Idol Day Random pics

Wakey Wakey! Good morning Idol Lovers!
Since we never know who's gonna be going home on Idol Day, here are some random pics taken over the past week... :) collaged so its easier to upload here - click to enlarge....

These pics were taken on that crazy hot Sunday at the Plaza Singapura roadshow two weekends ago where Daniel Ong made the Idols play the Hands & Feet game. If you missed it, I have it recorded.... check out my post here!

These next few pics were taken just a week ago right after the show in the dressing/green room area. Gabby was acting as temp host for Idol TV.

We're less than 11 hours away from show time....

Right now, Mae, Malaque and Sylvia are at 987FM doing their radio interviews (hurry! tune in!) and the other five (gosh, that number seems so small!) are already at Caldecott Hill, picking up their wardrobe and heading down to the studios for what is to be their usual Idol Day routine of rehearsals, soundchecks and camera blocking!

xoxo, s.

ps. Btw peeps, it's Mae's and Charles' birthdays tomorrow (29th October), so if you're seeing them tonight at the studio, do wish them a Happy Birthday!

Singapore Idol Top 10 : Mae Sta Maria

Mae Sta Maria, 27

29 October 1981*

Married to Michael Sta Maria

*same birthday as Charles!*

updated : 10 Oct 09

Spectacular 4 : A Tribute To Michael Jackson

Performing : I Want You Back

Fave MJ Song : I Want You Back

Voting details : Not available yet. Watch this space!

MJ Week Interview :

If you had 1 minute with MJ, what would you say/do?
I’ll just hug him and thank him for making me a better entertainer. I’ll also tell him that I always knew he had a difficult life and that people were mean to him, but through it all, through the bad times, I always believed in him and believed he had a good heart. If I could make up for all the hurt he’s been through I would.

If you had 1 hour with him, what would you do?
I will ask him to teach me how to do the moonwalk properly.
I’ll ask him to sing ‘I Want You Back’ for me. It my most favourite song ever. I would love to dance with him too and just have fun. I believe he lost a lot of his childhood and I’m very childish, so we’d get along really well.

If you had 1 day with him, what would you do?
It blows my mind. One whole day. I can’t even think of what to do! There’s just so many things I want to do with him!
I would love to get away from everyone and treat him to a day of normalcy. Hang out at my mom’s house, play with my nieces, eat homecooked food. That would be what I would do for him, cos he’s already done so much for everyone else. (Mae got teary eyed just thinking about this! awww!)

Did you believe the child molestation allegations?
Nope, totally no.
I believe he has a lot of baggage and problems that he had to deal with himseld and the way he handled it was to spend time with kids. He’s very childlike and they may have taken what was an innocent gesture or action the wrong way.
That’s how they repay someone for his kindness.
I don’t think he had problems with the ‘sexual’ side.
I think his problems had to do with not having the chance to live a normal life.

When you first heard that there would be an MJ themed spectacular, what was your reaction?

And now that you’re through and will be doing an MJ song, how do you feel?
When I heard it, I like died cos I was so happy! I already got to sing ‘I’ll Be There’. No matter what song I have to do, I’ll still be happy. The producers, vocal coach, anyone, can choose any MJ song and I’ll do it. Just to be able to sing an MJ song is already a bonus!
Right now, I feel good. I don’t know which side of MJ to emulate, concentrate on the song or the dancing?

What will you be singing and why did you choose to do that MJ song?
I will be singing my favourite song ‘I Want You Back’! Its my favourite song, I love it, and it gives me a chance to dance a little. I plan to do a few signature moves, but I’ll be sure to focus on my vocals.

Spectacular 3 : An Asian Feast

Performing : Nobody by The Wonder Girls

Asian Week Interview :

Who is your favourite Asian artiste?

Taufik and Sammi Cheng - can't choose la!

I love Sammi from way back when she did that movie called 'Feel 100%'. She is very cool. Remember that era when she would have one of her eyebrows drawn as the Nike tick? Awesome stuff! I hardly buy albums, but I have Sammi Cheng's album back in Australia.

Who's the sexiest Asian star in your opinion?

Rain! Phwoar!

Who is your favourite Asian person?

My Dad, Hans Vernie. He came up with that name himself you know. Its from his uncle's name which is Vernon. His actual name is Abidin bin Mohd. Kunjung!

Favourite Asian food?

Rojak! No wait, chilli crab! And Japanese food!

Favourite Asian destination?

Islands around Thailand! And Japan too, because I wanna find out more about where I'm from.

(Mae's Dad is apparently half Japanese!)

What Asian culture fascinates you the most?

Indian and Japanese cultures. Cos I have never met my direct relatives which makes me really wanna figure out where I'm from and their cultures. I have Malay relatives and I really want to get to know them too.

What Asian trait are you most proud of?

Family values and how we love hanging out with our families.

What is the one Asian superstition you've held on to since you were a child?

Don't cry in front of food cos you may perpetuate your sadness. And my Mom used to always tell me, 'Don't spit in the air, cos it falls on your face!' <-- OMG, hahahah lovin' Mae's Mom's sense of humour! Good one Aunty - I'll be sure to tell my children this :)

Random facts about Mae :

• Loves animals (she hid a turtle in her bedroom drawer for 2 weeks undiscovered)
• Loves plants (she helps pick up potted plants that have been blown over by windy storms)
• Felt like Miss Universe when it was announced she was #13 in the Top 13!
• Can do a mean Michael Jackson 'moonwalk'
• Had blonde hair for 4 years (dodgy...)
• Is part Portugese, Dutch, Chinese, Japanese and North Indian!
• Is a Neat Freak :)

summerr thinks you'll love Mae because :

Mae's the kinda girl everyone is instantly friends with. She's warm, open and friendly, and can talk your ear off from the minute you stick out your hand and say 'hi'.

Since the transition from Top 24 to Top 13, Mae's lost some of her dearest friends in the competition. Close buds Gabby and Jon didn't make it through. You can see from this vid (shot by Izked) taken at the keycheck session right after Piano Show 2 Results, that it was bittersweet. She says her next song is killer, see below for a sample :)

Back to her chirpy self after the short 'break', Mae has made new alliances with her new Top13 cohorts and is totally ready to show people her 'moves' with Lady Marmalade. Plus, she has an extra reason to celebrate, Mae's husband Michael has finally touched down in Singapore!

Here's a sample of Lady Marmalade, recorded last week at choreo.

And here's a pic of Mae with Mike (and Charles and Sylvia) just after Monday morning's radio interview at 987FM. Aww... reunited...at last!

Here's a look at Mae's idol journey clip from the Piano Shows and her last performance, "Better In Time" by Leona Lewis.

If you wanna know more about Mae, check out the previous profile I did on her here.

Find Mae online :

Mae's facebook fanpage

Mae's YouTube Channel

Mae's MySpace page

xoxo, s.

More random vids from Keycheck

NOTE : I prepared this post yesterday afternoon, but it took FOREVER to upload the vids, so here it finally is more than 24 hours later pfft.....

Last week at Keycheck after the show, I got some vids of the guys singing the songs that they're planning to sing for this week - then I ran outta batt!

So here's the 2 vids of Airi I recorded before my cam died and Mae's reaction to finally getting to sing her #1 song choice :) Enjoy.

Its a hot and lazy monday afternoon - I am sans babysitters today, so won't get to join the Idols at their choreo session today though :(

They've been at mediacorp all day for radio interviews, wardrobe imaging (this is where they sort out what they will be wearing on Idol Day) and later choreo with Zaki @ 5pm.

Group song this week

Iz is with them (all day every day :)), so look out for his tweets and pics here.

xoxo, s.

Idol Radio Interviews!

987FM is the Official Radio Station for Singapore Idol.

didja'll know that?

Daniel Ong said to the Idols once, "Come in, relax, make yourself at home, this will become like your second home during Idol, cos you'll be here every week...."

Which is pretty true, especially for the 2 that will be going to the finals in December. Because each week, 987FM will be carrying interviews with the Top XX on the days leading up to Idol Day and on Idol Day itself. Cool innit? Magic time - 9am.

Here's a look at what went down at Monday's interview with Mae, Charles, Syltra and Sylvia. You can check out more pics at my twitpic.

In case you didn't hear the interview, one thing you all must know - Charles is the sweetest- he actually picked all the girls up (plus Mae's hubby Mike) and drove them all to MediaCorp on Monday morning for the interview! How sweet is that?

And he's adorably blur too - he told Mae he'd pick her up at 7.30am to 'beat the traffic' and when they arrived at 7.45am (reporting time is 8.45am by the way), he was like, 'wow, we really DID beat the traffic...or....wait...maybe it's because today is a public holiday....' *face palm everyone :)* but still SO ADORABLE LOR!

This next vid features each of them plugging themselves and what they'll be singing for Chart Toppers tonight - woo hoo first Spectacular. They all look sleepy etc cos, well, its Monday morning.

Here are some pics from Izked's twitpics from yesterday's interview with Sezairi, Tabby, Amira and Justin.

Don't forget to tune in today at 9am to 987FM for the last five - Nurul, Farhan, Malaque, Duane and Faizal.

Plus, if you just can't get enough of them, Ria will also be carrying some interviews - check out Sezairi, Amira, Farhan, Faizal, Nurul and Malaque today at 8am on RIA.

Psst, follow Iz's tweets today from as early as 730am (thats right - that crazy boy is gonna be following the Idols from 730am! Siao, but good for us kaypohs!

Ok, am off to frost my cupcakes! Its my baby girl's actual birthday today, so its Princess Party Part Deux at school!

xoxo, s.

IDOL DAY in 2 Days time!

Long post : From Piano Pokerface to Sembawang Shopping Centre (my update for the past 'idol-less' week...)

So the weekend's come and gone (well, not totally, since today's a public holiday - woot!)

Were you a true Idol fan this weekend? Did you trek all the way up to Sembawang Shopping Centre to see the Top 13 in person?

Even if you didn't, its okay, because like a gazillion others did! Despite having to run helter-skelter (translate that as siao char boh) organising my daughter's princess party (I was told it was a carnival-like success by the way, not that you Idol crazies care right, cos you're only reading this to know more about Idol), I snuck in some time here and there to check out Iz's 'live' tweets and twitpics (featured here, thanks Iz!) from the roadshow - looks like the turn out was amazing. Idols, it will only get even crazier as the weeks go by!

Whats up with Idol this week?

lemmesee...

We're back in full Idol gear as of TODAY, Monday, 21st Sept!

Radio interviews with Mae, Charles, Syltra and Sylvia right this morning on 987FM at 9am. The rest will take their turn at the mic on Tuesday and Idol Day (check the Idol Spotter for deets, left side bar, right at the top!)

what else...

oh...nothing much....just a lil show we like to call THE SPECTACULARS!

yep folks, we're FINALLY at the Spectaculars - that ONE week break felt like ages right?

Check out my new 'Idol Songs & numbers' on the left sidebar that will give you quick recap of who's singing what in what order. For sms voting, just take the last digit of the phone number (eg for Mae you send '1' to IDOLS (43657) for Idols 1 - 9. For Idols 10 - 13, send the last TWO digits of the phone number (eg for Malaque, sms '11' to IDOLS (43657)). Each vote costs 60 cents.

And now, here're some vids I recorded over the past week.

Pokerface on piano

Check out Duane's raw, piano-accompanied version of Pokerface. This was recorded at his choreo session with Zaki. It still needs a little bit more work, but I think the boy's got something there - a breakout performance perhaps? Zaki said 'cool' :)

Meet the new host of Idol TV!

Also, here are some pics of Jon Cheok who's now been 'hired' by Iz to be the 'host' of Idol TV. First episode airs....tonight maybe? Not sure.

Am so dreading it cos they blardee sabo-ed and filmed me...(me and cameras = not a pretty sight, from now on, if Iz is in vid mode, I'll be in SIAM* mode).

By the way, I recorded this following vid of Iz and Jon to help them promote their new Idol TV ...but LOL, epic fail lor - they just rambled - watch it just for fun, don't judge, there was no prep. We shall get them to do a DO-OVER soon (on Idol Day).

The reason I have so many pics of them is because while the 8Days shoot was ongoing, we were not allowed to communicate with the Top 13 at all. Forbidden was the word. They were 'In The Zone' and apparently the stylist was very happy. So was 'Manny-for-the-day' Byron, who said, "the children were VERY well-behaved today." :)

Anyway, here are two pics of the the Top 13 at the shoot at Que Pasa, taken from my hiding place :) (I was perched precariously atop a stairwell!)

I later managed to capture this vid from a different 'hiding spot'. Uber 8Days stylist Fong Fan got the Idols singing and boy where the 'in the zone' and I'm thinking Ka-Ching - am sure they'll get some pretty awesome pics from this session. I've always been a fan of Fong Fan's work. She has such a great eye and the clothes/styles always suit the celeb to a tee. Tuesday's 8Days cover shoot was no different - everyone looked fab. I only wish I had a chance to take individual pics before they ran off to change :P (lets hope Iz did).

They're singing Blackhorse and a Cherry Tree.

Lastly, I'd like to share this vid that I recorded of Mae.

Generally people think Mae's a great singer, but the one brickbrat that keeps gettin' thrown at her is the fact that she was living in Australia and has perhaps become 'Australian'. I think what these folks are forgetting is that most people, at a young age, get sent overseas for education purposes. In Mae's case, her parents decided to try to make a living there to give their kids a better life. It wasn't Mae's choice to 'give up' Singapore. And now that she's an adult, she's DECIDED, with much loving support from her Aussie husband, to make Singapore their home and her base.

She once told me with tears welling up, 'Its so awful being in a place where nobody wants you, but I want to be here, I choose to be here, why won't they support me?"

Anyway here's her vid...

Whatever it is Singapore, please vote based on talent. There is a lot of it this season, and honestly it would be such a waste if the ones worthy of the title don't make it all the way to the end - you want an AMAZING finale at Indoor Stadium right?

MAKE.IT.HAPPEN.

VOTE.

xoxo, s.

ps. More silly vids coming up tonight!

IT'S IDOL DAY! The One With All The Vids

Its' Idol Day y'all!

(cue Idol music te ne ne ne ne ne ne ne....)

OMG, today we will know who the other 6 of the Top 12 will be. No pressure Group 2. No pressure at all.

In the spirit of 'No pressure', I'd like to share with you all a couple of vids and pics that were taken during Group 2's Vocal Training last Saturday (mostly of those who were hanging around, waitin' for their turn) and Choreo on Monday.

Its really just vids of the LODIs bein' themselves ie silly.... so sit back, relax, have a laugh...

Jon was a little tired and blur when I recorded this - but he still looks kinda adorable right girls? Aw, give the poor soul a hug and some reassurance.

You're not a noob la... (whatever that is...testament to my age that I have no idea what noob is)

I loved that one of Mae - she is hilarious I tell you.

Next up, Justin decides to be the Idol Behind-The-Scenes reporter. Ahem, pass or fail? LOL!

Mae - fail! Very difficult (to) interview!

All funny stuff aside, here are some pretty awesome clips of a Sezairi/Justin showcase. Gabby later takes the guitar over too with Linger (check it out on Youtube if you didn't see it in my earlier post).

Hope you enjoyed that? I certainly did. Its a pity we don't have much of Sam and Sylvia who went off earlier. You can see vids of Ben, Duane and Gabrielle taken from the same day from my earlier post here. Or browse summerr77 at Youtube.

Today's D-Day for Group 2. Everyone's due at Mediacorp first thing in the morning and they'll be spending the day there doing run throughs for tonight's show.

I'll be at MediaCorp later this evening to catch up with Group 2, and also Group 1 who will be coming in to support their Idol friends too. Look out for my tweets and twitpics this evening!

Lets all hope for a great show (no dead air, no bad jokes, no bad performances) and hope your favourites go through - VOTE ppl!

xoxo, s.

Singapore Idol Top 24 : Mae Sta Maria

In The Shower with :

Mae Sta Maria

(nickname : Turtle)

In 3 words, Mae describes herself as Deep, Passionate and Nutty...sounds almost like a commercial for a Dark Nutty Chocolate bar :)

She is definitely passionate that's for sure. Mae's the kind of girl that needs a 'Pause' button once a while cos she gets so excited and can just keep rambling on and on about animals, people, her husband (aww), clothes, Idol, gardening (and how she does not want to) etc....

She's lovely la...just the kind of girl everyone would be friends with, Idol or not. :)

Quick facts about Mae :

Lives in : East

Occupation : Bank Teller (seriously? OCBC? UOB? OUB?)

Favourite MJ song : I Want You Back (the song saved her life at Theatres :))

Favourite Judge : Ken

Single/Attached? : Married <-- her husband is cute y'all!

Who does she think will win Idol 3? Farhan.

If music is your first love, what is your second?

My second greatest love that is not music related is definitely Basketball! I recently was in America where i was lucky enough to watch 4 NBA games. I also will support any playing level of basketball like local games, amateur games, people playing down stairs my papa's block,by loudly shouting , cheering and commentating on their games. "foul" "defense...clap clap clap" are what you would normally hear from me. Funnily enough...I have never played the sport.:)

Secret Single Behaviour : What do you do on your own that no one knows about?
My secret obsession other than blowing saliva bubbles is probably my obsession with finding convertible outfits...you know: dresses that can turn into tops that can turn into skirts that can turn into hats (not really) I get soooo happy when i find a convertible item that i love. I've got a few but my current fave is my American Apparel circle scarf (you should google it...it's so cool) Weirdly enough, only one other person knows about this.

(i actually went to search for a video on this - and its pretty amazing what you can do with what looks like a baby sling(!!), click here to see!)

summerr's take :

Mae being the oldest contestant on the show and probably with the most performing experience, having been on Australian Idol (she made it to the Top 100), definitely has a more controlled sound. She's also very determined and listens to the tons advice heaped on her by judges, Vocal Coach Ann and Music Director Indra.

I get the feeling she really really REALLY wants this :) Drive is good. Being able to handle constructive criticism is even better.

Here's a sample of her own music which can be found online (her links are at the end of this post).

Make a date with Mae!

Saturday, 5 Sept Aug : Lot One, 3pm -4pm

Catch Mae in person at the second Idol roadshow where you get to meet the 2nd group of 12 that will be performing at Piano Show #2.

Wednesday, 9 Sept : Caldecott Hill, 9am - 930am, 987FM

Tune in to 987FM at 9am to catch Mae's first radio interview, alongside Justin, Samantha and Faizal.

Wednesday, 9 Sept : Caldecott Broadcast Centre, Studio 1

Singapore Idol Piano Show #2, 8pm and The Results Show later at 10pm, on Channel 5.

Mae will be performing the Leona Lewis hit "Better In Time".

To vote for Mae :

Call 1900 112 1212 or text 12 to IDOLS (43657)

Each call/sms costs 60cents.

Lines only open from 8pm on 9th Sept 2009.

Find Mae online :

Mae's facebook fanpage

Mae's YouTube Channel

Mae's MySpace page

xoxo, s.

Singapore Idol Top 24 : Sezairi Sezali

In The Shower with :

Sezairi Sezali

(nickname : Guitarhero)

He says charismatic. I say enigmatic.

He says spontaneous. I say random.

He says funny. I say neurotic. :)

Quick facts about Sezairi :

Lives in : North

Occupation : Student

Favourite MJ song : Billie Jean

Favourite Judge : Ken

Single/Attached? : Attached

Who does he think will win Idol 3? Mae.

If music is your first love, what is your second?

My next great love is for girls who wear glasses. call it a fetish if you must (but please I prefer fascination ). there's just something about a girl with glasses on that tickles my fancy. like if i know a decent looking girl who wears lenses and suddenly one day she pops up wearing glasses, her hot factor would go up by 400% to me. lol.

Secret Single Behaviour : What do you do on your own that no one knows about?
I secretly have to smell my food before I eat it, no matter what kinda food, chicken wings, rice, pizza, ice cream whatever. I will hold it close to my nose while looking somewhere else to avoid attracting any unwanted attention, then I sniff away. Come to think of it, I need to smell a lot of things. Make sure you don't stink around me. ;p

summerr's take :

I am so impressed by Sezairi's skills as a singer-songwriter. The song that he and Mae came up with for Duet Day really blew me away. I think he's really talented and I hope he'll go far in this competition, because in my opinion, Sezairi brings artistry to this season's Idol, and I hope it shows with each theme they'll be tackling, assuming he gets to the Top 12.

Here's a video I took of Mae and Sezairi performing the song they did on Duet Day called "She's Invisible". Apparently they wrote it in like 5 minutes. <-- ya ya papaya la now!

Here's Sezairi giving us a sample of tune he wrote that he's crazy about right now :) Mae says, "Wah so Shiok!"

Here's another one of him and Mae, doing "My Boo". Since the Duet Day assignment, they've found that they work really well together, and this is their own take on the famous song.

Sorry about the poor sound quality, we were in an echo-ey room, with other people chatting and hangin' out. This was taken on the fly at last week's vocal training session. Totally unplanned.

Make a date with Sezairi!

Saturday, 5 Sept : Lot One, 3pm -4pm

Catch Sezairi in person at the 2nd Idol roadshow where you get to meet the 2nd group of 12 that will be performing at Piano Show #2.

Monday, 7 Sept : Caldecott Hill, 9am - 930am, 987FM

Tune in to 987FM at 9am to catch Sezairi's first radio interview, alongside Sylvia, Gabrielle and Duane.

Wednesday, 9 Sept : Caldecott Broadcast Centre, Studio 1

Singapore Idol Piano Show #2, 8pm and The Results Show later at 10pm, on Channel 5.

Sezairi will be singing Maroon 5's "Sunday Morning".

To vote for Sezairi :

Call 1900 112 1201 or text 1 to IDOLS (43657)

Each call/sms costs 60cents.

Lines will only open from 8pm on 9th Sept 2009.

Find Sezairi Online :

Sezairi's facebook fanpage

Sezairi's purevolume.com page

(his original songs and more info about him as an artiste are available here)

xoxo, s.