Episode 15 is up!

Episode 15 : Spectacular 9 You Asked For It + Results

Woot! This week's episode is now up! Watch your Top 5 sing for their lives in this week's Spectacular 9 : You Asked For It!

Thank you nazamania.

Watching the end of the Results show over, watching Faizal sing his exit song...sigh....I feel really sad cos he was one of the most determined and focused contestants. He really wanted this. REALLY. It's his dream and it tugs at the tearducts when you see someone's dream journey come to an end.

Faizal Mraz, I wish you all the best. Hone your diction and expand your repertoire beyond Mraz k. I expect to see a LOT more of you as you and your career matures. I'm sure this isn't the last we've seen of him. Make use of this window of 'fame' to get out there and get heard :)

Lotsa love babe... (see you soon!)

xoxo, s.

ps. :( Am so gonna miss that big smile and hug that greets me whenever I see him. He really is just the sweetest and most polite, well-mannered 17 yr old. I once commented that he always folded and hung up his clothes very neatly at trailer/photoshoots and he said very earnestly, "I always take care of my clothes because from young, I always get sponsored the performing clothes, so must take care cos have to return." So sweet and considerate right? There are some artistes out there who have been doing this for years and people still have to pick up after them.

Idol out : Faizal Isa

Unbelievable.

Are you surprised? I was still surprised after half an hour. I believed Faizal to be invincible. Seriously. I thought he'd go all the way to Final 2 judging from the amount of support he gets wherever he goes. His fans are rabid (and I say that in the most positive kowtow way possible).

The scream-o-meter always hits RED whenever he makes an entrance, be it at a mall, on stage, or even off a bus. I did not expect him to go home tonight.

Plus, I thought he did okay considering he was quite ill - lost his voice, couldn't hit the notes he wanted to - the song was a good choice and in typical Faizal fashion - a hit with his fans. I enjoyed it too, although I could see that his energy level wasn't his usual, probably owing to him being sick.

Here's his exit song and his exit interview with Idol TV (unedited version, think of my cam as the b-roll...all NGs included!).

Kudos to Faizal for making it this far. He's just 17. Top 5 is a great achievement. Imo, he's grown so much as a performer too from the time we saw him at auditions to now. Yes he needs some work on his diction, but I think he's got everything else going for him. A few more years of training and who knows where he'll be :) He went from Mummy's boy to Singapore Idol's resident heartthrob.

I also give him major props for being so focused, eyes on the prize, amidst the negative comments from the Judges week after week, especially recently. He has also never failed to take care of his family, friends and fans with many kind words and that great megawatt smile.

I'm gonna miss Faizal and that smile, I love his smile, it has a way of making you feel important. Definitely not the last we'll see of this sweet boy.

We love ya Faizal Isa! The Idol family will always continue to be the 'wings behind your back' too! ;)

Btw, Faizal's Idol journey may have ended,but we'll still be seeing him next week! Yay! Faizal will be back for the group performances on Spectacular 10's results show with Nurul, Amira, Farhan, Duane and Malaque. Justin and Mae are in US and Australia respectively and won't be able to make it :(

xoxo, s.

ps. Thanks to Ash for the great pics. Check out Ash's pics on the SI Facebook page.

Next Week's Theme : A Song For A Cause

Its 10pm, lines are now closed.

Sigh. Heartbreak in about 20 minutes time.

Impending sadness aside, next week's theme is in honour of World Aids Day (December 1st). Spectacular 10 is aptly titled 'A Song For A Cause'.

(click on the collage to enlarge)

Your Top 4 (or possibly 5 if Judges use their 'save' tonight), have been tasked to do TWO songs next week (awesome right? We get to watch them each perform TWICE!). One song is a cover, something inspirational and appropriate for the theme, and the other song is....get this...something they've written especially for this theme :)

Cool or what?

I love original compositions, and judging by how well they all did during the song-writing stage at theatre auditions, this should yield some cool stuff. Excited already.

This has got to be a first in Idol history. Other countries have had songwriting challenges before at earlier stages, but not at Spectaculars I think (I'll double check this). So its cool for Singapore Idol to have a first :)

Ok, now you know what to expect next week, turn your attention back to the Results.

Tweets/twitpics LIVE from Studio here.

xoxo, s.

Song List for 'You Asked For It' FINALLY!

Its just before 9pm, you SHOULD be watching the last of your Top 5 perform right now.

Here's what they sang tonight (and the vids of the original songs).

LINES ARE STILL OPEN! VOTE VOTE VOTE!

"Beautiful Soul" by Jesse McCartney

- this song totally puts him in 'heartthrob' mode :)

"The Climb" by Miley Cyrus

- Not a bad song choice, lyrics are meaningful. Tabby's voice isn't like Miley's, but they are both powerful, so hope Tabby did good. Iz watched her at rehearsals and said she was awesome!

"Cry" by Mandy Moore

- I love this song (and the movie - wahlao cried til my eyes were bengkak) but I love Sylvia's version of this song EVEN MORE! While Mandy's version was fairly light, Sylvia's version has got so much more soul.

"Wherever You Will Go" by The Calling

- This song always reminds me of Smallville (its on the soundtrack) and I love that show, and this song too. Since Charles sang it with just his guitar, I'm sure it was wonderful (this is a scheduled post).

"Virtual Insanity" by Jamiroquai

- Very interesting song suggestion/choice. The song is laidback and cool, but not easy to sing. I hope Airi pulled it off. Not easy to emulate or re-interpret the great JayKay.

Hope you enjoyed the show. Come back at 10pm to find out what next week's theme is. You have just under an hour to VOTE - so keep VOTING!!!!!

xoxo, s.

ps. Am backstage right now with the LODIs, so follow my tweets/twitpics for live updates :)

Its IDOL DAY!

LOVE/HATE IDOL DAY

:)

I love Wednesdays....

cos we get to watch the Idols perform in all their full made-up, pimped-out, amped-up glory! I love going down to the studio and experiencing Idol LIVE. The atmosphere there is amazing - screaming fans, blaring music, more screaming fans. What's not to like?

Oh, and I get to 'curi' kopi from the Judges' room once in a while heh heh - always a great pick me up!

:(

I hate Wednesdays...

cos at 10.27pm, someone leaves the competition. Someone's idol dream comes to an abrupt halt. Its such a downer.

Oh well, lets not dwell on that shall we - lets look forward to the performance show, happening in less than 6 hours.

I'm actually looking forward to the group performance too, check out Iz's vid of the choreo rehearsal. I love BEP and this song always gets me goin', and if the Idols pull it off with the right amount of 'tude (which I'm sure they will), this will be quite enjoyable! :)

Will be off to the studio in about 4 hours time, keep a look out for my tweets/twitpics, and scheduled updates throughout the night! :)

8pm....WATCH & VOTE k!

xoxo, s.

ps. Gotta admit, one of my other fave parts of Idol Day is wardrobe watching :) hehe. I love seeing what the Idols are dressed in for both shows. Its like living vicariously. When there were more girls, it was like wah shoe-heaven!

pps. So weird, normally I'll post song list etc today, but er, cannot say...so...got nothing to post. Voting deets are on the left sidebar for quick reference :)

Idol out : Duane Ho

Bye Bye Mr. Pussycat Doll :(

As I was walking to the Tv Theatre today, I wondered if tonight's votes would be the same as it has been for the past 4 weeks - that Singapore would be sending home yet another talented female contestant.

Looks like Mae's exit last week has given voters a wake-up call, the person packing their bags this week is Duane. The youngest contestant at 16, Duane has NEVER been in the bottom 3 much less the bottom 2. Tonight he was both, and finally, surprisingly, got the boot.

Duane went from a judges' pet to weekly ridicule and I give him props for taking all that in, especially at just 16. Its not easy standing there and being judged. Despite the judges' lack of support, Duane got support, and apparently in spades as he coasted through week after week - safe from being in the bottom.

I wonder what happened - either his fans decided he was getting slammed too much they decided to not prolong his torture (doubtful) or the fans of the other idols and previously eliminated contestants have rallied together to pool their votes to change the voting pattern.

Well, whatever it is, its still sad to see Duane go. He's such a sweet kid and we've all come to know and love him. Those closest to him took it the hardest - Tabby and Faizal, who together with him and Farhan made up the 'Awesome Foursome'.

Here's Duane's exit song and exit interview.

Haven't watched his performance on tv yet, but what I saw/heard at the theatre LIVE wasn't too bad. In fact, I thought he was rather refreshing, a nice combo of piano playing and stage presence.

Anyway, Duane, the Idol journey may be over, but you made it to Top 6! Thats an achievement and you know you'll always always be a part of the Idol family! Keep dreaming big my dear! Love ya Duane!

xoxo, s.