Culturally Preconditioned

(Sung to the tune of December 1963, Oh What a Night by The 4 Seasons)

Oh what a night,
Late on friday
I was there to see
All the Idols with their melodies
Oh I remember what a night.

Oh what a night! Doo dit doo dit dit doo dit doo dit dit
Oh what a night! Doo dit doo dit dit doo dit doo dit dit
Oh what a night! Doo dit doo dit dit doo dit doo dit dit
Oh what a night! Doo dit doo dit dit doo dit doo dit dit

Week #2 Theme : Blast From The Past

So did I enjoy the show? Hell, yeah! I was lucky enough to get two tickets for tonight’s showat Sri Pentas 2 in Shah Alam (and two more for the results show on Sunday). And to think I almost passed these tickets to someone else. I went to Shah Alam straight from work, and I left my camera at home, so unfortunately, no pictures from the concert this time. So what I do have are pictures of my ticket. LOL. Pretty sad, really.

My friend and I went to get our tickets from Marina@bluehyppo (such a nice lady!) at about 8:30 pm, and the doors opened at about 9:00 pm. They were several groups of people there.. friends and families, contest winners, the press and media etc. Needless to say, the announcer called out the friends and families to get in first, and followed by the contest winners and special invites, and I tell you, not going to events like this as the media/press is such a welcome change! I could be as crazy as I want. LOL. But not as crazy as this mental person in the audience who cried “I LOVE YOU JAC! I LOVE YOU SUFIAH!” out loud. I hope I’ll meet this person again on Sunday. And our seats were not bad at all!

Jien and Aleya came on stage and welcomed everyone. They quickly reminded everyone of the general ground rules. No food. No drinks. No taking pictures with camera flashes. No handphones. And cheer like mad. (We actually did several rounds of cheer testings, by the way). I quickly spotted Sufiah, Rizal, Fadzly and Fariz. I could’ve sworn CaterpillarGuy was giving me dirty looks. I think he knew I was trashing him in my commentaries. LOL. Or perhaps I was just being paranoid. I was looking out to see if Syima was there, but there were no signs of her. Bummer. Other than that, Aleya’s and Jien’s mom were also in the audience. For those of you who don’t already know, Aleya’s mom was one of the teachers from Akademi Fantasia last year (I forgot her name). Oooh, and there was also a pretty cool blimp flying around in the studio.

Okay, on to the show! My individual commentaries on them may change later. People say what you hear live in the audience may not sound as good as what people hear on the television. So I might change my judgement upon watching it for the repeat on Sunday. (I also noticed there was a 3-second delay from the live to the broadcasted show. Hmm I wonder if this has anything to do with Janet’s Boobiegate incident *snicker*)

Andrew - Come Fly With Me (Frank Sinatra)
I thought he started off wonderfully. I loved it. But somewhere along the way, and especially towards the end, he seemed to have faltered a bit. I think he still needs to work on his stage presence. Still seems a little kaku for me. Lack of self confidence? Maybe. But it was a good performance. A 6 and a half

Zamil - Suratan Atau Kebetulan (Kenny Remy Martin)
Man, I LOVE THIS SONG. And to have favourite male Idol sing it was quite the treat for me. As usual, Zamil delivered his finest. I always look forward to his performances and he never fails me. I’d probably buy his album, and I probably won’t even care if someone calls me a Makcik. An 8.

Jac - When I Fall In Love (Nat King Cole)
I think most of us are familiar with the version sung by Celine Dion and Clive Griffin (Clive Griffin.. what a VOICE, eh?? one of the most underrated singers around), but Jac. Wow. She blew me (and the rest of the audience) away! I mean, really. Jac gets better and better every fricking show. Case closed. A 9 and a half.

Fahmy - Rindu Bayangan (Carefree)
*sigh* I want to give this guy the benefit if the doubt, but please please if you get through to the next round, PLEASE sing an English song. He sounds decent. But, nothing exceptional in my opinion. A 6.

Nikki - I Want You Back (Jackson Five)
Oh man. Again, another song that I JUST LOVE! I was so jigging at my seat throughout Nikki’s performance. It was fun and this truly is a catchy song. Yet, another brave and bold attempt by Nikki. But vocalwise, I was kind of disappointed a little. I was ready to love this girl after last week’s performance, but man, she could’ve done so much better vocally. And what’s with Roslan’s comments? Don’t dance, just sing? Pardon my French, but WTF? If I was Nikki, I’d probably give him the finger. Bravo Nikki, for having so much class than me. A 7.

Dina - Jelingan Manja (Saloma)
If Adam was given this song to sing, would he cry (again?) LOL. Anyway, I love love LOVE this song ever since Nija sang it in Akademi Fantasia last year. And Dina? I never thought I’d give someone the same rank as Jac, but girl, you SO deserve it. YEAH JB PEOPLE RAWK, MAN!!! Finally some real competition for Jac. Now I already know who I want to be in the Final Two. A 9 and a half.

Victor - Put Your Head On My Shoulder (Paul Anka)
Victor’s performance was kinda forgettable, but I do remember that he sounds much much better this week than the last. I guess it was pretty good since I don’t recall making too many negative mental thoughts while watching the performance. A 7.

Rydee - I Will Survive (Gloria Gayner)
Oooooh DISCO! Luuuuuurve it. The only other song that made me get into the groove (the other being Nikki’s I Want You Back). I know it sounds campy but I couldn’t help enjoying myself. LOL. The song seemed appropriate for her. She survived quite a number of eliminations. But will she survive the next one. Maybe. She has a lot of fans out there, and I like Rydee, but I gotta be honest. I thought her performance was just average and the end was borderlining on plain horrid. Maybe she’s trying too much? Trying to prove to everyone that she can sing different songs? Different genres? But what good is that if they dont come out sounding too good? She should pick a song that’s suited to her husky sultry voice. I hope she makes it to the next round and showcase her real talent. A 6 and a half.

Saiful - Terasing (Sudirman)
Okay, he gets bonus points for singing a Sudirman song. Anyone who sings a Sudirman song will get bonus points from me. Don’t you just love Sudirman songs? Okay, enough already. (but I just love Sudirman). *sigh* again, Saiful, I was really hoping he’d choose an English song this time, but oh well. He sounded quite decent, definitely not as bad as last week. It just occured to me that his voice has this one kind of tone. Very Casey-like. Anyway, his performance was just alright for me. A 6.

Vick - Salam Terakhir (Sudirman)
Ooooh.. bonus points bonus points! LOL. I love Sudirman. Oh, anyway, Vick really shined tonight. I was ready to doubt this guy when he came on stage with his interesting choice of clothing (read: tacky), the Baju Melayu. But wow. I loved his performance. I hope he’ll continue to give us wonderful performances like this one. But with less theatrics. Please. An 8.

Overall, it was a much much better concert than the first week. So bravo to all of the finalists for finally giving me something exciting to write about. My lowest rankings for this week goes to Fahmy and Shaiful. They are good singers, but compared to the rest, well.. someone needs to be at the bottom. Performance of the night CLEARFUCKINGLY belongs to Jac and Dina. I was SO not ready for such powerful performances. Please please please keep it up.

Izad - Out