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

Confetti + 2 MJs = Rockin' Results Show

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Watch...

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

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

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

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

Watch...

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

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

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

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

Watch...

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

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

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

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

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

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

Watch 'Addicted'....

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

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

Not an inch.

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

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

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

Want more pics/vids?

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

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

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

Pic #1 :

Our favourite personalities - Judges Dick, Flo and Ken.

Pic #2

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

Pic #3

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

xoxo, s.

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

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

18 hours to go..

It's Idol Day!

2am on Idol Day, I'm super duper excited for the show later tonight. The thought of the results gives makes me anxious, so I'm compartmentalising and not focusing on that so much, would rather focus on the amazing performances lined up for viewers all night.

Here's what we can expect to see...

Performance Show :

1. Look out for a very cool opening sequence. If you'd read this blog, you already know the opening song is a medley of I've Gotta Feeling-Bad Romance-Boom Boom Pow. What you gotta look out for is the very start of the show - there are gonna be some familiar faces to look out for, and also, look out for the chemistry between the Top 2 during Bad Romance :) Sizzle!

2. Look at the left sidebar to see what your Top 2 are singing.

3. Wardrobe! I am so blown away by each of the Top 2's outfits/styling for each of their songs. The opening outfit is okay. But the individual outfits for each song, especially Crazy, Yellow and Touched By An Angel (they both look like 'earthbound' angels) are just breathtaking. Your Top 2 really glow, they've definitely stepped it up since the last time you saw them 2 and a half weeks ago.

4. Voting lines open at 8pm and will be closing 15 minutes later than usual, at 10.15pm. Make those precious extra 15 minutes COUNT you guys! Vote for talent!

Results Show

So many things to look forward to!

1. Taufik Batisah is performing! Yes! Your very first Singapore Idol is returning to the Idol stage and performing his latest, a brand new song called 'Addicted'. I watched him during rehearsals today, still one of the hardest working people I know, and he's awesome. Slick dance moves, LIVE awesome singing, catchy beats and a sexy-killer wink to die for. MUST WATCH!

2. Hady Mirza is performing! Our very own Asian Idol and as Gurmit likes to call him, 'Idol Big Brother', will be performing his first English single, 'I'll Never Leave You Again'. Its such a beautiful song, you WILL be blown away, Hady's voice is amazing, AND he wrote this song. :) Hady also joins forces 'Idol Band' which includes a secret guest bandmember guaranteed not to disappoint, to sing 'Use Somebody' - very very good!

3. Idol alums from Season 2 are performing with some of our Top 12 - Nurul Maideen, Gayle Nerva and Mathilda D'Silva join Tabby and Sylvia for a cool 'Divas' number singing 'Free Your Mind'. And Paul Twohill and Joakim Gomez join Farhan and Faizal for a 'Boyband' number. Check out my previous link to watch rehearsal vids.

4. Charice Pempengco's guest performance.

The Youtube starlet who made it to Oprah's soundstage will be gracing the Idol stage for a mini-medley and her single 'A Note To God', which incidentally was recorded before by Jojo (Duane was the one who enlightened me). Little girl with a big voice, I've yet to hear her live, she's only comin' in today at like 4pm, from what I've seen on Youtube, she's sure to wow. I've gotta make sure I'm next to Amira to catch her reaction cos she's a huge fan (and probably also catch her in case she faints! LOL!)

5. Top 12's 'Spectacular Recap' Medley. The main themes highlighted are 'A Tribute To Michael Jackson' (Airi, Faizal and Charlie sing 'Smooth Criminal'), 'An Asian Feast' (Malaque, Farhan and Nurul sing Kylie's 'Chiggy Wiggy') and 'Mambo Mania' (Mae, Duane, Justin and Amira sing 'Hey Mickey'). I have no idea what Spec 'When Love Takes Over' is for LOL!

6. And of course, the ACTUAL results....

With so much to look forward to, how can you not tune in right? Spread the word, the Idol Grand Finals is gonna be a night to remember.

Producers are going all out - expect pyrotechnics, confetti blower and a crew of awesome dancers. Plus, with Indra's LIVE band (and Indra himself stepping up to the piano for a number of performances) and Ann's back-up singers, each song just sounds so much better and fuller. Its a full-on concert!

Those comin' to Indoor Stadium are in for a treat. During the half-hour break (when News is on), you'll get to experience LIVE performances by Tabby, Charlie and Faizal, and possibly Hady too!

Sidetrack, speaking of live performances, standing in during full dress rehearsals for Charice Pempengco today were Gayle Nerva and Mathilda D'Silva. Props to both for pulling off those big songs. Extra props to Mathilda D'Silva for a SUPER amazing adlib performance of 'A Note To God'. She didn't know the song at all, so while the music played, she made up her own song, and it sounded pretty good! She was also hilarious, hamming it up along the way! I have tons of vids to share, and they will all go up tomorrow night after the show. :)

Ok, thats it...gotta go now, its 3am....17 hours to tx.

OMG!

xoxo, s.

ps. To see behind-the-scenes pics, check out my twitpics!

Hady's new album!

Ooooh, too good to keep to myself...

Just got a call from Taufik & Hady's manager, and we were yakkin' about somethin' else, and then she mentioned that a date has been set for the launch of Hady's much-anticipated album! Woot! The date is somewhere mid-December, will definitely post it when I get the actual date :)

I'm excited. I love his new single 'Angkasa', but what I'm really waiting for are the two English songs that will be on that album. Like Taufik, I think Hady really excels when singing English tunes, its got a different kinda groove you know? (no offence to the Malay tunes, which I'm still a fan of btw, my loop song on my ipod was Nafasku for-like-forever). Speaking of Taufik, am also waiting to hear when his new album's due out.

In the meantime, here's a snippet of 'Angkasa' that I found on YouTube and a clip of Taufik's 'Nafasku' <-- beautiful song, cried the first few times I heard it. (Check out those biceps too! Min, oh how our baby has grown! LOL!)

I likey the tunes boys, keep up the good work!

xoxo, s.

Some 'Idol' vids to watch on a Sunday night!

Hi folks, am busy uploading the vids/pics from my short visit to today's trailer shoot....so in the meantime, check these out...

Here's Iz's behind-the-scenes vid of the music video shoot for Triumph last Friday - great job Iz! Took an hour to upload to Youtube! LOL! (check out the Triumph model on a tv outside the shop that looks like Tabby! Even Tabby thought it was herself for a moment!)

Next, these are the two 7-Eleven ads Uncle Ken did, and the second features none other than first Singapore Idol Taufik Batisah. Just in case you haven't seen them on tv la.

If you want to take a look behind-the-scenes of the ad with Taufik, click here to go to Taufik's facebook fanpage to watch the BTS vid he made while at the shoot. All this while I thought he had a 'body double' to do the ridiculous dancing, but turns out he did it all himself ;) - what a ham!

Hope you enjoyed all that....look out for the next post with BTS vids from today's trailer shoot - featuring Airi's fart and The Tabby & Duane show.

xoxo, s.

Idol & National Day Wishes!

In full National Day and Idol spirit, here's what some of our Idol family members have to say :

"Only with hard work will you be able to reap rewards!"

Advice from Taufik Batisah, your very first Singapore Idol, to this year's hopefuls - listen up guys!

*pic courtesy of Taufik's Facebook Fanpage*

Hope everyone is enjoying the celebrations and I wish I could be there! To everyone watching idol (and the judges, who i miss dearly), be kind to them, everyone has a dream and not that many are so bold as to chase after it. It's always nice to show love :) and for you, I MISS YOU! hope you're having fun in Singas!

Always Singapore's sweetheart, Season 1 top 4, Daphne Khoo.

*pic courtesy of Daphne Khoo's facebook profile page*

"Happy Birthday Singapore! 44 years is a long way, but we have more to go! :)"

Short n sweet :) Grammarboy always has a way with words and a voice to match.

Happy Birthday Singapore! hahaa... can't believe i get to be on tv man, on Friggin' National Day la... how cool is that yo! Anyway just wanna say that i am so honoured to be this far and to be amongst such talent as this' years! Well done guys! All the guys this year have BIG BALLS...

Captivatingly naughty, yet heartfelt...totally befitting the Badboy.

"To all who auditioned but didn't make it, don't be saddened by it, there's still more opportunities for you guys in the future. Plus it took alot of guts to stand up there infront of the judges and sing your heart out so good on you!! All the best in your future endeavors (:

To my Top 24's!! You guys know i love you very much and i'm so glad that i get to share my journey with you guys. This season is gonna be awesome and you're all so talented i would hate to have to see any of you leave so let's just enjoy as much as we can now k?! * kisses!!*

To the audience a.k.a potential voters, a big HELLO from me!! Hopefully i'll be able to grab your attention on the show and i would really appreciate if you could vote for me!! Haha. Trust me, this season is full of talent and you will definitely NOT be disappointed (:"

THE END!! was it tooooo long?? hahahha. i have alot to say! hahha.

Isn't she the cutest? Already canvassing for votes! Clever girl! :) Can't help but love her...Pussycatdoll

"happy birthday singapore, and all of you (idols) should be proud that we're going to show the country, and the WORLD what singapore's got. you guys are the pride of the country."

Guitarhero salutes his fellow Idol hopefuls..aww cho chweet!

Suuupp fellas ^^
(: first of all, a VERY HAPPY NATIONAL DAAYY! Wow, 44 huh ...

And i just wanna say , i'm so happy to meet tha most TALENTED ppl here ! *saying it wit Tha Francis's Indian accent*
You guys are just like my own brothers and sisters luuhhh(:

To Peepz , luvaas, Gfs & Bfs, familiaaa :
Dnt forget to catch my Lodis & myself in SG Idol (:
Thiz time, its gon be ACTION PACK RANDOM Yo ^^

The very enthusiastic(online at least) Dazed :)

"Lots of hugs and kisses to all Idol contestants, all 4000+ of us!! Keep the faith and fire alive, everyone! It's OUR birthday today so let's all recite the pledge LOUD AND PROUD at 8:22 PM!! Much love and light to you, and your loved ones.. Think peace!"

Spoken like a true Diva.

Ahh, am finally home and ready to sit down and watch me some Idol. Family dinners do not make for a conducive tv watching environment (especially when everyone's talking at the top of their voices! how to hear ANYONE sing?)

So, I'll check back with you guys when I'm done watching Ep 1 of Singapore Idol 3 ! yay! I can barely contain my excitement!

Share your thoughts about Episode 1 here, would love to know what SIngapore thinks of the show week to week! So post comments y'all!

xoxo, s.

Ps. To those of you who replied with your wishes, THANK YOU SO MUCH!

Singapore Idol Taufik Batisah

1st December 2004. Singapore Indoor Stadium.

Remember this moment? I do. Vividly.

5 years ago, I was there. Standing at Singapore Indoor Stadium.

The constant screaming was deafening.

"Your Singapore Idol is...."

The pause was just excruciating....

(almost as excruciating as the pain my feet were experiencing from walking around the large venue and standing throughout - cannot see mah!)

And then, the moment Gurmit said 'Taufik Batisah' the tears just started streaming down my face. I seriously couldn't believe I was crying. It was surreal.

But then again, everything about that moment was surreal. Even Sarah, my Idol partner-in-crime, was crying. We lived and breathed Idol.

As the confetti floated around me, it was like I was in some magic snowing HAPPY PLACE.

I had (and still do have) so much faith in Taufik. In my mind, there was no doubt who deserved to win. He worked, really really worked, for it and he truly truly deserved it. And along the way, Singapore fell in love with him.

His win not only made him the pride of his community, but it showed everyone that real talent crosses all borders. MediaCorp was always careful never to play the race card throughout the finals, it was always the Rocker vs the Soulman. But everyone saw the finals for what it was (I don't have to spell it out here - and it was repeated again in Season 2).

This was the first (and only, I think) Taufik music video. Remember the huge controversy over the ditched (and dissed) Eric Khoo version that didn't get aired? And then got leaked and got trashed, bashed and slashed! Well, for whatever its worth, I thought this video did just fine (despite New Paper's unflattering review - boo!).

It still gives me goosebumps whenever I watch it.

Fastforward to August 2009...

A new Idol journey is about to begin....

I am super excited. For me. For the Top 24. And for Singapore. I've seen/heard these kids sing, major talent is about to be unleashed. I say it now, Singapore will be proud.

6 DAYS TO GO!!

xoxo, s.