OMG Day! Step up Talents!

Judge FD : "I want to see Cheerleading Squads!"

I caught up with Judge FD just before the taping of Episode 6 while the Judges were having their dinner and of course we wound up discussing the show. At first it was just about belly dancing, I said I had observed a fair number of belly dancers on the show and was wondering if he could tell me more about the intricacies of it since he took lessons. And my first reaction was - men can belly dance meh? And the rest of the conversation went as follows...

FD : "Did you know that most, if not all, belly dance masters are men?"

Me : "Seriously??"

FD : "I met a young boy* the other day, and he's just finished his NS, his name's Darren. And Darren I tell you, just got on a table and started to belly dance and he was amazing!

*When FD said young boy I thought a 5 year old, but I guess in relation to his age, a guy finishing NS would be considered 'young' and 'boy' - LOL, sorry FD I couldn't resist!

"Belly dancing isn't as easy as you think. There are 7 different shimmies, 8 different pops, there's what they call a freeze shimmy. There are so many tricks you can do. You can walk a drum around a stage while shimmying. (He means, stand on a drum, and like, dance on it, and move it while dancing on it!)

"People have got to get around this misconception - belly dance is not about being sexy. It is an art form. Yes it is sexy, but it's not about that. It's not about watching a naked woman gyrate. It's about being in awe of a woman's ability to control her body. Controlling different parts of her body independently of each other; shimmy hips while doing a figure 8 with the top half of your body - can you do that? It takes a lot of skill to do it. It's all about the isolations. Isolating actions on one part of your body from another.

"Desert Roses make belly-dance very entertaining, but what people don't see is the degree of difficulty in belly-dancing. If you really want to appreciate belly-dancing, go to Shiraz at Clarke Quay. You will see the true degree of belly-dancing, all the best belly-dancers perform there.

"There are some tricks that they do that will astound you. For instance, balancing a razor sharp blade on their chest while dripping hot wax onto themselves without flinching, because if they flinch, the blade will cut them - now that is control. (I don't know about you FD, but dripping hot wax on yourself is crazy! Kids - DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME!)

Me : "So how'd you get into belly dancing?"

FD : "I started belly dance lessons because my wife was doing it. It was just a way to bond and learn something together. Now i want to start learning the middle eastern drums. Its actually quite painful when you're starting out, you get callouses and all but ultimately, I want to accompany my wife while she dances, so we can perform together.

Me : "Let's talk about OMG now, its been 5 episodes, how do you think it's going?"

FD : "I love the show, I love this format. I think its a great format. What I want to see, and I know these people exist, are the Chinese acrobats and the Cheerleading squads. Its about choreography, and the beauty of that is that it can change every week.

What else - percussion groups with real drama. I would love to see the 10-year old drummer that was featured somewhere. Oh, and there's this Chinese girl who plays the er-hu on Orchard Road - she's damn good! (I actually know who he's talking about, she sits on a motorised chair outside Paragon!) Or an acapella group, we haven't had that on the show yet, and I know there are many really good ones out there.

"I think Singaporeans are afraid. Take away the $50,000 and the fanfare, and what One Moment of Glory is, is a 90-second commercial for your talent. A FREE 90-second commercial."

"If people can spot you on the show, pick you out and sell you, it could make your career. You will earn more than $50,000. All those event companies and talent scouts, send your people here to watch the talents you could be selling to your clients. Talent managers, send your talents to the show and give them this priceless exposure. Use this platform.

"Back to talents. I'm still waiting for a Susan Boyle. Maybe, an HDB aunty who has this amazing operatic voice, but with no dress sense. If you put her in a room with two people you still wouldn't see her... until she opens her mouth to sing -now that would blow me away.

"Like I said, I think Singaporeans are afraid. When you're a professional, your reputation could be at stake. But, if you want to break into the industry, you have to be on the show. It is the best tool for anyone wanting to break into the industry (FD means the entertainment industry).

"You know, even if the ratings are not superb for this season, I think we must continue to do OMG, for the sake of growing talent in Singapore - we must do Season 2 and 3."

At this point, FD's finished his dinner and its time for him to head to the make up chair. Talking to him has helped me look at the show from another perspective. Most people see the show as a talent show with a $50k prize. I don't think many people see the potential of a show like this in terms of getting exposure.

What FD says is so true - this is a FREE 90-second commercial for anyone who wants to showcase their talent. If you're looking to gain exposure, this is such a great platform - you're on National TV. Plus, being on the show means there's a marketing team promoting you on various platforms before your episode airs - interviews on radio, newspaper, magazines plus roadshows. On top of that, you're most likely to be featured on the show's trailers which run across all Mediacorp channels, and on Channel 5 on high rotation. That's a lot of eyeballs.

And mind you, ratings for the show have been going up (my satellite ears overheard this), so people are taking interest in the show as it builds.

So if you (or a friend you'd like to nominate) have a talent that's unique and want to be in the entertainment industry, skip the fear, bite the bullet and come on the show! Simply email omg@mediacorp.com.sg to contact the producers!

OMG revs up to the next stage!

After tonight, we'll have our Top 8 Contenders and they'll move into the Elimination Rounds next week. The show gets waaaay more exciting and dramatic - there are weekly themes the contestants will have to work within PLUS the added competition from a weekly 'Mystery Challenger'. (If you join the show now, this could be YOU!)

So difficulty level is up and stakes are up too! If you are a chinese acrobat or an HDB Aunty with a golden voice reading this (or your mom is) we would love to see you (and her) on the show. Or if you're the captain of an AWESOME POSSUM Cheerlading Squad, get on the show and do your school proud. Even I would love to see cheerleaders on the show - Bring It On is one of my fave movies :).

Time to get goin', more to do in prep for tonight's review, so Happy OMG Day everyone! Don't forget to tune in tonight at 8pm, only on Channel 5!

xoxo, s.

ps. Thanks to FD for that cool impromptu interview!

Meet OMG Judge : The Flying Dutchman

Ever wondered how The Flying Dutchman got his name?

I actually heard this story on radio. Back in the 70s when he worked at Rediffusion, FD was a deejay there and he worked shifts. He would often help cover a fellow deejay's shift, and this meant he would have to run (really fast) between his studio and another studio. Apparently timing was crucial and the studios were at opposite ends of the building, so FD would run really fast, thus the moniker The Flying Dutchman. I'm assuming he's Dutch. I must double-check this the next time I see him.

Aside from being one(very important)-third of Class 95's major cashcow The Morning Express with Vernetta Lopez and Glenn Ong, FD also runs his own events management company called TFD Pte Ltd (TFD = The Flying Dutchman la!). They even have a 'wedding planning' division called 'The Wedding Entourage' - how cute is that?

Having been in the entertainment industry for over 30 years, what FD brings to the table is experience with a capital 'E'. He's been there, done that - he's hosted, been a deejay, been on tv, in fact, he was the face/host of Singapore's version of Who Wants To Be A Millionnaire and more recently his own talk show Blog TV for Channel News Asia. Always one to ask insightful, provocative questions, FD is influential yet able to laugh at himself. I recently caught him on Channel 5's Entertainment on 5 in what looked like a kaftan, talking about taking belly-dancing classes. Older men who take belly dancing classes and then talk about it on national television are few and far between. I like the fact that although he looks really serious, and he does talk about serious issues, he has a wicked sense of humour and doesn't take himself too seriously.

I managed to catch him in between shutter clicks at the 'secret' Judges photoshoot a few weeks back and have been keeping this interview roasting til now.

What was your reaction to being invited to Judge on One Moment of Glory?

I am thoroughly looking forward to it. I'm waiting to see what kind of talent we're gonna get. I'm excited, because now, if you have a talent, you finally get a chance to show it. Shows like Idol and Dancefloor have proven that Singapore DOES have talent.

A show like this (OMG!) will further prove that we have a lot of unique talent. I say give the buskers a chance to get into the act too.

Any expectations in terms of the types of talents you would hope to see on the show?

Well I hope there will be something that will surprise me. Like, "Oh My God I DIDN'T KNOW you could do THAT!"

Actually I'd like to see the women come to the fore now. I want to see women do well in competitions like this. Look at Sylvia Ratonel, she's done quite well for herself, and I hope to see more women step up and show us what they've got, and maybe even win this.

What kind of 'women-type' talents are you hoping to see?

I don't know, surprise me, speed-knitter? Women can do anything these days!

Hopefully the contestants will take more of a gamble this time, and really go for it, because even at the public voting stage, Judges still get a 50% say, so we have a little more power (compared to 100% viewer-voting formats).

summerr says : I think what FD's saying about the 'more power' bit is that, ultimately, because Judges have a say, the results won't be based solely on popularity or the 'young teen girl vote' which has created a fair bit of controversy for shows like Idol. Real talent, good talent will be recognised here.

How are you going to judge the talents? Its apples vs oranges on this show.

I've been in the entertainment business for over 30 years, I've seen it all. I will judge based on what Singapore can offer and the situation we're in in Singapore. In a local context, we will have people who will make you go 'wow'. It won't be based on what I've seen overseas or on tv, because those people come from a different culture, upbringing and background. We need to keep it local.

Viewers also need to take cues from Judges to go with their heart. Take cues from us, and KNOW that we are honest. Honest and constructive in our feedback and in our decisions.

Singaporeans should go with what's good. There's support for your friend and there's being objective. Singaporeans need to learn to be objective. Otherwise ultimately, it should be left in the hands of the judges. Also something else to bear in mind, depending on the talent we get there may be talent out there that Singaporeans won't understand. Is the Singaporean viewer too mainstream? We'll see once voting begins.

After watching three tapings of the show, I can safely say that FD really does give a lot of specific and constructive feedback. Like, Irene, he comes from he point of view of an entertainer. He judges contestants based on whether they can entertain and connect with an audience. And I have to say, his belly-dancing experience actually helped .... we have a few belly dancers on the show!

Catch Judge FD on One Moment Of Glory, it premieres this Monday, National Day, right after the parade on Channel 5. Or you can't wait, tune in tomorrow morning (and every week day morning) to Class 95's Morning Express (95.0FM for the blur).

Oh and check out this latest OMG! trailer :) It gives you a sneak peek at the kind of humour you can expect from the judges.

xoxo, s.

ps. Upcoming posts - your hosts Gurmit and Michelle who thought OMG shoulda stood for Only Gurmit and Michelle Show.

:: pics courtesy of Shawn Pang, Channel 5 Marketing and my lil Nokia e71 ::