Da’ KRUsader’s Manor™

(Promotional poster courtesy of Esplanade Theatres by the Bay)

2010 began with a bang during the Countdown event at Marina Bay with a quarter million revellers, yours truly included, ushering the New Year watching the eight minutes worth of fireworks display. 20 hours into the dawn of the New Year at the same vicinity, The Esplanade Theatres by the Bay to be more precise, two regional artistes that need no further introductions were on hand to stamp their mark and affirmed their par excellence statures to the eagerly-anticipating audience. It also meant, I were to begin 2010 with something substantial to fill this blog which was in danger of going into oblivion towards the end of last year.

The stage setting all set for the concert…

Rumours of this concert had been bandied around sometime in September 2009 but was only let slipped and confirmed by Dato’ Siti Nurhaliza in an off-the-record conversation with a journalist in October. The journalist was only too pleased to share this piece of good news to the readers and from then on, it was a case of waiting when the announcement was to be made official. A month on, I was alerted by the email alert by Esplanade that the show would be on New Year’s Day itself, an excellent start to 2010 for any decent music lover who appreciates the talents at disposal.

Aubrey Suwito on keyboards was the musical director for Dato’ Siti’s set. At the back on drums is Ujang…

Due to overlooking my inbox, I only managed to purchase the tickets three days after they had started selling it. Which meant, I missed out on my customary front row seating. However, I was told that the first two rows were blocked for media and sponsors. I had to settle for Row 13, which was a major concern, as I was open to being approached by the ushers to put away my camera, seeing how strict they are with the photo-taking. I tried to apply for media passes, a special dispensation perhaps, but I was told that it wasn’t possible. So I clung to the hope that I could do the same technique I did during Anuar Zain’s concert back in 2008. What technique I did, well it’s up to you to let your imaginations run wild. It also helped however, that it was a live televised event, so the ushers were not busy moving around to stop people from taking photographs or recording clips.

Dato’ Siti kicked off her performance with Nirmala…

I only collected my tickets right before the show, which meant I only knew the exact hall to go to once I had them in hand. When I booked the tickets, I did not go through the online method but I called Sistic straightaway to ask for the nearest possible seat to the stage. I had assumed that with two of the biggest names in the regional Malay music industry, they would have held it at the Concert Hall, which would attract more people to attend. As it is, when I found out that it was to be held at the Theatre Hall instead, I thought that the two performing artistes deserved more fans to watch them. On the flip side of it, a slightly smaller venue would make the setting more intimate and of course adding to the exclusivity of it all.

A classic pose for photographers in the arena to snap at…

What was special about this concert was the fact that the two legendary artistes were paired for the first time in a concert. Yes you’ve heard it right, they have never staged a concert together nor performed their duet “Bagaikan Sakti” live before this. Or so I was told. Which was a bit strange in my opinion, seeing how the song was the essence to the hit movie “Puteri Gunung Ledang“. But there is a time for history-making to be made. 1st January 2010 would be a date to be remembered, not only to the witnessing audience in the arena, but to the millions watching at home live via Astro. And for that, we have to thank Amin Hussen, the head honcho of Beyond Events, and his team for putting together this landmark event.

From top to bottom: Steve Thornton on percussions, Lee Sze Wan on 2nd keyboards and Pa’ang on ethnic percussions…

Even before we entered the arena, I could feel the anticipation in the air, that feel-good aura emanating from the watching audience who were eagerly making their way inside. Meeting Anugerah 2005 winner Hyrul Anuar along the way in, he shared that he was so excited about the concert, a feeling he felt as though he was the one who was slated to perform. Being the massive fan of Dato’ Siti Nurhaliza that he is, I could relate to his excitement as years ago, I too was in the same shoes as him, before marriage and family diminishing those feelings. I have to admit that I’m less of a fan now, not following her progress as much as in the past, with age, life’s priorities and responsibilities being major reasons for the apparent slow down. But me and the missus would never miss her shows here wherever possible.

Dato’ Siti performing “Bukan Cinta Biasa“…

For a live event, I was surprised the show did not start on time, or perhaps the eight minutes lag was for commercial reasons only known to the watching audience at home. But the delay was very much forgiven when the lights in the arena dimmed and the sessionists began playing their respective instruments to signal the start of the concert. I had expected M. Nasir to kick off the concert but true to the old adage of ladies going first, the onus to start the ball rolling fell on the shoulders of Dato’ Siti herself and she did not disappoint, surprising the audience by appearing amongst the dancers instead of from the raised platform on top of the stage. The silhouette that appeared from the platform, turned out to be one of the female dancers impersonating her. It was a gimmick that some had expected, since the introduction of “Nirmala” was apparently her recorded voice from the original track taken off her “Sanggar Mustika” album.

Here she’s performing “Biarlah Rahsia“…

I will not relate every single gimmick or what happened during each song per se, but during the first hour of a concert that had no intermission, the audience was brought back in time to her old hits like “Cindai” and to her more recent one, “Ku Percaya Ada Cinta“. Each song sung depicted her journey as a performing artiste for the last decade or so, with some telling stories of her own love life. Of the ten songs she sung during her set, one of them “Ada Masa Mata“, which was composed by none other than M. Nasir himself, made its debut during the concert having never performed anywhere before this. The song however, can be found in her “Lentera Timur” album (Thank you Azhan for correcting my earlier mistake. I stand corrected… ). Certain songs were also given fresh injections, with “Ku Mahu” given a touch of salsa and “Ku Milikmu” synergising with Beyonce Knowles’ “Crazy In Love“, making it a dance-fest of sorts. I’ve never seen this legendary living diva danced and moved so much in past concerts but I guess experience has taught her a lot and she is one performer who continues to improve and not resting on her laurels. It could also mean I’ve been detached from watching her perform for a considerable amount of time to be surprised with this aspect of her performance.

Showing off her dance moves whilst performing “Ku Mahu“…

Speaking of her experience being an artiste for half her life thus far, she seemed more relaxed and at ease bantering with the audience, though it has to be said at times one could detect that she was feeling a bit nervous performing in a concert of this magnitude. Even if at times the apparent nervousness betrayed her from the sound of her voice, she was still able to poke fun at herself and her critics for paying too much attention on her dressing and what she does on stage that could start tongues wagging. Though she has 14 years of experience (15 if you include her formative years during Bintang HMI in 1995 which she won) under her belt, she still admitted to feeling nervous before stepping on stage, or whether she would get her dance steps right or otherwise, or if she could hit the high notes when it mattered. That’s the mark of an artiste who continues to strive for perfection and concerned in giving only the best to the paying and watching audience.

Ending “Ku Milikmu” in style…

However, I just feel that this was a concert that for once, Dato’ Siti had to play second fiddle to the music maestro on both sides of the Causeway. How else could we explain the numerous calls for “Nasir” to appear, halfway through her set??? No matter if he is now a Malaysian citizen, Singaporean fans still regard him as one of our own and a shining example to follow for artistes and musicians alike who want to make a name for themselves across the Causeway. And when she started to sing “Kesuma Jiwa” from the 60s movie “Hang Tuah“, it was the cue for his arrival, as rapturous applause greeted the arrival of “the moustachioed one”, who appeared via the raised platform at the top of the stage. Singing “Ghazal Untuk Rabiah“, “Suatu Masa“, “Mawarku” & “Lagu Gembira“, the magic of this concert truly came to life when both were on stage.

M. Nasir appearing from the raised platform singing “Kesuma Jiwa“…

Dato’ Siti did a stellar job at warming up the audience for what to expect during this concert cos when M. Nasir took centrestage, one could feel the energy from the audience already bursting at the seams. We were definitely not disappointed as he began taking us back in time with hits like “Hati Emas“, and “Sahabat Gua“. He even managed to tug at the heartstrings in memory of his late wife, when he sang his haunting composition “Srikandi Cintaku“, which was made famous by the group Bloodshed. Another one that had me singing along was “Milik Siapakah Gadis Ini“, a massive hit back in the 80s when I was still a primary school kid. This was another one of his compositions which he said he has never performed before and hoped to do justice singing it. I thought his version and the late singer’s were special in their own right. The beauty and essence of the song still remained intact, even if he did not stretch his vocals like Allahyarham Sudirman did.

Kicking off their set properly with “Ghazal Untuk Rabiah“…

And what is a concert featuring M. Nasir without “Mentera Semerah Padi“, “Raikan Cinta” and “Ada” to totally rip the roof off the arena??? He practically had the audience in his grasp right from the word “Go”. If there was a mosh pit or had I been sitting right at the back, I would have stood up and danced all night. Yes, his music is indeed infectious, not that we don’t know already. The best part about his set was that, unlike Dato’ Siti’s, his was a one-man show with no back-up dancers to add colour to his performances nor taking short breaks for costume changes. His music, showmanship and energy were truly remarkable and this was helped by a strong cast of sessionists led by renowned music directors Aubrey Suwito for Siti’s set and Aznan Alias for his. Familiar faces like Steve Thornton on percussions and Ujang of Exists fame on drums were also on hand to lend the concert a touch of elegance with their musicianship.

Bantering in between their songs…

By the time M. Nasir finished his set of ten songs, his jacket was off and one could see clearly how wet his shirt was due to perspiration, not helped by the warm glare of the stage lights. So it was only apt that he went back for a change of clothing and both singers appeared on stage again via the raised platform to sing their duet “Bagaikan Sakti“, which was also the title of this concert. I thought that singing that song proved to be the final song but apparently the second set for both singers featured two more songs with them performing another one of his old hit “Dua Insan“, a duet made famous by him and Yunizar Hussein almost three decades ago, and “Hanya Semalam“, a song composed by him and lyrics written by Siti herself specially for this concert.

M. Nasir absorbing the energy, judging by his intensed look…

Watching them singing seven songs together split into two sets, I’m sure for those who watched, they would agree that both entertainers definitely have this spark and chemistry to be duet partners that would leave a lasting legacy like the likes of Anita Sarawak & Ismail Haron or Ramli Sarip and Dato’ Khatijah Ibrahim amongst others. Even M. Nasir himself admitted that for decades he has been searching for the perfect duet partner and for the first time that night, he claimed that he had finally found her. And who are we to disagree cos they were both simply spell-binding and immaculate in delivery, hitting the high notes with such nonchalant ease, bantering and poking fun at each other. It was no surprise that when the three-hour concert ended, they had the majority of the arena according them the due respect that they rightfully deserved by giving them the standing ovation.

He was all melancholic when he sang “Srikandi Cintaku“…

Due to the fact that Dato’ Siti’s last major concert at the Esplanade in March 2008 did not have any autograph-signing session and based on the same thing occuring after Anuar Zain’s concert in November the same year, I had anticipated the same thing would be happening again. But I was surprised when I heard that there was to be one held and that we had to buy the official merchandise being sold outside the theatre to have any chance of meeting the two concert protagonists. I was already in the queue when news of the session was being broadcasted by word of mouth as I wanted to buy her two latest offerings “Tahajjud Cinta” and “CTKD“, her duet album with beleaguered Indonesian diva, Kris Dayanti. After purchasing, the missus and I duly joined the queue hoping to say “Hi” to someone we have not met up close and talked to for almost five years now.

The man packed so much energy in his songs that he practically nailed the audience under his thumb…

The wait to meet them felt long even though the security personnel were waving away the fans quickly so as to allow more to get their opportunity. Halfway through, we were told not to take photographs with them as it was slowing down the queue. What was supposed to be a 45 minutes affair, turned out to be only about half of that. It was just our rotten luck that the session stopped just as we were about to greet her, as M. Nasir had left by then (word has it he left cos he got bored that he had no official merchandise to sign on, as those that were being sold were Dato’ Siti’s), but not before he stopped to take a last photo with yours truly. But I have to highlight why Dato’ Siti is so endearing to her legion of fans to this date, is because she does go the extra mile to please them, no matter how minor it may sound.

After a change of costume, both came back on stage for their second set. No prizes for guessing what song they were singing…

Yes, the session might have stopped abruptly, but she personally told the security personnel to allow her to go up to them to apologise for not staying longer than she would have liked to and so that she could shake hands with as many as possible, and I believe we were not disappointed. I certainly did not, as she acknowledged me with the familiar cheeky smile she used to greet me whenever we met in the past, and that look never changed even though it was our first meeting in a long while, with both our marital statuses changed. Though our short exchange was just the customary pleasantries, the warmth of acquaintanceship was still there. It’s rare to find someone who’s high up on the pedestal as Malaysia’s number one singer, having millions of fans in the region, but still remembering you even after so long. It was definitely the icing of my 31st birthday even though it came a day late. Some established artistes, and I could name a few, could learn a thing or two with regards to being sincere with their fans.

He finally found his perfect duet partner after decades of searching…

And so, Konsert Bagaikan Sakti had left an indelible mark in the memories of those who had been fortunate enough to bear witness to such a landmark event. It definitely has set a high standard for future concerts to come in 2010 and I for one felt that three hours were still not enough. It is never enough when it comes to the likes of M. Nasir and Dato’ Siti Nurhaliza. Even without much fanfare or aggressive promotions by the organisers, the tickets were all sold out in less than three weeks. That shows that with reputable brand names like them, you can be sure that no amount of compromise were to be expected as you are guaranteed value-for-money in quality with their performances. Every single one who watched it live or from the comfort of their homes would agree that that was simply breathtaking and definitely a good start to the year. Take a bow Beyond Events, M. Nasir & Dato’ Siti Nurhaliza. You definitely have set the benchmark for 2010!!!

Never one to disappoint her fans, Dato’ Siti is a class act to follow for all aspiring and known artistes hoping to win over hearts. Sincerity definitely goes a long way and she is a shining beacon in this respect…

I end this entry with the full list of songs performed on the night by order of performances:

Dato’ Siti Nurhaliza’s set:

1. Nirmala
2. Lagu Rindu
3. Ada Masa Mata
4. Cindai
5. Bukan Cinta Biasa
6. Ku Percaya Ada Cinta
7. Biarlah Rahsia
8. Ku Mahu
9. Ku Milikmu
10. Destinasi Cinta

Dato’ Siti Nurhaliza & M. Nasir’s first set:

1. Kesuma Jiwa (Prelude to first set)
2. Ghazal Untuk Rabiah
3. Suatu Masa
4. Mawarku
5. Lagu Gembira

M. Nasir’s set:

1. Hati Emas
2. Sahabat Gua
3. Bukalah Hatimu
4. Srikandi Cintaku
5. Sentuhan Listrikmu
6. Milik Siapakah Gadis Ini
7. Juwita Citra Terindah
8. Mentera Semerah Padi
9. Raikan Cinta
10. Ada

Dato’ Siti Nurhaliza & M. Nasir’s second set:

1. Bagaikan Sakti
2. Dua Insan
3. Hanya Semalam

December is a special month for my family. At least six of us celebrate our birthdays and for two of us, our wedding anniversaries. The best part is that my daughter has the honour of kicking the month off on the 1st while her father ends it off today, the last day of the year, to go along with my wedding anniversary. We’ve had a few mini celebrations so I’m just gonna upload them for your viewing pleasure beginning with Syahindah Adawiyah’s.

My two princesses…

Syahindah posing with her gift given to her by Uncle Ezaad & Aunty Julie. Thank you both for the lovely present. The couple celebrated their 4th wedding anniversary on 3rd December…

My firstborn is now three years of age and will be attending nursery school next week…

Then we had a celebration for my nephew Eshaan at his home on 12th December. The theme of the party was Thomas & Friends. The food was simply awesome. A pity I had to check my calorie intake.

The two cousins born just 8 days apart…

My younger sister, Nurul, celebrated her 21st birthday (7th December) by holidaying in Dubai with my elder sister, Farah. Below is a somewhat embarrassing situation for the latter when we celebrated her 34th birthday (18th December) at F.I.S.H on 20th December 2009. The mastermind was of course the one seated to her left. But it was all in good-natured fun.

We did not get to celebrate my dad’s birthday on Christmas Day and the weekend that followed due to a wedding that he needed to help out and Hari Asyura. I dunno what’s in store for mine today, but I don’t care if we celebrate or not cos it’s just another day to remind me that I’m a step closer to my grave. Every living day is a blessing on its own as I love and cherish every family member, friend or colleague that I have. Material stuff are bonuses, if any. At least we have the fireworks at Marina Bay to look forward to and the “Bagaikan Sakti” concert on Friday at the Esplanade. I thank you Allah for 31 years of my life and I hope you would continue to grant me more good health, wealth and sustenance plus your blessings for the family, Insya Allah…

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank my wife for 4 wonderful years of marriage. We’re not perfect and we do quarrel from time to time but without patience and tolerance from one another, I don’t think this would ever work. I love you lots sweetheart and with each passing year, it grows even more…

2009 has been a relatively good year for me, even though I spent the last quarter living like a single parent, no thanks to wifey’s never-ending work commitments and of course my dear uncle’s heart condition which put a lot of things in perspective. I’m pleased to announce that as of yesterday, he is now discharged from the hospital and recovering at home. On behalf of Uncle Dollah’s family, we thank you for all your endless support, words of encouragement and prayers rendered.

Still on the topic of football, the highlight of the year for me had to be meeting my favourite team in the flesh during their pre-season trip to Kuala Lumpur in July, staying at the same hotel as them and bumping into some of the players in the lifts and at the gym. Best of all, I’ve got to take a photograph with the grand daddy of them all, who shares the same birthday as me. Happy 68th Birthday to you Sir Alex Ferguson!!! May you continue to guide the team in good health and spirit. I will never forget my meeting with you and how nice you were even when your minders were not. By wishing me well and calling me “son”, that was definitely the highlight of my trip…

(Graphics courtesy of Mediacorp Suria)

It’s almost a week since the third and last day of the recording of this programme ended. The delay in uploading the photographs was deliberately intended so I could space out my entries and at least give the accolade that our newly-crowned Singapore Idol so deserved. Like Day 1, I won’t do any reviews and just upload the photographs for you to enjoy cos less is more, so here they are without further ado:

Where the event was held…

Tengku Adil being interviewed by Fauzie Laily before his set…

Tengku Adil crooning to his hit “Itu Yang Pasti“…

Fauzie added a different feel to his first hit single “Selalu“…

My favourite Anugerah Skrin judge, Rafaat Hamzah, watching proceedings from the back… I hope he returns again as judge for the second season next year…

Trisno of Urban Xchange / Parking Lot Pimp fame adding a touch of pizzazz to Bloco Singapura’s performance…

Bloco Singapura doing what they do best. An excellent display that makes one want to dance along to their beats…

Local singer Ard lent his support to the show by sitting amongst the audience…

So did Tengku Nur Lela…

Zaibaktian’s set had the best atmosphere, with the audience singing at the top of their voices and waving their hands in the air.

Our Anugerah 2009 winner, Sarah Aqilah hurt her back and was in great pain prior to appearing on stage, but she should be applauded for being professional and going through with the recording…

Imran Ajmain never fails to sing differently from his last performance / from the album and with every difference, it sounds even better…

Kunjung sang”Ke Awangan“, a catchy ditty that had me nodding my head to the beats…

I waited a long time to catch The Sallys in action and I wasn’t disappointed when they sang my favourite song “Gadis Marmalade“… This is Shafiq, the frontman of the group…

Kunjung & Shafiq joined Imran for the finale of their programme, singing the latter’s current single on the airwaves, “Radio“…

The programmes recorded on Day 3 will be televised on Monday 15 February 2010 at 9.30pm on Suria. Below is the full schedule of the programme:

(Photo courtesy of PureVolume.com) 

Last night’s unexpected win for this 22-year old young man was a huge lesson that for all the talk of image-selling and marketability factor, what Singaporeans in general look for in a winning Idol are the factors of humility and likeability, two traits that best describe our newly-crowned champion. I thought this season’s Singapore Idol competition was closer and tougher than the previous two, with Sylvia Ratonel being the favourite coming into last night’s Grand Finale, especially since she had the strong backing of the three judges.

Sezairi might not be as good-looking or suave as his predecessors, but in his own right, he is a talented musician, a soulful crooner, a picture of calm and serenity in the face of adversity week in and week out. But above all that, he has never let down the audience with his confident performances and moreso last night when he delivered three knock-out punches when it mattered. Sylvia I have to admit, was my favourite from the beginning of the competition, but somehow when the crunch time came, she was a bundle of nerves and looked as though she was overawed by the occasion. Sezairi took control right from the start and listening to him sing “Touched By An Angel“, one could feel his emotions and soul being put forth with more sincerity and feel than Sylvia. Which was why for the first time this season, I was inclined to finally cast my votes and to the person I felt deserved it more.

Yes, Sezairi’s win is another feather in the cap for our community and I’m very proud of him, as much as I was proud of Taufik Batisah and Hady Mirza winning in the past. But I’m not looking at it as a win for the community, but a win for Singaporeans in general because I believe the votes were cast without prejudice nor biasness, without having to see the colour of one’s skin to sway the voter’s decision. All the racist talks being bandied around yet again over a Malay winning this competition I believe, came from people who did not do their part by voting or voting enough. It doesn’t matter if we were to have a Malay representing us or a half-Filipino. The fact is they are Singaporeans and I’m sure they are proud to carry the flag no matter where they go.

Sezairi’s win I would like to add, brings a little ray of sunshine to the community which has been portrayed a bit negatively by our media scribes of late. I guess I don’t have to list down one by one what they are. I also don’t wish to be the wet blanket or party pooper, taking the limelight away from Sezairi, as alleged by a few snide remarks I got last night when I Twitted that we can do better academically as well. Yes we are good at football and singing, that’s a given fact and reflected by yesterday’s Berita Minggu article, but what I meant was actually we can do better in other aspects to add on to these two fields cos I’m sure we have gifted and unpolished diamonds waiting to make a name for themselves in many others. I was accused of killing the moment for the boy when people should actually look at things in the bigger picture. We can be happy and celebrate this win, but do not forget that with every success, we always have to remain grounded and spare a thought for those who might be lacking in our midst.

To Sezairi, you are very much worthy of being an Idol winner, of representing Singapore as a singing ambassador, and above all, of being able to be a positive role model to the community and nation. I look forward to you gracing our music industry, stamping your mark as a performer and spreading your wings as a talented composer and musician. Enjoy the moment, embrace the win, cos you deserve it for not only being one hell of a singer with soul, but for remaining true to yourself by staying humble, likeable and sincere. No one should begrudge you for that nor take it away from you. I certainly don’t… Congratulations Champ!!! Your journey has just begun…

(Graphics courtesy of Mediacorp Suria)

This entry will be short and sharp. I was at Dhoby Ghaut Green earlier to watch the recording of Viva Muzik Singapura again. I was looking forward to seeing AhliFiqir in action especially since their name was second on the list of performers scheduled to perform today. Though it was not stated what time they were performing, I assumed that their set was in the afternoon along with Syed Azmir, whose name was first on the list.

However to my dismay, I found out that they were only performing at 7.30pm. I had to leave by 6pm as I have my own prior engagements later on. What pissed me off was how late the show started. On the list, they said that the show was to start at 4:00pm but when I left at 5.15pm, it had not even started, to the point that Syed Azmir who was supposed to helm the set, had to come out and sheepishly apologise that it won’t start till another twenty minutes, resulting in groans all around. By then it would have been about 5:30pm, a good 90 minutes gone from the original time slated to start.

I can understand if the delay was due to the rain since it is afterall an open-air event, but the skies were clear as day and the reason that was used to describe the long wait was “the musicians are resting at the back…” Really??? Just because this event is free, doesn’t mean that people have so much time to wait and spare. We’re about a week away from 2010 and for us who just celebrated and welcomed 1431 Hijriah, I think it’s high time we get away from this old mentality of giving empty promises with regards to timings & start respecting punctuality. Time waits for no man and time is freaking precious. I hope tomorrow’s sets won’t be as disappointing as this one. For the record, I’m not holding Mediacorp Suria accountable for this as this project is mainly done by another party…

(Graphics courtesy of Mediacorp Suria)

Day One of the abovementioned programme / event went well over at Dhoby Ghaut Green earlier tonight, a mini amphitheatre built on the open space above Dhoby Ghaut MRT station, between Park Mall and CapitalMall Trust buildings. Though the weather was fickle the whole day, by evening, it was good and there was a good breeze to accompany the event, a first of its own away from the usual studio settings. This programme and its approach in honouring local acts, also reminds me of the successful “Singapura Live!” series that was aired a couple of years ago.

Today, there were two sets of recording done. The first one that will be televised on Tuesday, 5th January 2010 at 8:30pm will most likely consist the one that had Hyrul Anuar as host along with hip-hop duo Sleeq and the newly-formed girl group EVE, consisting of Anugerah 2009 alumni Yanie Hassan, Asilah Osmera & Nora Baharom. The second set had soul crooner Hazrul Nizam helming the show, along with Anugerah 2007 runner-up Maiya Rahman and Anugerah Band winner Rancour completing the line-up.

I will not be reviewing the performances as I don’t see the need to. I was there to enjoy the good music dished out by our local acts. Maybe the downside of the night were the constant retakes, mostly due to the dead crowd (even though the turnout was decent), but other than that, I enjoyed all the performances by the artistes involved tonight. I will not act as the spoiler by uploading video clips of the event cos I did not take any and I would prefer if you catch it yourself when they are finally televised. Instead, I will just upload the nicer photos taken at the event.

Hyrul Anuar kicked off his performance with his current hit single “Popular“…

Sleeq kicked off their set with “Cun Saja“…

EVE introducing themselves before singing Anita Sarawak’s “Seksis“…

Hyrul Anuar thanking the audience for coming at the end of their programme…

Hazrul Nizam kicked off his set by singing a mixture of Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy” and Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive“…

Maiya was a bit subdued when she performed “Nongkrong”. Maybe she was feeling unwell…

I like Rancour’s first hit single “Biarlah“. Though it’s supposed to be a sad song, but it’s quite edgy…

The finale of the second recording, with the artistes taking turns thanking the audience…

Hyrul Anuar’s loyal fans “Hyrulites” out in full force in support of the man himself…

Actress / host Azzah Fariha was also present at the recording in support of our local acts. Singapore Idol 2009 contestant Malaque Mahdaly was also seen amongst the crowd along with the official Singapore Idol Blogger, Iskandar. No they are not an item, in case you’re wondering…

Later today, there will be three sets of recording of the programme at the same venue and the first one is scheduled to start at 4:oopm, barring any cock-ups during soundchecks and the issue of the monsoon season rearing its head. There will definitely be a short break out of respect for Maghrib and the second set should start between 7:30pm-8:00pm. So if you are free after work, do come down and support our local acts at the said venue… 

(Graphics courtesy of Mediacorp Suria)

VIVA MUZIK SINGAPURA

A free outdoor concert for all, featuring the best of local acts!

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Viva Muzik Singapura will be recorded into an 8-episode variety programme.

The show will debut on 5 January 2010 at 8.30pm on Suria.

I’ve not been actively blogging since Anugerah 2009 ended. And I only had one entry before this to show for, that I have not retired. I really have to apologise to each and everyone of you who come in and see the same header and entry greeting you. But the time away from blogging, I just feel as though I have inadvertently retired. Well at least it kinda feels that way. I seemed to have lost the zest in airing my commentaries. I wonder if age has caught up on me. Or whether I’ve lost interest due to happenings in my life over the past four months. Or because Twitter has now taken over in voicing my views albeit in its shorter format. I just can’t find any joy or interest in blogging at the moment. This blog, arguably renowned for its take on happenings in the local Malay music industry is now officially “a white elephant“. I’ve not attended a music event since Anugerah ended and that goes to show how detached I am from something I have loved doing all these years. And surprisingly, I don’t miss it all. Strange isn’t it coming from me???

Speaking of happenings, I had ended the last entry by hoping to share good news with everyone. Sadly, my uncle is still in a comatose whereas as we all know by now from the media scribes, Sarah Aqilah lost her younger sister. It’s just ironical that I had posted the last entry about an hour before she passed on. May Almighty Allah bless her soul and place her amongst the dwellers of Jannah…

The last third of 2009 hasn’t been that good for me, in all aspects of my life. And I don’t wish to pour my thoughts out and rant about it, something which I did on quite a regular basis in this blog. Even when I’m unhappy with someone, I choose to let it slide rather than bang my head on the wall. I guess in life you can’t expect people to like or accept you for what you believe in. I’m too old for petty fights now even when I see people hitting out at me via their Tweets, blogs or Facebook statuses. It’s a low blow which I prefer having them come straight up to me and telling it like real men and gracious ladies. And to think one of them said 11-a-side football is for real men. Obviously those who play street soccer and futsal are sissies then??? Seems to me there are people who think only from their own deluded perspectives.

But in the grander scheme of things, I guess everyone’s entitled to their own opinions and if they are negative, I’ll just take them into consideration and do a bit of self-reflection cos there could possibly be some elements of truth if we were to put ourselves in their shoes and think the way they do. Sometimes, it’s best to keep your enemies closer to you cos they are the ones that keep you in check when you get all complacent. Heck, I’ve even been less critical of the team I hate most in world football given their current predicament, not to mention being less chuffed about my beloved team even when they are still a decent bet for title honours come the end of the season. Again that just shows how detached I am from a lot of things lately that I found so much profound joy in doing before. Or maybe the joy and responsibilities of parenthood make you couldn’t care less about the trivial and mundane stuff…

I hope to fill this blog more before the year is out. And not make this title header a continued legacy…

Looking at the date today and the date I last posted an entry in my blog, I’m two days short of exacting two months away from the blogging world. Yes, I’ve been away far too long and the cobwebs have since started to appear. Maybe I have nothing interesting to note. Maybe I’ve held back on expressing my thoughts and views. Perhaps and at times, I do feel like announcing my retirement from blogging. I don’t think anyone would miss me if I were to do that as I know there will always be replacements, even if they are not like-for-like out there.

For those of you who have been following my blog for years, you would know that I normally take a month-long break from blogging during Ramadhan. This is my way to minimise whatever wrong / hurtful words I might say when I pour forth my thoughts. Anyway, it is also my way of showing respect for the month by minimising all worldly affairs and yes, that includes the entertainment industry which I always have a vested interest in.

Maybe this time, I took a longer break than expected. But that’s because I have nothing interesting to say or upload. If I were to describe to you how I celebrated Hari Raya this year, to me, I’ll just be jumping on the bandwagon that most bloggers who celebrate the festival would do. Speaking of which, I must say, I only celebrated the festival for a good three days and that’s it. I guess it is safe to say Hari Raya for me as a family this year has been the worst. Not only did we not have the time to visit family and friends due to the wife having to work on weekends and coming home till late midnight on a normal weekday, my daughters have also fallen ill. Add to the fact that my most favourite uncle, none other than our national footballing legend Dollah Kassim, is in hospital, I just hope people out there would understand and forgive us if we are unable to attend whatever functions or open house events you have invited us for. Not to mention visiting the homes of my first-level relatives. Hari Raya for us this year has been an absolute bummer.

Us having dinner at Newton Food Centre on 30 September 2009…

Speaking of Uncle Dollah, I don’t think I need to describe what happened and what is wrong with him as the national daily prints out there have done us the yeoman service the past week updating on his condition. It is absolutely surreal to see him in such a state having only met and having dinner with him only four days before he was struck down with the cardiac attack. Our family cannot thank everyone enough for their support, visits and words of encouragement in difficult times like these. We are forever indebted by all your prayers for him as he fights his way back to consciousness and health. Also to those who made the time and effort to visit him in hospital.

My deepest regrets also go out to our Anugerah 2009 champion Sarah Aqilah who is also in the same boat as us, awaiting for signs of improvement on her younger sister Oshin, who is in the next ward to Uncle Dollah’s. I sincerely hope we would all have happy endings to share with one another very soon…

(Photo courtesy of Mediacorp Suria)

After three months of hard work, sweat and tears, beginning with 1013 would-be contestants on 2nd & 3rd May 2009 and finally down to the Top 4 finalists, Anugerah 2009 reached its penultimate and closing stage on Tuesday 11 August 2009 with a new winner being crowned, thus adding another name to our ever-growing list of artistes in our small local Malay entertainment industry.

From what I gathered from the general masses, this win by Sarah Aqilah, a female, is very much welcomed and long-awaited. To some, it was a wait too long. A female has finally broken the monopoly and dominance held by the males since 2004 when Noorhaqmal (Aqmal) won that year’s Anugerah competition and Taufik Batisah was crowned the first Singapore Idol winner, followed by Hyrul Anuar in Anugerah 2005 (incidentally all four finalists were males), Hady Mirza in Singapore Idol Season 2 in 2006, and Aliff Aziz in Anugerah 2007.

But prior to this coronation, I was left feeling sympathetic towards the only non-Singaporean in this competition through no fault of hers. In one of my previous reviews I did highlight the fact that there were voices of discontent with regards to her participation in the competition. And it all came to a head when earlier in the day, on RIA 89.7FM whereby the morning show had a segment on listener’s thoughts on the final, a lot of calls via phone-ins and smses were made from narrow-minded listeners to vote for a true-Singaporean. Even a local personality’s Facebook status had a similar tune to it, which made it all the more deploring given the fact that this person makes a living out of moulding the future of our generation.

To the voices of discontent, though I applaud your patriotic feelings, I believe they are very much misplaced. Especially when it comes to music and entertainment. Music is universal, it is diverse, and very much beautiful. Besides football, I think the only other language that can unite the world is the language of music. It should transcend all barriers and is to be enjoyed by everyone. As such we should not look from where the entertainer hails from to appreciate his or her talents. Acknowledge good talent not because of nationality but through his or her own God-given abilities. Even the online forum site of Anugerah 2009 was filled with hate-inclined messages towards Kunjung and poor Chris, her husband, had to go in and defend his wife. I cannot be proud of my fellow countrymen if their attitude stinks like this.

I hope as we move on over the years, this backward mentality would be scrapped from our minds cos I have nothing much to say except shame on each and everyone of you who have this mindset. Reading the disgraceful and uncouth smses on national television left such a sour taste in the mouth. So what if she is a Permanent Resident (PR)??? That does not make her any less willing to represent us if given the opportunity to do so in future. Even PRs are required to serve National Service as far as I know, since I had a few of them serving along with me during my time a decade ago. Please correct me if I’m wrong here in case there are changes to the rules or my knowledge of the Constitution is not up to par. Nowhere in the rules of the competition did they state that non-Singaporeans were not allowed to compete. Even our Channel 8 counterparts opened up their search for new stars to non-Singaporeans and nobody complained.

From the media release that I received, the Results Show aired on the Tuesday before last, garnered the highest-rated episode-to-date with more than 190,000 viewers tuning in. The number of votes tripled over the years with more than 30,000 votes received via sms and telepoll lines throughout the competition. Hosted by the resident anchors for this season, Fauzie Laily and Fiza O, the Grand Finals was a two-hour affair graced by the likes of Imran Ajmain, AhliFiqir, Art Fazil, Noryn Aziz and Anugerah 2007 winner Aliff Aziz. Not forgetting the eliminated contestants from the Top 16 also made a brief comeback accompanying Aliff during his performances at the start and towards the end of the show.

Joining the resident judges Eddy Ali, Ann Hussein and Gani Karim were Singaporean-born singer/composer Azmeer [he of the "Harapan Semalam" (duet with Amy Mastura) and "Zuriat Cinta" fame back in the 90s. For those of you from the younger cohort who can't recall, he was the composer for Datuk Siti Nurhaliza's haunting hit "Purnama Merindu" from her Adiwarna album back in 1998.] and Suria Record Sdn Bhd’s Director of Artiste & Repertoire, composer and executive album producer, Zulkifli Majid. The latter is also no stranger to the industry having been involved with 2 By 2, the group famous for singing revival songs back in the late 90s. The show was graced by a live band called “Soul Brothers” led by renowned composer Indra Shahrir. It was added with pizzazz by four back-up singers under the tutelage of Irwan Mahpoel, two of them Adam and Afiqah having entered Anugerah in 2005 and 2009 respectively, the latter only reaching the Top 50 in this year’s competition. Oh and if my eyes did not fail me, Fyno of Cucu Datuk Merah fame was also in the backing vocals group.

The Anugerah trophy design…

A brand new trophy was revealed on Tuesday night in celebration of Anugerah’s success over the past decade. The trophy design was a collaboration between Suria and the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA). Students took on the design of the Anugerah trophy as a special project that is part of their school work. The winning trophy design was selected from over 100 designs and will be used for future Anugerah competitions. The new Anugerah trophy was designed by Muhammad Nasrul Bin Roslin, a third-year Visual Communications student from NAFA. He was inspired by the letter “A” that stands for “Anugerah” and excellence. The prism-shaped trophy also symbolises the strong foundation that escalates to greater heights. The curvatures represent in motion and versatility of the winner.

For the record, the four finalists – Chirul, Sarah Aqilah, Wawan and Kunjung – performed four songs from their own selection where they got to showcase their individuality and identity, a viewer’s choice, a specially composed song by Suria Record Sdn Bhd and duets with professional singers like Azyza, Eiss, Maman and Nana. Originally I presumed that one of the songs to be performed by each finalist was supposed to be selected by the judging panel but somehow I think they did away with that and instead focused more on how the finalists would flex their muscles singing songs they were more comfortable with, rather than having to be “forced” to sing a song that did not suit their tastes. I guess my foreword is long enough already and I wouldn’t want to bore you any further with more informative details. Now on to the individual reviews proper.

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The show kicked off with Aliff Aziz singing the Anugerah theme song “Bintang Anugerahku” along with the four finalists as well as being accompanied by the ousted contestants from the Top 16 and afterwards the finalists were given the opportunity to warm up with Glenn Fredly’s “Dansa“. It was obvious from the sound system that it was a lip-synch performance by them, probably to save their energies for what lay ahead. However, they need to master the art of getting their synchronisations right. Kunjung was guilty of mouthing off the words wrongly during her part. Somehow Asilah Osmera caught the eye with her energetic dance moves as compared to Kunjung. Surprisingly Sarah, whom I’ve noted before that she does not come across as convincing singing a song of a more upbeat tempo, sounded good. I dunno if this was because it was recorded and all she had to worry about was the choreography. The evening would unveil itself and answer all my questions.

FIRST ROUND

Chirul – Ular Berbisa (Hello Band) – Own Choice

I thought it was a good start to the show which showcased Chirul’s youthful exuberance. Or so I thought. He has the voice to carry off the song well and I liked the way he sung it, especially since he executed the falsetto parts flawlessly. Rewind back to Episode 3 when he was chided for not doing it properly. I think he has improved in that respect over the course of the competition. His only downside in my opinion when singing this song was not to conquer the stage with a more energetic showing and letting himself go as the song called for more strutting and prancing around. Chirul still came across as too laidback and relaxed for someone who wanted to win this competition.

Sarah Aqilah – Rawan (Azharina) – Viewer’s Choice

The competition’s “Power Balladeer” as coined by Gani Karim, stuck to what she does best – singing ballad songs. Like most of the time she sings these kind of songs, she started off slowly but eventually grew as the song progressed and somehow you knew Tuesday night was gonna be a special night for Sarah Aqilah when she hit the chorus and high notes. The judges’ comments on Sarah were also dead give-aways by the end of the first round, which personally to me, ended the competition even before it began in earnest. The showing of the public votes only served to prove my thoughts spot-on on Sarah. My only complaint about this performance of hers was her outfit, cos it made her look as though she was expecting a baby. No offence to Sarah or her stylist.

Wawan – Ketahuan (Matta Band) – Viewer’s Choice

From the semi-finals stage where he sang Diorama’s “Sanubariku“, Wawan continued to impress yours truly with this rendition of Matta Band’s “Ketahuan“. I’ve heard the original as well as the dangdut version by Dewi Persik. But this was something different altogether. This version was injected with a touch of jazz-swing to it and the performance was coloured by Wawan and his backup dancers in Broadway-styled outfits. Ann Hussein wasn’t impressed with the performance but I thought it was daring and fresh from Wawan and should be commended for trying out something he has not done so far in the competition. Ann’s comments on him proved conclusive on how the evening was gonna shaped up.

Kunjung – Rembulan (Kris Dayanti) – Viewer’s Choice

I think it is fair to say that Kunjung is a big fan of the Indonesian diva cos she sang at least two songs from her throughout the competition with a third one afterwards on the night. But contrary to the original version which is of mid-tempo, Kunjung actually sang the other version of the song which is of a more upbeat tempo, and it became a dance-fest that had me bobbing my head to the beats. I think it was infectious enough to make people groove along with her if it had been a different setting than the Mediacorp TV Theatre. I know the judges love her for her showmanship, I do too, but I felt because of the disgraceful noises made by certain quarters, she was losing a battle trying to win over the voting public. The public voting charts certainly did not lie. It has to be said that with this performance, no other contestants could hold a candle to her for showmanship.

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SECOND ROUND

Group Performance - Tanpa Ku Sedar

This song was specially composed by Ihsan Mustafa (hope I got the spelling of his name right) and Zulkifli Majid for this Grand Finals and the winner of Anugerah 2009 would go on to record this song as a single in their debut album. The challenge for the quartet was to memorise and get the feel of this song within a few days before the Finals. It is unfair for me to comment on whether they sang the song well or not given the fact that it was my first time listening to the song and have not gotten myself acquainted to it, but judging by the facial expressions and body language from the contestants, Sarah seemed at ease with the song and it helped that she rekindled her partnership with Chirul from the previous round in this performance. A ballad song of this nature was also chicken feed for her.

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THIRD ROUND

Chirul - Hanya Kau Yang Mampu (Aizat) - Viewer’s Choice

One of my favourite songs of all time and I had hopes that Chirul would bring some justice to the song. Alas, he mixed up the last two lines of verses one and two and I guess it went downhill henceforth. His continued lackadaisical outlook on stage also did not sit down well with yours truly and the panel of judges, to the point he was chided by Azmeer for being too relaxed and not ready to go to war. Perhaps he knew that he had no chance of winning judging by his earlier performances and the constant updating of what was happening on the voting charts, but it was still not a good reason for him to allow the other three favourites to win at a canter without giving them a good fight.

Sarah Aqilah - Hati Yang Kau Sakiti (Rossa) - Own Choice

If her detractors and non-voting masses were still not convinced by her earlier performances, I guess this one would have clinched it for her once and for all. To me, it was game, set and match. The emotions she put into the song were spot-on, so much so that this was probably the best performance of the night, worthy of her coronation as the competition’s champion. Oh and my hair stood for the first time that night listening to her hitting the high notes. The smses by the voters also jumped from 36% to 41%, indicating it was only a matter of time before we saw the crowning of a new champion. And again it has to be said Gani Karim has a knack of revealing things and spoiling the excitement with his comments, though I have to add I enjoyed his colourful analogies throughout the competition.

Wawan - Semua Untuk Cinta (Mike) – Own Choice

Wawan wasn’t known to sing something soulful and R&B-ish before this. And I was surprised he actually experimented with this genre to add that wee bit of colour and versatility to his repertoire. He did capture the mood well, but at times he looked a little uncertain. A few parts were also slightly pitchy, especially the lower registers. Approaching the end of this performance, I noticed a standard pattern in Wawan’s performances in that he loves to grimace and break into a long “Oooooooohhhhhhh” somewhere towards the end of the song he sings. Don’t believe me??? Just watch clips of his performances when they are up on YouTube.

Kunjung - Ku Teruskan (Siti Sarah) - Own Choice

This song was specially dedicated to Kunjung’s late father, as was told to me by my cousin Lydia, who was seated next to me that night. With such poignant memories of her loved one, I thought the translation between reality and art form could not have been expressed better. Maybe the only thing that was missing were the tears streaming down her cheeks cos I was expecting that. Acknowledging the challenge she had in singing this song in a short interview before this performance, one could hear her struggling with the notes and it seems the lower registers have been a constant source of bane for most of the contestants rather than the higher ones.

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DUET WITH MENTORS

Chirul & Nana - Ketika Cinta Bertasbih (Melly Goeslaw Feat. Amee)

Chirul’s voice makes him the perfect male partner in any duet, simply because he has the rich, baritone voice to harmonise well with his partner and this was very much evident in this performance. However, he was in danger of being upstaged by Nana’s voice, especially as the song was reaching its final stages, which made me wonder, who was supposed to be in competition, him or her??? Nana’s energy was also not in sync with Chirul’s, who continued to be very relaxed and laidback. A duet should be about complementing one another and bouncing off each other’s energies. While the voice and harmony were good, the chemistry in terms of emotions exuded could have been better.

Sarah Aqilah & Eiss - Sembunyi (Misha Omar & Andy Flop Poppy)

I welcomed this song from Sarah, simply because it is of a quicker tempo, something which throughout the competition, we have not seen her ace as good as whenever she sang ballads. Though the attempt was commendable and I could see how she tried, alas I thought she kinda struggled and looked quite uncomfortable. But she need not have to worry cos her spot as the winner was more or less confirmed by then. To be fair to Sarah, there was nothing wrong with her vocals but she seemed shy to let herself go when it comes to a song of this nature.

Wawan & Maman - Inspirasiku (Jeff Catz)

When the bonafide and true rocker combined, there was a tremendous amount of energy combusting on stage, which I think the original singer would have been proud of to witness. They were just bouncing off each other’s energies and enjoying themselves on stage, to the point I momentarily forgot this was a competition to begin with. I think this kind of performance and confidence should be an example of how to enjoy yourself on stage, even if you are competing. Others could look at this as a useful marker to follow in future. It certainly helped to dispel some jitters felt in the heat of competition. But of glaring note was Maman’s uncertainty on when to sing and when not to. He also forgot the lyrics.

Kunjung & Azyza - Semua Jadi Satu (Kris Dayanti, Ruth Sahanaya & Titi DJ)

Another Kris Dayanti number which Kunjung seemed to prefer belting out. A song of this nature required her to strut and prance around on stage and she did that with aplomb as how we’ve come accustomed to her performances throughout the competition. Another good example of singers complementing one another on stage. But Kunjung’s apparent downside, which has been a thorny issue amongst the judging panel over the course of this competition was her vibrato. To some, it sounded natural but at times maybe it could possibly be a source of irritation to the ears, so much so that Azmeer took great pains to highlight and to inform her to tone it down by 20% if she were to carve a career in singing. His reference to it being in danger of her sounding like a goat bleeting, amused many in attendance.

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GUEST PERFORMANCES

The first guest performance came from AhliFiqir and Art Fazil, singing a remake of “Fikir-Fikir” from Art’s former band Rausyanfiqir. Their turn-tablist, DJ Cza, and other member Samsol a.k.a. TukangKata were conspicuously missing from their line-up and it was only through the introductory rap that I realised the latter had left the group. Or was he just missing in action / taking a leave of absence??? I had heard of rumours regarding differences that have arisen between them, but till now I am unsure what was the cause of him leaving the group. The group did look odd without one of their original members.

Next up was Imran Ajmain. He sang “Jika Engkau Pergi” for the first time on national television, the song he struck gold for Best Original Composition at the World Championship of Performing Arts (WCOPA) in Los Angeles last month. As with all his performances, I can never get enough listening to him. I know this is very much belated and I have not said it in public, but congratulations to Imran for flying the flag high on foreign soil. The win was all the more sweet given the obstacles he had to go through to make the trip happen. A Cultural Medallion or something similar for him at next year’s National Day Awards perhaps??? I’d certainly vote for it…

If Malaysia has a jazz queen in Sheila Majid, I believe Noryn Aziz is the princess and queen-in-waiting. My goodness, her performance was extremely flawless. The audience who were lukewarm at the start of her song were generally impressed and she had them all under her thumb by the end of it. Singing “Kembalikan“, my hairs stood for the second time that night when she sang the chorus effortlessly and with such awesome control. I can only wonder why her star isn’t shining so brightly over here even after winning the Best New Female Artiste at Anugerah Planet Muzik 2007. Could it be her forte in her genre isn’t to our consumers’ liking??? We’ll never know…

The last quarter had Aliff Aziz singing Gigi’s hit “Nakal” and being accompanied again by the Top 16 contestants. It has to be said that not all of them were around. The Queen of Wigs, Hafizah Naser, Episode 4’s chart-topper Nani Sulaiman and Hairizam were notably missing in action, perhaps tied by their own personal commitments. I had expected Gigi’s lead singer Armand Maulana to make a surprise appearance singing the song with Aliff, knowing that he was in town on Tuesday, but it was wishful thinking on my part.

And so what do I make of the results??? Before the show, the only two persons I thought would win were Wawan and Sarah Aqilah. Had the viewers been more kind towards Kunjung, I would have had a hard time in weighing the options. Chirul though he upped his performance in the semi-final rounds, I felt he was still too casual for my liking and too young to grasp the essence of being an entertainer. So it was down to Wawan and Sarah. Wawan had always been a consistent chart-topper and he had the voting public’s support to count on whereas Sarah had the judges’ backing.

The decision to choose Sarah on the night was too simple. She kept to what she does best and that made her the darling of the judges. Wawan was still experimenting with genres and there are two schools of thought to gauge him that night. One is that he is a versatile performer,  able to sing songs of different genres and a jack of all trades. The other is that he seemed uncertain where his strengths lie even though from the competition we know, he seemed to ace if the song was leaning towards a rockish genre. The surprise to me was Kunjung getting second. It showed how much she scored with the judges as compared to the voting by the public. All in all I thought the results were very fair. Whoever performed well, deserved their respectful standings.

The challenge for Sarah Aqilah now is for her to polish her skills in singing fast numbers, especially in a live setting. I tend to think that she is being one-dimensional, i.e. only able to sing ballad numbers well. But to be fair to Sarah, I think all these while, she seemed to hold back a lot when it came to singing these kind of songs was because she might have been afraid she would miss her steps and in turn forget her lyrics. Cos clearly she sounded very good when singing “Bintang Anugerahku” at the start of the show. Speaking of forgetting her lyrics, that is also another aspect of her performance which she needs to improve on based on her two follies in Episode 4 and the semi-final rounds, but I guess I will allude that to competition jitters. Congratulations to you Sarah Aqilah for being the Anugerah 2009 champion!!! Your journey begins now and so too the other finalists.

The following is the roll of honour and what the winners won for themselves:

Grand Champion – Sarah Aqilah Binte Jamil

1. Champion trophy,
2. Music album from Suria Record Sdn Bhd
3. Contract with Mediacorp Artistes Management Unit
4. $10,000 cash
5. Nikon Coolpix P80 camera 
6. Nokia E66 bundled with 24-mths 3G Flexi Lite – *AMPed plan worth $1300 from Singtel Pte Ltd

1st Runner-Up – Kunjung Wide Whitaker

1. A Mini album (3 songs) from GUMBIRA
2. Contract with Mediacorp Artistes Management Unit
3. Nikon Coolpix S60 camera
4. Sony Ericsson W595 with 24-mths 3G Flexi Lite – *AMPed plan worth $1000 from Singtel Pte Ltd

2nd Runner-Up - Muhamad Safuan Bin Husen (Wawan)

1. Music single for Alunan Kasih compilation album
2. Contract with Mediacorp Artistes Management Unit
3. Nikon Coolpix S610
4. Samsung F400 with 24-mths 3G Flexi Lite – *AMPed plan worth $950 from Singtel Pte Ltd

3rd Runner-Up – Ahmad Hairul Bin Md Salleh (Chirul)

1. Music single for Alunan Kasih compilation album
2. Contract with Mediacorp Artistes Management Unit
3. Nikon Coolpix L20
4. Samsung F400 with 24-mths 3G Flexi Lite – *AMPed plan worth $950 from Singtel Pte Ltd

Subsidiary Awards

Best Performance in NIKON’s Music Video Award – Sarah Aqilah Binte Jamil

1. Trophy
2. Nikon Coolpix P6000

MANJA Media Darling Award - Kunjung Wide Whitaker

1. Trophy
2. 1-year subscription of Manja magazine
3. $200 shopping vouchers

LUSTRE’s Styling Award – Kamsani Bin Jumahat

1. Trophy
2. The Tree by Lustre facial treatments worth $500

Best Performance in Choreography Award – Kunjung Wide Whitaker

1. Trophy
2. $200 shopping vouchers

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Post-Event Reception

Suhailah Salam, Suzairhe Sumari, Taufik Salleh, Nick Mikhail and Shahril Wahid were amongst the celebrities invited to grace the event…

What is a grand show without a post-event reception??? I know I did not mention this before in this entry but the Grand Finals resembled a Pesta Perdana of sorts. So many local artistes were around to grace the event and the reception was even joined by some of the Malaysian artistes who were slated to appear on Friday night’s Salam Lebaran recording at the Mediacorp TV Theatre. I have to apologise though that I did not take that many photographs of the event as the battery in my camera went flat just as I was about to take photographs of me with Zaibaktian. There were some interesting highlights of the reception which are still fresh in my mind.

The glam queens – Norfasarie & Nurul Aini…

First of all, I finally got to meet Sofie, the President of NingClix SG, the die-hard fans of Ning Baizura. He was with Raja Norashikin of HalimSaidi.com, an online friend I made right after the P.Ramlee Musical last year. First time meeting them but it felt as though we have known each other for a long, long time. There was so much warmth from everyone and I thought it would be good if we could hang out some day. By the way, they were with Noryn Aziz’s entourage. A pity I couldn’t get to chat with the jazz princess like how I did during last year’s Anugerah Planet Muzik in Kuala Lumpur. I had also wanted to get her to endorse this blog a second time through a short video clip, since the one she did last year was cropped unexpectedly through yours truly’s amateur editing skills. But it was nice to know she did remember me when I said “Hi” to her.

Syed Azmir, Uncle Jasmani Basri, Lydia and Aliff Aziz…

Aliff Aziz surprised me when he came up to me and asked how did he do in his performances that night. Instantly what struck me is his humility which is there in abundance, and his willingness to listen, improve and work on whatever flaws there may be. I only managed to say that he did well and gone was his famed whispery voice. Upon watching the recording of the show again, I noticed that he bent and slouched a bit too much during his ”Nakal” performance but other than that, my feedback to him during the reception was spot-on. His two years’ experience as an entertainer has benefitted and improved him in many aspects. I certainly look forward to his latest offering soon.

Danial & Hyrul Anuar…

Last but not least, was my meeting with Eddy Ali. All these while during the previous episodes when I met him, all we did was shook hands without saying much nor introducing ourselves to one another. He came up to me as I was chatting with my elder sister’s old friend, Esra, who is a staff with Suria, and enquired if I was who I was. I said, “Yes I am” and he shook hands and embraced me, which caught me a little by surprise. Regular readers of this blog would note in the past, I seldom had good things to say about Anugerah’s chief judge and the tone of my comments about the way he judged, bothered on being personal more than being objective for those of you who perceived it that way. I was even more surprised and humbled by the fact that he did not take to heart my past comments on him.

Zaibaktian, Jaliboy, Suhailah Salam, Nana, Rafaat Hamzah & Amin from VJR…

Personally I had nothing against him other than the fact that I disagreed with some of his views in the past, but I told him that night and also mentioned before in one of my Anugerah 2009 reviews that this season, I tended to share and agree with most of his opinions. To Abang Eddy, I never had a chance to say this that night, but I’m saying it now cos I know you would be reading this, “I apologise if my previous comments could have caused undue distress or undermined your standing as a judge in the competition.” Thank you for the extend of friendship and I certainly look forward to seeing you again some time.

A much better shot of Imran than the one I took during his performance…

Speaking of apologies, I would also like to take this opportunity to apologise if my words in my past reviews were deemed harsh, be it towards the contestants, judges, stylists or even make-up artistes. I got wind that some people were displeased with my comments with regards to the way the male contestants were heavily made-up in the earlier rounds. When I made those comments, I based that not only from my own observations but on what I saw through Facebook and Twitter and also listened to the various feedbacks made by listeners on RIA 89.7FM, the official radio station of Anugerah 2009. I guess being an entertainment reviewer carried heavier weight for people to be displeased with me more than the general public’s views even though my words were not as damning as others. But to their credit, the make-up certainly improved by leaps and bounds henceforth.

The champ is here…

And so that ends my lengthy Anugerah 2009 Grand Finals review. Hope you had enjoyed this journey as much as I did. I’ve gained quite a lot of new friends and contacts as a result, not to mention strengthening ties with those already in place and I hope that our music industry will continue to improve and be more diverse now with the coronation of a female singer. Sarah Aqilah’s win would hopefully inspire more young ladies out there and prove that our industry is not monopolised by the gentlemen. I also hope that it would open more windows of opportunities for our female singers to spread their wings and fly cos we do have a lot of talent waiting to be tapped and taken notice of. It’s also now up to us, the listeners and consumers, to lend our utmost support to them.

P.S. Credits to Jatt’s Collezione for outfitting me that night and to the good people at Mediacorp Suria and Eaglevision (Zalinah, Zuraidah, Mufreha & Netty) for inviting me throughout the competition as well as providing me useful information to be included in my reviews…