Showing posts with label Rhythm n Moves. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rhythm n Moves. Show all posts

Sunday, November 14, 2010

OMG! Wednesday Night Rehearsals - Vids

Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse!
Last Wednesday night, there was no show, but the OMGers were hard at work rehearsing for the upcoming Grand Finals. On the rehearsal menu that night was group items. At Training School, the singers sat with Indra while the dancers were with Zaki.
Jamming along the corridor....
I was told to meet them at Film Studio which is that huge-ass warehouse way at the back - I recorded the 'walk' there as promised - here's the vid. @siproducer Jolene walked with me and we took the 'shorter' route. Its creepier in person. By the way, when we got there the door was locked. That was a bit of a fright, but anyway turns out everyone got relocated to Training School. 

That was such a nonsense vid right? 

Anyway, back to business, here are the vids of the rehearsals.
This vid was recorded outside training school while the singers waited for their music director Indra Ismail to arrive. They'd just been assigned the Travie McCoy song "Billionnaire" and were singing it together as a group, for the first time. 



In this next vid, you'll see the singers have moved to the Ping Pong Room, where the echo is just fab for recording singing. Indra is assigning parts to the various singers.



While the singers are sorting themselves out, across the hall in the Dance Studio, the OMG dancers have gathered to rehearse their segment of the opening number for Zaki to see. In this vid, you'll just see Luminiq Crew, CJ Crew's Joanna and Jun, and IFLY kinda warming up...



IFLY's two Vincents (Yeo and Fok), Yvonne and Nellie sit and wait to get started...
While they warm up, I head back to the singers to see how they're doing and looks like they've made progress. Parts are assigned and everything's slowly comin' together...
Indra giving the singers a few tips...



Back at the Dance Studio, here's the rehearsal for the opening number - looks pretty exciting - I love seeing everyone come together to do group numbers, plus its great to see Rhythm 'N' Moves again.Vertical Dancers are not here for the rehearsals, but they'll also be part of this routine and so will Danny Koh.
Thank goodness the ceiling is high enough for IFLY....



After Zaki is done with the dancers and they've been dismissed, its time for the OMG singers to learn their blocking for the opening number. Very unglam, but here's a peek at how its done...



Zaki once told me he loves to do blocking cos its like moving life sized chess pieces here and there, sometimes like a jigsaw puzzle ahahha. Okay, and now to put the whole thing to music. The singers just got the song assignment just before this, so they're still reading lyrics off the sheet.



Well, that was a very long Wednesday night. Call time was 7pm. We all left Mediacorp around 12.30am.


Next up, weekend rehearsals!


xoxo, s.


ps. Here's the last time we'll see Sean Harrison with a full head of hair - he enlisted for NS the very next day. 

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Happy OMG Day! ...well, sort of....

Remember ah - No Show  Tonight!
Just in case y'all thought there was a show tonight, there isn't. Cos our Top 5 are busy rehearsing like mad - the OMG! Grand Finals are exactly a week away. 


Sean, Jill-Marie, CJ Crew, IFLY and Luminiq Crew have been holed up in a large warehouse-like studio somewhere in the back lots of Caldecott Hill. The walkway to that empty (and very creepy) studio is so snakey, I always get lost going there. Its like, start at the makeup unit, go round the back,then left, right, past the benches, then left, up three steps, turn right, cross mini drain, take slope, turn left, then turn right round the green bin, then go down stairs,then left again, then up another slope, past the smoking area, some stairs, go through a door, then another door...and then...maybe...you're there.


Ok, maybe I exaggerated a bit. But only a bit. Tonight, I will video this walk and post it up.


Anyway, so yea, the Top 5 have been rehearsing their moves. Last Sunday, right after the roadshow, the dancers (or more like, non-singers) were all whisked back to Mediacorp for an all-night session with Zaki. Here are the pics from Sunday night's rehearsal....






While everyone was just hangin' around and waiting for Zaki to arrive, it became an impromptu Luminiq Crew workshop. IFLY and CJ Crew were both getting pointers from the Luminiq boys on how to do their tricks, and the boys were more than happy to share. (Feel free to check out my twitpics from that night here - sorry for the blurry pics, lighting wasn't very good there and if you see anything ghostly, please don't tell me!)




 I had one more pic of the IFLY girls trying to balance on one hand, but erm, I didn't realise my angle was so unglam, so I've decided to trash that pic.



The minute Zaki arrived, it was all business for everyone. Each group broke off to a corner to huddle and work out their moves. 





While IFLY worked on their routine, CJ Crew was off working on theirs too..



And in another corner, we had some familiar faces hangin' out at the Blog TV set. Rhythm 'N' Moves boys Fen, Derek and Liang Bin were back along with Danny Koh, cos they're all part of the big opening item that involves all the non-singers. I wanted to say 'dancer's segment' but Danny reminded me that he doesn't 'dance' :) Of course, Danny will be doing fire....







After a long night of waiting and rehearsing and waiting again, the night's almost over.



Tonight, its another round of full rehearsals for these guys PLUS the singers. And from here on in, its rehearsals/wardrobe/imaging/blocking/reviews/individual rehearsals every day til next Wednesday. I'll be heading over to that creepy studio tonight at 7pm, so follow my tweets/twitpics to get a sneak peek at what your OMGers are up to tonight.


xoxo, s.

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Bye Bye Rhythm 'N' Moves and Capoeiristas :(

People are voting ....
Looks like people are starting to get used to the OMG! format and voting and most importantly, making themselves - the viewers - heard.
.
Last night's bottom 3 surprised me a little. You guys have definitely been busy calling and sms-ing because Jill-Marie Thomas and the Baos! who were in last week's bottom three have obviously moved up the ranks a little. Enough to land Vertical Dancers and Rhythm 'N' Moves in the bottom three along with the Capoeira Association of Singapore.

I didn't manage to catch the Capoeiristas who left really quickly after their elimination. They were jumping for joy all the way up to makeup and all the way out to the lift. Every single one of them had big smiles on their faces - apparently they had a big trip to Indonesia that just came up and had they stayed on the show, they wouldn't have been able to make it. At least that exit was a happy one (a VERY happy one from the looks of it haha) - we wish you well dudes, your fab moves are AWESOME k!

I DID manage to catch Derek, Fen and Liang Bin at the changing rooms and here's their exit video.

Sigh, it was pretty sad to see them go, over the weeks we've all gotten to know each other, so it sad to see another member of the 'OMG Family' leave. 

What's a bigger pity is that we didn't get to see the routine they had lined up for us. Check out their outfits - ready for combat! They had mad props can - guns, knives and an M-16 (ok maybe not M-16 but it was a rather large and realistic machine gun!). PLUS, they were gonna rapel down ropes as their entrance. Phwoar, sure damn drama and action packed type - how that tied to the Singapore Dream I am not sure - maybe something to do with Civil Defence? National Service?

Ah well, whatever it is, we will never get to see it :(  .... I'm now really thinking maybe the idea of a 'swansong' performance on the show ain't such a bad idea ...

Anyway, thanks Rhythm 'N' Moves and Capoeiristas for some great entertainment. Good luck in all your future undertakings, we hope you'll look back on your time at OMG! with fond memories ...

xoxo, s.

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Rhythm 'N' Moves + Adele Wong

Three Guys, A Pretty Girl and A Martial Arts Routine
That pretty much sums up what Rhythm 'N' Moves' collabo with Adele Wong will be like. 
As always, I'm sure the R'N'M boys will bring tons of energy to the stage with their martial arts infused choreography, and with Adele's background in cultural dance, I'm waiting to see if she can keep up, if not outshine the boys, being the sole female dancer. Ooh, but I heard from Fen today that their celebrity has already gotten 'hurt'. Oops, hope you boys didn't accidentally poke her with them swords!


A little bit about Adele ...
Adele is another one of those multi-talented artistes - she's an actress, singer and host who can also dance. She's had formal dance training and was actually part of AJC Dance which worked with trainers from the Singapore Dance Ensemble. If Adele looks familiar, its likely that you've seen her on Channel 5 recently in either The Pupil, or in the Father's Day movie special "Angels", and soon in upcoming episodes of "Fighting Spiders". Check out this music video where she sings a song called 'Knowing' from the movie 'The Days'.



I had the privilege of sitting in on Adele's first meeting with Rhythm 'N' Moves (this was after the impromptu auditions at *scape and I was hangin' with the producers and they said 'come' so I 'went' la). I asked why she was keen to do this collaboration and she said she hasn't danced this style of dance for so long so she's looking forward to getting into it again. It'll be her first English variety show and she's hopeful that she and the boys will have similar styles. Actually, Adele already has something in common with one of them. She and Derek were both taught by the same famous (but apparently tyrannical) dance teacher, a Ye Yue Qin. "Her focus was discipline, and only now I've come to appreciate it," says Adele.


What will Rhythm 'N' Moves have Adele doing? Check out this video - I see lifts and more lifts - this can't be easy...

When I asked Fen today at the roadshow exactly how did their 'celebrity' get 'injured', he was all cheeky secretive about it. Ok la, I can wait, less than 24 hours to go anyway til I get to watch their routine :)


Come on down for the Episode 7 recording tomorrow at 7pm, tickets at Reception! If you can't make it, tune in on Wednesday at 8pm for One Moment of Glory only on Channel 5!


xoxo, s.

Thursday, September 16, 2010

OMG Ep 7 Recording Next Monday! COME!

Congratulations to the Top 8!
Desert Roses, Danny Koh, David Lin, Singapore Char Siew Baos!, Rhythm & Moves, Jill-Marie Thomas, Luminiq Crew and Vertical Dancers have survived the 6 weeks of Survival Rounds. Its now time to move into the Elimination Rounds.















From here on, each week will see the Contenders compete within a theme.

Each week, a Mystery Challenger will be introduced.

And each week, as the name of this stage of the show implies, people WILL be going home.

YOU HAVE A SAY!
From here on in, the judges' votes account for just 50% of the result. The other 50% is left to public voting - so YOU get to vote, YOU have a say!

First theme : Collaborations
Next week, the first theme for Elimination Rounds is called 'Collaborations' and each Contender will have to work with a local artiste for their act. They have to incorporate this artiste seamlessly into their routine whatever it may be. Some guest star names to look out for - Nat Ho *swoon/drool/stare*, Elaine Daly, Adele Wong and Eunice Olsen. And psst, a little birdie told me to look out for one of the Idol alums ;) - who? They wouldn't say. Well, Nat's covered, so its not Nat. Whatever it is, I'm excited to see what Nat Ho's gonna be up to - sing? He hasn't sung since Idol I think....

Intrigued?
So much to look forward to right? Come on down to the recording for Ep 7, next Monday, 20 Sept at 7.15pm. Just come to reception and pick up tickets on the day itself.

Congrats again to the Top 8 who've made it through - time to buckle down and give 1000% to put on a kick-a** show! G'nite all, look out for the review tomorrow!

xoxo, s.

ps. Oooh, Jonathan Leong! Or, maybe um, Joakim Gomez? Paul Twohill?

Thursday, September 9, 2010

OMG Episode 5 : The Review

Survival Round 5 Rawked!
I don't know about you peeps, but I quite enjoyed watching Ep 5 of One Moment Of Glory last night. Firstly I'm happy that Judge B is back. Secondly, everything about the was entertaining from performances to judges' comments to the banter backstage and the clips shown before performances. I was most impressed by Rhythm & Moves' clip, they looked quite formidable in their black long tailed suits, add a pair of sunglasses and they'd be from The Matrix. Those looked waaay better than the shiny white satin mini vests they wore for their actual performance - but I guess that outfit was in line with their choreo.

Survival Round 5 had fire, dance, singers, sand art, close fights and a big upset. Quite a variety and quite the drama, so on to the review! Oh and have you noticed, as the weeks go by, the Contenders come up with weirder and fiercer expressions for when the camera zooms in on them for a 'challenge' - they're gettin' comfortable on that podium....

Challenger #1 : Rhythm & Moves
Contender : C-Murda























Fen from Rhythm & Moves said they chose to challenge C-Murda because he looked 'cute', like Super Mario brothers. Ok la, a bit. :) Cute but the guy is skilled - the camera turned to the R&M guys a few times backstage during C-Murda's performance, and they were so riveted to the tv, they didn't comment at all.

What did the judges say?
Beatrice :
R&M, I think you guys are great movers, but you did everything I expected you to do. Having that wow factor is to be unexpected, and that's what was missing for me. C-Murda, with a name like that, you never know what to expect, and I think thats what you're successful in achieving - I never wknow what you're gonna do next.

Tay Ping Hui :
(To R&M) Between dance and martial arts you guys have a good mix. C-Murda I saw your first performance but today I felt you had too much of the miming, and should have shown more of the body popping.

Irene :
(To R&M) You are the most graceful male chinese dancers I've ever seen. Graceful without being sissy. (To C-Murda) I have always enjoyed your performances, I understood your mime. You moved me.

Flying Dutchman :
(To R&M) I loved your opening. It came alive when you used the ribbons. C murda, it was almost like the puppet strings were missing, and if they were mising, then I wished I saw a puppet.

Result : Rhythm & Moves
Irene : We agree that C-Murda is a very polished craftsman and artiste, therefore we expected more from you. But tonight (your performance) did not go up, you remained the same.

summerr says :
Rhythm & Moves was like Beatrice said, predictable. The minute I saw their costumes and props, I as prepared to see what they brought. They are good dancers, especially Derek whose moves are sharp and tight. But again, like Beatrice, what I preferred about C-Murda was the surprise element. I always looked forward to his performances because I never knew what he would do - every move is a surprise, and not something you would have seen on local tv before.

In hindsight, I guess in terms of energy, C-Murda's choice of song and choreo may not be able to match up to something as high-energy as a martial arts infused routine. It was a tough decision to make I think, and although I understood the Judges' decision, I was surprised by it, I thought they would give Charles another chance after some constructive advice, just cos his talent is quite rare. I mean, even his fellow contenders were genuinely shocked!

But oh well. I think C-Murda has plenty more places to go after this one moment of glory. Producers - WILD CARD PLEEEASE!


Challenger #2 : Robert Tan
Contender : David Lin
Robert chose to challenge David because he feels their talents are similar. Robert sees himself as a singer/musician, and so is David. Robert's story is such an inspiration, self-taught musician despite being visually challenged - truly inspiring..













What did the judges say?
B : Robert you have a great air about you, its very nice and very easy, you're very very watchable, but was that performance at the piano extraordinary? For me, no. David, this was the performance I have been waiting for from you.

TPH : I think OMG! is a testament that talent is without demarction. I think you (Robert) play the piano really really well, you hit every note on the dot, but i feel that you were actually let down by your singing. Whether or not you move on, I think you've already won. David, in terms of the feel and the emotions, you've got it right on, I felt a lot of the emotions of the song.

I : Both of you have great stories, both of you have great packaging but my boyfriend (she means David), darling, dearest, baby, you sang the song, you convinced us, you were very "feeling"!

FD : David you nailed the song. And Robert, if anybody remembers anything from OMG!, they will remember you as the one true inspiring moment.

Result : David Lin
TPH : Robert, you're an inspiration for us. And we really admire you for coming out here. Honestly, personally I don't think even I have the courage to go on stage and put myself out there. David you have everything, packaging, the looks, etc. You have to work on your technical notes and not be so nervous and you'll be perfect.

summerr says :
I think Robert is like this big smiley teddybear ;) He's always got a smile on, and he's always so gracious. Just when David got challenged, he said to a roving camera, "I can't make you rock, but I'm gonna make you cry". Ok, so he didn't make me cry, but the hairs on my arm did stand when he sang - Hallelujah indeed - the song fit him to a tee, lucky for David.





Challenger #3 : Erika Chen
Contender : Jill-Marie Thomas
Erika chose to challenge Jill-Marie cos she's a solo female contender, and Erika is also a solo female performer. So in her mind it was a fair fight.



















What did the judges say?
B : I think what Erika does is some sort of gentle seductive performance art. Jill is always very exciting, I love the rockin' out and the connection that was made.

FD : Erika I think you're excellent. I think the whole concept that you brought to the show was totally different. And that is what OMG! is all about we're looking for unique talent like that. Jill as always you got up there, you enjoyed yourself and you're a bundle of energy. At the start you said you were gonna bring and you brought it.

TPH : I think the sand art was really nice, it was like a soft breeze on my face, I liked it. But I was distracted by your singing. I think if you focused on one thing it would be much better for you. Jill it's always dangerous to take someone else's song and do your own rendition. It can either be great or you could fall flat on your face. Today, you rocked. I think you are so far the best singer I've heard tonight.

I : I think you're the most beautiful contestant on OMG!. I like your sand art but I've seen better sand art. Jill you always win people over - you're a people winner..

Result : Jill-Marie Thomas
B : We went for the performer that came on stage and gave 10 upon 10. Both are very unconventional performers. Erika you bring two things together in a most unexpected way. Move forward with that, keep improving your sand art and the singing as well.

summerr says :
When I watched Erika in studio, I wasn't too impressed with her act. But watching it on tv, I was better able to appreciate her talent. Her sand art story and the song together spoke to me more when I wasn't distracted trying to watch the her on stage and her sand art on a the big screen in the theatre. But that said, Jill's ability to either draw you into a song or make your feet thump along are undeniable, both live and on tv. Tough fight imo, because I would have loved to see what else Erika could do. But I'm not really ready to let Jill go either, especially not after the fight she put up to stay - Gaga go grilled man!


Challenger #4 : Nadia (Akiko)
Contender : Danny Koh
She chose Danny to avenge her friend Fatima's exit. She also said it was because he was cute and 'hot'. But she also said she was gonna be 'hotter'. You gotta love that kinda sass right?





























What did the judges say?
I : I think you're very brave to choose Danny Koh. But you do have a very compelling reason to choose him cos he beat your friend, sisterhood rocks! Danny you took the judges' advice very seriously, you changed your hairstyle, you also upped your skills and your act. I saw that you burnt your hands, but I applaud you for continuing on.

TPH : (To Akiko) I loved your choreography, but there wasn't enough belly dancing. Its a pity you stayed on stage, because FD has told us that belly dancing is all about getting up close. But otherwise great performance. Danny, the fire whip, great performance.

FD : Your second half was better than your first. Are the words 'no room for error' gonna haunt you tonight? I don't know, we'll see. Nadia, you're very intense when you dance.

B : Nadia, there's something very unselfconscious about you that makes you very compelling to watch, and downright sexy. Danny, I thought that your choreo was very difficult, I don't really care about mistakes, for me its more in the what you give off at the end of the performance that matters.













Result : Danny Koh
FD : I have got to say this was not a unanimous decision but Danny consistently has to deal with a very high degree of difficulty and he successfully pulls it off. We now want to see how you can top what you did tonight. Bt Nadia, we take nothing away from you, you are excellent, you really are.
summerr says :
Akiko was definitely intense and riveting. Her routine was very interesting, and kept me riveted all the way through because of the many transitions in costume/props/tricks. Very clever. She definitely brought it. Danny on the other hand, upped his game even more. Did you see that crazy jump he did with the fire goin' round his legs? See pic above. Definitely riveting. In fact, I think at this stage, only another fire artiste (a better one) is gonna be able to upstage him.
I'm kinda sad to see Akiko go, cos I really thought she was a very cool character. She just has such a cheeky sense of humour. But I'm real glad Danny stayed. Did you see him in the video clip with those glasses? SO CUTE! *I want those glasses*

Overall a pretty good episode, each 'battle' was well-matched and everyone went in fighting. Biggest shame of the night was seeing C-Murda go. I really liked the guy and his talent. I'm not saying I don't like Rhythm & Moves, not at all in fact, I think they bring something else to the show. I'm just sad C-Murda's not on the show anymore - again I say...producers....WILDCARD PLEASSSEEE!

This weekend, check out the profiles of the final four Challengers from next week's show. Its the last Survival round before our final Top 8 move into the Elimination Rounds.

The four Challengers are Razlyna, Junkyard Percussion Unit, Jamila and Dan Thompson. And these four won't be spoilt for choice because there are four of them, and only five contenders to choose from - Luminiq Crew, Vertical Dancers, Singapore Char Siew Baos!, Desert Roses and Rhythm & Moves. (David, Jill and Danny are immune).

Look out for the Challenger profiles coming to the blog this weekend!
in the meantime, if you know anyone you think would be perfect for OMG! (cos their talent is so awesome they can only compare with the awesomeness that is Barney Stinson), please help shine the spotlight on them by emailing yours and their deets to omg@mediacorp.com.sg NOW!

xoxo, s.

:: pics courtesy of Shawn Pang, Channel 5 marketing team ::