A Night To Remember - Part Deux, Results Show late review!

Confetti + 2 MJs = Rockin' Results Show

Just a mere week ago tonight, we were picking up the scraps at the Indoor Stadium (no wait, 11.47pm last Sunday I was scarfing down bee hoon at the post show reception with Malaque, Nurul, Farhan, Izked and the rest).

Ok, wait, before I go any further, I wanna say sorry peeps for not doing this earlier - got so wrapped up in the whole aftermath (media backlash) and Celebrate 2010 stuff that I didn't review what was actually a great power-packed Results show! So come, sit back and let's reminisce together shall we?

So I shan't bother describing what was a pretty boring post-show party, lets rewind the night instead....

9.30pm, Sunday, 27th December 2009. Indoor Stadium.

We had just witnessed a super tight fight between Airi & SylSyl. Voting lines are open for another 45 minutes, and right now, its a half hour break before the Results Show comes back. But the lucky peeps here at Indoor don't have a chance to take a break. Stepping up to the mic to entertain us are Tabitha Nauser with 'Ain't Nobody', Faizal Isa with 'I'm Yours', Charles 'Stitch' Wong with his awesome beatboxing and last but not least, Hady Mirza with his latest Malay single, 'Angkasa' - delivered beautifully and flawlessly I must say! Here are the vids...

(this footage of Hady was recorded at rehearsals, cos I couldn't find any vids of the actual performance on Youtube. To watch more rehearsal footage, check out my Youtube channel here).

That was enough to make that lil half hour break feel like nothing :) Of course backstage was crazy la, wardrobe change, pee breaks, new hair (styles, not actual hair pffft!), then haul ass to stage left/right to prep.

10pm, We're back with the Results Show LIVE!

Shot and broadcast in HD (just like the performance show earlier on), the Idol Results Show opens with the 'Spectaculars Medley', featuring the following :

• Smooth Criminal performed by Sezairi Sezali, Charles 'Stitch' Wong and Faizal Isa (for Spectacular #4 'A Tribute To Michael Jackson)
• Chiggy Wiggy performed by Malaque Mahdaly, Farhan Shah and Nurul Huda (for Spectacular #3 'An Asian Feast')
• Hey Mickey performed by Fathin Amira, Mae Sta, Justin Jap and Duane Ho (for Spectacular #6 'Mambo Mania')
• When Love Takes Over performed by Tabitha Nauser, Sylvia Ratonel, and later joined by the rest of the Top 12 (possibly for Spectacular #1 Chart Toppers).

Watch...

Every time I watched them perform this medley, I got goosebumps, especially during Tabby and Syl's duet 'When Love Takes Over'. Every time I watch that, I can imagine what the Finals would have been like had it been an all-girl affair - without taking anything away from Airi - it would have been pretty explosive...and super sexy! Our Diva showdown - imo, would be better than Fantasia vs Diana Degarmo (cos lets face it peeps, although those two had vocal chops, our girls are vocals PLUS eye candy and swagger!) .... in the words of Ning Baizura, '...in another life, in another place...'

Not sure if you guys felt the same, but I felt 'Hey Mickey' was a bit of a waste of Mae's, Amira's, Justin's and Duane's talents (and a tad humiliating). Initially when I saw the choreo, I thought it was kinda cheesy but hey, its not too bad a song I guess. But when I saw what they had to wear, I was like...O...M....G.... I wish they would have picked a better song and dance (and wardrobe) for these four (but I must say, never once did any of them complain - such good sports!). There are so many great songs to choose from for a 'Mambo' theme... anyway, hope they've gotten over the trauma of wearing those yellow outfits! (I can just see someone commenting, 'producers made them wear yellow cos they secretly support Sylvia and want her to win!' - am I right? Haha, CAUGHT YOU, now that I've said it, this totally INvalidates that stupid lame-o thought, so don't bother posting -AUTO REJECT!)

After the medley, we were treated to a variety of gorgeous performances that I totally enjoyed. First up, Hady with his brand new self-written English single, 'I'll Never Leave Again'. Beautiful song, well written, and totally perfect for his great voice - loved it! Its such a great song, totally worthy to be played on radio stations around the world (and by that I mean US, UK, Australia and Europe! Sounds just as good as any of them angmoh singers wat right?) Backing him on guitars were Sezairi and Charlie.

This was followed by a great crowd-pleaser performance of 'Use Somebody' by the 'Idol Band' featuring the vocals of 'big brother' Hady Mirza with Sezairi, Charlie, Duane and MJ Kuok (everyone say woot!) I so absolutely loved that the producers brought him back for the finale. Eventhough it was just a few lines of song, we've all missed him and it was great to have him back as part of the Idol 'family'. It would have been better if producers had given him a little airtime to say 'hi'. I have no doubt many were wondering 'huh? is that MJ? whats he doing here? how? why? etc', woulda been nice if Gurms had said something about MJ's special appearance (after all, he did fly all the way back from the States just to perform :))

Watch...

Next, we had the Idol Boyband, made up of Uncle Ken's worst nightmares put together - Season 2's Joakim Gomez & Paul Twohill with our very won Farhair & Faizal.

Uncle Ken, can't say the boys dint listen to you when you told them to go form a boyband right? Imo, they actually sounded pretty good! Watch...

The Paulkim/FarFai show was followed up by a sizzling hot Idol Diva performance....

The Divas were Season 2's resident powerhouses Nurul Maideen, Gayle Nerva and Mathilda D'Silva and our very own power princesses Tabitha Nauser and 'queen-diva-for-the-night' Sylvia Ratonel(li <-- can you believe the CNA host got her name wrong and made her 'Italian'? tsk, never do homework hahaha! Aiya, live show, people make mistakes, however, SylSyl doesnt hear the end of it from the Idol crew - 'Ratonelliiiii!') Anyway, I'm sidetracking...back to the Idol Divas, they are AWESOME. Sizzling number that had all the right hair flicks, neck twitches, finger wags and hip pops! Idol Divas FTW!

Watch...

Speaking of divas, the next one up, was (no, IS) a major powerhouse to be reckoned with. No further introduction needed. The very sweet *and tiny!*, 17-year old, Charice Pempengco, performed her 'Bodyguard' medley (I Have Nothing/I Will Always Love You) and her first single, 'A Note To God'(written by Diane Warren and produced by David Foster for her).

Watch (and be blown away!)....

Earlier in the day I managed to catch her during her rehearsal (click here to watch), and even then at 'half-power' she was awesome. I totally regret not 'stalking' her for an interview - saw later on on my youtube comments that she's really sweet and woulda 'talked' to me :) DAMMIT! Charice if by some freak-of-nature-chance you ever read this - you were bloodee awesome man!

After all that balladeering, we needed a change of pace....

....and who better to kick us into high gear than our very first Singapore Idol (and can I say, hunk much?) Taufik Batisah! Sporting a new hairstyle (and fresh from a very handsome shoot with Manja magazine whose cover he graced), Taufik performed his brand new, yet unreleased English single 'Addicted'. I am TOTALLY 'Addicted' to that song, and the dancing - so awesome lor. Kudos to the original SI for always keeping a few steps (and notches) ahead of the game and keeping us wanting more. A few nights ago, I dreamt it got 'mashed-up' with Cobra Starship's 'Good Girls Go Bad'..... OMG - Taufik + Leighton Meester 'remix' video for 'Addicted! HAWT!

(okaaay, almost 2am, getting ahead of myself there....sorry Fik!)

Watch 'Addicted'....

(can't believe I don't have any rehearsal footage - Min, if you're reading this, spare me one can?)

And now, after all those vids, you KNOW what we're up for right? Yep, the results. Gurms recaps performances, recaps Judges' comments, and makes us wait through a commercial break. What you don't see at home folks, is that while we went on that last commercial break, Gurms left the stage and Syl and Airi DID.NOT.MOVE.

Not an inch.

They were rooted to that spot for the whole 2 minutes and 30 seconds (maybe more). I can't imagine standing there, rooted for so long, waiting for the announcement that could change your life, with more than 8000 pairs of eyes looking at you, piling their hopes and dreams (and voting guilt) on you. Iz and I were stood by the stage, behind Airi and Syl, and they seriously looked like statues.

Here's what happened when we got back from the break. It went by in such a blur. I was holding my breath and at the same time chanting 'I Will Not Cry. I Will Not Cry. I Will Not Cry.' (already did when Airi sang TBAA mah! Anyway, check out the hand that 'points' to the 'winner' at 2:13 <-- HILARIOUS! Its like he knew!!!!)

This is Airi singing TBAA again through the confetti. I love these confetti blowers, it always adds to the surrealness of that 'winning moment'.

Want more pics/vids?

For tons more vids and pics, do check out my youtube channel (loads of behind-the-scenes footage here or rehearsals and random moments for you to relive the last 6 months of Idol!) and my twitpics (tons and tons of pics of the Idols taken over the last coupla months - enjoy!).

And in case you're still wondering what '2 MJs' meant - aiya, MJ tribute and MJ Kuok lor. Check out MJ's backstage interview here. See my previous post about Airi's win here and the media backlash as a result of that win.

Coupla random pics before I shut down and ZzzzZzz (Scarlett's first day back to school tomorrow and Mummy is still up at 4.13am!)

Pic #1 :

Our favourite personalities - Judges Dick, Flo and Ken.

Pic #2

Here's a collage (click to enlarge) of the people who help make the show seamless for those at the venue - the Hosts! Kudos to Gurms, Matt (who's been our Idol wubby from Day 1) and The Muttons from Official Idol Radio station 987M! Plus, our very own Mae Sta and Tabitha Nauser did AWESOME 'hosting' links for LIVE tv - they're naturals!

Pic #3

And last but not least, haha, a picture of that 'moment' that has sparked tons of rumours in idol-dom....are Airi and Syl in lurve? ;) *go figure that one out yourself*

xoxo, s.

ps. Look out for my next post on Tuesday/Wednesday about 'The Death of Singapore Idol'. Apparently its a topic so hot - its gonna be on BlogTV.

pps. Its Monday 4th January right now, our Singapore Idol Sezairi Sezali will be enlisting in about 2 hours plus (I'm assuming calltime for these kinda army things is 7am?). Wishing you a painless and uneventful 2 weeks, and an even more painless, hurdle-less 5 weeks after that.

Idol Resolutions - The Videos & a bit more...

HAPPY 2010 everyone!

Here are your Top 12 Finalists' New Year resolutions!

These were recorded backstage at rehearsals for Celebrate 2010, held at The Float@Marina Bay. Its 2am right now, so the dance party should still be goin' on for another hour more! I wonder if the Idols are at the airport sending Justin off?

Oh, and apologies, I do not have 'resolutions' videos for Justin and Nurul. Justin cos he wasn't around, and Nurul, cos I ran out of time, but I did manage to interview her. Anyway, without further ado....

IDOL 2010 RESOLUTIONS

Farhan

What are his plans for 2010?

As blonde as this prawn-lover is...did I tell you guys that Farhan thought Taiwan was part of Korea? Something to do with Kimchi being available in Taiwan. Sigh. He was pretty shocked to learn that they are indeed se-pa-rate countries. Farhan Farhan....sigh. Still love ya though!

Anywaaaaay, Farhan has tons happening for him in 2010.

1. He's singin' with Tabby at RP's Open House next week (7th or 10th Jan?)

2. He's got some gigs with heregoesnothing! planned. AND, they will be releasing their very first EP this year, if you were at the Celebrate 2010 preshow, you would have heard their first single 'Make It Real'.

3. He'll be forming a boyband with Faizal. Now that I think about it, it shouldn't be called a 'boyband' it should be a 'duo' since there's only two of them. They plan to name it 'F-squared' (I couldn't put a small '2' in, so had to type it out), and btw, yours truly came up with that name sorta. I suggested F2, then we all went 'OMG F-Squared!'. Cool not?

They'll be doing covers on Youtube for a while to get things going. Thereafter they will focus on writing original material. The feel of their music is gonna be like 3-Oh-3..... but cleaner :) (Rated 'G' LOL!)

Tabby & Charlie

What are Tabby's plans for 2010?

Tabby hasn't got any super big hidden recording contract offers goin' on right now. She's hoping to get such offers - so people, if you loved her and would love to invest in her career - get in touch with her now!

In the meantime, she's heading back to school - Republic Poly. Catch her at Republic Poly's Open house on 7th or 10th Jan (someone confirm the date please?). She'll be singing a duet with Farhan Shah! Yes folks, adding more fuel to the rumour-mill fire :) The song they'll be singing is Chris Brown's 'Forever'.

What are Charlie's plans for 2010?

Charles wants to do an album, but it won't be that soon. Right now he's actually looking at going to schools to teach beatboxing! This hip hop trend has been gaining awareness this past year and there's a lot of demand for classes, so since Charlie's one of the pioneer beatboxers in Singapore, he's much sought after for classes.

He'll still continue to sing at pubs and cafes. His permanent gig is at Hong Kong cafe where he belts out a mix of English and Chinese songs, but now he also hopes to add DXO to that list to sing more of his accoustic English covers. I love hearing Charles sing with his guitar, must go and catch him gigging one of these days!

Duane

What are his plans for 2010?

Our Mr Pussycat Doll says he's got a coupla gigs lined up and charity events too. And he's also hoping for more to come his way. Keep tabs on Duane on his tumblr, fanpage and twitter.

Justin

I don't have a vid of him and I'm soooo missing Justin Jap right now! Will send him a tweet to get him to record a message about resolutions for us all once he touches down in San Francisco.

He's off to the U.S. to hit the books and be my family doctor in about 6 years time. :) For updates on Justin, you can check out his vids on youtube, or go to his blog.

Amira

What are her plans for 2010?

Already booked solid for performances with her show choir, you can catch Amira next at The Esplanade, performing with them, on Jan 19th and 20th! They'll be performing seven songs in all, Seasons of Love (from Rent! Love this song!), Bohemian Rhapsody (we all know this one!), two numbers from Grease and three numbers in tribute to Michael Jackson (Black Or White, Man In The Mirror and I'll Be There). She's also got a ton of school performances lined up :) Amira's our resident busy bee!

Faizal

What are his plans for 2010?

Faizal Monster says he hasn't got anything concrete planned for 2010 musically, but is looking forward to forming a boyband with fellow Idol Top12 Farhan Shah. Looks like he's heeding Uncle Ken's advice? Anyway, they'll be working together on their first single. He's very excited about performing at an event by Selebriti magazine this February (they put our Idols on their cover a few months back).

But the big news for Faizal will be the debut of his acting career! Suria's production people (Eaglevision) called, and they want him to be a part of an upcoming drama series that also features heartthrobs Syarif from Sleeq and ex-Idol contestant Haizad Imran (the hawt hawt male nurse from Season 1's Top 30, tell me you remember him!). The drama apparently centres around a guy who is liked by, count 'em, FIVE girls. Guess who's playin' the guy? ;) I think a new Suria heartthrob is about to be born.

Filming commences January to March, and hopefully the series will air late March or early April. Fingers crossed it all happens - you know how it is in entertainment, change is the only constant! Hope to hear more of this exciting project!

Nurul

What are her plans for 2010?

Like Faizal, she hasn't got anything planned. But I wouldn't be surprised if Suria gave her a call too - the girl is a natural actress (and she's got good comedic timing too!)

Right now, she's working on a new single for herself, its self-written but still untitled. She's planning to have a showcase at The Esplanade in August 2010, so she'll be aiming to do 5-6 English songs and 2 Malay songs for that performance. Can't wait to be there, am marking it on my calendar now.

Mae & Michael Sta

What are her plans for 2010?

Mae's got a couple of tracks, 6 actually, that she's already put together. So she's looking to put them out there for sale online - probably on iTunes and the Nokia store. She just wants to get her music out there.

Other than that, she's in the midst of writing a song about the Idol journey thats meant to be a duet for herself and Tabby (yay!).

Plus, she'll most likely be doing an accoustic set for Power98, but the dates for that aren't confirmed - let us know when Mae, it'll be awesome to hear you sing LIVE on radio!

Malaque & Sylvia

What are Malaque's plans for 2010?

She's still gonna sing when she can, but at the moment, she's headed back to culinary school to finish her course. After that, she's hoping to sing and cook on tv, possibly on the Asian Food Channel. Any takers?

Oh and I haven't told you guys, Malaque was(IS) the sweetest person, she actually cooked pasta for the Idols and crew for dinner on Christmas Day! How sweet is that? And the pasta was AWESOME. It was a tagliatelle tossed in olive oil with mushrooms and garlic and, I dunno what else cos it was so delicious I didn't pay any attention! AND she brought out the piece-de-resistance - this super hawt chilli padi/garlic/oil concoction <--super spicy and wicked delicious! I was deliriously numb from the chilli. I'm sorry I don't have pics cos I was busy eating. I swear if I had been just a minute later, I wouldn't have had any to eat - it was so good everyone was racing for seconds. Malaque actually 'jaga-ed' the tray so I could have at least one plate, again, sweetest girl right?! Someone hire her for tv cooking/singing show NOW!

What are Sylvia's plans for 2010?

At this point in time, SylSyl is just holding out for a recording contract to come her way. Uncle Ken are you hearing this? Record labels in Singapore - hello? Don't wait anymore la, someone snap her up already!

But seriously, she's hoping to record an album :)

Your Singapore Idol Sezairi Sezali

What are his plans for 2010?

Last year (2008), Airi's resolution was to have an album. It may be a few months late, but he's DEFINITELY gonna have an album! Slated for a May release, his single is already out there makin' the rounds on radio. 'Touched By An Angel' is such a beautiful song, what a great way to kick off the new year.

What else does Airi have planned for 2010? - N.S.

Ok thats all I've got from the idols for this year :)

I sincerely hope you'll stay with me and this blog despite Idol bein' over.

MY resolution is to keep this blog going and provide frequent updates on your Idol favourites. First order of business, tv show reviews..... first two shows on my review list - Cougar Town (premieres on Ch5 this Monday - can't wait - its Courteney Cox) and Glee (I've watched the entire season of Glee on mio TV, but I feel the need to talk about it - its just THAT good!). Not to forget American Idol Season 9 premieres in just TWO WEEKS folks! Victoria Beckham, Katy Perry and Ellen Degeneres as judges - need I say more? Oh wait, and Gossip Girl too, in anticipation of its return in March, we should do it justice and do a look back at whats been happening to Bluck (ok, ppl call it 'Chair', but don't you think 'Bluck' is just so much more scandalous than 'Chair'?), Serena, Lonely Boy and the awfulness of Tyra's guest role? (man, what happened to that one?). SO many tv shows, so little time!

Happy new year everyone, time for me to catch some Zzzzzsss....

It is now 2.15am on 1st January 2010. I'm takin' the day off today, so no more updates for 1st Jan, but do look out for an update from me and Izked - we got some plans we think you may be interested in ;)

xoxo, s.

ps. bonus Idol lovin' video....I will always remember this hug and the energy and love these people (who were mere strangers to each other just months before) had for each other. Thank you guys for a brilliant season!

Backstage at Celebrate 2010 - the rehearsal vids!

Bye bye 2009, hello 2010 Idol-style - backstage at Celebrate 2010!

Wah, I've never uploaded stuff to youtube so furiously! And omg, as 12midnight is approaching, upload time is increasing! My fingers are crossed that you'll get to see the Idol Resolutions vids soon. I just recorded them backstage at rehearsals for tonight's Celebrate 2010 concert/show which is going on right now in front of me (Da Mouth right now!).

Btw, our Idols did great din't they? I loved it. And I love that song. I find it so perfect that Airi is leading the song, because he's always wanted to go to New York, and New York kinda represents his dreams. And for him to have won Idol (dream come true), and singing this song, I hope will be a sign that 2010 for Airi, will be another 'dream-achieving' one.

While the 'resolutions' are loading, here are the vids I recorded behind-the-scenes and backstage at Celebrate 2010 rehearsals. Its still crazy to think they learned a new song and choreo for a concert in just 3 days (Monday night to Wednesday!)

These are the songs that the Idol finalists performed for the pre-show which is not broadcast on tv. The songs performed are For Your Entertainment, Just Can't Get Enough and Starstrukk! (yes! its finally getting performed for an audience!! WOOT!)

Performing for the pre-show are :
Sylvia Ratonel, Tabitha Nauser, Mae Sta, Malaque Mahdaly, Nurul Huda, Fathin Amira, Charles Stitch Wong, Duane Ho, Faizal Isa and Farhan Shah.

Hope you enjoyed that, Izked is Celebrate 2010 right now, and he's promised to record more from the pre-show including performances by Juxtapose, heregoesnothing! and Sleeq! Can't wait to see it - am sure he'll upload soon! PLUS Izked and I have a special project which we'll announce soon - its Idol related so I think you'll definitely want to know about this :)

Next post, Idol resolutions and what they've got planned for 2010 :)

Happy 2010 peeps! Its gonna be a good year!

xoxo, s.

ps. Bonus vid for you, Mae and Tabby doing more accents backstage, hilarious stuff I tell you...:)

Last Day Of 2009...

And what a year it has been....

Big things happened in 2009, but I've been so wrapped up in Idol and the kids, I can't remember past Obama's election (wait, that was last year!), Michael Jackson's passing, Oprah announcing the end of her show, and Lady Gaga's Bad Romance being played everywhere. But more than anything in entertainment, for me (and for you too I hope), this year was about Singapore Idol.

Tonight will be the last time your Top 12 will be performing together (technically 10 + Idol Airi, cos Justin Jap's missing from tonight's line up, he's flying off to the U.S. to go be a doctor!). Celebrate 2010 will see them performing a new song - shall not spoil the surprise - and its the first time they worked together on their own, without vocal coach Ann, to sort out who would sing what on the song ;)

In the meantime, here are some backstage pics from rehearsals at The Float @ Marina Bay (click to enlarge). If you haven't decided what to do yet for tonight, come on down and join Celebrate 2010. Tickets are available at sistic counters islandwide for $30. If you've still got your Singapore Idol Grand Finals ticket stub, bring it along to sistic and you'll get a $10 discount! Awesome not?

Last round of rehearsals start today at 2pm at The Float. There will be road closures tonight, so grab public transport k! Preshow starts at 8pm - don't forget to catch Idol-related bands - Juxtapose (Airi's band) and heregoesnothing! (Farhan's band). Also worth catching - our very own 'idol' ex-intern, Syarif and his partner-in-crime Alif, who together form the fab duo 'Sleeq' - they'll definitely be performing their hit song 'Moviestar'. The Idols themselves have got some pre-show items too, so don't be late.

11pm, we go LIVE, so those at home can tune in to Channel 5. Catch your Singapore Idol Sezairi Sezali with your Top 12, they should be comin' on early, and they'll appear again for the countdown just before midnight.

Thereafter, its a danceparty to welcome in the New Year, all the way to 3am! Come on down and rub shoulders with the artistes! The very hawt Michelle Chia, Jade Seah and Nat Ho have hosting duties alongside our very own Gurms. :)

So, ok folks, last moment to catch your Top 12 all on stage together - really something you don't want to miss if you can help it!

xoxo, s.

ps. I won't be able to be at Marina Bay tonight, gotta be with my kids, but I'll be passing my camera to Izked so that he can film what he can of the pre-show. Definitely Sleeq, Juxtapose and heregoesnothing! So either one of us will put those up later.

pps. I'll be posting the rehearsal vids tonight but only after they've performed (don't want to ruin the surprise song choice), should be before midnight, so watch for them on my Youtube channel, summerr77. (if you know what they're gonna sing, ZIP IT, so others can still be surprised).

ppPs. PLUS, look out for my post featuring vids of the Idols with their New Year's Resolutions for 2010!

Quickie Update : Today's choreo session

Quickie Post : Are you Starstrukk?

LOL. I have a feeling our Top 12 will be once the guest artiste who's supposed to be performing this with them steps in to join them for final choreo rehearsals at Indoor on Saturday.

Highlight of the day?

Our Top 12 got a little whipping when exasperated choreoKing Zaki threw a hissy fit after the 800th time they did the routine with the same mistakes. Miraculously, the next three rounds were flawless :) More on that later...

I'm off to catch their full choreo rehearsals with dancers shortly, so thought I'd post this first - tis a sign of more vids to come later tonight when I get home :)

You are so gonna lurve the 'Bad Romance' vid....there is fire and sizzle I tell you...its gonna be an awesome show!

Later.

xoxo, s.

ps. Airi and Sylvia will be on TONIGHT's Malay news bulletin on Suria at 8pm (repeat at 11.30pm) in case you wanna catch it!

Zaki's whipping time....choreo sessions!

Wa-tissssshhhhhhhh!

(thats the sound of a whip cracking in case you didn't get it -_-)

Now that Ann's all done with the Idols and the alums (everyone knows what they're singing, when and with whom), its over to Zaki to whip them into stage shape.

As reported in an earlier post, Sunday onwards, would be choreo-choreo-choreo until they head to the Indoor Stadium for full rehearsals. On Monday, season 2 alums Nurul Maideen, Gayle Nerva, Paul Twohill, Joakim Gomez and Mathilda D'Silva turned up to join this season's Idols.

I arrived just as Airi was heading off (he wasn't needed for today's sessions), and who JUST arrived but a rather late Mr Paul Twohill. His opening shot was 'Zaki's gonna kill me...again, I'm always late wan!' :) Funny guy that Paul. As it turns out, when we arrive at choreo, its not his turn yet, the girls are still doing their 'diva' thang.

Sylvia, Tabby, Nurul, Gayle and Mathilda are doing a 'diva' number with En Vogue's 'Free Your Mind' and its hawt! Check out the vids below...

While the girls were perfecting their hair-ography (its a Glee term for when people use hair flicks and flips while dancing) and 'bend-and-snaps', I found the boys - Farhan, Faizal, Paul and Joakim Gomez in the ping-pong room, doing what else...playing ping pong.

This is actually the first time I'm getting a chance to actually talk any of the Idol Season 2 alums. I saw them at the charity carwash, but didn't really get a chance to introduce myself. We got to chatting, me and the boyz, and I have to say, I wish I could have seen what their journey was like.

While we swapped Idol stories and inside jokes, and the 2 boys from last season compared notes with the 2 boys from this season ('You're so lucky you got Ann, she's so nice, Babes (referring to Season 1 & 2's vocal coach Babes Conde) whipped us man!'), I was busy twitpiccing :)

Joakim recounted his 'haters' and Paul relived his drama (apparently he was so stressed he once went up to producers in tears, 'I can't do this anymore, just kick me off the show please!'), while Faizal and Farhan grilled them for gossip!

Soon, it was time for the boys to go in for their session. Here is their vid...

While the boys were busy with that, I stepped out for a quick chat with the girls - Nurul, Gayle, Sylvia and Tabby. I have no idea where Mathilda went. Similarly, the girls also exchanged notes, advice and idol goss.

Soon, it was time to go back in to combine both performances - the full segment would be Idol Boyband versus the Idol Divas. Here's the vid, unfortunately, my audio got muted by YouTube for some copyright thing - have asked Izked to help me edit the video a little and upload it for me - will replace it as soon as he does. In the meantime, enjoy the visuals :)

That was Monday.....today (technically yesterday since its 3.45am on Wednesday right now), choreo sessions were solely for the Top 12, and it was like being reunited all over again, and also like being in a 3-ring circus. One group would be in choreo with Zaki, another in the ping pong room playing, and another in the vocal training room watching tv. :) But they were quite efficient today nonetheless.

Some random ping-pong playing ....

The Top12 medley (to be performed at the Results Show) is made up of

Segment #1 - Smooth Criminal - Airi, Faizal & Charles

Segment #2 - Chiggy Wiggy - Malaque, Nurul & Farhan

Segment #3 - Hey Mickey - Mae, Duane, Justin & Amira

Segment #4 - When Love Takes Over - Sylvia & Tabitha

Here are the vids from today's choreo sessions... (missed out Smooth Criminal cos they were done like super fast!)

'Chiggy Wiggy' - Malaque, Farhan & Nurul


'Hey Mickey' - Mae, Duane, Justin & Amira

And here's the full medley item. Tabby & Sylvia's item, 'When Love Takes Over' is the last. I recorded it from two different cam angles so we wouldn't miss anyone out :)

Camera angle #2.

Well, hope you enjoyed all that. That was today's hard work for the Idols. Tomorrow (or today, Wednesday, more choreo sessions lined up. All Idols were asked to report to MediaCorp today at 9.30am. Two more items on the list that need choreo - Hady & the 'Idol Band' and 'Starstrukk' for the Top 12.

The 'Idol Band' consists of Sezairi, Duane & Charles (the ones who play instruments thus 'band') and they'll be performing 'Use Somebody' with Hady. While for 'Starstrukk' the Top 12 will be performing with a guest artiste - guess who? :) In case you're wondering what 'Use Somebody' and 'Starstrukk' sound like, here are the youtube vids.

Charice Pempengco will be performing two songs - 'I Have Nothing' and her own song 'A Note To God'. Here are vids of Charice performing those two songs on Oprah. For more info on Charice, check out her wikipedia page or her website.

Note To God (written by Diane Warren & Produced by David Foster)

Phew, 4.30am, ok thats all for me from now. More tomorrow... good night/morning!

xoxo, s.

ps. To those who are wondering, both Airi and Syl have an EQUAL number of performances for Sunday night - 7 a piece!