Culturally Preconditioned

I remember last year when Aznil ended the Final AF concert by adking the audience “What would your weekend nights be without Akademi Fantasia”. I’m not surprised he used the exact same sentence again this time. You can literally feel the fever, and I’m sure many people will feel the empty gap in their Saturday nights to come. But as for me, as long as 8tv is still booking the midnight slot for Kyan, Jai, Carson, Thom and Ted, I still won’t be able to go out and catch the midnight shows in the cinemas. But yeah, it will be bloody surreal next week when I tune in to Astro Ria and not see the familiar faces of the AF kids.

Adam - Ooh La La and Haruskah
Seriously Adam, the bandangan thingy is just getting old, and I was rolling when Aznil casually took a shot at him by saying that old people probably use it to wipe their noses. As for his performance, it was nothing to write home about. He seemed happy that he got the KRU song, but again, it looked as if he enjoyed dancing more than he did singing. He started off the second song (which was written by Ajai) quite promising, but he quickly went back to Adam-mode. I was snickering silently to myself when he foolishly stood quietly while prompting the audience to join him in the chorus. It was a new song, for crying out loud. What was he thinking. I mean, seriously. I may sound harsh, but that’s the reality of it. He was the weakest of the bunch tonight.

Zahid - Biarkan Bulan Bicara and Milikku
Zahid started off weak for his first song, but he picked it up near towards the end. I was actually disappointed with his first performance. It was an average performance compared to his previous ones. The second song (written by Ruffedge) was a different performance altogether. He was in his element and it showed. He was doing the rapping, the singing and all the stuff at the same time. If that were sung by Ruffedge, that probably would’ve been done by several different people at the same time. But Zahid pulled it off all by himself, so he gets my respect for his efforts. Not the best from this Kg Baru kid, but that’ll do. I think he also coined a new cool term : “PENGAFUNDI” - people who voted. And the foghorns coming from the audience was just teriffic.

Linda - Aku Cinta Kamu and Only You
Linda only had a few days to prepare for her first song which was a new song written by Ajai and Nurul (the others had like 5 days to practise their new songs, but she had.. what.. two or three days?). Her first performance was just alright, in my opinion, but I thought her dialogue in the middle of the song was a rather nice touch. Her second song, which was sung in Spanish, was quite good, though nobody would’ve known if she stumbled on the song cause I’m assuming not that many viewers speak Spanish. She looked lovely in that hot red dress and red flower in her hair, just like a Spanish senorita (kinda reminds me of Madonna in the La Isla Bonita video). However, I noticed that the audience’s response to her was not that great.. it was lacklustre, actually. As much as I love Linda, I was secretly hoping she’s not going to win, because God knows, a lot of people have already been accusing her of some terrible shits because she was brought back into the show last week. Get a life, whiners. She was voted in by the viewers. Deal with it.

Bob - Gadis Sarawak and Cinta Seorang Teman
Bob’s introduction in the first song was pure sweetness. I was totally captivated for a few seconds. But he lost me somewhere in the middle of the song. And I think he forgot some of the lyrics but he covered it pretty well. However, his second song. Y.O.W.Z.A.!. I was absolutely, totally mesmerized and that’s not an exagerration. For the first time, I was finally able to fully appreciate Bob’s voice. It’s beautiful. No, exquisite, more like it. And I loved the song. Adnan Abu Hassan is a genius for composing that song for Bob. Easily the performance of the night. Hands down. Bob is not getting much credit as he deserved. But the ugly facts remain that most viewers still choose voice over talent. It’s a real shame. I’m not saying the others are not good. I’m just saying that they’re not the only ones that are good.

Farah - Tangisan Dalam Kerinduan and Sk8er Boi
As at the time of writing this, I have actually forgotten Farah’s first performance. All that I could remember was that vocally, it was better than Linda’s first performance, but some of the part using her lower register were barely audible. The short little segment of her finally meeting Johnny were unbelievably bittersweet. You could honestly tell from her expressions that she really was happy to finally see Johnny. It shows and I don’t believe there was an iota of fakeness. I love robot love affairs that ends happily. Anyway, her choice of singing Avril’s song was a very bold one, but it was really enjoyable. It was good and I loved it. Farah has actually supercede my expectations of her tonight.

Kaer - Sway and Kembali Bersama
Awww.. who wouldn’t want to bring this guy home to meet the parents? So clean cut, so sweet, so polite, so perfect. But I ain’t buying any of that. I hate to trash him cause I do believe that he’s a good kid, but his performance was so.. bleh, ya know? His first performance was a real awkward one. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Jazz singer throw themselves on a couch in the middle of a performance. No, not even female ones, and that bothered me to no end. (Dude, only Madonna managed to pull that off in the 1990 MTV Movie Awards show). And while we’re at it, Michael Buble is pronounced Boo-blay.. not Bubble. But I blame the teachers for not pointing that out to him. Sheesh! His second performance was good, but not good enough that I remembered to take notes about it. All I remembered was that he closed the song quite well.

Was anyone out there at all surprised to see Zahid crowned as a winner? I thought not. He’s a really versatile singer, with a nice personality to match. Overrated? I don’t think so. I knew Linda was going to give Zahid a run for his money and I’m glad she became the runner up. Another well deserved placing (despite her being brought back into the academy after being booted out). Could I ask for a better first and second place? The answer is no. I do, however, have major issues with Adam getting the thrid place, but what’s done is done, so congratulations to you too Adam. I have to give special mention to Farah. I think she’s one of the singers who have continually shown gradual improvements for the past few weeks (the rest have either been constantly good, constantly bad, or constantly forgettable). And she has hung on the second last place for an eternity, but yet she still survived till the Final concert based on her merits. Kudos, girl. As for Bob, don’t worry kid. You’re going to make your presence felt in the local music industry. I’m sure of it.

So that’s all for this year folks. Will there be a third edition of Akademi Fantasia next year? Well, Astro will be out of their minds if they decided not to have another installment of this hugely popular tv show in the country. I don’t think there has ever been a local show that is successful with this kind of magnitude. And I loved Aznil’s summary of “The Magic of Akademi Fantasia” because, let’s face it, the show IS magical. Congratulations Astro, Zahid, the entire AF2 students, the teachers and all who’s involved with the show. Thank you for a magical summer.

Okay, so I’m not sure which was worse. Having to sit throught the first half of the show, or having to sit through the show with my racist housemate who breaks into his own terrible renditions after each song and gives his ‘expert’ commentaries. This is from a guy who pronounces Idol as ‘eee-dole’. Urgh.. it’s unbeliveable the shits I’ve to put up with some times. Anyway, on to the show!

Week #1 Theme : Pop Idol

Shaiful - Seribu Impian (KC)
I liked Shaiful from his performance in the second workshop. The short introduction clip had me worried (the Pretty Boy sing in the background was very tongue-in-cheek. I loved it). He’s been shown singing the same Yassin song all the way from his audition, to the theatre eliminations, to the workshop performance. I started to wonder if he’s a one-trick pony. Even though he chose another Malay song to sing, I thought this might be a good song choice for him… at first. Unfortunately, his performance was really bad. Paul seemed as though he was holding back tears, cause I know he had high hopes for Shaiful (as did I). And I didn’t like the fact that he blamed his performance because he was having health issues. He shouldn’t have done that. A 4.

Sufiah - Didn’t We Almost Have It All (Whitney)
Sufiah’s introduction clip was equally disturbing for me. She went on and on about how the JUDGES picked HER to advance. HER! Okay, so we get it. She’s a good singer and the judges acknowledge that. But she seems to be forgetting that the Malaysian viewers will be voting, and she should know by now, the mindset of these people. Humble, yes. Cocky, no. I know, I don’t agree, but the fact is, the in-yo-face attitude ain’t gonna work here, sweetie. Performance wise, I was really disappointed with her. What happened to the Sufiah I knew from the first workshop? I was expecting perfection from her tonight but she failed to impress me. And I was surprised she fumbled with some of her dictions as well. I hope she makes it to the next round and give us a better performance. As for this week, a 6.

Victor - If I Let You Go (Westlife)
Victor wowed me in his audition and theater elimination rounds. But I wasn’t at all impressed with Victor’s performance in the workshop. Did his performance tonight change my mind? That would be a big fat NO. I agree with Paul regarding the fact that this song suited him for his targeted audience. Vocal-wise, he was just ridiculous. His performance reminds me of Alexander’s performance in World Idol. Embarassing. What’s even more embarassing? My housemate breaking into the song right after the performance. I wish he would just keel over and pass out for the next couple of hours or so. My housemate, not Victor. I’d give his performance a 4.

Rydee - I’m Like A Bird (Nelly Furtado)
A short recap of Rydee’s journey into the Malaysian Idol finals. She was NOT originally chosen for the Final 30. She was NOT originally chosen for the Final 9. She was NOT originally chosen for the Wildcard show. They say three times a charm, but is it true? I like everything about Rydee. Her unique voice, her appearance, her fun attitude. I don’t agree with Paul because I think this was an excellent song choice for Rydee. UNfortunately, the deliverance was nasty. I don’t know what happened. Major disappointment for me. Hope she’ll make it through and make better improvements, but for tonight, I’m giving her a 5.

Fazly - This Love (Maroon 5)
A friend of mine in New York introduced me to this song way before Harder To Breath hit our Malaysian shores, and it quickly became a favourite of mine. I was ecstatic when Maroon 5 actually released this song as a single earlier this year, and it officially became my favourite song of 2004. Well, not anymore. Fazly totally killed it. Poor dictions, out of breath, forgotten the lyrics, weird writhing robot dance movements (that went out in the 1980s by the way). I was almost physically sick trying to endure the entire performance (I was surprised that Roslan echoed my exact same sentiments). Fazly’s introduction clip started off with an interesting quote: “Success begins with sufferings”. If that is the case, then should I expect a huge success soon? Cause God knows I have suffered enough from watching the bad bad bad performances so far. Another 4.

Andrew - Angels (Robbie Williams)
And then comes Andrew. And what an appropriate song. I wasn’t expecting much from him. His melancholic performance of a Robbie Williams song that I hate, is not a far departure from his previous performances. His voice is very pleasant to hear. If I may so, I’d say Andrew is the male version of Yin. They have beautiful soothing voices. However, Andrew looked kinda stiff on stage. If he eases up a bit, I’m pretty sure he’ll have a larger fan base soon. A 7 and a thank you for finally giving the viewers something decent to listen to for the night.

Jac - Keliru (Ruth Sahanaya)
Was Gee asking an honest question when she asked Jac why she picked a Malay song? She said because many people think she cannot sing Malay songs (Personally, I loved her Sinaran performance) Her answer was honest and I really hope it hits home with viewers who still think that Jac is a Fantasia-clone. Bravo Jac. I loved it. My guess is Jac takes home the Malaysian Idol title, and the competition is now a race to find who takes up the 2nd and 3rd place. You go, girl! An 8 and a half.

Zamil - Januari (Glenn Fredly)
Didn’t Fahmy sing this song a while back? Urghh.. 8tv/Fremantle must’ve not been working hard at increasing the titles in their available song list. Shame on you. But… whoa. I like like like Zamil’s rendition. He gave a strong performance. They were no visible and audible strains. This guy knows how to control his voice. I can’t wait to see him pick up a fast catchy number soon to see how versatile he is. But as for tonight, I am so very proud of him. Go Bobot Jr! A 7 and a half.

Dina - When You Believe (Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey)
You know when I said that he competition is now about finding who deserves second and third place? Well. I take it back. It seems like Jac does have some competition after all. Though she may not be as good as Jac, I was really impressed with Dina’s performance. Forget Paul’s comments about choosing songs sung by Whitney because you’re never gonna be good at it. It ain’t easy singing a Whitney song, but Dina pulled it off. Even if she did sound like she’s totally imitating Whitney (as per what Paul said), the fact is she pulled it off. And it was a really good performance. Homegirl makes me proud tonight. An 8 and a half.

Vick - Walking Away (Craig David)
I was nervous about the prospect of having another contestant killing yet another favourite song of mine. I am not a big fan of Vick’s. I don’t know. He rubs me the wrong way. But fortunately, he did the song justice. His vocals were good and his improvisations on the song was minimal and not over the top. It was a safe, feel good performance. A 7.

Nikki - Crazy In Love (Beyonce)
Okay, I’m ready to eat my words again. Nikki rocks. I used to think Nikki was highly overrated. But she has proved me wrong with her fun performance tonight. I am willing to overlook the rapping parts (which were kinda pathetic) because I was looking something different from her. And she delivered! Gone was the ice queen exterior, and we get to see a more fun and outgoing gal, and with a decent voice to boot. The song did not showcase her singing capabilities that well, but for the parts that she did (I WAS looking out for these parts) it was quite good. Well done Nikki. An 8.

Fahmy - Sonata Musim Salju (Hazami)
Another pretty boy. But this one’s probably got a scandal going on with the show’s host (I’m not saying which one. Haha). His performance tonight was just above average to me. It really was kinda meh. I think the highlight of his segment was when Aleya scolded the judges by saying “Don’t hurt the poor boy”. One thing that bothers me though, we still haven’t seen this guy singing an English song. He can’t even answer the judge’s question in English. Some things need to change if you want to stay in the competition, dude. A 6 and a half.

So that’s it. The first (proper) Malaysian Idol concert. It was below expectation, but I’m not terribly disappointed. Based on the performances tonight, I already know half of them don’t deserve to be in the Finals, but what are you gonna do eh? My top performances of the night belongs to Jac, followed by Dina and Nikki. The two worst performances probably belong to Victor and Shaiful. But you can never tell how the public is going to vote. Well, actually you could, so those two will probably be safe. I don’t even know if I’m going to vote this week. It will be fun to see how the votes will come in. That will set the course for the rest of the season.

Well, I’m totally spent. Izad - Out.

Glorious, glorious Egypt. I missed the last episode on Wednesday but I managed to catch the rerun on Sunday morning (I can’t believe I was already up at 10 am on a Sunday morning). The bowling moms came in last but fortunately it was a non-elimination round. However, the new twist was that they were stripped off all their money and would be given no cash for the next leg of the race. Stranded in one of the poorest countries, how will they ever survive.

The answer, of course, was from tourists. I had a laugh when Linda said “This is the motherlode” when a tour bus reached them. Reminds me of a similar incident a friend told me that happened in Puduraya. Anyway, as the other teams left the Sphinx (last round’s Pit Stop) for the Great Pyramid and then to the airport (headed for Luxor), the bowling mos had to work overtime using their charm and, err.. fruits, to get some cash to go on in the race. And did actually came up with enough cash to grab a taxi to bring them to the airport (where all the teams were, including Colin and Christie who was so royally pissed that they lost their 7 hour lead).

Talking about Cocky and Christie, the rather nasty taxi incident with Charla and Mirna is getting to be so boring. It happens in every season, don’t the editors have other interesting footage to air? Anyway, trying to steal the taxi was not cool in my books, but at least Charla and Mirna actually got out of the cab. Charla is still alright with me, but Mirna is getting on my nerves. While she was whining “I’m going to die. I’m going to die”, I was just thinking why can’t she just die a silent death and make us all happy?

Kim and Chimp are getting more positive editing. I’m starting to feel neutral to them again. They seemed like they are finally having fun doing this (laughing at themselves over the Arabic clues, cruising on the Nile etc). They’re alright. Brandon and Nicole still doesn’t register squat on my fun-o-meter. Brandon and Nicole, and Cocky and Christie has GOT to be the most boring young couple ever. I guess the two interesting young couples got eliminated too early in the game.

The Ditzy twins. Man, I don’t know. What’s going on with them? They don’t seem to be thinking clearly. Why Kimi and Karli? WHY? They showed so much spunk and sassiness early on in the game. They were all bitchy and aggressive and shits. Now they are just.. meh, ya know? I hope they’ll pick up their pace back again. At least they made it to Number Three this round.
Ha! I knew Team Pizzathetic would be the next one eliminated. It is kinda pathetic because they (read: Lance) gave up. They (read: Lance) quit. Osten much? I’m not even gonna bother to do a post mortem on them. So I’ll close with some of the memorable quotes (and there were many) from this episode.

“I want to have kids!” - Brandon while having a very bumpy ride on the donkey (reminds me of Marquesas’ Sean’s “My balls! My BALLS!”

“This one is the bad one” - Charla while pointing to a particularly menacing goat in the boat (when she really should’ve pointed her finger to Mirna)

“Is that a piece of poop.. dried? Ewww” - Karli/Kami while doing the archeological dig for the scarab. Oh and how STUPID are all these folks anyway, not knowing what a scarab is? I mean, come on!!!

and, this one is from next week, but it’s in the preview this week, so it counts:

“Bitch, move OUT of my way” - Mirna while going past thru Christie who’s foolishly trying to block the doorway using her matchstick-like body frame.

Do you think it was a coincidence that both Malaysian Idol and Akademi Fantasia had their wildcard results on the same night? Do you think it was a coincedence that Malaysian Idol too had its own surprise by allowing a third wildcard contestant to enter the Finals? Well, do ya punk? I thought not. I’m just surprised that the didn’t air both the result shows at the same time tonight.

The results for Akademi Fantasia were not unexpected. Votes were open for 22 hours. Linda started off strong, collecting 55% of the votes immediately after the announcement was made last night. With 30 minutes left into the show Linda’s percentage was down to 40+ and Zarina was hot behind her heels at 33%. But Linda didn’t need to worry. Even Zarina looked as though she knew that she won’t be the one who’s going to advance. I’m very happy that Linda made it through. Very very happy. Even if she doesn’t get in the Top 3 in the Finals, I know she will at least give us a memorable performance next week. Congratulations Linda!

As for the Malaysian Idol, originally, there were only going to be two contestants advancing to the Final Stage. The first was to be picked by the judges and the second was to be chosen by the voters. Sufiah was announced as the judges’ pick. I was quite surprised because her performance didn’t exactly blow me away from the last round. However, I’m glad she made it through because I liked her from the first round and she has got lots of potential.

When Sufiah was announced as the judges’ pick, I already knew Nikki was going to be the other one who will advance. I wasn’t quite happy with it but I’m not going to be all bitter about it. She can sing well, but seriously, her wildcard performance was absolutely abysmal. I hope she will prove me wrong in the Final rounds.

And probably the best moment of the night was when the judges announced the twist of allowing a third person to advance along with the other two. I was very very happy (not extremely - that would only happen if Syima was the one. Girl, you will be missed) that Rydee was the one picked. I really like Rydee. I’m gonna say that she will at least end up in the Final Four.

So, congratulations to Linda, Sufiah, Nikki and Rydee. Looking forward to your performances in the coming weeks.

Izad - Out

I am beginning to have lots of respect for the Akademi Fantasia producers. They are introducing lots of twists, turns and kezutans to add spice to the show. The twists, in my opinion, are almost Survivor-worthy. This was the penultimate show before the concert finale next week. Perhaps they are spicing things up because the Malaysian Idol final will be starting next week. But personally, I don’t think AF have to worry the slightest bit. On to the show!

Ensemble - Main Shahir To Nahin (Bobbi Soundtrack)
I am not a big fan of Bollywood. No, let me rephrase that, I am NOT a fan of Bollywood. But I was actually able to tolerate the group performance, the song itself was not bad (it’s been around since forever) and i am thankful they did not simultaneously break into frantic dance moves and start chasing each other across the stage, and hiding behind trees and stuff like that.

Zahid - Cik Mek Molek (M Daud Kilau)
Whoa.. Gypsy King. Can Zahid be more cheekier than he already is? But I think so far, he has managed to check his cheekiness within control and not come across as cocky and annoying. His performance was rather comical but very enjoyable. I’m not even going to comment on his vocal cabailities. He is da bomb. The special appearance by the original Raja Gelek was a nice surprise to him and the audience, and it was probably outshone by Misha’s appearance as one of the judges. Well done, Akademi Fantasia.

Farah - Mengapa (Nicky Astria)
From the ashes of Linda and Zarina, rises the Phoenix Farah. Personally I didn’t think this was her best performance. For most part, it seemed as if she was shouting the song instead of singing it. But it was very good nonetheless. She still could improve on her low register though.

Kaer - Fantasia (Hazami)
He was outstanding last week but this week, well it’s back to Square One. I mean, the cutesy momma’s boy routine can only get so far, ya know? I think his voice is so plainly ’sepesen’. Sorry. And I totally don’t see the connection between him and Craig David. Kudsia should apologize to Craig David for that remark.

Bob - Laguku Untukmu (Hasnol)
Bob continues to impress me with his performance this week. He has yet again proven to the audience that he is such a versatile singer. I totally admire that. But again, he does come across as incredibly cocky some times. But I hope that’s just me. Good job.

Adam - Bila Larut Malam (Saloma)
Again.. what is up with all the crying? God, I wish I could just bitchslap this guy senseless. First he cried when the doctor was about to get his blood sample. This week, he cried when he’s given an old sixties song to sing. Have some pride, man, you are on national fucking tv. Sheesh. *composes self* His performance was not half bad at all, so I didn’t see what all the fuss was about. I was not that excited to see this backup singer advance to the finals, but it could’ve been worse.

Mas and the love of her life

Mas - Aku Cinta Padamu (Sheila Majid)
I have a soft spot for Sheila Majid songs. Perhaps it’s because I was so extremely pissed at Roslan Aziz’s racists remarks a few weeks bad. But anyway, finally the teachers have found it in their hearts to give a song to Mas that she can actually sing. Although it wasn’t a terribly good performance overall, I did feel that she shone in certain parts of the song, which means… yes ladies and gentleman, Mas can actually sing. It was a good and rather a poignant performance, especially after seeing Fauziah Nawi’s and Misha Omar’s reactions to it.

Ensemble - The Greatest Love Of All (Whitney)
I didn’t think many people listend to Aznil when he said we should try to feel the song. “Learning to love yourself, it is the greatest love of all”.. hmm subtle hints to a Mas demise? Perhaps. The group performance was good. Farah took centrestage. Was the producers blatantly whoring her out to get more votes? Who knows. But she sounded good and didn’t hit any bad notes. Overall, it was a pleasant performance.

Aznil made a really big deal about how the audiences wanted Mas to leave and it wasn’t her fault that she’s still there. Okay okay we get it. Quit yapping already. It was kinda sad to finally see her leave. It was her turn to go. But not before Ramli MS announced that one of the 7 students voted out will get the chance to be in the Final Concert next week.. which means there will be 6 students instead of the usual 5 competing in the Final Round. Yay! So who will it be? Linda? Zarina? Mas? As of now, Linda is leading with 52% of the votes and Zarina at second place with 24%. Don’t be too confident, Linda lovers. Her tally was 53% less than half an hour ago, and we don’t want history to repeat itself now, would we? So get cracking and send in your votes. AFMASUK LINDA to 32999. If there is justice in this world, Linda would get the chance to sing the Spanish song she was supposed to sing in this concert, next week in the Finals. Viva La Linda!

Wow. That was easily the best Malaysian Idol episode yet. Excuse me, was I watching the Final 8 show or was it the wildcard show? Well, the eight contestants tonight sure could’ve fooled me. It seemed that Farah was chosen to be in the wildcard show as well, but she had to turn it down to continue her studies. That’s okay, there’s always next year. I’m just wondering who was her alternate. My guess, based on the judges’ past comments and their performances, is it could be either Hana or Fariz or Yin. Okay, so let’s get down to business.

Sufiah - Akhirnya Kini Pasti (Anita Sarawak)

Sufiah looked radiant tonight, almost like a younger version of Aishah (do you think Paul Moss noticed the similarities?). Sufiah picked a catchy Malay song, which was pretty bold of her. It did showcase her versatility of singing in a different song genre, but I feel her previous performance was so much better. It was a great performance but personally, it was kind of a let down for me. A 7.

Yin - Colours Of The Wind (Vanessa Williams)

She looked much better tonight, thanks to her sister who did the make up. I was not prepared for her performace. It was a whole lot better than her previous performance. Angelic is the perfect word to describe her voice (Thanks, SC). I have to disagree with Roslan and Gee who commented on her dictions. She said the words very clearly and I think the judges were still thinking about her conversations with Aleya before the performance. Her conersational English could do with a little polishing if she wants to make it big though. But performance wise, I think it was near flawless. I was very very impressed. An 8 and a half

Fariz - Mungkin (Anuar Zain)

I hate to admit it but Fariz sang pretty well tonight. My only gripe this time is that, so far we’ve only heard him singing Malay songs. Personally I think for an Idol show, it’s fine if contestants only sing English songs throughout the competition. It’s nice if we can hear them sing in English and Malay as well. But I don’t think singing just in Malay all throughout the show is a good idea. But then again, I remembered Fariz singing in English for his first failed audition (I think it was a horrendous rendition of Lionel Ritchie’s “Hello”) so I just stopped complaining and started to count my blessings. A 7.

Rydee - Fallin’ (Alicia Keys)

She’s Beautiful with a capital B! I love love love seeing the FUN Rydee in the pre-show clips. I was getting nervous when she started singing the song. I mean, it practically got butchered last week, will it happen again this week? Thankfully, it didn’t. I loved Rydee’s rendition of the song. She did not go overboard, which many singers are so prone to when singing these kind of songs. It was breathtaking. Easily the performance of the night. Congratulations! A 9.

Syima - Careless Whisper (Wham)

Syima was visibly nervous before her performance, and that made ME nervous, dammit! LOL I’m kinda glad ‘the hair’ is gone and her dressing was so very sempoi. Me likey. Her choice of song was very interesting as I’m a fan of George Michael (I will probably have a tiny orgasm if someone sings “I Can’t Make You Love Me” during the competition LOL). Syima’s rendition was superb. I thought she was dangerously close to losing the actual song melody at first, but thankfully she did not. She was clearly in control and knows exactly what she’s doing. Fuck Roslan and Gee. They don’t know what they’re saying. Syima, you told me that if you get chosen for the wildcard show, you promised to try and give us a performance that we won’t forget. I just wanna say thank you for keeping that promise. I’ll be voting for you, girl. A 9. And for once, Paul Moss is right, Malaysian Idol WILL be less fun without you.

Rinie - Ke Hujung Dunia (Siti Sarah)

Like Sufiah, she sang a Malay song for this second round. And just like Sufiah, it was a great performance, but was overshadowed by the other performances in my opinion. Her voice is still great though. A 7.

Nikki - The Voice Within (Christina Aguilera)

I’m going to sound like a biased pig here but I think my judgment will still stand after the second viewing on Sunday. I was hoping to hear a great performance from Nikki, I honestly did. I liked her much better with her locks let down from her head, very nice. And “The Voice Within” seemed like a good song choice for her. But. (here it comes).. I didn’t like her performance almost as much as I didn’t like Hana’s performance last week. Her voice switched from serene to severe gruntings almost immediately in certain parts.. and the modulations were so.. wrong! It truly did sound rather sumbang to me.. the flow was not smooth enough. But all three judges raved about her performance, so.. what do I know? Nikki, if you make it through, I wish you the best, and personally I would rather hear you get back to singing Mariah Carey songs (I never thought I’d ever say that, but shit happens). A 6 and a half.

Hana - Ku Teruskan (Siti Sarah)

Sorry but I wasn’t paying much attention to the final performance. It was good. Ten times better than her last performance. Hana reminds me a lot of Dina, and I don’t see why we should have singers with similar styles in the finals. And again with the Malay song. A 7.

All in all, I enjoyed the wildcard episode very much. If we could switch these guys with the chosen 9 finalists, I’d do it in a heartbeat.

My pick and votes will go to :

Syima (duh), and I’ll probably send a few votes down Rydee’s way as well.

Malaysia’s pick will probably be :

Nikki

I think the judges will choose Nikki/Rydee to advance to the final round.

Izad - Out!

In case you’re wondering, No, I did NOT watch last night’s eppy of Amazing Race. How could I? The 2 hour of season finale of Charmed was on. What would Colby say if he knew I missed it? LOL Anyway, compared to last season’s finale, it was considerably tamer. Anyhow, there were lots of shots of the Golden Gates bridge, so I’m happy (you know why.. if you’re gooooing to Saaaan Fraaanciscooooo, be sure to wear sunflowers in your hair) *sigh*

Anyway, back to business. Is it wrong that I’m more excited to see the wildcard group perform, rather than the 9 already chosen ones for the Finals? I’m glad that most of my picks actually got chosen (especially YIN who was really underestimated by many many viewers). If I could have one more person to put in the bunch, I’d most likely pick Anis, but I’m fine with the current selection. I’m still pissed Erskine Walcott wasn’t called back for the AI Wildcard show. His rendition of Open Arms was beautifully done. He was so robbed.

My Pre-Show picks based on vocal capabilities : Sufiah and Yin
My Pre-Show pick based on stage presence : Syima
My Pre-Show pick based on uniqueness : Rydee

I think the show will be a good one and the competition will be between the two fan favourites. Syima and Nikki. I will personally vote for Syima all the way. Sorry Nikki fans. I think other than her falsetto (which is mighty impressive, by the way) her voice sounds kinda flat to me, and stage presence.. not so much. Call me deaf if you want to, but there are still people out there saying Jac is a Fantasia-clone for crying out loud. Talk about hearing issues. Sheesh.

Hopefully the contestants will choose the right song (whatever the hell that means) for tomorrow’s show. All the best to the eight wildcards! Make Malaysians proud.

The results are in, and for once, I don’t have much gripe on it. The following are the judges’ picks :

Paul picked Jac, Saiful and Farah
Gee picked Jac, Saiful and Farah
Roslan picked Jac, Fahmy and Hana

I was pleasantly surprised to find out that two of the judges picked Farah. I liked her overall performance. I was also worried that by having all three judges pick her, Jac would be jinxed.. but fortunately that was not the case. So.. the actual results :

1. Jac! Woohoo! I’m ecstatic. I was kinda worried when it got down to her and Hana. (I still can’t figure out why Roslan picked Hana, though). Anyway, I’m overjoyed Jac made it through. It seems like Malaysians have made the right pick for once.

2. Saiful! I liked his personality. Seems like a cheerful and fun guy. He has a nice voice but so far, I have not yet hear him sing an English song. I hope for his sake, he doesn’t have a cold case of LidahKelu-ness. I will be looking forward to his performances.

3. Fahmy! Nice pick. His voice is good but not outstanding, in my opinion, but he’s got the good looks to make up for it. Good for him. I hope he does well in the competition.
So. the tally thus far… 2 girls and 7 guys and I’m no happy camper. I don’t think this is an overstatement, but a lot of the girls were robbed. If the judges know what’s good for them, they would not pick a single male into the wildcard show. Enough is enough man.

My guesses on who’s going on to the wild card show :

Definites : Sufiah, Nikki, Syima
Possible Maybes : Zehra, Farah, Rydee, Rinie
Distant Maybes : Anis, Yin
Please God Nos : Karen, Fariz, Sri, Hana
The rest are forgettable, sorry.

I think Sufiah is a shoe in for the finals. If she’s not picked by the viewers, I’m very certain the judges will pick her to advance to the finals (unless she fucks it up badly in the wildcard show). I think the race is on between Syima and Nikki. Both have a huge fanbase. I know I will be voting for Syima if she gets into the wildcard. I like her voice, style and personality. Nikki is a great singer, but other than her Mariah-warbles, to me she doesn’t really stand out. Go Syima!

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.