Malaysian Idol

I wonder sometimes what all the hype is about Malaysian Idol.

True enough, I'm one of the people faithfully sitting behind the tv every week in time for the show. But it doesn't mean that I'm a total fan of the show. Heck, I can think of so many stupid reasons why the show here is so much worse than its american couterpart.

1. The contestants lack talent.

This is one thing I really don't get. During the auditions, I really thought that there were quite a number of talented people who really could sing (apart from the William Hung wannabes). But the moment they were put to the test to perform on a stage and to let Malaysia be the judge, my mind kept going... 'I suppose we have to choose the ones that sound the least worst?'
Not aall of them are bad though, but some are really lame. They'd probably qualify for Akedemi Fantasia (that's another thing I wanna talk about soon... ish!). Mainly, I found most of them rather forgettable. Come to think of it, I don't remember many from last week's episode. I know the first one was a Mariah Carey wannabe... she has a real knack for hitting the high notes, but I think she overdoes it. It's like...she sings pretty fine along the way and suddenly she decides to break a window or two. Only to prove that she can... Not that she can't, she does it pretty well but it always seems to stick out like a sore thumb despite hitting the right notes. Then there's the slut. She kept touching herself all over and making really stupid poses while she sang. The one that did impress me was the singer who was suppose to have been kicked was called back. She even mde it to the next round... *applause*

2. The judges... "..."

I really don't know what to say about them. Firstly, both Paul and Roslan seem to be constantly vying for Simon Fuller's role. But none of them quite fit the role. I'd say Paul's doing a better job at it though. But his criticisms lack the sharp wit of Simon's.
Roslan tries but seems quite pathetic in doing so... sometimes he does criticizes but it's not interesting. It just sounds rather annoying.
Speaking of annoying... I think Fauziah Latiff needs to increase her vocabulary. If she brings up more 'pitching' and 'the camera loves you', I'd just like to fling the camera at her. And my God, sometimes I wonder where she gets her tastes from... I was so disgusted by her comment (one of her favs) "The camera loves you" to the slut from last week. She barely says an ounce of individual opinion, except for her 'opinion' on style.

3. The quality

I dunno what it is about the quality... it just seems to be pretty weak in that point. The lighting seems awkward. And I think the atmosphere lacks the glamour. The small stage seems like a miserable little spot for u to show your stuff.

4. The hosts

Yes, I do like Jien. But has he looked at himself in the mirror recently? There's nothing wrong with him...just only his clothes. He certainly pulls himself off well as a typical Ah Beng. Okei... just to give face, not A Typical Ah Beng, but a good looking Ah Beng. And as for the other girl who I can never remember the name, as far as I know, she had always irritated me from the moment I first saw her. I can't remember when or where I saw her first, some kids program, but she annoyed me with her voice then. Still does now.

5. The slang

I can't stand the slangs I here from some of the contestants to date. Malays singing english songs but sounding like a Malay, some singing malay songs sounding english. If you can't speak it, or pronounce it well, why don't you just stick to your own language? I mean, sure, I have a horrible slang when I open my mouth and say something in chinese, but that's for talking. I'm not performing in front of Malaysia acting like some Kuai Poh, I'd rather sing in the language that I was brought up speaking with. And some of the pronunciations are atrocious!!!

6. The multi-racial thing

Don't get me wrong, I love the fact that we love together happily, harmoniously, peacefully, lovingly in this multi-racial community of ours (had to crack my brains for those old moral lessons for those words).
But I don't think it quite works out on Msian Idol. There's such an obvious clash of culture in the show. Whenever Roslan and Fauziah criticizes on a malay song, there's a tendency for Paul to announce it's crappiness. Sometimes, it works the other way. Our cultures forces us to think differently. It just doesn't seem to blend as well as it should.
Same goes for the songs... the style of english songs and malay songs are so different, it's hard to compare them on the same level. It may be because I've been brought up listening to mainly english songs but I feel that a lot of malay songs don't really bring out the singing talent in a person. But then again it may be also due to our ideas being different on the defination of talent. I mean, we have a culture that looks up to many  Chef Wan types.
And of course, not forgetting the hosts. One english and the other malay. I respect the idea of being able to reach a wider range of audiences but it just doesn't seem to hit the right note.

I know I have a lot of criticisms against Malaysian Idol. So wy do I still watch it ever so faithfully? Well, they aren't all bad, there's still some talent around. I'm betting on that really talented indian girl to win... I don't know her name. Ah Beng as he may look, Jien still looks adorable. Oh, and it's much better than a lot of the other reality talent shows around especially Akedami Fantasia.
Nope, I don't actually watch it (God forbid if that day shall ever come). But I have caught clips of it before, while channel surfing. I'm very thankful that Msian Idol doesn't have finalists as bad as those in AF. And judges too... I think a lot of the judges there seem pretty blind and tone deaf. I remember hearing this one contestant totally ruining a perfectly good song, "I will Survive". She sang out of tune in certain parts and just lacked the emotional stregth for it. And the judges loved her!!! The best comment I heard (I'm being sarcastic...) was this lady who applauded her for making the song 'her own'!!! So what if you sucked? All you have to do is suck originally and the judges will love you. This usually only happens when they attempt english songs though. I think they're better off with malay songs.
So I guess I don't really mind MI. At least there's better talent and judges.

Mood: Feeling rather evil, and guilty about it. Was I being too harsh? Can't help it if I'm over critical on certain things