Elit Suria Wildcard Episode
The stage setting pre-show…
This entry nearly did not see the light of day as I have been very occupied the whole week and was away for a short staycation with the family over the past weekend. Why I managed to do this entry at the last moment is because some things that we planned prior did not materialise, so I finally got to squeeze some time to reminisce what transpired during the recent episode of Elit Suria this past Monday 6 August 2018. This was the first episode I finally made my way down to MediaCorp Campus to watch the show live from the studio. Before the show, I was not sure how the contestants would react upon finally meeting me in person after reading my previous two entries, but thankfully all of them were so cordial, warm and friendly, thanking me for pointing out their flaws and where to improve as they do not have the benefit of others telling them how to, or probably were too shy to ask around. I was a bit embarrassed when one by one came up to say “Hi” and “Thank You” to yours truly, that I felt like a mini celebrity that night. I seldom get that from previous reality show competitions because I know some of the past contestants quietly resent and bore grudges against me for my objective assessments, or probably the times they were cordial to me was because I take nice photos of them. Usually once the competition is done, a minority of them will stop following me on social media, which makes me feel used somewhat. Oh well…
The audience which included the eight confirmed semi-finalists, seated at the front row…
The recent Wildcard Round featured all the eight eliminated contestants so far, giving them that last chance saloon to show that they deserved a second chance to still remain in the competition. How lucky it is to be in Group A then, as they had a fortnight off before worrying about the semi-finals tonight. I am sure Haziq Halim, Hans Hamid, Fatin Taha and Hana Rosli will disagree with me, because I know the prolonged days leading up to tonight, only adds on to the tension they are facing at the moment. Last Monday, the show was graced by Akademi Fantasia alumnus, Nurul Rahila Rashun, who performed as the guest artiste and the Wildcard episode’s theme of the week was Culture. Actually it should have been called International Culture since the challenges and questions posed during the episode had something to do with cultures around the world. This was another episode which for me, was an educational eye-opener, because I personally find this particular theme interesting, given my penchant to know useful trivias and stuff, a chance to empower my general knowledge. Prior to the show, the ones I had ear-marked to enter the semi-finals were Fadzli Jani for the guys and between Erna Ellieyana and Nur Mehga for the ladies.
Rahila Rashun performed the haunting hit “Asmaradana“, taken from the box-office hit movie, “Puteri Gunung Ledang“…
I’ve had my fair share of complaints about the Style Round, where the contestants are judged based on their style and confidence onstage. However, I personally like the opening performance between the contestants and Rahila for this particular episode, with all their poses and outfits depicting the different cultures they were portraying. What came as a surprise was the contestants learning to dance and though they are not prolific dancers, they managed to learn their respective choreographies within a short space of time. Not an easy feat when you’re not dancers nor have that hidden talent to begin with. To their credit, the contestants looked like they were enjoying themselves immensely and the ones who enjoyed themselves the most onstage happened to win this segment, Fadzli Jani and Atiqah Hassan coming in at second, though I have to say Fadzli somehow was a bit overexcited during his performance, making the overall balance of energy between the four pairings on stage a bit disjointed. Fadzli and Atiqah also happened to be paired together, as they danced to the style of typical traditional Indian dancers. For the other contestants, they looked more confident and poised than the previous episodes they were in, where I previously pointed out that their lack of confidence from this round alone spelt the end of their journey. But if you ask me who should have won, I would have personally chose Hisyam Salimnor as I found his moves more graceful.
The esteemed judges – Khairudin Saharom, Nuraliza Osman and Najip Ali…
Next comes the Personality segment where the contestants are judged on their hosting capabilities. I find Hisyam‘s hosting a bit too cautious since the very first episode he was in, and I repeated it to him when we met post-show. He tends to mouth his words and break them up according to syllables when he does not need to most times. I guess he just wants to make sure that he pronounces them correctly. When I look at him, I cannot help but be reminded of Danish Ashraf, 2016‘s Anugerah Skrin runner-up. The way they speak, their mannerisms, their styles all look similar. For awhile, I thought they were related, but they are not when I asked Hisyam during our short conversation, but they do know each other personally. I actually like Nur Mehga‘s hosting. The only complaint I had about her previously was, she does not smile much when she knows the cameras are not panning at her. When she does smile, I can feel the whole room light up. So it was nice to see more of Mehga‘s smile during this episode and how confident she was. Which was a big disappointment when eventually she came in 5th for this round, even after judge Khairudin Saharom had praised her for being the best of the four for their hosting segment, which also included the other pair, Noh Irwan Amran and Ainur Rosyieqa. I had expected Mehga to have gotten Top 4 at least.
Hosts Fauzie Laily and Nurul Aini…
Noh Irwan‘s shortcomings from the time I watched him previously, were his distinct lack of confidence and unsure of himself. If you were to watch his hosting clip again via Toggle‘s Catch-Up TV, you will understand what I mean if you notice his expressions rolling back his eyes as if to remember his lines. He needs to understand the question that he is posing to his interviewee and make it sound across as natural as possible, not as though he is reading directly from a script. The same assessments could also be levelled on Ainur Rosyieqa, though she looked more poised between the two. For their segment, I think the biggest letdown for both of them was their inability to para-phrase their question when their guest did not answer one of their initial questions properly. A good host should be able to listen and grasp quickly, in turn rephrasing their questions for their interviewee to understand, so that they are able to answer satisfactorily. This is what the judges are also looking out for and what Najip Ali meant by the term “Thinking Hosts“. It did not help that their guest personality’s facial expressions and body language showed as though he did not want to be there and struggling to find the words to answer them. For a good interview to work, both hosts and guest personalities should be equally forthcoming. The ending of their interview also felt as though the audience were left on a cliffhanger and this was felt by the audience when the cameras panned at them right after and they had quizzical looks on their faces.
Najip commenting on the performances of the second quartet – Fadzli Jani, Erna Ellieyana, Atiqah Hassan and Farid Azhar…
As mentioned in the last paragraph, you need a good interviewee to make your interview look and sound more interesting for the audience, which the second group got in the form of personality Marina Yusoff, whom as I type this entry, is away on her Hajj pilgrimage. This segment saw the other contestants, Fadzli Jani, Erna Ellieyana, Atiqah Hassan and Farid Azhar, performing better as a whole over the previous four. I think for Fadzli Jani, the observations I have, as well as discussing with some others about his performance as a whole, is that he tends to overdo things unintentionally, which when done as a duo, steals away the limelight from his partner. If we are to host as a duo, it should be about complementing one another, or his partner could have also returned the favour in kind and matched his energy. Ellie‘s jovial personality is what makes her a standout and I feel that she is quite the fast learner, a sponge if I might add. Amongst the ladies in the Wildcard Round, I think she probably had the highest level of confidence, fresh from her elimination the previous week and hungry to do better. Not surprising that I had her and Mehga in mind as the probable ones to progress to the semi-finals prior to the show, with either one performing well than the other who would be more deserving. However, I still cannot imagine Ellie hosting a programme which is serious in nature just yet. Put her in a children’s show or a light-hearted info-ed programme, you will see her personality shining through. Even though I did say having both host and interviewee being forthcoming makes a good interview, the role of a host or moderator is even more important to get their guests to come out from their shells with how and what to ask. This can only be honed through time and experience, which unfortunately they do not have and have to rely on natural talent for now.
Rahila performed her second number of the night, the evergreen “Penawar Rindu“…
There is something about the way Atiqah mouths her lines which is a source of concern for me, and it’s not about the braces which I said previously that could be one of the factors hampering her. How she reads and pronounces her words has to sound as natural as possible. If the sentence ends with an exclamation mark, her tone should also sound equally excited. If the sentence ends with a question, her tone should also sound as though she is questioning and not putting a full stop to it. It is so much different when I talk to her in person because she sounds so relaxed and natural. Could jittery factors be reasons for her not to do well? Or is it a lack of fluency and confidence in the language? If it’s the latter, then it should be a learning point for all future would-be contestants to brush up on their fluency in speaking their mother tongue language. They should listen to the Malay radio stations more or watch the prime-time news bulletin on television to grasp how words and sentences are being pronounced. It has to be pointed out that for all my criticisms of Atiqah‘s performance, this was her best to date and I can say she has improved from the first time I watched her in the first episode. Farid to me, did just enough without being too extravagant or over in his mannerisms, as compared to Fadzli. However I still have misgivings about his energy level because he can look a bit uptight when it is not his turn to speak and when he opens his mouth to speak, he tries to maintain his cool persona. I think this is one source of frustration I have about Farid, since his time at 2016‘s Anugerah Skrin. He has to come out from his shell and let go at times because he looks like he is holding back most times.
The Top 3 who advanced to the second round of the Bestari segment – Ellie, Farid and Hisyam…
The Bestari segment had me shaking my head right from the start, because for the first question alone, all of them got it wrong. Though the judges admitted that the segment was a tough one given the challenging questions, I think had the contestants listened more intently, they would have probably gotten their answers correct. Actually it was a no-brainer who would advance to the semi-finals once the dust had settled and we saw Erna Ellieyana, Farid Azhar and Hisyam Salimnor advancing to the second round, since Farid came out tops in the earlier segment and Ellie coming in second. Like I said in my previous entry, we usually can gauge who will advance to the following week if they perform well in the hosting and quiz segments, because at the end of the day, they are looking out for an all-rounded host, the ability to speak, think and do their respective homework. In this segment, Farid‘s hunger and eagerness to ace it came to light. For the second time in this competition, a lack of listening to the questions being read properly proved to be Hisyam‘s downfall. In his eagerness to keep up with his competition, he not only answered incorrectly but had a lot of people shaking their heads or slapping their foreheads. When I spoke to him post-show about the gaffe, he admitted that it was a grave mistake borne out of excitement and pressure to stay within touching distance of his fellow competitors.
Farid and Ellie atoned for their previous week’s elimination by redeeming themselves and advancing through to the semi-finals…
I’m not sure if it was due to a lack of time or if the show was over-run, but the X-Factor segment felt a bit hurriedly done once Farid was announced as the winner of the Bestari round, which left no room for pauses or breather for the contestants. I had at least expected them to usher in a short commercial break, but the contestants were immediately asked to up-sell themselves one final time before the judges made their final decisions. Given that Farid had topped both the Hosting and Bestari rounds, he could have eased off and just gone through the motions. To his credit, he did not relax and was a picture of calm and serenity when he spoke, which all the more confirmed his advancement into the semi-finals. Noh Irwan again looked unsure of himself, but he had a reason for it which he told me post-show. His initial lines were asked to be changed last minute, which resulted in him scrambling to pen and memorise a newer version. Though he did not delve on why his lines had to be changed, I felt that the producers could have just let him revised or tweaked them a bit and not change it entirely, resulting in him tripping on his words. Body language, eye movements and tone of voice also play important roles in this segment. The audience can easily detect who is not confident and unsure of themselves just by the way they look, they way they walk and the way they speak. For a majority of them, their lack of confidence for this segment proved to serve as confirmation of their elimination from the competition.
The Wildcard contestants sandwiching judge Nuraliza Osman post-show…
By the end of the show, it was merely a formality that Farid and Ellie‘s names were announced as the two whose journeys in the competition are still alive and well, with the other six bowing out with their heads at least held high knowing they have given off their very best. Tonight, we will get to see who amongst the ten will advance to the Grand Finals in a fortnight, with only six spots up for grabs. Even though we are at the stage of competition where it gets even tougher and harder, I would like to implore all of the contestants, even those who are already eliminated, to shed their inhibitions, grow thicker skins and just ask whoever, be it the judges, the hosts or any of the producers where they can improve, which flaws need to be lessened or what else can be done to make themselves better hosts. I am sure these people are approachable and able to share more from their vast experiences. All they need to do is ask, because no one is going to spoon-feed them, such is the harsh nature of the industry. For the eliminated ones, I can only hope they use the experience to improve on their shortcomings and come back for future competitions well-equipped to do better. They should look no further than host Fauzie Laily, who has worked hard to be where he is now, given that he was eliminated early in Anugerah 2003 but was one of the Top 3 for the ensuing competition in 2005. There are grooming and enrichment classes pertaining to the media industry organised by local personalities like Hafeez Glamour and Rilla Melati from time to time. These young upstarts should consider enrolling themselves in these classes to learn, equip and empower themselves so that they can be more confident and sure. Most importantly, their fluency in their mother tongue is paramount if they want to succeed…
Snapshots of Elit Suria Wildcard Round
Elit Suria Episodes 3 & 4 Recap…
(All images in this entry courtesy of MediaCorp Suria‘s official Facebook page and Instagram account)
Back with another review of Elit Suria, this time combining my thoughts from watching the recent two episodes involving Groups A & B once again. Like the first fortnight, the third and fourth episodes saw two more contestants being eliminated each week, making it a grand total of eight contestants seeing their journey halted from progressing into the semi-final rounds. Episodes 3 and 4 also saw a slight twist to the hosting segment, whereby the contestants interviewed special guests and discussing on the particular week’s themes as a duo, and not individually like the first and second episodes. This was a challenge to see how well they worked together and if they were able to capture the essence of hosting as a team. Group A‘s theme of the week was Films, whereas Group B‘s was Travel, two themes which are closely-related to the media industry and ones that attract eyeballs to info-ed shows pertaining to them. If the first two episodes were graced by female performers, the recent two bucked the trend and gave the males centrestage. The third episode saw Rudy Djoharnaen, winner of Anugerah 1999, and the recent fourth episode had Singapore Idol alumnus and Anugerah Planet Muzik 2018 award nominee, Farhan Shah, as the guest performers. I’ll dive straight into my observations on both episodes henceforth.
If I’m not mistaken, Nurul Aini was very ill during this particular episode, but the masses didn’t know the high level of professionalism she displayed to soldier on through the night… Massive respect!!!
It is difficult as a home viewer to assess the contestants in the first Style segment, as the cameras take turn to pan between the week’s guest performer and them. However, from the short time I was able to view, it was easy to see who deserved to top their respective time onstage. Those short 3-4 minutes onstage accompanying the guest performer, needed to be used to its maximum. The caveat, according to the judges however, is not to overdramatise their movements and prancing onstage, even if they had to fully utilise their moment. Judge Najip Ali mentioned in the third episode, what they are looking out for is not a ready-made star, but someone with a huge potential to make it in the industry and eventually become a household name through their natural aura, charisma and aptitude. I still don’t get much vibes from this particular segment, especially when I watched the fourth episode. Other than Asyraf Iskandar and Erna Ellieyana, I dunno how the others, most notably Farid Azhar, connected their style and character portrayals to the week’s theme – Travel. They could have at least substituted that sporty look with an immigration officer’s or a pilot’s or a steward’s or even a cargo handler’s outfit. No surprises that he came off last in that round. Which begs the question, who was responsible for their outfits and character portrayals onstage??? Was it themselves or the producers???
Rudy Djoharnaen performed Dato’ M. Nasir‘s “Bikin Filem“, accompanied by the contestants. Here we see Haziq Halim and Hana Rosli…
Onto the hosting segment. If in the last entry I lavished praise on the ones who did well, for this entry, I will focus more on the ones who did not do particularly well in my eyes, most notably Atiqah Hassan and Fadzli Jani for Group A, as well as Faiz Zainal, Erna Ellieyana and Farid Azhar for Group B. I actually sympathised with Atiqah as it is not easy to speak fluently and most importantly, clearly, when one is wearing braces. I think her overall performance was hampered by it and I am not sure what other problems she was facing during the recording of her hosting segment with Fadzli, because her facial expressions and body language showed that something was bothering her. The way she presented was also akin to watching a children’s programme host speaking in a monotonous tone. Fadzli, whose energy and outgoing style caught my eyes the last time out, seemed lost when paired with Atiqah. There was hardly any chemistry between them, making their performance completely flat. I finally bumped into Atiqah for the first time over this past weekend at the Twilight: Uniquely Local flea market expo at Suntec City Convention Centre and managed to ask her what happened during the recording of her hosting segment. Indeed she said that she was bogged down by the braces and having to mouth her words carefully. This is why I prefer to watch the shows live, as I get to talk to the contestants post-show to understand some of their difficulties that may affect their performance, so that I can give a more compassionate and understanding assessment afterwards, rather than watch and whack like some others from the comfort of home.
Judge Najip Ali dispensing his words of wisdom to the contestants…
Faiz Zainal seemed nervous next to Amyrah Mustafa, and somehow his slightly higher-pitched voice made his hosting style looked out of sync when complemented with his more composed partner. There was a reason judge Khairudin Saharom specifically asked them much later on if they felt comfortable hosting with one another. Though they tried to be cordial and complimentary towards one another, somehow their respective answers and hesitancy in trying to find the right words were not convincing enough. Amyrah, whom I personally thought didn’t do much wrong, was told that her energy did not complement that of her co-host and guest personality. Faiz on the other hand, was taken to task for not grasping the essence of his questions and merely stating his lines as it is. Erna Ellieyana, or Ellie as she likes to be called, was reminded by judge Nuraliza Osman to lessen her child-like traits and style a fortnight ago. Though she tried to escape from that, her voice and most importantly, the way she pronounced her sentences resembled that of a schoolkid reading from a book out loud to their class. Farid, on the other hand, was quite static and did not show much emotions, making his performance a bit wooden. I was actually surprised that judge Nuraliza actually complimented Ellie on showing significant improvement from the last time out, but I felt that if there were any, it was only minimal. The only thing I liked about her performance was her trying to liven up their segment with her bubbly personality.
Haziq Halim and Hana Rosli were the top performers for Episode 3…
I need to highlight one thing which I found most pleasing over the past fortnight, and that was how much Farahnurmadina probably took my criticisms in the last entry in her stride (or from others in her private circle), and gave a more polished and confident performance when she was paired with Asyraf Iskandar as they interviewed their guest, actress-writer-director-producer, Seriwahyuni Jaes. Though I did not mention names in that last entry, I was specifically referring to her when I brought up the topic of not speaking with an English twang. I was super turned-off when I watched her introductory clip then and thought to myself then, “Girl, why do you need to do that???” It did not look nor sounded good as it came across as made up. Fortunately for the latest episode, she kept that to a minimum, making it barely audible, and gave a very good performance next to Asyraf. It was refreshing to watch them, which had me smiling and nodding away in front of the television screen. It probably helped that they had someone like Seriwahyuni to dispense tips and such prior to the cameras rolling, especially with someone who has bags of experience in front of the cameras and an endearing personality like her, their synergy and energies were just bouncing off one another, making it probably the best of the six interviews between the two groups. So well done to Farah and Asyraf!!!
This was Group B answering questions in the first round of the Bestari segment…
For my favourite Bestari round, I noticed the eagerness, determination and effort in most of the contestants to do well and win that weekly $300 cash prize, judging by how fast they raised their hands to answer. The two who eventually won during their respective week’s episode, Haziq Halim and Amyrah Mustafa, showed how hungry they were to excel in this round, most notably the latter, whom I felt had something to prove after her earlier hosting segment was not given glowing assessments by the judges. I was amazed by their level of knowledge, especially Amyrah, who answered six out of seven questions correctly in the second round of her episode. I was stumped by some of the questions posed during that particular episode where the questions had something to do with travelling and places in the world and could only get about half of them correct. The way Amyrah answered them correctly showed that she is perhaps someone who is well-travelled or probably had done her homework beforehand. It has to be said, that nothing is more attractive than a lady with brains (at least from my personal point of view), and this was the second time in the competition that she has aced this segment. I would like to see the other contestants in the upcoming weeks upping their game and showing the same hunger as their two main rivals.
Farhan Shah performed his hit single, “Istimewa“, along with the contestants…
The last round, which is the X-Factor round, is probably another segment that I still am trying to get used to. This make-or-break round either brings out the best in the contestant or leaves them on the brink of elimination. For some, it either makes them come across as cocky or gives away their feeling of nervousness. However, as I had mentioned in the last entry, this round more or less confirmed who would leave the competition or who would progress. For the third episode, Atiqah Hassan was let down by the way she spoke. When she posed a question at the end, the tone of her voice was not that of someone questioning her audience, but ending her sentence with a full stop. For the fourth episode, I think it was easy to pinpoint who probably had the lowest marks by virtue of the contestant who tripped on his words, Faiz Zainal. He was a bag of nerves and his forced smile tried to hide how nervous he was. Anyway, in this segment Farah reverted back to my earlier grouse about her speaking with an accent, even though it was only momentarily. I am not sure if she has trouble pronouncing the letter “R” or certain words, because I know some people speak with a bit of an accent to hide the fact that they cannot pronounce words containing the letter “R” correctly. However I am sure she will minimise that in the semi-final rounds onwards as she has at least two weeks to work on it.
Judge Nuraliza Osman sharing her thoughts while Najip Ali listened intently…
Other than the eliminations of Atiqah Hassan and Erna Ellieyana whom I felt were more than justified, I found the results slightly unkind towards Fadzli Jani and Farid Azhar, who were also eliminated in their respective episodes. But Group A‘s male contestants were technically strong to begin with and I think Fadzli was let down by his hosting segment. I had expected Faiz to be eliminated as I did not see him doing his best for both the hosting and X-Factor rounds. His only saving grace, and this proved to be very crucial, was him entering the second round of the Bestari segment and answering that one last question which Amyrah probably gave way to her fellow competitors to answer, so as not to make them look bad. Farid on the contrary, did not manage to enter the second round. Hence this is why it is paramount that they do their best for every challenge they pit themselves in, as their consolidated marks from all the segments will eventually be the deciding factors. It is not all doom and gloom for the eight eliminated contestants as they still have the upcoming Wildcard episode later tonight to give off their best. However, only two will advance to the semi-finals. I already have in mind who will progress based on their performances this past month. I just hope the rest will up their game and prove me wrong, even though I will not mention who or if you guys already have an inkling who I have in mind.
Erna Ellieyana and Farid Azhar were still able to smile upon their elimination as they will get a reprieve in the Wildcard episode…
The semi-finalists have all earned their places fairly. Slowly as the weeks progress, I can see their respective potentials and most importantly, their personalities appearing to the fore. In the X-Factor round, I detected that Hans Hamid, Fatin Taha and Hana Rosli could possibly have a future in radio broadcasting or as a newscaster some day, if they are interested as they have the calm, soothing and confident voices associated with those jobs. However, Hana looks and behaves more like a performer onstage, though she should lessen the overdramatisation of her expressions, as well as her emotions at times, cos it can be a bit of a turn-off to look for the average viewer, since she tends to showcase a certain vulnerability by crying in front of the cameras, be it when she’s sad or happy. Haziq and Amyrah, confident and hungry as they are, might want to consider practising in front of the mirror and look at their facial expressions and body language when they smile or speak. There were times when their features displayed a slight tinge of arrogance, so they might want to work on it a bit to up their likeability factor even more with not only the judges but viewers in the studio and at home. Other than that, I think the two of them are quite the clear favourites based on form. As for Asyraf, there were instances where he spoke like an excited kid, so he might want to tone it down a bit, but I love his devil-may-care attitude and principle to just “Go Je!“. He is one person who looks as though he enjoys himself onstage. Farah??? I do not want to sound like a bad record, but I already mentioned her shortcomings and her improvements to be made earlier so I’ll give her a break here. Till the next entry!!!
Elit Suria Episodes 1 & 2 Recap…
(All images in this entry courtesy of MediaCorp Suria‘s official Facebook page and Instagram account)
Surprise, surprise!!! I’m finally back after a two-month hiatus… I know this reality television series currently airing weekly since 9 July 2018 is into its 4th week as I speak, and probably a bit belated for me to start talking about it. I’ve had people I met on the streets asking me if I was gonna do a review on this new competition. I guess I’ve hummed and hawed long enough before finally deciding to do it. For the uninitiated, Elit Suria is the latest reality talent competition series by Mediacorp Suria, in search of new faces to grace the local television screens, mainly in hosting and acting. One can say that it is probably similar to the previous three Anugerah Skrin competitions that we’ve had so far over the last twelve years, but the main emphasis is on hosting, whereas acting is a secondary component. If I can think of a like-for-like talent competition before this on our local television screens, it would most probably be the Juara competition way back in 2002, which introduced us to household names like Fir Rahman, Nurul Aini and Fadhilah Samsudin amongst others. This current reality competition series is hosted by Fauzie Laily and Nurul Aini, whereas the resident judges are none other than Najip Ali, Nuraliza Osman and Khairudin Saharom. From the line-up of judges, we can more or less see the emphasis of the competition, which is to unearth new hosts for our local Malay entertainment scene.
The simple, yet lovely backdrop of the show’s stage…
Even though I received the invitation to attend the weekly live recordings at MediaCorp Campus, in truth to date, I have not had the time to attend so far. Hence why this entry and also the next one will feature photos courtesy of the Mediacorp Suria Facebook page and Instagram account. However, I have been watching the first two episodes via Toggle‘s Catch-Up TV and finally managing to watch the third and latest episode live on MediaCorp Suria this past Monday, to acquaint myself with possibly the newest faces on local television and of course, to keep myself abreast with the competition. I will not touch on the latest episode just yet in this particular entry, but will do a summary of the first two episodes, where we were introduced to all the contestants who were divided into two groups of eight, namely Groups A and B. My entries for the first four episodes at least, will be from a perspective of a normal television viewer. Hence, I would like to apologise first and foremost, if my words will not be minced as much as if I were to attend a live recording to observe and understand the difficulties faced by the contestants or to get to know them a bit closer. I tend to give benefit of doubt from my observations watching live, rather than from the comfort of home.
Hosts Fauzie Laily and Nurul Aini…
Closed door auditions were held way back in March and April this year. Usually I would be invited to cover the audition rounds just to have a feel of what’s to come in the coming weeks and months, but this time I received none and like general viewers out there, I did not know what to expect, who had the potential to succeed and who were the standouts during the audition rounds. Which was partly why I decided to stay away from attending the weekly live recordings to date, not as a sign of protest, but because I was not prepped enough to learn the competition format nor given the opportunity to observe them much earlier to better understand their personalities and psyche. The contestants are judged weekly through their Hosting, Style, Wits, Personality and X-Factor in a series of quizzes and Q&A rounds amongst others. The segment that I most enjoy watching so far is the Wits (Bestari) round, whereby the contestants go through two rounds of quizzes on their general knowledge of the respective week’s theme. Why I enjoy it is because it is equally challenging for the viewers watching in the studio and at home, a value-added component of the show that provides useful trivia and information for our general knowledge. Kudos to local singer Hyrul Anuar for painstakingly doing the research and coming up with the questions!!!
Khairudin Saharom, cautioning the contestants on what to avoid doing when assessing their hosting performances…
Each week the contestants begin each episode by playing accompanying props, or to put it in nicer terms, stage models, to a guest singer performing on stage. This is where they are judged on style and confidence, as well as their aptitude for acting or performing. The first episode saw Aisyah Aziz in action, whereas Kalysa Aziz performed in the second episode. I have mixed feelings watching this segment of the show actually. Who is supposed to be the highlight, the guest artistes on show or the contestants themselves??? Is it supposed to showcase their acting skills or is it supposed to be a mini runway show for the contestants??? Some looked so out of depth and devoid of confidence from the way they moved and walked, that it was easy to pinpoint who would eventually be eliminated from the first two episodes, and it was only the first segment!!! Talk about confidence building for these young upstarts!!! Then there were some who overdid their facial expressions and actions that it became a little cringeworthy to watch. This was also highlighted by judge Nuraliza when she was asked to comment. There has to be a certain balance in character portrayals, which can only be honed through time and experience. Unfortunately for the contestants, they do not have that liberty and advantage, unless they have prior acting backgrounds and experiences, and to just hope their personalities shine through to win over the judges.
Aisyah Aziz was the guest artiste for the first episode…
Getting acquainted to the young upstarts on show, the audience in the studio and viewers at home were treated to introductory videos of all the contestants during the first quarter of the programme. This was where we learned a thing or two about them, to hear of their motivation and reasons behind entering the competition. This was also where I studied their respective body language, facial expressions and tone of voices to know if they were sincere in entering the competition or probably there to make up the numbers. We have the usual clips where they showed their gratitude and appreciation to their respective spouses and parents. Some made heartfelt tributes to their beloved family members who have departed this world or went through personal hardships, naturally shedding tears for the cameras, even those whose talents have been belittled and questioned before by their peers / educators. Nothing wrong with that actually, but viewers perceptions might vary depending on how they digest the stories told before them, as well as seeing the expressions on the faces of these contestants. Some may think the contestants are fishing for sympathy, or hoping to be judged leniently. A little sad story is ok to be heard, but should be kept to a minimum. Viewers easily warm to jovial, bubbly and positive characters afterall.
The second episode witnessed under-rated singer, Kalysa Aziz, in action…
The contestants must also be mindful of the way they speak. For certain sections or probably most people in the community, it is a major turnoff hearing people speaking with a certain accent especially when you are conversing in your mother tongue. You don’t have to add an English twang to your pronunciation of words. It makes you come off as extremely fake. From drawing people closer to you, you actually serve to alienate them. The one that was every bit confident and gave me the most positive vibes in their introductory clips was Amyrah Mustafa, the only contestant who wears a Hijab and has a passing resemblance to Aisyah Aziz. She shared her hopes to inspire fellow youths watching the show, to uphold, empower and showcase the beauty of the Malay language as well as culture. Big hopes on such young shoulders, but one that I believe is achievable as we see her progress in the competition and I hope she does, because she is a natural and a breath of fresh air for our local scene. She also spoke in calculated and measured tones without trying too hard, unlike some of the others whom I will not name. For the guys, the one that I felt was smooth in his delivery, was Hans Hamid. He has a certain warmth in his voice which will make viewers drawn comfortably to him, even if he is slightly lacking in the looks factor. Fadzli Jani‘s bubbly personality and originality in coming out with his own tagline, “Awak Suka Tak?“, also made me warmed easily to him.
The Wits (Bestari) round pitting the contestants against one another on their general knowledge…
The hosting segment is I believe, the main one that they are being judged upon. From creating their own interview questions as well as their own scripts, with only three recording takes per contestant, this is definitely the most challenging segment from my observations. True, they only had about a minute or two to interview their guest personality from the local fashion and music industries, but the weight of their challenge is immense!!! From posing the right questions, usage of language, tone of voice, eye interactions between them, their guests and the cameras, hosting itself is a thankless job and one that I myself shun from doing, and I personally hate doing normal presentations or public speaking to begin with. The contestants had to be mindful especially those who added rhythm and melody to their pronounced sentences. It made them sound as though they were reading directly from their scripts or like school children reading in a class. Another thing they need to look out for is the excessive hand gestures which can be distracting to the viewers. From this segment, the ones that stood out for me were again Amyrah Mustafa, Hans Hamid, Fadzli Jani and Fatin Taha. The rest either exuded too much energy onscreen or looked uncertain of themselves. A few of them need to open their mouths a bit wider and not speak through gritted teeth, whereas there were some who need to smile a bit more, cos when they don’t, they simply looked aloof.
Najip Ali‘s comments never fail to disappoint, his extensive vocabulary and usage of words simply exemplary…
The third quarter of the show saw the contestants pitting their wits against one another through the quiz segment aptly titled “Bestari” (Wits). Questions asked were related to the particular week’s themes and challenged the contestants on their general knowledge, mostly in the local context. I was left somewhat frustrated watching the contestants struggling to answer the questions in the two rounds they were required to answer them. I won’t say that if I were to enter the competition, I could answer all the questions or ace the rounds, but I dare say I could have at least gotten 75% of the questions right, especially the second episode where the theme was Music. I was extremely appalled that questions pertaining to our local Malay music industry were not answered satisfactorily. If they harbour hopes of being in the entertainment industry some day, then they have to keep themselves abreast of who’s who, listen more to the local radio stations, follow more local personalities and artistes on social media, watch more of the local programmes on television. This is all part of being equipped and informed as a host. Listening to the questions before answering is also an important aspect. I was left stumped when Hisyam Salimnor answered “DragonballZ” when the question that was asked was “What is the name of the popular Japanese fashion trend that depicts Anime and Manga characters?” Though most people found it funny (not me!!!), I just felt that that highlighted his weakness in not listening properly and in turn, comprehending what was asked. Oh by the way, the winner of this segment each week bags $300 for themselves!!! Easy money in my opinion.
Hisyam Salimnor and Ainur Rosyieqa found themselves eliminated from the competition in the first episode…
The last segment of the show, called the “X-Factor“, is a last throw of the dice for the contestants, to upsell themselves literally to the judges and relate to the audience why they should still remain in the competition. This segment can be considered a double-edged sword depending on how one views it. The contestants can come off as confident in how they sell or promote themselves, yet at the same time, their words and facial expressions might be misconstrued as arrogant. Some could be seen as trying too hard, whereas there were some who just forgot their lines and tripped on their words. Being a host is not easy especially during a live show. Usually they have the benefit of holding on to cue cards for reference in case they forget what they should be saying, but not these young upstarts, who had to memorise what they needed to say or at least remember the gist of their presentation content. Here, we got to see who are the naturally talented, calm and composed and who needed lots of polishing. By this round, I more or less guessed correctly who would be eliminated from the first two episodes. The ones who were eliminated were the ones that tripped on their words or did not exude confidence on their faces and overall body language. Too much uncertainty is a recipe for disaster and signaled a death knell on their involvement in the competition.
Noh Irwan and Nurmehga were the next two to be eliminated in Episode 2…
Even though we still have six more episodes (five if we were to discount this past Monday‘s episode) before crowning the winner/s, I dare say, without trying to jinx them, from the first two episodes alone, the ones who will appear in the semi-finals at least, are Fatin Taha, Hans Hamid, Fadzli Jani, Amyrah Mustafa and Haziq Halim. I know that as I speak currently, Fadzli has just been eliminated in the third episode, but he will definitely return for the Wildcard Round and I believe is a strong contender to progress to the semi-finals. Personally, I have high expectations on Farid Azhar, whom I had the opportunity to know when I covered his journey in 2016‘s Anugerah Skrin. His experience should at least put him in good stead to do even better than the last time out. So far, he has remained in his own comfort zone and not gotten out from his shell. I hope he can open up a bit more and not stick to being such a cool cat. There is a reason why the judges picked him and it is definitely not to make up the numbers. For those I had not mentioned as prospective semi-finalists, I hope they will not be discouraged and at least prove me wrong on my observations. They are not by any means, dumb or bimbotic, as some of their respective educational qualifications would testify. They just have to grasp whatever tips they receive from their mentors and judges, do lots of homework, research and study how other hosts work, to ask if they do not know, as I am sure many are willing to help dispense advice to them. My next entry will be another consolidated entry once Episode 4 ends and Group B have appeared for a second time.
