Culturally Preconditioned

One should always try not to write when angry. That’s why I thank my blessings for the Fab Five’s weekly antics for giving me the laughs that was very much needed after the AF concert, without which I probably would’ve started this blog entry with the more than appropriate phrase of “MUTHAFUCKA!. What the hell were you guys thinking?” This was one of the most enjoyable concerts and yet, it has the most tragic ending. Tragic.

Group Ensemble - Party Like This
This is the first time this season that they opened the concert with a group ensemble. NOt surprising since they now have a lot of extra time slots with only 7 remaining in the Academy. This was a bad bad group performance. It’s called Party Like This, and I was just sitting back and asking myself Where’s The Bloody Party? Everyone on stage were like mindless zombies and was there any choreography at all? A very appalling start. And everytime Mas shows up on screen, I just want to knock her off the stage. Can she at least be a little subtle about not wanting to be there? Sheesh.

Mas - Yayadan
Oh boy. At least she showed an extra iota of enthusiasm in this performance. She sounded quite decent because basically this is the kind of song that’s really suited for her. Finally, the teachers are giving her a break (or have they just given up on her and handed her a non challenging song?). I still don’t care much for her so-called ’star quality’. I feel bad for her almost as much as I did for John Stevens and Jasmine Trias, because their fanbase are struggling to keep them in the competition. I don’t see what the big attraction is all about though. Sorry.

Zahid - Semusim
I’m getting worried for Zahid. I hope they won’t go overboard with pimping him up. His vocal imitation of Awie, Saleem, Jamal Abdillah and Anuar Zain showcase impressed me (and probably a lot of other people too) but it can also backfire with his non-fans. We’ve already seen people complaining that Zahid is starting to look obnoxious on screen. Performance wise, though he he delivered the song nicely, (at one point he sounded like Bryan Abrams, the lead from Color Me Badd) I didn’t think it was all that spectacular. But I like it.

Farah - Bebas Berlari
I love this song. And I love how the groups interactions in the background. Such a feel good song. And Farah impressed me yet again this week. She’s really good! I didn’t think much of her in the beginning of the series, but now the prit prit thingy doesn’t annoy me as much. And that’s a good thing. Bravo Farah.

Adam - Kasih
I don’t know what the deal is with this guy. He’s better off being a backup dancer or something. Unimpressive. Next.

Linda singing Leaving On A Jet Plane while playing the accoustic guitar

Linda - Syurga Idaman
One can never get enough of songs from the 60s (I still love the 60s song that Nija sang last year). They are uber FUN! Linda looks stunning as usual. Her delivery was very nice but truth be told, I didn’t feel this was her best performance in the competition . Again, the attention is stolen away from her by the other side acts (last week it was by the two guitarists, this time her fellow dancers). Maybe the distractions are the cause for her downfall? Or maybe not.

Bob - Alhamdulillah
Like Linda’s performance, I think there were too many distractions in Bob’s Too Phat performance. The judges’ comments were a little over the top. I didn’t think Bob really shined on this one, though I’m starting to feel he’s getting a little TOO comfortable with his standings. Overconfidence is never a good thing, Bob. But it was an alright performance.

Kaer - Mentera Semerah Padi
I was ready to do something else, but thought I’d give Kaer another go this week (mainly cause I love this M Nasir track). So I finally get to see what all the rave is all about. I mean, for the first time, I was rather impressed by his performance (STFU Erma, you don’t know what you’re talking about). Kaer knew he needs to step it up to stay in the competition. And he did. Good for you, kid.

Group Ensemble - Joget Medley (Kenangan Manis, Mak Enon, Sindir Pesan)
This was an interesting medley, and I’m glad to see SOME choreography in this one, unlike the first ensemble. I foolishly thought that by having these ensemble performances, viewers were able to make immediate comparisons between the singers (obviously the weakest ones in the bunch were Mas and Adam), but I forgot that some people have their own weird reasons to keep the undeserved ones still in the competition.

Yes, of course I’m bloody bitter. Linda was the second last ranking when Nurul was evicted last week. And just before the concert started tonight, she was ranked the 1st! (I did my fair hare of voting for her this week). So it was indeed a surprise to see her topple down to the bottom within the span of one and a half hours. Damn Linda. I hate to see you go. You have one of the best potential out of everyone left in the competition. Stay strong and know that this is just a beginning for you. Now if Zahid gets the can next week, I probably won’t even bother watching the finale.