Its IDOL DAY! Twice A Week!

American Idol Season 9 has begun!

If you're reading this, thank you for coming back to the blog after my one week hiatus (everyone needs a holiday right?). Its good to be back in front of the tv and just in time for the season premiere of American Idol. This show (and F.R.I.E.N.D.S.) has been the tv highlight of the year for me for the last 8 years (we didn't carry Season 1 in Singapore), so suffice it to say I'm super happy its back, especially after about 3 weeks of Singapore Idol withdrawal :)

So how was Episode 1?

If you're like me, a big fan who has cable and no job, you probably watched it at 6pm. ;) Apparently @izked, @syazaq and I were spamming twitter with our tweets while watching. Back to old times hey? Only sans the twitpics!

First thing the show addressed was Paula's non-presence. In August (or was it July?) last year, Paula announced that she would not be returning to the show. This after weeks of speculation that salary negotiations weren't going well. Adding to the blow back then was an announcement of both Ryan's and Simon's pay increases. Most notably Ryan's as his was an extended contract and a huge pay increase. So Paula, who stated before Season 8 began, that having a 4th judge was not a good idea, hung up her Idol shoes with a few really sweet tweets (yes she tweets!)...

"With sadness in my heart, I've decided not to return to Idol. I'll miss nurturing all the new talent, buut most of all being a part of a show that I helped from Day 1 become an international phenomenon. "

"What I want to say most, is how much I appreciate the undying support and enormous love that you have showered upon me. It truly has been breathtaking, especially over the past month. I do without any doubt have the BEST fans in the entire world and I love you all."

Sad huh? I'll be the first to admit although I didn't particularly love Paula, I enjoyed watching her have a go at Simon every so often. Last season, her role on the show seemed a bit overshadowed by the more 'technical' Kara - Paula seemed....unnecessary. But she's right though, she has been a part of the team that made the show what it was for the first 7 years. So for me, it was kinda weird to not see her on the show. But I got over that in like...7 minutes.

Thats when I became more fixated on Posh's super sunken cheek hollows and lacey headband - what is up with that? Someone on twitter said it looked like lacey underwear (tsk!).

Posh is the first of 8 celebrity guest judges who will be doing rotating duties over the next coupla weeks of auditions before Ellen (I can't wait!) steps in during Hollywood rounds. More on the AI9's season sked later on (scroll down if you wanna skip the review).

I was really looking forward to seeing how Victoria would handle her judging duties. She's actually pretty witty and sarcastic (have you ever watched her failed 'mockumentary' about her move to the US - google it, its on youtube somewhere). I've seen previous interviews of her (from my time in the UK) and she's actually quite smart - I like her sense of humour. Unfortunately none of that came through on tonight's show - what a pity. She seemed nervous actually.

Her first outfit made her look a bit like one of Tim Burton's animated characters, but I liked her second look. She looked fresher, despite being a bit on the skinny side - oh who am I kidding, she's the mayor of Skinny Town.

Simon Cowell's the same, first thing I noticed of the first few shots of him was how thin his white teeshirt was and how painfully obvious his man-nipples were. I tried not to notice them, look away even, but when I looked back they were still there, practically waving. My mantra this season will be NOT to notice Simon's na-nas. The na-nas aside, I still can't believe he's leaving the show (Simon announced recently that this is his last season with Idol as he'll be helming the US version of his very popular Brit show the X-Factor coming soon - he's judging as well as executive producing). Cowell is so much a part of what makes American Idol tick, I can't imagine what the show would be like without its resident bored baddie. Maybe they'll bring in Piers Morgan...or Hugh Laurie!

Back to the judges, Randy was his usual indecipherable self. I think he invents new phrases every season. What does 'great hang' mean? Its an audition, they weren't 'hangin' out' per se.

I'm a great fan of Kara. I liked her from the get-go - she's pretty, she's a talented song-writer, she makes sense when she speaks (to me at least) and she has the singing chops and experience to back her comments. I didn't realise that there was so much Kara-hate in the U.S., many find her annoying and self-righteous blablabla. Well, I donch care, I like Kara and am so glad to see her back on the show this season. I'm waiting to see how she and Ellen get along.

The Auditionees - The Good, The Bad & The Weird..

Good Two really standout talents imo were Ashley Rodriguez and Katie Stevens. Ashley sang 'If I Ain't Got You' and it was really good, plus, she looks like the total package type - pretty (super shiny hair) and can sing.

Katie Stevens had a backstory, her old grandma has Alzheimer's, so she's hoping to get through so that her grandma can see her sing and be proud before she totally forgets who she is. I'm a sucker for the heartwarming. This story totally reminded me of our very own Tabitha Nauser's story of her close relationship with her granddad, sumore same song! :) Oh and I love that they speak to each other in Portugese (hrm, I wonder if anyone's gonna play the race/nationality card here, probably not, cos she's AMERICAN, not Portugese - this is for the people who still can't get over Sylvia's Filipino heritage).

I've got my eye on those two, but I'm not sure if they'll last the voting rounds - they seem pretty shy, and we all know what happens to those with no personality - forgettable = no votes.

Others to note - Tyler Grady (the 70s styled drummer who fell out of a tree and broke both wrists) and Armadeo Diricco (this season's big lovable teddybear with a big voice, would love to join his family for a makan!). Also, Maddy Curtis, the girl with four Downs syndrome brothers, sang reasonably well, would love to see how she holds up at Hollywood rounds, and if she makes it through (which I doubt), her transformation with makeup.

Another auditionee reminded me of one of another one of our own. Joshua Blaylock sang 'Bless The Broken Road' which Teddy Teow sang on the piano show. He also seemed like a really sweet boy just like Theodore. Guess it takes a good boy to sing a song like that with heart.

Weird Clark Kent aka Andrew Folton (didn't quite catch his name) incurred the wrath of the judges with his 'sulky' attitude and 'bad energy'. Actually, I think the judges overreacted a bit. I mean, the guy apologised quite a few times and seemed to honestly not know what he was doing wrong. Initially I thought he was naturally geeky with those glasses, then I realised its possible he knows he's fairly good looking (did you see those biceps?) and that outfit was his 'look' for the day.

The other weird guy was the one that Simon called a '3 year old who dresses like LaToya Jackson'. Ouch! The guy (last name Guerrero) kept apologising cos he was so nervous, but I couldn't get past his hair. There was so much of it! He looked like Fran Drescher from The Nanny!

Bad Janet McNamara has mastered the American Idol video game. Yup. Video game. The video game judges love her. So that means, its time to try out for real. The video game manufacturers need to tweak the game or recall it altogether. Plus I think its affected her so much she kept calling Kara 'Paula'! Oh and get this, her idea of practicing is to jump. Sigh.

Mere Doyle the 'okasu' (I think thats the word I heard her say) claims to love singing, but she seems more into anime/cosplay. Despite having two vocal coaches, the girl still can't sing. Who are these vocal coaches? Maybe Kak Ann can help her?

Lisa Oliveiro came in normal, but her 'annoyance index' shot up when she said rather arrogantly that she'd been watching the show for years and knew she could sing better than everyone on the show. This big remark is followed by a painful rendition of Mariah's 'Vision Of Love' complete with hand gestures. Sweetie, at least Katrina Darrell could do the high notes reasonably well. I was waiting to see if Kara would say something, but she didn't (am surprised producers didn't cut to shots of Bikini Girl).

Last auditionee worth mentioning is a guy called Pat (din't catch his last name), who likes to 'holla'! :) So farnee. Turns out the guy can't really sing, I was hoping he would be one of those who would surprise us by being Josh Groban, but no, the boy decides to do Britney's 'Womaniser', not exactly the best song choice for a singing competition audition. He had some moves. But overall, painful.

So that was the premiere episode of American Idol. More audition footage to come from tonight's (its 4am on Thursday now) episode, when they go to Atlanta.

Here's the season's schedule (with telecast dates for Singapore) :

Audition rounds :

Jan 13 : Boston (guest judge : Victoria Beckham)

Jan 14 : Atlanta (guest judge : Mary J. Blige)

Jan 20 : Chicago

Jan 21 : Orlando

Jan 27 : Dallas

Jan 28 : Los Angeles

Feb 3 : Denver

Feb 4 : Road to Hollywood (probably a special/recap)

Other guest judges are as follows, didn't list above as I'm not sure yet which city they'll be guest-judging in :

Kristin Chenowith (4th pic), Neil Patrick Harris (3rd pic), Joe Jonas (1st pic), Avril Lavigne, Katy Perry and Shania Twain (2nd pic).

Once they get to the Hollywood rounds, Ellen Degeneres steps in.

Hollywood rounds :

Feb 10 : Hollywood round

Feb 11 : Hollywood round

Feb 17 : Hollywood round

Feb 18 : Hollywood round results - Top 24 (12 guys, 12 girls)

After this, we get Idol THREE TIMES A WEEK (Wednesdays & Thursdays for Performance Shows AND Fridays for Results Shows for the next 3 weeks!). Looks like producers have decided to revert to their previous elimination format of everyone perform instead of splitting it up into groups like they did last season.

Piano Show rounds :

Feb 24 : 12 girls perform

Feb 25 : 12 boys perform

Feb 26 : 2 girls, 2 boys go home, Top 20 remain.

Mar 3 : 10 girls perform

Mar 4 : 10 boys perform

Mar 5 : 2 girls, 2 boys go home, Top 16 remain.

Mar 10 : 8 girls perform

Mar 11 : 8 boys perform

Mar 12 : 2 girls, 2 boys go home, meet your American Idol Top 12 finalists.

Spectaculars :

At this point, we return to the twice-weekly schedule of Wednesdays performance shows and Thursdays results show. Wednesday March 17th will be the first LIVE Spectacular show :) And if my calculations are correct (and there are no 'extra' special episodes or breaks), the performance finale for American Idol should be happening on my birthday ;) , Wednesday 26th May, with Results on Thursday 27th May (pretty much roughly the same time every year).

Exciting not? I'm excited. My hubstation and mio TV sets are both set to 'record series' ...how about yours?

Ok, its past 4am, time for bed. Can't wait for today's episode. I wanna see how Mary J. Blige does as guest judge.

xoxo, s.

ps. 'Haters' are even more abundant for AI. Check out this pic of Katrina Derell, aka Bikini Girl from last season - check out the picture tags!

Ken and Dick Idents

Ken Lim sporting a devil's tail, Dick Lee with Wolverine claws...hmmmm.....

A few blog entries ago, I posted Florence's lil Singapore Idol Ad, she had a Halo above her head, and the caption beneath her Mona Lisa like pic was 'The Voice of the People'. They call these fancy short lil ads an 'Ident' in TVLand.

Well today, Ken's and Dick's Idents have been released.

Check it out Idol-lovers :) I like Dick's ident.... I hope he lives up to this ad (note the Wolverine claws and shhinngg! sound effects!) ! Months ago, at the first press conference for Singapore Idol, Dick did mention that this year he plans to be more honest....so meowrr let the claws come out!

Also, Ken said on his Primetime Morning interview that 'Dick's the mean one'. Yay, love the drama, love the mean! Hope we see him NOT hold back in Episode 2 tomorrow.

I think Ken's tail not pointy enough, where are the pointy ears? hehe. So random I am.

xoxo, s.

Scandal Already? Benjamin Chow's FB page gets hacked!

Idol Hopeful Benjamin Chow's Facebook Account Gets Hacked! (alamak!)

Barely ONE day after the premiere of Singapore Idol, a scandal is a-brewin'!

Last night's premiere episode followed a number of heartfelt stories, one of which was about 19-year Benjamin Chow, a former dancer who hurt his leg but through some medical boo boos is now facing early onset arthritis, thus the crutch he uses to get around. His vocals were impressive and he made it through to the next stage (Theatre Auditions).

I mentioned him in my review of Episode 1. He was the guy who had a booming voice (Ken said 'This is not a shouting competition") and I thought spoke so well (perfect diction!) I thought he would charm the pants off anyone.

But not everyone I suppose. Someone's apparently hacked right into the poor guy's facebook account and wreaked havoc. The hacker updated Benjamin's status as follows :

My greatest act yet. Hey guys, well I've been quite successful as of late, and I just wanted to tell you all that. MY LEG ISN'T BROKEN! I'm absolutely fine and I only used this as a stage to trick the Singapore armed forces (Suckers!) I'll keep up the act, but don't bring me to no X-ray professional!

Apparently some of the comments from his friends on facebook following the post advised him to remove it before he got into trouble, especially with the Army, while others applauded his move.

Last I heard, Benjamin has been posting messages from another Facebook account to try and clear his name.

Personally I doubt anyone who goes on a show like Idol would post an announcement such as this. Also, who'd want to get in trouble with the Singapore Armed Forces? That's like suicide no? It's quite obvious someone is out to get him.

However, if this was indeed self-inflicted, what a brilliant (and diabolical) way to drum up some attention to oneself.

So what do you think readers? Was it a hater out to get poor 'Crutch-boy'? Or an elaborate publicity stunt which started with fake crutches that probably won't end here?

I wonder what kinda drama/scandal/gossip Episode 2 will yield? Singapore Idol Episode 2 airs this Wednesday (just 2 days away now) at 8pm. From here on in, Wednesday will be Idol Day! woot!

xoxo, s.

ps. I wonder if this will make it to News on tv? Or will they just deem it 'Idol' fodder :)

pps. For what its worth, I thought Benjamin could sing, and would really like to see how far his vocals can take him.

UDPATE : 5.22pm, Monday 10/8/09

Benjamin's facebook page is now apparently gone *poof*.

Time to start anew Ben :)

Singapore Idol 3 : Episode 1

Its 2am, Monday August 10th. The day AFTER Idol Day.

I've just watched Episode 1 of Singapore Idol 3.

First reaction : Ok la.

After-some-more-thought reaction : Really ok la, not mind-blowingly fantastic, had a few 'huh?' moments, but generally pretty watchable. The Husband and I enjoyed it mostly, like 90%.

So I'll break this post down into things I didn't like, I liked and 'What The...?'

Did Not Like :

Krauser.

Big THUMBS DOWN. He was LAME. No, make that SUPER LAME.

AND extremely inconsiderate ..... what was the idiot thinking scaring a child like that?! As a mother, I totally reserve the right to SMACK HIM UPSIDE THE HEAD for pulling a stunt like that on a child. SO UNNECESSARY you LAME-O JERK.

And what about his SUPERBLY LAME audition? Dress up like that and people are gonna expect Black Sabbath or at the very least some Aerosmith - but John Lennon's Imagine? Speechless lor. In front of the judges meek like a kitten, once outside, growl at the camera. Dude. So UNCOOL.

Kimberley's Audition.

Not Kimberley per se, just the way her whole audition went. She wasn't that bad and didn't deserve all that drama - she seemed to me like a simple yes/no case. I wasn't that moved by her singing to her grandma, maybe you just had to be where Flo was to get the tears going. From where I was sitting, she looked like she was shouting at poor grandma (which I could hardly hear as it was drowned out by the loud clapping from her entourage). And poor grandma looked like she wasn't sure why her granddaughter was 'shouting' at her, but would ultimately OF COURSE say yes for her to go through la DUH!

Fahmi (guy who almost killed someone)'s story

I was so moved by this guy, was rooting for him, just like they wanted me to and then BAM!..the guy's out - didn't make it...Aiya. Such a downer that he couldn't sing! (on the flipside was Gabrielle's story - LOVED IT! See below.)

LIKED :

I liked seeing the judges again. It was so nice to see Dick, Flo and Ken back behind the table. So nice to see their camaraderie (ok Dick and Flo). So nice to see Uncle Ken again, doing what he does best.

Gabrielle Ferdinands' story.

I think her story was interesting, although to be honest, I spent most of my time just staring at her cos she reminded me right away of Mischa Barton (whom Perez calls affectionately calls Mushy due to her back thigh cellulite *evil Perez*). Gabrielle struck me as someone who has a lot of potential and she's humble, yet we know she wants it - which is good!

Kelly Mae Vernies. You tried out for Australian Idol and felt it didn't click? Well sweetie, if you really wanna make it to the Top 12 and possibly win, better start bringin' back your Singlish. :) I say this with utmost encouragement girl because I think you can sing. So don't lose votes by letting the audience feel alienated from you just because of your Aussie slang. See what happened to Jeassea Thyidor - great voice...Canadian though. I would have loved for her to get have gotten further, but I think her Canadianness may have gotten in the way.

Charles Wong the Beatboxer guy.

Deciding to beatbox, and doing it well, made him unique. He's like a walking subwoofer! The singing was just so-so, so Step it up at the next round b-boy!

Also cute as a button!

Benjamin Crutches-Guy's Accent.

I love that this guy speaks so well. Thats the good news. Bad news is for a minute it felt like he was 90 not 19. You're young dude, act your age! The Husband suspects the crutches are a gimmick. Dick said as much, "The stick helped you!" when he got the Golden Ticket. I'm still on the fence - how do you fake early onset arthritis? More importantly, if found out, wouldn't he face the wrath of like EVERYONE? So I doubt anyone would make such a stupid calculated move right? So, real crutches it is then!

Tabitha Nauser.

Tabitha looks like she has a lot of Swan potential. Just 17, she looks like girl next door, but her features look like with a bit of makeup and styling ....VA VA VOOM!

Daryl Lai's parents.

Daryl Lai's parents get props. They are such positive, encouraging parents. Despite their handicaps, they are supportive and optimistic - definitely a great example for everyone, especially their son!

Sezairi No-I'm-Not-Related-To-Najip.

Just thought the singing was good, better than what we got to see all night.

LOL Moments (Laugh-Out-Loud) :

Both The Husband and I cracked up at Gurmit's skit at the start of the show - he imitated the judge's habits quite well! Especially Ken's habit of rubbing his arms under his sleeves when talking, eyes peering above the glasses at the tip of his nose!

*Eh dun pray pray k....a LOT of people think Ken is sexy - some of the Top24 have told me so themselves too! I personally think its Ken's intelligence that makes him attractive. However, I still do not believe people have asked him what brand of underwear he wears - sure not Uncle Ken?)

Then there was that guy who said in broken Inggrissh : "Yes I'm a bit nervous, cos I haven take my breakfast yet." Kesiannya! (Poor thing hor!)

Deluded Avril Lavigne.

Or if you listen closely to her praise her idol, it could be Afreel Lerveeen or A-view Laveeen. Oh this girl made me laugh so much. Dick said it, "Do you live in the real world?" (Half of me thought she was gonna reply, "ya I do, cos I'm not a ghost you know!")

SUPER LOL MOMENT : When Afreel dovetailed the end of her singing with a question...Ho-oh, Ho-oh, Howsit?(sumore the face so deadpan - alamak almost keeled over laughing!)

Rachel 'I'm Not Ah Lian'.

Nothing wrong with being Lian right Flo? :) Clever move buttering up Flo (After Dick called Flo a 'Lian', Rachel defends. "She's not Ah Lian, she looks so sophisticated.")

After getting a Golden Ticket, I'm-Not-Ah-Lian says, "Real wan lehhhh!"<-- not Lian meh? Lian just admit Lian lah!

Anyway, I actually thought she was pretty cute and could sing. She shall from now on be known here as Ribbon Lian.

Careless Whisper put on weight and lost some hair and wasn't so whisper-y anymore. And like my source said, he really sang about the Recession. Not as funny as I thought it would be...letdown! (am waiting for ppl to post vids on youtube of these memorable clips so I can put them in the blog!)

Guy in red who sang Ning Baizura's 'In Another Place'. OMG. LMAO. Hello. CMI*.

*cannot.make.it.

Masked Selamat (featuring some guy in a surgical mask! LOL) <-- Goode One producers! Cheesy but unexpected, so props to you for sneakin' that one in!

Sky Ghostbuster Shaw

OMG. He was like in 'concert' mode! He has his shoes off (channeling Joss Stone?) and was waving his arms, asking the imaginary audience to 'Go Louder!'. What the..?

Then he gets to sing another song....Heavens Snow (what? thats NOT the title? But he was singing...Heavens Snow...Heavens Snow...)

No points for guessing the actual song title. Rick Price's 'Heaven Knows'.

Louis with the Irritating Voice.

LOL when he was describing how he thought he'd win judges over with his 'rocker' voice, only to be told by them that the 'rocker' voice was irritating. Then, decided to give judges a taste of his 'irritating' voice, only to find out that the Judges like it better! And I quote Louis :"Whats WRONG with these people?!" (Note to Louis : They din take their breakfast lor.)

Rohit The Hair.

This guy had hair like a Golliwog. Judges thought Slash. I thought.....Alleycats (70s group from Malaysia who thought they were black, but they were just Indian).

I didnt think his audition was that good but he got through anyway...we'll see how long The Hair lasts....

'Huhs?'

#1 : Radio guy who comes away with a Season Pass to the show? Who is he and what was that all about? Why does he get a pass?

#2 : Hady scouting for talent? huh? Why la? Didn't the talent queue up outside Cathay?

(random Hady pic, cos he's just so cute!)

Ken Lim as 7-Eleven Ambassador?!

During the commercial breaks, we got to see Ken Lim appear in his first-ever tv commercial (well I think its his first la, I haven't seen him in any before this).

It was for 7-Eleven, he lets a guy through auditions because he shops at 7-eleven. Cheesy much? Yes. It was.

But I'm glad to see Ken is able to not take himself too seriously and agree to doing stuff like this.

(Must go dig up more info on this (just found out an old friend was the Director of the commercials!) - I thought Taufik was the 7-Eleven Ambassador.... tsk, Uncle Ken stealing the limelight from your own protege?)

OVERALL, the show felt a little short, rushed, even, just ONE hour was not enough - I think everyone would have loved a full 2-hour premiere. (Just move News to 10.30pm la! No one cares about it right?)

Well, all in all, I had a good time with Ep 1 of Idol. I'm hoping to see more of the YAYs than the NAYs in Ep2 though. And perhaps more of the judges' witty remarks.

Singapore Idol Episode 2 airs Wednesday , 12 August, 8pm, on Channel 5!

Ok, end of review, time for bed *yawn* already 4.45am!

xoxo, s.

Singapore Idol Hady & Idol Judge Ken on CNA - FULL VIDEO

Found Full Interview Video!

It was at the Prime Time Morning site! (duh!) Click thru to the site then click on the 'Singapore Idol' link next to the pic of Hady/Ken.

OR JUST CLICK ON THIS PIC LA! :)

Enjoy!

xoxo, s.

Hady Mirza and Ken Lim : Full Interview Details

Hady Mirza Talks Misconceptions...

Ken Lim calls Dick Lee 'The Mean One'

Flo No Show

So this morning, I rushed like mad to get the kids ready before 9am so I could plonk myself down in front of the TV all set for the CNA interview with Flo, Ken and Hady. My sources told me they'd be on at 9am on CNA.

--wahlao reading what I just typed I suddenly feel damn LOSER getting so excited about an interview on friggin CNA! But total 180 in a split second cos HELLO!! Its IDOL baby! And TOMORROW is IDOL DAY DUDES!!!!!! EXCITED CAN!! --

So in the midst of undressing one baby and dressing another and packing the school bag and wiping dirty MILO-stained faces, I was frantically glancing at the clock. Then lo and behold, one of 'em decides, 'I need to poo poo Mommy'.

Suffice to say by the time I was done it was 9.13am. I turned on the TV and it was Stock reports. I thought DIE missed it liao! I SMSed frantically to everyone I knew - DID I MISS IT?

Thank goodness, someone replied : 9.20lah ...groupie! (such a buzz word these days!)

Call me what you like. At least I din miss it lor. Btw, I thought Flo was meant to be there, but perhaps she got caught up with work ... we love her interviews - hope she gets on CNA later in the season.

Here's what Hady and Ken had to say :

Hady, very cute and looking very dapper in his glasses (must have said this like 20 times today already in various places - twitter, fb, sms etc) seemed a little tired (long night working on the album dude?) but cheery.

"My season was really tough, (but) for this season its gonna be even tougher."

About his role on the show, Hady says, "There's a misconception that i'm a co-host with Gurmit, but I'm the big brother, the mentor."

Hosts ask, which is more important for contestants this year, viewers votes or good review from judges? Basically who they should be performing to.

Ken : "You know what's the most important part? Its no secret. If you're good you're good."

He goes on to say what is important is that, "Singaporeans have to support local talents. At the end of the day its very good platform for them. It begins with you believing in yourself, working smart, and being prepared for all your performances."

Totally Ken, you always make so much sense. You are so Uncle Ken lor.

Next question to Ken : "Have you made anyone cry?"

Ken's reply : "No no i'm a very nice guy, the mean one is Dick actually." And he chuckles. That now famous chuckle. Like the one at the end of this trailer.

Anyone come out bawling and shattered?

Hady : "Yea yea for sure, its my job as well to give them a shoulder to cry on."

Ken : "One of the differences is Hady helps cos he's gone thru the whole cycle. He can help them, prepare them."

This year's show seems to have it all, a mentor, more talent, new twists to the format - how can anyone say this is not exciting? Haters step off please. You are ruining my buzz.

Ken : "The standard this year is much better and i think it will get better"

Timothy Goh asks about the number of judges this time. It was four last season, why 3? Will it work?

Ken : "You know the saying, too many cooks spoils the broth? Three judges makes the show smoother, tighter, less confusing for contestants."

He likened it to being in front of a firing squad and four different comments would serve more to confuse the contestants.

Ken : "I would suggest American Idol revert to 3 judges instead of 4."

Er hello, Ken where have you been? Paula's out, its only 3 judges for Season 9 - Randy, KaraD and Simon. Ok la Uncle Ken I give you chance, you so nice, and not mean like Dick (plus I doubt you are on twitter right? I follow Ryan and Perez :).

More about this season :

Hady : "A lot of weird characters, its really interesting." Yes, I have seen shots of Krauser and Deluded-Avril Girl <-- hello how deluded ARE you?

Some advice from the Big Brother :

Hady: "Have to stress to contestants this year, most important thing is to have fun

you have to treasure this moment. In my season I enjoyed it so much."

Yupe LODIs!!! Enjoy the journey you guys - its a once-in-a-lifetime experience. And even if you join again, it won't be like your first time you know?

Hosts now ask "From what you've seen so far, any talent?"

Ken :

"From the auditions I was quite surprised, different from last 2 seasons. We have very hungry contestants (this time). A little bit reckless, which is necessary to take chances and to be different." (woo hoo, I like this...reckless! Awesome! Its about time we saw some risk takers!)

"Its going to be an exciting season, its the best auditions we've ever had."

(woot woot!)

Hady :

"They are very enthusiastic, we're just worried if they will be able to last to the end. "

Ken : "Look at Hady he's still around - Asian Idol."

For most of the interview, Ken was affable, and relaxed, sat back in his chair, with arms crossed over his chest - cool and experienced. Hady looked a little anxious. But we don't care, we love you Hady!

To round off the interview, Ken highlights whats "gonna draw them(viewers) in" this season...

The elimination process is different from last two seasons. This season "judges will pick 6 out of the top 12." Plus judges will have the entitlement to save ONE before the finals, this is the 'Judges Save' like what you saw on American Idol (Simon, Randy, Paula and Kara saved Matt Giraud).

Once more Ken says, "Contestants are a lot more talented." (and they were allowed to bring instruments into auditions!)

Final change - "Results on the same day" (its gonna be MADNESS! expect thumb cramps from SMSing furiously! maybe they should allow voting via twitter!)

The interview ends cordially with a short video featuring Krauser, Deluded Avril and Ribbon Ah Lian.

Can't wait...less than 34 hours away!!!

xoxo, s.

ps. Sorry i'm a bit late, pics took ages to render!

pps. Please note that I was typing furiously while interview went on and since I'm not a court stenographer, I'm sure there will some 'phrase/word' inconsistencies with the actual interview. Will upload the interview tonight once I get it!