Idol Top 12 tackles the Rolling Stones

Its Idol Day! Let's rock and roll!

We're back to the two-night sked for American Idol now as the real competition begins. Its the Spectaculars now and we're a mere 11 weeks away from crowning American Idol #9 (give or take a week or two if they pull stunts or do non-eliminations for an Idol Gives Back special).

Who's it gonna be - Casey, Andrew, Paige (ech!), Siobhan, Didi, Aaron, Lacey, Katie, Lee, Big Mike, Crystal or Tim?

(pic from americon-idol.net)

Controversies on the net abound that the 'worsters' are back in action, thus the reason why Paige (and not Lilly) and Tim (not Alex) are in the Top 12. The 'worsters' are apparently the people who are anti-Idol and vote to keep the worst performers in the running to win, thus making a farce of the show. Apparently they are the reason Taylor Hicks won (the first year the 'worsters' really made an impact on the show).

Well, hopefully the mass vote will out Paige early enough (her performance last week was the worst out of all the girls AND boys), and I'm sure Tim will follow suit somewhere mid-pack, due to his 6-pack. :) Click here to see Tim topless.

So who's poised to win this thing? Crystal - doubt it, but she'll go far. Who knows, maybe off-her-rocker Siobhan will win it? Too early to tell, personalities have yet to unfold enough.

I had the privilege of watching Adam Lambert perform live at the Pantages Theatre at Universal Studios last Friday evening, and I have to say, he definitely rocked it, with just a guitar and some simple percussions for accompaniment. He should have won. He owns every stage he steps on. His impeccable vocals and larger-than-life personality has superseded every contestant we've ever seen on Idol past and present.

Big shoes to fill for this year's hopefuls. As of right now, I can't see ANY of them stepping it up to come even close to Adam. I hope to be proven wrong.

Happy Idol-ing later tonight everyone! Its Rolling Stones night - wonder if anyone's gonna do the Mick Jagger lips. (To be honest I haven't a clue about their repertoire, so I'm gonna be watching his show 'blind'...better be entertaining....)

xoxo, s.

Singapore Idol Top 11 : Farhan Shah

Farhan Shah, 18

20 December 1990

Single

updated : 5 Oct 09

Spectacular 3 : An Asian Feast

Performing : Teman Istimewa by Taufik Batisah

Voting details : Not available yet. Watch this space!

Asian Week Interview :

Who is your favourite Asian artiste?

Taufik Batisah.

He's inspired lots of people around Asia, not just Singapore.

Who's the sexiest Asian star in your opinion?

Taya Rogers! O.M.G. When you speak to her, you will melt. She's an Instant Melter!

Who is your favourite Asian person?

Sleeq (Singaporean R&B duo). They are close to my age yet they can produce their own music, write their own songs - its quite inspiring - that you can start small and eventually get big!

Favourite Asian food?

Maggi Goreng <-- my fave mamak food too!

Favourite Asian destination?

Bali, Indonesia. Its so tranquil there. Just stand on the beach and feel the wind from the sea - its great!

What Asian culture fascinates you the most?

Peranakan culture. They're chinese yet they speak Malay and dress like Malays. I also like that a lot of their traditions and rituals are still in practice today and not forgotten. I also like seeing the true peranakans in their full peranakan attire. :)

What Asian trait are you most proud of?

Our law-abidingness :) Whatever the law is, we will complain, but we will still follow. Perhaps we are kiasee, but because of this, there's peace and stability (for Singapore at least).

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

Cannot sit on pillows otherwise your butt gets swollen.

Swollen like how? Like something bit you? Or the does your whole bum balloon? Methinks grandma just didn't want your bum to be where you face is meant to be :)

Random facts about Farhan :

• Is one half of the Broom & Mop Show (Judge Ken said he had broom stick hair - wth does that mean?)
• Ken also suggested he start a boyband with Faizal. That will definitely help pool all the female fans who have been voting for them like crazy.
• Has an insane love for prawns. No, make that obsession. I suggested he go watch District 9, the movie where humans and alien prawns live in harmony.
• He has been nicknamed FarHair due to his er, generous and often bouffant coiffure.

summerr thinks you'll love Farhan because :

He's a simple guy who like to sing. He's also a nice polite young man, although a little blonde around the ears. Ok, who am I kidding, he can be seriously blonde sometimes, but its endearing once you get to know him.

He received a lot of flak for getting into the Top 13 over some of the other more powerhouse singers like Jannah, but hey, Idol is also about garnering the support of the people who are willing to buy your album later on.

Here's the vid Izked recorded the night Farhan got voted in by the public into the Top 13.

Here's the vid I recorded last week, where Farhan gives us a sample of Bad Day.

Its a pity that no one loaded up Farhan's piano show performance. Its Ep 5 if you've lost count, so you can go check out the full ep, and fast forward yourself to Farhan's song. Click here for the post on Ep 5.

Can't get enough of the Farhair? Check out his top24 profile here.

Find Farhan online :

Farhan's facebook fanpage

Farhan's YouTube channel

Follow Farhan on Twitter

xoxo, s.

Singapore : What Have You Done?

What?!

*What to expect in this post - I rant and ramble a little, make an appeal, then calm down and post videos. But you gotta read the rant first*

I mean, seriously, Syltra's out?! ....What?!

If you think I've gone deaf, don't worry, I haven't. My incredulous tone refers to Syltra's shocking exit on last night's show.

In my opinion, she was one of the best voices and musicians on the show.

What is UP Singapore? Are you not interested in Idol anymore? Do you not care anymore? Why aren't you all picking up the phone and voting? How could you let THIS one go? tsk to you.

I'm not talking about your average tween girl here, we KNOW these girls are voting.

I'm talking about everyone else who watches the show.

Don't forget Singapore, Idol is not worth watching if WE don't contribute. WE are the ones who make the decisions - not the judges (they only get ONE measly save), not even the producers (they just select camera angles and assign voting numbers).

WE are the ones who DIRECTLY affect the musical quality of the show. WE, THE VOTERS are DIRECTLY responsible for keeping the TALENT on the show.

First season, Jeassea K. Thyidor. Need I say more?

I geddit, most people assumed she would get votes - she was the total package, and so everyone worked to save the others. I get it. Stupid mistake. New to the show bla bla bla.

Singapore,..... how come you never learn wan ah?

Syltra was already a Judges' Save. Which means the votes weren't enough to put her through. Doesn't that tell you something? She needed your votes.

At the rate this is going, we'll be down to just the boys in 6 weeks. I can't bear to watch. Mae, Tabby, Sylvia, Amira, Nurul and Malaque are just waiting to be cut. Not that the boys aren't talented, they are. Its just that, I want to see a fair fight. (Ok, I can hear some of you say, 'fair' doesn't figure in this kind of competition.)

I'm sure Idol's viewers aren't just 14 year olds with so much allowance money it puts my grocery budget to shame, right? If you're at home watching, please, please, please, if you enjoy the show or any of the performances, please vote to show them your support and help them achieve their dreams.

Singapore Idol is such an amazing platform for local music, but it will soon become a laughing stock and a farce if this wonky voting continues. Don't let that happen.

The Straits Times lambasted the show even before auditions began and now it looks like people are just following that sentiment blindly without giving it much thought. I took issue with that because I think those 'Idol-trashing' articles were driven more by media rivalry and politics, than based on the actual show.

For all the 'rigging' people think happens on the show (and there really isn't any, they sing, you vote, results are audited, how to rig?), no one can deny that the 'Idol' brand name and the nature of the show makes the winner (as well as most of the Top 13) household names within a very short period of time.

Say what you want about Taufik and Hady, at least people KNOW who they are. Unless you're a fan of the other singing reality shows, can you even remember the winners' names? Where are THEY?

I believe in this show. Yes I'm obviously a fan. But that aside, I genuinely feel that the kind of exposure this show gives these aspiring singers is just priceless.

If you love music, if you think that young people should pursue their dreams, and/or if you watch the show and enjoy it, please please vote and make a difference in these talented young people's lives.

We did it twice before with Taufik and Hady, we voted right, we churned out talent, we can do it again.

Say it with me...Girl Idol.

Say it. Believe it. VOTE FOR IT.

To Syltra, be seein' you soon k. I totally believe in your talent, go out there and do a 'Daughtry'! I know you can! Like Gurms says it may be the end of your journey here on Idol, but your musical journey still has a long way to go - make use of this platform while its still hot girl! :)

Here's Syltra singing her way off the show. On Channel 5 it got cut off, but I managed to film the entire song, a bit blur, but oh well....

Ok.

I've had my rant. Here's Syltra's exit interview. I was there when vlogger Matt recorded Iz and Jon interviewing her after the show. So I tumpang record.

All credits go to Matt at www.matt.sg (check out his site, loads of other interviews, including with SI 2's Paul Twohill and Jasmin Tye).

I also managed to catch Gurms for a quick chat on what he thought about last night's show - he was on the way to the gym (can you believe it? at like midnight!). Here's what he had to say....

Check out my next post, which will be a review of last night's show, followed by some vids I grabbed of the Idols at keycheck.

xoxo, s.

Episode 7 is up!

*dazed*.....

I'm still reeling from shock over last night's results. Got home after 1am last night and sat dazed in front of my laptop, speechless/wordless. I wasn't sure whether to chastise Singapore for NOT voting or chastise the voters for voting irresponsibly or just *kok*myself over the head for not voting enough.

In the end, I ended up with the *kok*. Obviously I have control over how others vote. And I'm not stupid enough to blame the result on just me, but while I was voting, I had this gut feel that I needed to put in like, maybe another 5 or 10 more votes, but didn't cos I got distracted twitpiccing. DAMMIT.

Anyway, while I gather my thoughts for the post-show post, you can watch Ep 7. Thank you to nazamania for posting it up on Youtube!

The show last night was ....SPECTACULAR for lack of a better word :)

The stage/set was gorgeous - loved the streaming names - and the ramp leading down to the judges and into the audience was so cool! It really gave contestants a chance to connect with everyone including our dear Judges.

Uncle Ken was on an acid roll last night. But more of that later in my review.

Am off to watch it once more....your turn to watch too!

I hope you enjoyed watching it as much as I did LIVE in studio. You can check out my twitpics from the show here.

Am gonna watch the show again now and see if I can digest the results better :P

xoxo, s.

its IDOL DAY !!!

Happy Idol Day everyone!

After a 2 week break (not really a break for the Idols since they've been workin' hard every day since they were 'crowned Top 13') which felt like eternity for me (wasn't it weird that there was no Idol show last Idol Day/Wednesday? Weird rite? I almost didn't know what to do with myself!), the Top 13 have settled comfortably into their 'Spectacular' shoes and hopefully are ready to put on a 'Nothing-Less-Than-Spectacular' show for us tonight!

And just in time for the 'Spectaculars', comes a truly spectacular copy of 8days - the Idol issue. I LOVE IT! I luv it so much that I want to print that cover on a tee shirt and gift it to the Idols. But I'm broke from my 'princess party' expenditure, so we'll have to wait for the NEXT 8days cover.... *sorry LODIs*

Don't they all look so so so amazing? Every. Single. One of them!

Totally a must-have for every Idol (and non-Idol) fan out there because :

1. The Top 13 look fantabulouso!

2. Its jam-packed full of info even I didn't know ... Syltra, your chinese name is after Ann Kok?! (she told me her IC is registered only as Syltra Lee ..stupidly did not think of asking if she had an 'unregistered' chinese name - oi guitar goddess :), got malay or indian names or not?)

3. Each Idol has their own pin-up pic and profile (so you can simply tear out the page of your fave for your wall).

4. I have to say it again - the Top 13 look fantastic!

Here's my tribute to that amazing issue of 8Days (kow tow kow tow - you guys did such an amazing job). Top 13, you guys TOTALLY ROCKED DA SHOOT!

This is the vid I shot of them from my hiding place (on a mini balcony) at Que Pasa during the shoot. The directory and stylist of the shoot, Fong Fan, got them to jam :) very cool!

Lastly....

LEFT SIDEBAR : for a quick reminder of the songs they'll be performing,

RIGHT SIDEBAR : for brand new profiles for each of the Top 13.

(The new profiles were just uploaded, sorry they took a little longer to hatch, I re-did them after the 8days issue came out cos I was so 'inspired' :) - I totally chucked out the old ones, so it took a while to 'rehatch' amidst all my cupcake baking).

Ok, VOTE VOTE VOTE to keep your favourites in.

xoxo, s.

ps. Oh, almost forgot, must give kudos to 8days for squeezing in ALL the Top 13 on the cover instead of the 2-page foldout cover like season 1, :) sigh, am looking at the cover again, so niiiiiiice. I likey! Dammit, MUST STOP sounding like freakish obsessed 8Days stalker again.

Singapore Idol Top 13 : Justin Jap

Justin Jap, 21

10 February 1988

Single

Performing :

"Heartless" by Kris Allen/Kanye West

Vote for

Justin :

Call 1900 112 1208

or sms '8' to IDOLS (43657)

each call/sms costs 60cents.

lines are open tonight from 8pm.

Random facts about Justin :

• Justin is an only child.
• He hates Crocs and thinks they look grotesque, and every time he sees a pair, he has to fight the urge to plug up the holes! (LOL! so cute!)
• Justin is a gym rat - he loves gymming! (Girls, there are biceps worth ogling under those sleeves!)
• He is a big presence on Twitter .... he even tweets what he's about to eat for breakfast :)
• Can sing chinese songs very well because he is effectively bilingual - now that would be good for marketing purposes.
• He likes to mix it up by wearing bowties. (and also record Youtube videos topless :))

summerr thinks you'll love Justin because :

Justin is the rare Chinese Singaporean who can really sing R&B. Check out his vids on Youtube and you'll know what I mean.

He's also quirky and the kind of guy that really grows on you once you get to know him. On the one hand though, he's so quirky I'm not sure he'll be believable as a doctor (he's always cracking jokes). So he'd better to this Idol thing right.

Justin is also an entertainment junkie (like me) who knows as much as probably Perez Hilton because the info is all IV-ed to him via his iPhone thats always with him.

So will the Singing Doctor (he hates this reference btw) win your votes?

Here's the vid Izked got at key check two weeks ago.

And here's the vid I shot last week at choreo, giving you a sample of 'Heartless'.

Finally, here's Justin's performance clip from the Piano Show that won him public vote spot into the Top 13.

Want to know more about Justin, you can check out his Top 24 profile here.

Find Justin online :

Justin's facebook fanpage

Justin's youtube channel

Follow Justin on Twitter

xoxo, s.

Singapore Idol Top 13 : Syltra Lee

Syltra Lee, 18

12 June 1991

Single

Performing :

"Breakaway" by Kelly Clarkson

Vote for

Syltra :

Call 1900 112 1203

or sms '3' to IDOLS (43657)

each call/sms costs 60cents.

lines are open tonight from 8pm.

Random facts about Syltra :

• She wears glasses (I was totally surprised by this one)
• She has a chinese name and its Shu Xian, she was named after Ann Kok!
• Apparently the alternative (as opposed to what is published in 8days) origin of her name could possibly have come from the fact that her mom liked 'Sylvester and Tweety bird' cartoons (hence the 'Syl')
• Can eat anything a LOTS of it and not gain a pound! Tsk! High metabolism <-- jealous!

summerr thinks you'll love Syltra because :

I labelled her the 'dark horse' from the very first day I saw her. Back when no one noticed her, not even producers really, at the theatre auditions, I said 'watch that one' and they said 'really? the alanis sound-a-like?'

And now, everyone's like...'oooohhh Syltra's the dark horse!'

...tsk hello!....for the record, I would like to say....I TOLDJA SO!

From the final day of Theatre Auditions where she sang her own take on the Fugees' classic 'Killin' Me Softly', people have started to take notice. At her first roadshow, she sang Michael Jackson's 'I Want You Back' and delighted the crowd. At her first radio interview she sampled Corinne Bailey Rae's 'Put Your Records On' and even Dan & Young were like...whoaaaa...

Piano Show 1 came, and our lil Shuxian (hehehe) closed the show with a rousing, foot-stomping, hands-over-head-clapping rendition of KT Tunstall's 'Blackhorse And A Cherry Tree'.

I say, remove 'Dark Horse' and replace with 'Frontrunner' already.

Here's a vid of her by Iz, shot right after she got into the Top 13.

And here's a sample of 'Breakaway' (not the best sample, mind you it was impromptu, so excuse the funky ending).

And last but not least, a look back her Idol journey so far from her Piano Show performance.

Want to keep her a 'frontrunner'? Then vote vote vote to keep her in the competition. As many are pointing out, the girls are at a disadvantage this season ....

If you wanna know more about Syltra, check out the Top24 profile I did for her here.

Find Syltra Online :

Syltra's facebook fanpage

Follow Syltra on Twitter

Syltra's YouTube Channel

Aurigami's YouTube Channel

sister Shermin's YouTube Channel

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!

Chart Toppers trailer uploaded!

I Am SO LOVING this Idol trailer!

Big Kudos to Valren and Chris of OAP5 (trailer producer who shot this and put together) and the graphics guys who did all the awesome graphics!

See what I mean when I say we're in the NEXT stage of the show? EVERYTHING, even the trailers get glitzier and more glamourous! LOVIN' IT!

Everyone looks good! And yes Justin, that includes your Jason Mraz - not bad la :)

Argh, can you all cut a longer version, just so can 'indulge' in it a little bit more please please Valren? :)

xoxo, s.

Chart Toppers are a-comin'!

LET'S PLAY 'SPOT YOUR IDOL'!

Check out the ad for next week's Spectacular Show themed Chart Toppers :) I'm lovin' it - its hilarious!

In case you can't figure out who's whom, let me lay it all out ... :)

Boys left to right :

Justin as Jason Mraz (LOL! Fishing anyone?)

Duane as Elton John (nice fit! so cute with the glasses!)

Farhan as one of the Beatles (I bet you its cos he has the hair for it!)

Faizal as Justin Timberlake (lookin' hawt Faizal - thought you really pulled it off!)

Sezairi as Kanye West (not beat-you-up look enough! But quite 'black'!)

Charles as Eminem (lookit that I'm-gonna-beat-you-up face! :))

Girls left to right are :

Nurul as Tina Turner (lol, love the wig!)

Malaque as Amy Winehouse (100x hotter than Amy for sure - you totally rocked it girl!)

Tabitha as Beyonce (she still looks like gorgeous Tabby to me!)

Mae as Lady Gaga (totally Gaga-ed out! What a big bow!)

Sylvia as Madonna (everyone says she really got into the part! good job!)

Syltra as Britney (At first I thought, so tak match, but after a while, she looks pretty cool as an Asian Britney!)

Amira as Rihanna (another mismatch I thought, but Amira worked the camera man! Love this shot of her - so fierce!)

Below are some early screen grabs taken from the Chart Topper's trailer that went on-air after the Michael Jackson concert last night! :) you get to see close ups of each one...(click to enlarge).

At first I was only allowed to take stills, then after some consideration they let me take a video of this incomplete trailer :) here it is... (it was so top secret ssshhh...but now that the trailer is finally out, I can put these up!)

Can't wait to see the full trailer, I keep missing it on tv!... but if the poster is anything to go by, it must look 'spectacular' :) *lol at my own pun!* (its cos its almost 4am and I'm dead sleepy - no chance to watch Gossip Girl :(...)

xoxo, s.

ps. When the pics were taken at the editing suite, Nurul had just joined the Top13 and her clips weren't filmed yet, thus the missing Tina Turner :)