Singapore Ideal 2006

I watched Wednesday's Singapore Idol and totally forgot about the next day's results show. I did not know who was eliminated until I saw an article at the back of Life! that Paul Twohill was out.

I breathed a sigh of relief that my favourite singer was not booted-out as I did not help him by voting for him this week.

The last standing 4 Idols had the judges picked out the songs for them to sing and showcase their singing talents and showmanship abilities.

Hady Mirza was superb, while Jonathan Leong was great too with his laid-back song which suited him perfectly.

Here's the thing...

There is just not a big enough talent pool of budding singers here, so we make do with a few that really shine, while the rest will fade out through the course of the competition eventually.

Yes, I am stating the obvious.

It is very obvious who are the ones that will be at the finals, while the rest will have their dignified exit the last day they sing... with the judges praising them for their efforts to improve and for their tenacity to receive blow after blow of criticisms every week for their less than so-so performance.

This is of course exceptional as far as Matilda D' Silva is concern. She has an incredible voice, but lack appeal to the voters. She should be the last 4 standing as far as singing goes. Hack! Last 3!

You will know whose turn to leave when the judges give praises to them even though they, well... suck at singing. Nonetheless the audience love their persona -a dignified exit for taking part and enjoying the ride.

So, with 3 left - Hady, Jonathan and Jasmine, the last two is obvious to me from the very beginning. Honestly it was obvious to pick the final two when it first started.

What you see during the course of the competition is that they get better at singing. Well... most of them.

Jasmine Tye gave a few surprising performances, but still too mechanical-like and I do not feel the maturity in her voice. That is just me... a CD buying fan for the real singers I like.

Now, I am banking on Hady Mirza simply because he can sing... really sing! Not because he is of the same race... well that is true in a small part of me, but because he has quite a vocal range and has been delivering the songs perfectly and consistently throughout the length of the competition.

That is why the judges picked songs that are challenging for Hady and perfect for Jonathan.

Hady has to show his vocal range and hit those high notes, while Jonathan has to ooze his charm while he sings.

Both are terrific singers, but if you were to judge mainly on the singing, then Hady is a clear winner. Jonathan is commercially bankable with a vast Chinese audience in Asia.

Do the math and you get your winner. Nonetheless, I am going to invest some of my money to vote for the dark horse, Hady Mirza for his singing which has already reached the Pro ranks.

All the best Hady! Hope this one supporter will make a difference to you and Singapore music industry at large. Be prepared to show your best at World Idol.