Interview with OMG Host : Michelle Chong

Michelle : "Leticia Or Barbarella Would Make Good OMG! Judges."
Michelle Chong is probably best known for her ability to be a bimbo noose-anchor one minute, an honest 'celebrity' maid thereafter and an 'ang-moh-loving' SPG the next on Channel 5's popular skit show The Noose. She's so good at playing so many characters that sometimes you don't even notice that she's the only girl on the show - didn't notice riiiight?

She's terribly passionate about the show and obviously has a great deal of input on the material written for each of her characters. I asked her whether any of her 'personas' would be making an appearance on OMG! and her response was that she thought her Filipino maid character Leticia or SPG character Barbarella may have made guest good judges, but was told by producers that "it's not that kind of show, it's not supposed to be a comedy."

I wasn't sure if she was joking or not. She says a lot of things very convincingly deadpan - its hilarious for all of 5 seconds and then your laughter grinds to a halt when you see her dead serious expression.

Have you ever hosted a talent show before?

No actually, I have been busy filming Chinese dramas. I’m excited to see what kind of talent we have in Singapore, however, there seems to be a fair bit of "foreign talent" (referring to the trailers that were running on Channel 5). Eh, like that Leticia also can be on the show waaat!

What kind of ‘acts’ would stand out to you?

‘Acts?’ *looong pause* I don’t feel anything for any of my 'ex'.

*I was a little bewildered at this point, thrown off by her very serious expression...and then later realised she was playing with me :P. After recovering from the little word play, she continues...*

I’ve kinda had enough of magic. There’s so much magic everywhere, for instance all those Taiwanese programmes, everyone's always coming on to do some magic trick here and there; and even my little cousins are doing magic tricks.

I’d like to see more of the conventional, old-fashioned kind of acts, like really good singing or dancing. For the more rare/extraordinary type, maybe acrobatics or fire swallowing. Although I don’t think there’s enough of those acts here to judge and compare. So the judges have a tough job. Oh, but I’m very scared of the eyepopping or how many bugs I can eat type of talent.

Maybe to really wow people they have to come up with a combo act, not just singing but singing while spinning plates on sticks with their feet?!

How would you judge ?

By the passion in their eyes. The passion they have in their acts.

Biggest challenge?

Calming their nerves in front of a huge live audience.

Any hidden, OMG-worthy type talents ?

I have no talent. When I joined the show, producers asked me if I could do anything, I told them I had no talent. They asked me to try pole dancing and I said "No thank you", because I wasn't sure if I could do it, skali I hurt my back then how right? Oh, but I am learning some martial arts for a Chinese drama, does that count? I go for training for that and its really good. Apparently I look like the type of person that can do martial arts really well but actually I really have no clue about it.

What do you think of FD and Irene bring to the table as Judges? Are they suitable to judge a show like this?

And they tell me this isn't a comedy show? You have Irene and you have FD and you have me and Gurms. Sure not? Sure its not a comedy show?

She stops and ponders the question a whle and then asks, "Why do YOU think they'd make good judges?"

summerr : "Well I understand they have many years of experience in the entertainment industry, so they'll know what it takes to survive la... and should be able to give constructive advice to contestants?"

Michelle : "Oh, so you mean FD and Irene can do this?" *Michelle sticks out her foot and arms and mimics spinning plates on sticks* and we both burst out laughing - can you imagine FD spinning plates on sticks???!!

Tis not easy getting a straight answer from a comedienne. But I definitely had loads of laughs chatting with her. To say she's quick on her feet (with the punchlines and parodies) doesn't even begin to describe my chat with her.

I must see if she'll let me interview her post-show as Leticia or Lulu or one of her other characters. It would be fun to see/hear Leticia's take on the show or Barbarella's take on the contestants right?

Have you set your reminders yet? OMG! premieres tomorrow right after the National Day Parade on Channel 5!

xoxo, s.

ps. I'm actually gonna be watching the parade at home this year, cos I wanna catch Airi and Sylsyl sing the theme song. Plus there's also Taufik's performance - so much to look forward to on tv tomorrow night!

Interview with OMG Host : Gurmit Singh

GURMIT "SUPERMAN" SINGH

Every time I’ve seen Gurms this past month he’s had something or other with the ‘Superman’ logo on it. At our first meeting, he had on a ‘Superman’ belt buckle. Next time we meet, he was in a ‘Superman’ teeshirt. Today at the press conference, he has a ‘Superman’ tie. Maybe he’ll unveil the significance of his ‘theme’, another stage in his already very accomplished career?

Gurms is a household name not just in Singapore but across the Causeway too. Everyone knows who he is, as well as his most famous character, Phua Chu Kang, the lovable bungling Ah Beng contractor with yellow boots, curly hair and a mole. (Personally, my favourite character is the Uncle that would clean up the stage after TWG!) Singaporeans also know him as the host of a variety of successful live shows, most famously Singapore Idol and the annual President's Star Charity Show and National Day Parade telecasts. He has also hosted Singapore's version of Don't Forget The Lyrics, and weight-loss reality programme Lose To Win, and back in the 90s, he hosted his own talk show - Tonight With Gurmit (TWG).

So it was only natural that he'd be hosting this year's big talent search show on Channel 5 - OMG!

How do you feel about hosting OMG and what do you think about the show?

I’m excited about hosting the show, I’m always excited. Thing is, I’ve always been 50-50 about a show like this. I mean, I know there will be people out there who can do singing and dancing, but are there enough to do a full show? I don’t know, I’m hoping to be surprised. Maybe now's the time for a show like this to happen. Singapore’s more exposed now, we are exposed to more of what’s out there in the world, so we copy, imitate and explore, who knows what we’ll see on the show.

In Bintan, there was this lady who was a busker, and she had a metal plate on her crotch. She also had a portable grinder. She would grind the metal plate and there’d be amazing fireworks. She would control the pressure or something and make different patterns and displays and it was beautiful. And all the while I was thinking, “How did she discover that?”

Did you know licking a bullfrog is an aphrodisiac? How many animals did they lick to discover this?

Any expectations - in terms of the show/format/talents?

None actually. I think its more fun that way, more exciting.

I always think of myself as the underdog. Like Paul Potts, the guy is a mobile phone salesman, and he looks like a loner, like a guy with a big ‘L’ on his head. But then he opens his mouth to sing and the feeling you get when you hear him sing, it almost brings tears to your eyes. I’m hoping for this kind of moment on the show, an underdog just waiting for this opportunity to shine.

When I was in secondary school, me and four friends were in a band, and we were going to take part in the Rainbow Band Club Competition. We went in our school uniforms, just carrying our folk guitars, and when we got to the hall, we felt so inadequate. All around us, we saw others in costumes and other bands with electric guitars, we felt so overwhelmed by the ‘talent’ we saw that we never even took to the stage when our names were called out. We just pretended it was someone else they were calling.

But who knows, if we had performed, we may have won. It was the 'perceived' talent that held us back. We were actually quite good. So I would like to see an underdog get its day.

How would you judge the talents on a show like this?

Its gotta be the people who can make their pigs fly or who can roast a duck with their breath. An act that makes you go ‘what the..?’

What kind of acts do you think will be at a disadvantage here?

Singers and dancers. They really have to work really really hard to differentiate themselves from the rest because we’ve had singing and dancing shows before. They need to be really good but on top of that there needs to be a connection, eye contact, with the audience. It can’t just all be technical.

Have you got any hidden talents, OMG-worthy ones?

Who? Me or PCK? If its PCK, his hidden talent would be drinking 5 bottles of XO, .... and not getting drunk!

Gurmit’s hidden talent would be – breakdancing. (During one of the breaks in recording, Gurms actually proceeds to go onstage to show the audience, the difference between the ‘caterpillar’ and the ‘worm’. How cool is that?!)

What do you think will be the biggest challenge facing the OMG contestants?

Confidence. Any performer with confidence is half way there. Half the ‘perceived’ talent is gone without confidence.

Any last words before you have to go stand in front of the camera? (I walked with him as he headed to his photoshoot)

I want to emphasise that this is not just a singing/dancing competition, its an ANYTHING-GOES competition. So if you can roast a chicken with your breath, we want you on the show.

Trust a funny man to end the interview that way. In fact throughout the interview the jokes were fast and furious. The banter among the cast, especially when you put FD, Irene and Gurmit together, or even just Gurms and Michelle, is non-stop punchline after punchline. But seriously, I think next show, Gurms shouldn't just host, he should judge - he totally qualifies after all these years of hosting and acting!

OMG premieres TOMORROW, right after the National Day Parade - EXCITED!!!!!! - on Channel 5.

xoxo, s.

ps. Are you dying to know who are the 10 contestants vying for the 8 podium places? Imma release that info tomorrow! ;)

OMG!'s New Trailer & Press Ad

Lookin' good.

Now that the hosts and judges have been unmasked, I've been told a slew of new on-air trailers and press ads will be released, obviously featuring their faces ;) how nice.

Check out the first trailer here, it features hosts Gurmit Singh and Michelle Chong. By the way, if it doesn't load up, go to the OMG Facebook page to watch. This is the first time I'm using the 'embed' function from FB, so fingers crossed it works all the time.

I have to admit I wasn't sure whether to expect a straightforward trailer or a comedic one, considering the fact that Gurms and Michelle are both hilarious naturally and in the many characters they play on tv.

In fact, on the first day I met them, I asked them to come up with another meaning for OMG and they came up with OMG = The 'Only Michelle & Gurmit' Show. Farnee right? Michelle even said, "They tell me this isn't a comedy show, but look at the line-up, you have Irene and FD, and Gurmit and me, and they say its not comedy? Sure not?"

Well, from the way the recordings went for the first few eps, having these seasoned comedians who are quick witted and can think on their feet certainly makes for good show banter, and keeps the energy level of the show up. (In addition to being able to hold their own against the sometimes rude hecklers in the audience).

IMO, although the show is mainly about the talent, it is also about the way the judges and hosts carry the show - you want to see if your judgement tallies (or not) with theirs. I mean, admit it, we're all couch potato judges at heart right?

xoxo, s.

ps. next post will be about the format, sorry, HAD to share the vid and press ad cos they look so glossy!

The Big Reveal : OMG!'s Press Conference

And the Judges and Hosts are....

Finally, the good folks at Channel 5 have publicly unveiled (whoa that didn't sound too kosher), the identities of the hosts and judges for their upcoming talent show One Moment Of Glory. If you've been following my tweets today, you woulda seen it all unfold from about 11am this morning while the press conference was ongoing.

Meet your wonderful hosts - Gurmit Singh and Michelle Chong!

And the OMG! Judges are : resident judges Irene Ang and Mark van Cuylenberg a.k.a. The Flying Dutchman; as well as guest judges Beatrice Chia-Richmond and Jeanette Aw. Unfortunately for us, both Beatrice and Jeanette couldn't make it today due to scheduling conflicts.

As promised, I've recorded videos of what went on at the press con, so here they are for your viewing pleasure. Not the best quality vids mind you, I had to juggle recording this and tweeting/twitpiccing at the same time. Also the venue was super echo-ey and I didn't have proper recording equipment (please remember I am just a mere blogger, not an actual videographer or producer :), but I try my best, so hope you can make out what's goin' on.

Class 95's Jean Danker emceed the press con and looked mighty hawt in a black and pink mini-dress. Someone commented she looked very Gaga today. I would have to agree - lookit those legs though, they like go on forever! Tsk! Envy!

Anywayyy....

This first vid shows the two hosts being introduced. The sound quality isn't great, but you can still hear what they're saying about the show.

These next two vids feature the two resident judges talking about the show. Have a listen to what FD has to say about how he and Irene are going to be judging the talent on the show.

After the big reveal, Channel 5 surprised the press further by introducing a few 'sample' acts from the show. First up were b-boy group Luminiq.

Followed by soulful strummer singer-songwriter, Jill Marie Scott, singing her accoustic version of the Wondergirls hit 'Nobody'. Jill's actually a mini Youtube star, do a search for her and you'll see.

Next up were a belly-dancing trio called Desert Roses, followed by Vertical Dancer Irene Ng. Do note, its NOT 'pole-dancing', its 'vertical dancing' because she not only dances up and down poles, she can do any sort of 'vertical' shimmying. (Check out Gurmit in the back when Irene slides down at the end! LOL!)

Finally, show closer for the day was fire artiste Danny Koh. Apparently the poor guy had blisters in his mouth after the show because he 'tahan-ed' a little longer for dramatic effect today. But like any true professional performer, you would never be able to tell. But Ouch! anyway. If you could see me while I was filming this you'd see me going 'Ow' and 'Yikes' every 5 seconds!

After the performances were done, there was a quick photocall (that means photo-taking session for the non-media-type people) and voila, time for makan and mingling! Mingling here = one-to-one interviews with various press.

Check out this impromptu vid I managed to take while Jill and a few guys from Luminiq were just hanging out. Nice. Reminded me of Idol days :)

I think the contestants had a good time showing off their talents and soaking up the atmosphere at their first media event :) Thanks for a good show today you guys - hope the press were just as impressed and will support the show!

Overall, it was quite laid-back, relaxed presser, check out Gurms showing off his skills with a pole. Totally impromptu and all the photogs in the room dashed over and snapped like a gazillion pics of this!

After that, someone took this lovely pic of Mr and Mrs Phua out of costume, a very rare occurence indeed according to Irene Ang's tweet "We barely ever get to take 'normal' pics". (especially now that they're working to promote their new movie - Phua Chu Kang The Movie - I wanna watch this!)

Over the next few days, I'll be putting up the individual profiles and interviews I did with each Judge and Host. Tomorrow's post - "How does the OMG format work?". Imma tackle the difficult task of explaining to you how the show actually works.

Hope you've enjoyed the vids and have a good night!

xoxo, s.

ps. Don't you think Irene Ang looks hawt in that outfit? She's just looking better and better as the years go by. Just found out the jewellery she was wearing was designed by Lum May Yee - so thats where she's disappeared to, jewellery designing!

pps. Did you notice Gurmit's tie? Its a 'Superman' tie. Every time I've seen him for OMG, he's been wearing something 'Superman'. A teeshirt, a belt buckle, and now a tie! Is he gearing up to watch the final season of Smallville? (ok, that was so random :P)

OMG! Judges/Host Big Reveal Tomorrow

The big reveal happens tomorrow!

In just under 14 hours, the media will be introduced to the four Judges and two Hosts of One Moment Of Glory. Of course those who attended the show's recordings last Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday already know who they are, but we're all being very good and keeping mum.

I'm actually pretty excited about tomorrow because

1. Its gonna be at *Scape and I haven't really had a good walk around that place - heard from the marketing team that the room where the media conference is gonna be held is pretty snazzy!

2. I'm looking forward to hear what the judges/hosts have to say about their roles on the show and what they've seen so far in terms of talent.

3. I'm interested to hear what our local journos are gonna ask them. I hope someone will ask them really tough questions (and put them on the spot haha)! *evil grin*

4. Last but not least, I just heard that producers may be inviting some of the more, ahem, 'colourful' or 'unique' contestants to perform for the journos! I wonder who they'll cherry-pick and whether these acts are representative of the judges' favourites or are just random? Ooh, if there's fire involved, its gonna be hawt!

Follow me on Twitter tomorrow for live updates and you'll also get to see it all unfold via Twitpic as it happens :)

Follow summerr77 on Twitter now!

The whole thing starts at 11am, so see you on Twitter right about then! Have a good Thursday night y'all!

xoxo, s.

Judges/Hosts Publicity Pics - 'First' Look!

Think you can figure out who they are?

Happy Saturday morning everyone! Check out the four pics I just got from the very nice promo people at Channel 5. There was one more sent to me but that one was waaay too obvious who it was, even with my amateur grafitti, you could so tell. So I couldn't put it up. (Apologies to that artiste!)

But I think this should be enough to whet your appetite over the weekend :)

Masked #1 :

Doesn't this celeb look super chio? Hawt right? Your guess - Judge or Host? She was the tallest 'celeb' at the shoot, sumore add heels, phwoar! V pretty lady :)

Masked #2 :

Had to put something to cover up his hand cos I thought his hand would give his identity away. Now on hindsight, I'm thinking, how COULD his HAND possibly give him away?! Silly summerr tsk! So...judge or host?

Masked #3 :

Also didn't expect this lady to be so tall when I met her. Haven't had a chat with her yet, so will catch her on Monday (hopefully) :), I'm really impressed by all her accomplishments, and hope I don't get TOO tongue-tied when I meet her 'properly'!

Masked #4 :

This one held her mask really well, I didn't even need to add grafitti to cover her face! Either the mask was big or she has a small face. Possibly the latter, she's a lot more fine-boned than what you see on tv, and waaaay taller than I expected.

(D'you see a trend? They're all taller than I expected, ie I'm probably shorter than I think I am wth!)

This is the celeb with the fab Kate Spade bag. Love.It. (Want.It.)

Ok...so....appetite suitably whetted? <-- is that even a word?

Then grab your tickets to the OMG studio recordings for Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday by emailing omg@mediacorp.com.sg NOW and put your curiosity to rest (so that you can enjoy the talents who are coming on the show).

Plus, get updates about the show on Facebook by joining the show's FB page...

Join OMG's Facebook page!

Have a good weekend, and if you've gotten yourself tickets, I'll see you on Monday night!

xoxo, s.

OMG's First Photoshoot : Judges & Host

Who's That Girl?

Is that a judge or one of the hosts for OMG? Guess?

"..... its meant to be more glam."

Thats what one of the hosts (ah, yes, there's more than one host for OMG :)) said to me today, describing the feel of the show.

And 'more glam' it was. Today's photoshoot set was all decked out in black, similar to the feel of the show's on-air trailers.

The judges and hosts were all dressed to the nines, heels super high for the ladies, and smart suits for the men. Everyone and the set looked 'glam' indeed. Throw in the fancy feather-sequined masks (used to keep their identities secret for the upcoming ads) and it was almost like a shoot for a high-end Cirque show.

The morning didn't start off as promising though. I had arrived at Mediacorp's makeup unit on the dot at 9am, but no one was to be found - no hosts/judges, no photographers, no handlers (artiste managers) - na da.

OMG's promo person was looking a little worried when Host #1 walked in about half an hour later, followed by Host #2 ten minutes after that, and Judge #1 shortly thereafter. Ah, 3 down by 10am, phew! Not too bad.

I wasn't at liberty to snap their mugs, so I snapped bags, shoes and er, wardrobe.

After that, I managed to score an interview with 3 out of the 5 that came today, and I must say it was lovely chatting

with them.

To be honest, I was a little starstruck because producers have selected some pretty well-known, and well-respected artistes to carry the show. The two hosts and the three judges I met today are experienced entertainers with substance - its a pretty solid panel. When all five were on set, it was pretty cool to watch because each one has an equally big personality and all are pros in front of the camera.

Also they're all so tall and glam in person (even before hair and makeup). Ok, maybe its cos I'm short la. (But seriously, they all don't look that tall on tv mah.... note to self, next round must wear my 'Malaque' platforms.)

Check out this lovely leggy lady who's one of the judges on the show! The freakish lighting happened because I took the picture at the same time the pro photog's flash went off nearby.

And that's one of the masks one of them will be wearing for the shoot. Very 'dangerous liasons' looking!

I've just learned that the Press Conference for the show is on 29th July, and the identities of the hosts and judges will be revealed then, so sit tight .... I get to attend it, so I shall drop ze bomb at the press con :) (to be held at a very fancy room/suite/space at *scape! So happening!).

In the meantime, am just waiting for the publicity team to send me some preview pics of the ad so I can give you guys a sneak peek, and maybe you'll be able to guess correctly who's doing what job :)

xoxo, s.

ps. Erm, and in case you were wondering, no, those aren't really your judges, those are Channel 5 interns Sean and Riza (did I spell your names right guys?) .... I suddenly miss Syarif and James!

pps. Btw, if you like the trailer above, you should check out the rest of Channel 5's on-air campaign at OMG's Facebook page (under Videos), I quite enjoyed watching it, well produced and edited trailers :), hopefully the show lives up to the marketing ;)