The Death of Singapore Idol?

Is Season 4 a Myth?

A few days ago, Airi posted a link to a vid of the Flying Dutchman appealing to Channel 5 to change up the format of Idol so that viewers could get to know the contestants more intimately. Watch...

Basically FD's point is that to vote objectively, the audience/voters need to get to know the contestants better. He felt that Airi's passion for music and his intelligence never really came through on the show. I guess he has a point, considering that the singing portion is only about 2 minutes and the VT preceding that is probably about 90 seconds. In earlier rounds, both durations are even shorter.

Maybe the solution to that isn't less contestants as suggested, but a longer programme? Instead of just 1 hour, it could be 90 minutes. Looking at American Idol, they've got longer episodes at the start of the season (and tons more auditions episodes) that enables them to draw out storylines (plus their editing is more succinct la). Aside from the fact that they have a lot more content (so many OTT auditions), they also tend to do profiles from early on and spend much time developing those 'characters'. I found Season 8 of AI to be very 'developed'. Every single one of the Top24 were followed from auditions stages. So in a way, it wasn't so random - we were already 'prepped' to fall in love with Anoop, Danny, Adam, Allison, the two rednecks, etc right from the start, so in a way it was predictably who were the ones going thru - all of the ones they focused on (except for Tatiana, she's just there for her 'unique' laugh). Lets see what they do with Season 9 (American Idol Season 9 premieres on 13th/14th Jan, Starworld, Channel 5).

Btw, you all know who FD is right? For the uninitiated (or non-Singaporean), FD is short for Flying Dutchman. FD is a radio personality, he helms the morning show on top Singapore radio station Class95FM. He's also co-host of Channel News Asia's 'BlogTV', a show that covers hot topics discussed on blogs and the internet.

Last week, I was privileged enough to get an invite from the producer of BlogTV to appear on the show to discuss Idol. OMG, flattered can? I'm like so Ms Fail on cam (I bet they didn't see that shot of me looking down my own shirt on national tv (@maressaz watched it on replay a few times just to laugh) OR that shot of me and Justin hurriedly sitting back down in our seats to clap when the jib (crane) camera swung in front of us), maybe they want me for comic relief? LOL! (click to enlarge pic)

Anyway, as flattered as I am, I had to pass cos unfortunately, taping is on Thursday night, and I'll be in Hong Kong having my 'charchanteng' nissin noodles at the time - post-Idol 'family holiday'.

But I think I did good, made up for it by suggesting they give @izked a call, he IS the Official Blogger after all, and guess what - he said OK and so did.......SYLSYL aaaannnnddd....*drum roll please* Uncle Ken!!!

Its gonna be an interesting show! Telecast details are as follows :

Thursday, 7th January, 2010.

9.15pm LIVE! online at www.blogtv.sg

9.30pm ChannelNewsAsia (if you can't go online to watch)

So catch Judge Ken Lim, Singapore Idol runner-up Sylvia Ratonel and Official Idol Blogger Izked on BlogTV with The Flying Dutchman and Phin! I'll definitely be hunting around Tsim Sha Tsui for 'internet' tomorrow night at 9pm - maybe my hotel will have free wifi? Pray pray pray got!

Anyway, back to the 'death of Idol', I doubt there's been much talk about a Season 4 within the MediaCorp walls, based on experience from previous seasons, there needs to be a break of a year or two before any new talents can be 'harvested'. In fact, I actually hear a tiny bit more buzz about the possibility of 'X-Factor', or 'Singapore's Got Talent' but then again, until a press release comes out, I wouldn't start queueing anywhere.

Perhaps it IS time to hang up the old 'Idol' cape. Industry watchers in the US have been criticising Fox for what they say is a tired format that is losing its draw. So its no surprise that Singapore would feel the same. The 'Idol' franchise has been around for a good 8-9 years, people are not just familiar with it, they're almost 'over' it in most places. So I doubt changing the format is going to help. I think what needs to change, is people's attitudes. Contrary to what Airi said on the finale about 'more love than hate', working on Idol has shown me that people prefer to be vocal about their hate. It would be great if we all worked on the positive and the biggest positive for Idol is that its a great platform to boost to local music. Spread the love y'all!

xoxo, s.

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.

One more resoluton for 2010 :)

@jjjap from San Francisco!

Hey folks, as promised, Justin Jap has kindly recorded his New Year's resolution for me :) Here it is! Happy New Year Justin, we love and miss you! (btw, am lovin' your outfit - you lookin' goood boy!)

If you'd like to keep up with Justin and his life as a pre-med student in San Francisco, USA, check out this blog here. Or stalk him on twitter here and facebook here.

And...., if you haven't already seen the other Idol 2010 resolutions (where the heck were you? how come never see?!) and what they'll be up to this year, check out my previous post here.

Last but certainly not least, here's @izked's last video for Singapore Idol 2009, shot backstage at Celebrate 2010...sigh, one last shout out to the wonderful people who made 2009 a great idol-esque year for me (and that includes you too Iz!). Great song choice - its still fresh in everyone's minds, and aigh just right to tug at the heart strings!

I HEART IDOLS!

xoxo, s.

Post New Year's Day...

IDOL WITHDRAWAL.....

Good morning peeps!

Its the 2nd day of 2010 and lemmetellya, Idol withdrawal was at its peak yesterday. I had no idea I could miss a bunch of people so much, and its not just the Idols I miss, can you believe I actually miss @siproducer (all of them!) and I even miss emails - the long ones detailing the crazy-packed schedules and excel spreadsheets with song details!

Previously, after Season 1, I was so inundated with post-show publicity work (and handing paperwork and artiste over to Hype) that I had no time to really to go into withdrawal. Plus, I got to work with a few of them again on Shooting Stars (that was a weird time). Maybe one day I shall dig into my archives (if my comp will let me) and I'll post up all those Season 1 behind-the-scenes pics! muahahahha, Idol Season 1 Alum beware - I have truckloads on you guys! (they're probably praying my Dell will just konk out or be virus-infected. To be honest, I think its probably the latter, cos I haven't been able to open my archived stuff for years, I'm not even sure if its still in one piece.)

Last night, I dropped by Airi's post-Idol, pre-NS party, thrown by his closest friends. They invited everyone from Top 24 over, not sure who went and who didn't, cos by the time I arrived (at like 12midnight, cos I'm always fashionably late like that - those who follow my tweets will know the REAL reason why I arrived past midnight LOL!), only JonJon and his cute bro Gabriel were left from the Idol-family. The rest were Airi's friends, all musicians.

Never would I have imagined an old industrial building's rooftop would house a studio. The atmosphere was laidback cool and it was clear Airi was at his most comfortable, surrounded by his closest and dearest and of course...music.

I didn't stay long, maybe an hour? Spent most of it just staring (and enjoying) the amazing drummanship (is that even a word?) of Airi's drummer friend who owns the studio, a guy named Riduan Zailani. OMG his hands move super fast. Two words - awesome lor.

Before I left, I had a quick chat with Airi and got updated on his 'album'. He met with Universal Music the other day and it went well. He's looking at possibly a May 2010 release for his album, and its possible that they'll take the singer-songwriter route (which means Airi originals on the album I hope!). So fingers crossed things go smoothly on that front and we'll get an awesome album to buy in May. If there's a pre-order form, you can be sure many will be filling it in - including me!

This morning I woke and Idol withdrawal was still with me, but I was super excited because I suddenly thought of a 'name' for an upcoming project with Izked. IskanDar + TraCy = DarCy. LOL, what do you guys think, 'Project DarCy'! Ok, so its a bit nondescript, but anyway it made ME excited. It probably won't be the final name, but hey, working name can? Our plan is to start a blog that will be co-authored by us both, to follow up with the Top 12 from here on in. More deets to come k?

Ok, shall leave you with some pics from backstage at Celebrate 2010, taken by @izked. All pics belong to @izked, taken from his fb album. Thanks dude - waiting to read your 'thankyou note/last blog entry'.... my tissuebox is on standby.

This is a pic of one of the interns who worked Idol, Clara. Clara dear, sorry I left your name out on the previous post, thank you Clara for always bein' so helpful! Am gonna miss your lil voice and er, interesting insights :)

Iz, our passes! Eh, just realised, I had to return my F1 Rocks one to Eugene! How about timeshare? Just kidding!

xoxo, s.

ps. Ms Tabitha Nauser, if you're reading this, know that I have been craving bubble tea since that day I saw you with one. And I haven't gotten a cup yet. :(

Idol Resolutions - The Videos & a bit more...

HAPPY 2010 everyone!

Here are your Top 12 Finalists' New Year resolutions!

These were recorded backstage at rehearsals for Celebrate 2010, held at The Float@Marina Bay. Its 2am right now, so the dance party should still be goin' on for another hour more! I wonder if the Idols are at the airport sending Justin off?

Oh, and apologies, I do not have 'resolutions' videos for Justin and Nurul. Justin cos he wasn't around, and Nurul, cos I ran out of time, but I did manage to interview her. Anyway, without further ado....

IDOL 2010 RESOLUTIONS

Farhan

What are his plans for 2010?

As blonde as this prawn-lover is...did I tell you guys that Farhan thought Taiwan was part of Korea? Something to do with Kimchi being available in Taiwan. Sigh. He was pretty shocked to learn that they are indeed se-pa-rate countries. Farhan Farhan....sigh. Still love ya though!

Anywaaaaay, Farhan has tons happening for him in 2010.

1. He's singin' with Tabby at RP's Open House next week (7th or 10th Jan?)

2. He's got some gigs with heregoesnothing! planned. AND, they will be releasing their very first EP this year, if you were at the Celebrate 2010 preshow, you would have heard their first single 'Make It Real'.

3. He'll be forming a boyband with Faizal. Now that I think about it, it shouldn't be called a 'boyband' it should be a 'duo' since there's only two of them. They plan to name it 'F-squared' (I couldn't put a small '2' in, so had to type it out), and btw, yours truly came up with that name sorta. I suggested F2, then we all went 'OMG F-Squared!'. Cool not?

They'll be doing covers on Youtube for a while to get things going. Thereafter they will focus on writing original material. The feel of their music is gonna be like 3-Oh-3..... but cleaner :) (Rated 'G' LOL!)

Tabby & Charlie

What are Tabby's plans for 2010?

Tabby hasn't got any super big hidden recording contract offers goin' on right now. She's hoping to get such offers - so people, if you loved her and would love to invest in her career - get in touch with her now!

In the meantime, she's heading back to school - Republic Poly. Catch her at Republic Poly's Open house on 7th or 10th Jan (someone confirm the date please?). She'll be singing a duet with Farhan Shah! Yes folks, adding more fuel to the rumour-mill fire :) The song they'll be singing is Chris Brown's 'Forever'.

What are Charlie's plans for 2010?

Charles wants to do an album, but it won't be that soon. Right now he's actually looking at going to schools to teach beatboxing! This hip hop trend has been gaining awareness this past year and there's a lot of demand for classes, so since Charlie's one of the pioneer beatboxers in Singapore, he's much sought after for classes.

He'll still continue to sing at pubs and cafes. His permanent gig is at Hong Kong cafe where he belts out a mix of English and Chinese songs, but now he also hopes to add DXO to that list to sing more of his accoustic English covers. I love hearing Charles sing with his guitar, must go and catch him gigging one of these days!

Duane

What are his plans for 2010?

Our Mr Pussycat Doll says he's got a coupla gigs lined up and charity events too. And he's also hoping for more to come his way. Keep tabs on Duane on his tumblr, fanpage and twitter.

Justin

I don't have a vid of him and I'm soooo missing Justin Jap right now! Will send him a tweet to get him to record a message about resolutions for us all once he touches down in San Francisco.

He's off to the U.S. to hit the books and be my family doctor in about 6 years time. :) For updates on Justin, you can check out his vids on youtube, or go to his blog.

Amira

What are her plans for 2010?

Already booked solid for performances with her show choir, you can catch Amira next at The Esplanade, performing with them, on Jan 19th and 20th! They'll be performing seven songs in all, Seasons of Love (from Rent! Love this song!), Bohemian Rhapsody (we all know this one!), two numbers from Grease and three numbers in tribute to Michael Jackson (Black Or White, Man In The Mirror and I'll Be There). She's also got a ton of school performances lined up :) Amira's our resident busy bee!

Faizal

What are his plans for 2010?

Faizal Monster says he hasn't got anything concrete planned for 2010 musically, but is looking forward to forming a boyband with fellow Idol Top12 Farhan Shah. Looks like he's heeding Uncle Ken's advice? Anyway, they'll be working together on their first single. He's very excited about performing at an event by Selebriti magazine this February (they put our Idols on their cover a few months back).

But the big news for Faizal will be the debut of his acting career! Suria's production people (Eaglevision) called, and they want him to be a part of an upcoming drama series that also features heartthrobs Syarif from Sleeq and ex-Idol contestant Haizad Imran (the hawt hawt male nurse from Season 1's Top 30, tell me you remember him!). The drama apparently centres around a guy who is liked by, count 'em, FIVE girls. Guess who's playin' the guy? ;) I think a new Suria heartthrob is about to be born.

Filming commences January to March, and hopefully the series will air late March or early April. Fingers crossed it all happens - you know how it is in entertainment, change is the only constant! Hope to hear more of this exciting project!

Nurul

What are her plans for 2010?

Like Faizal, she hasn't got anything planned. But I wouldn't be surprised if Suria gave her a call too - the girl is a natural actress (and she's got good comedic timing too!)

Right now, she's working on a new single for herself, its self-written but still untitled. She's planning to have a showcase at The Esplanade in August 2010, so she'll be aiming to do 5-6 English songs and 2 Malay songs for that performance. Can't wait to be there, am marking it on my calendar now.

Mae & Michael Sta

What are her plans for 2010?

Mae's got a couple of tracks, 6 actually, that she's already put together. So she's looking to put them out there for sale online - probably on iTunes and the Nokia store. She just wants to get her music out there.

Other than that, she's in the midst of writing a song about the Idol journey thats meant to be a duet for herself and Tabby (yay!).

Plus, she'll most likely be doing an accoustic set for Power98, but the dates for that aren't confirmed - let us know when Mae, it'll be awesome to hear you sing LIVE on radio!

Malaque & Sylvia

What are Malaque's plans for 2010?

She's still gonna sing when she can, but at the moment, she's headed back to culinary school to finish her course. After that, she's hoping to sing and cook on tv, possibly on the Asian Food Channel. Any takers?

Oh and I haven't told you guys, Malaque was(IS) the sweetest person, she actually cooked pasta for the Idols and crew for dinner on Christmas Day! How sweet is that? And the pasta was AWESOME. It was a tagliatelle tossed in olive oil with mushrooms and garlic and, I dunno what else cos it was so delicious I didn't pay any attention! AND she brought out the piece-de-resistance - this super hawt chilli padi/garlic/oil concoction <--super spicy and wicked delicious! I was deliriously numb from the chilli. I'm sorry I don't have pics cos I was busy eating. I swear if I had been just a minute later, I wouldn't have had any to eat - it was so good everyone was racing for seconds. Malaque actually 'jaga-ed' the tray so I could have at least one plate, again, sweetest girl right?! Someone hire her for tv cooking/singing show NOW!

What are Sylvia's plans for 2010?

At this point in time, SylSyl is just holding out for a recording contract to come her way. Uncle Ken are you hearing this? Record labels in Singapore - hello? Don't wait anymore la, someone snap her up already!

But seriously, she's hoping to record an album :)

Your Singapore Idol Sezairi Sezali

What are his plans for 2010?

Last year (2008), Airi's resolution was to have an album. It may be a few months late, but he's DEFINITELY gonna have an album! Slated for a May release, his single is already out there makin' the rounds on radio. 'Touched By An Angel' is such a beautiful song, what a great way to kick off the new year.

What else does Airi have planned for 2010? - N.S.

Ok thats all I've got from the idols for this year :)

I sincerely hope you'll stay with me and this blog despite Idol bein' over.

MY resolution is to keep this blog going and provide frequent updates on your Idol favourites. First order of business, tv show reviews..... first two shows on my review list - Cougar Town (premieres on Ch5 this Monday - can't wait - its Courteney Cox) and Glee (I've watched the entire season of Glee on mio TV, but I feel the need to talk about it - its just THAT good!). Not to forget American Idol Season 9 premieres in just TWO WEEKS folks! Victoria Beckham, Katy Perry and Ellen Degeneres as judges - need I say more? Oh wait, and Gossip Girl too, in anticipation of its return in March, we should do it justice and do a look back at whats been happening to Bluck (ok, ppl call it 'Chair', but don't you think 'Bluck' is just so much more scandalous than 'Chair'?), Serena, Lonely Boy and the awfulness of Tyra's guest role? (man, what happened to that one?). SO many tv shows, so little time!

Happy new year everyone, time for me to catch some Zzzzzsss....

It is now 2.15am on 1st January 2010. I'm takin' the day off today, so no more updates for 1st Jan, but do look out for an update from me and Izked - we got some plans we think you may be interested in ;)

xoxo, s.

ps. bonus Idol lovin' video....I will always remember this hug and the energy and love these people (who were mere strangers to each other just months before) had for each other. Thank you guys for a brilliant season!