Wednesday, September 02, 2009

My thoughts for first live show of Singapore Idol 3

Happy Birthday to Pilar and Keanu Reeves

Although I had vowed from the start of June not to be too closely involved with Singapore Idol 3, I still found myself rushing back home to watch the first batch of Top 24 performing live in a small studio earlier today. I feel kinda bad for Hady, his 'big brother' role was rather pointless and laughable, doesn't help that his English sounds rather broken. And to think that this guy was the very first Asian Idol!! I think the HapyHadys must be covering their faces in shame... could this mark Hady's fall from grace?

But alas, the new season is not without some new twists. The first twist, as we may have known already, is that the phone lines begin at the start of the show, and that the results show come right after the news. Here's the second twist... 6 of the first 12 will advance to the Spectaculars, there will not be a second chance for those who didn't get in. Meaning no Wildcard round for this show, this wll be a last chance for half of the Idol wannabes. Sucks totally, right? This just kills the enthusiasm for the new season... makes it sound very rushed, as if the producers seem to have run out of fresh ideas. The third twist is the Judges' Save, which will be used at any point of time during the Final 12 (more on that at a later time).

I can't help but feel that the girls fared batter than the guys for this first of 2 Top Piano shows. The only ones I think have potential are... Tabitha, Jannah, Syltra. I dunno about the guys, unfortunately... goodness, one of them is actually named MJ? Is it too much of a coincidence from the recent passing of "you-know-who"? Farhan reminds me too much of Zac Efron with that hair of his... his vocals are ok, but will he end up being labelled as Sanjaya Malakar No 2? Or maybe a hate target like ermm, Jerry Yeo from SI 1 or even Victor Tang from "Live The Dream"? No surprise then that Ken Lim has certain concerns towards the cute guy...

The most LOL moment of the night had gotta be when the Top 12 started off the Results show at 10 pm by singing one of Michael Jackson's hit songs from Thriller (the greatest selling album of all time!!), "Wanna Be Starting Something". Lamest MJ Tribute I have ever seen, seriously!! Somewhere in California, MJ must be rolling in the mortuary (and he's due to be laid to rest in Glendale Park only tomorrow night...)

The ones who got in are... Charles, MJ, Farhan, Tabitha, Syltra and Malaque. 3 guys and 3 girls made it to the next round. But what was more surprising was that the public voted the guys in, while the judges were the ones who voted the girls in. Too bad we won't get to see more of people like Theodore, Nurul Huda or even that Vickie Guerrero lookalike Frances Maria. I hope the same scenario doesn't happen next week...

Still, I have to admit that Singapore Idol has evidently lost its magic touch for this season, it fails miserably in its attempt to once again connect with the viewers at home. Where it succeeded for the first 2 seasons, it failed for this one; I'm sure most of you would agree with me on that. Where 2 times is a charm, the third one is a mere fizzle. Watching the piano shows and Spectacular rounds of Singapore Idol 1 or 2 on TV or 'live' in the good ol' MediaCorp theater is like watching a blockbuster movie (eg Iron Man or The Dark Knight or even Transformers)... excellent script, a stellar cast, action-packed scenes. Watching the first live show for SI 3 is like watching a direct-to-TV movie DVD... with C-list actors, a weak plot and absurd scenes, complete with cheap digital effects.

As much as I would love to go to the studio to root for sweet-faced Charlene Torres-Tan in next week's episode, I would actually prefer to wait at MediaCorp reception instead. Moreover, I finish work at 7 pm next Wed, and I don't see any need to rush to MediaCorp by taxi, I'm way past that phase. Besides, how to survive in a cramped studio that can only hold up abt 100 people or less?

Hopefully, the Top 3 finalists for SI 3 wll be either A) 2 girls and a guy, or better yet B) 3 girls. Remember the last time there were 2 guys and a girl for Seasons 1 and 2, not to forget the solo category for "Live The Dream"? The girl gets booted out, and the guys proceed to the finals. Like I said before, there better not be a deja vu for this year's show. Anything can happen.

For the recap, go here and be amazed by the interesting 'pattern'.

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