....right after the break!"<-- oldest trick in the book but we, the audience, can't do anything about it right??
Everyone was emotionally spent right after. Amidst goodbye hugs, tears and promises to keep in touch, I managed to track down Uncle Ken (ok, more like I tailed him til I got a semblance of a quote).
All night our beloved Uncle Ken spouted what seemed to me to be some pretty cryptic comments at practically everyone.(I can't quote verbatim right now, I gotta watch the show back! I too excited Twitpiccing all the way to write his comments down, but I do remember thinking, gotta file his comments under 'Things that make you go hmmm?').
When I finally caught up with him, I asked him point blank, "Why so cryptic tonight?"
To which he simply replied, "Where got?"
After a little more nudging, he said, "Whatever I say makes sense, I'm trying to teach them something and I hope they listen."
So contestants, especially those that are through to the Top12, I hope you were listening and absorbing what Uncle Ken said.
One comment I kinda remember, was him telling Syltra that she can't keep using her agression. First thought was : "She aggressive meh?"
And he mentioned somewhere that Nurul resembled a cashier at (his new favourite store) 7-Eleven. To which the quick-on-her-feet-funny-one replied she used to work at a 7-Eleven, the Thomson Rd branch! (thats comedic timing you can't buy guys!)
Anyway....
Once the goombyes were done, the newly minted Idol finalists, went straight back to work. Call time was now. Estimated end time : 4am. (I left waaaaay before midnight, thats crazy long hours to be singing! Welcome to Idol Land guys!)
Producers ushered Tabby, Syltra, Malaque, Charles, MJ and Farhan were ushered right back to work at (not haunted by now, so late even the ghosts are asleep) Training School to prep for the upcoming Spectacular #1 Show, aired live on Wed, Sept 16.
The theme is Chart Toppers(which is like a free-for-all really, but when you have such a vast genre, its very very hard to pick the right song, and we all know how important song choice is right?!)
While taking turns to go in for key check and song selection, Izked the Official Blogger recorded some 'Thank You' vids..... thank you to Iz for filming (and sharing) while I was stoning in the corner bemoaning the loss of my Lumix (which my son broke earlier in the day!)....
Farhan, Farhan, Farhair. I cannot believe Jeric actually cut off a huge chunk of his hair last Friday - its like it all grew back (and more!) in the last few days. One of the producers commented "amazing, it grows back by the minute!"
Apparently when Farhan called his Mom to tell her that he'd made it through, the first thing she said was "Must go cut hair ah!" Way to go Mom!
He was actually still qute affected by Ken's comment that he shouldn't be in the Top 12 and that the spot should have gone to either Jannah or Nurul. He's determined to prove Uncle Ken wrong.
I love how he ends his video message with 'Lets go to McDonald's for shaker fries". So random, so Farhan, so sweet :) Just goes to show the friendships forged in Idol don't end when the journey does. Awwww....
Helllooooooo.....I am so attributing the blurness and sloooowwww speech to the late hour at which this was recorded and the fact that she has been on the go since god-only-knows what time that morning.
Tabby is classic Tabby in this video, a little random, but a lot sweet - who can resist that megawatt smile? That thank you speech is Academy Awards worthy :)
Anyway, the first thing I saw when I went back to Studio 1 (after chasing after Ken) was Farhan and Tabby coming off stage together and my first thought was, "Hah, the "couple" made it through!"
I said as much to them, to which they both scoffed nervously.
Much has been said in the media about these two pairing up. Are they or aren't they? I suggest you guys keep us guessing, its just so much more fun that way. Plus, who knows, some teeth whitening company may want you to endorse their products - both of you have whiter (and nicer) teeth than Sly!
The beatboxer is through and a little shell-shocked. He kept to himself mostly while Malaque, Syltra, Tabby and Farhan chatted amongst themselves (with Iz and I).
I asked him how he was feeling, whether he was happy. And he said, if he hadn't gotten through tonight, he would have been happy too because the Idol journey has been so stressful for him so far. But now that he's through, he's super happy, but is just so aware that the stress is going to be even worse after this.
He said of his performance, "Usually once I get on stage and start singing, the (scared) feeling goes away; tonight is the first time I've had the feeling throughout the whole performance."
I asked him what he was 'scared' of and what stressed him out. His reply, "The whole enormity of Idol. The whole Idol thing la."<-- I guess with the Idol brand name comes the pressure to live up to it.
Malaque was the last one the judges put through. It was down to her and Theodore in the final minutes of the Results show which Gurmit stretched into an excruciatingly suspenseful wait.
"My knees were soft!"<-- I wanted to say MY knees were soft!
One of the promo team's photographers had a still camera pointed at her during that moment and was chanting, "I believe in you, Malaque!" (obviously a fan), while Izked's face was white with anticipation, eyes transfixed on Gurmit.
I was pretty sure the judges would put her through if she didn't get the votes, but what I did not expect was for it to be down to her and another deserving contestant (imo) Theodore.
"I still cannot believe it, I'm here!, " says Malaque who's still reeling from making it through, which you can tell from her thank you speech!
Way to go MJ! Clever boy plugged his myspace page :)
Apparently it was an extremely tearful separation for MJ and his BFF Theodore (seen here, prepping together right before the show started) after the Results were announced. An eye witness recounts that the sobbing was way more than when brothers Jon and Gabe Cheok were separated (the latter already quite teruk, I think my heart would have broken if I'da seen that....*sob*)
How'd I miss this moment? I was off chasing after the elusive Uncle Ken for that 'quote'.
MJ's off back to the US as of this morning to sort out immigration and travel stuff. We'll see you soon buddy!
Lastly, good job to the six who've made it through. You're here because you deserve to be....voters put you through because they love you, and the Judges put you through because they think you deserve it too. So don't doubt that.
Work hard and give us a great show at Spectacular #1 on September 16th!
xoxo, s.
ps. Ep5 review will be done once someone (hint!hint!) uploads it to Youtube...
pps. Check out this awesome rendition of Craig David's 7Days by Syarif (sleeq), with Ben (Muthusalam <-- LOL) on guitar. NICE ONE! Thanks Iz again for the vids! Go to the Official Blogger's blog for more vids.
Congratulations to the six who are through - Charles, Malaque, Syltra, Tabby, Farhan and MJ!!!
You did it!You're in the Top 12!
And a great big hug to the other 6, thank you for sharing your Idol journey with us.
Next Wednesday, its time for another nerve-wracking Piano Show....here are your 2nd group of 12 competing for the remaining six places in the Top 12, remember those numbers! Like before, voting starts at 8pm on Wednesday night. Click on their names in the right side bar to access their full profiles!
Each call/sms costs 60 cents.
The second group of 12 will be at their first roadshow this Saturday 5 Sept at Lot One The Shopper's Mall at Choa Chu Kang (its right at CCK MRT station) from 3pm - 4pm. Go show your support!
Also catch them on their radio interviews next Monday,Tuesday and Wednesday on 987FM at 9am with Dan & Young.
summerr loves her tv. in fact, she's downright passionate about it. This blog grew to be the Unofficial blog of Singapore Idol 2009. This year, its going OMG! Hope you'll enjoy the inside scoop on this year's big reality must watch!
