王菀之

regardless of the simplistic lyrics and seemingly cheesy song title, this song is actually pretty sad. i love this song. i think Ivana is one of the more underrated singers. her canto albums are great, and her first chi album tt was recently released is a must-have. wats with the rage about Joanna Wong when Ivana sld be the one hitting the big league.


學會



one of my fav songs fr her

American Idol 7 Season Finale

“Season seven will be remembered for that kid with the stage father who may or may not (as of this writing) have cost his son the title. It is the season when everyone thought an Irish girl with a failed CD just might be pimped to death by the show but in the end was never given a break. It was the season of guitars, pianos and yes, a ukelele. A season of forgotten lyrics. A season with iTunes. A season of an ill-advised mosh pit and useless Q&A sessions. And yet another season in which Paula Abdul upstaged the contestants for all the wrong reasons. In the end, it may be a season in which “American Idol” turned the corner and ultimately became the search for and selling of a rock star.” - www.rickey.org

yet another season of idol has ended. my jan-may weekly 1hr fix of pure entertainment flew by just. like. that.

this season i haven been bloggin much. perhaps it reflects my enthusiasm for the ratings juggernaut. of cos there were times when i was genuinely excited about a budding singer, only to realise that their hopes and dreams were dashed as quickly as Paula is uttering gibberish. the joy of watchin idol is rooting for someone u truely believe in. Amanda got me very excited because she was edgy and different. David Hernandez looked very promising at first. Carly "blackbird"-ed the way to my hearts with tt soaring rendition. and of cos, david C's ALWAYS BE MY BABY will always be the epitome of risk-taking and idol-ingenuity.

and then there was Archie's IMAGINE.

i was never a hardcore archie/cook fan, until today. ARCHIE FINALLY ROSE TO THE CHALLENGE. he proved why he was there. he made my eyes watery 3 times thruout the night. i think the last time i felt so much was when Fantasia sang I BELIEVE. tonight, he made me root for him. what a landslide.

Cook was at a disadvantage as:
a) his idol-winning composition was a rock ditty, not the stereo-typical "hope, fly, dreams, moments" soaring and melodious pop song.
b) he lost all the edge he built by not doin a unique cover, or showing his more sensative side. cook was not extreme tonight. (simon's harsh critique didnt help either)
c) against archie, his vocals were proving to be weak. and tackling a U2 song to start the show might have killed him some votes. BONO leh. not noob.


something must be goin wrong when half way thru david's third song, i thought he would do better without the competition. it was a jason-castro moment: like he didnt belong there because tt is not the kinda music tt is on idol. all along, my problem has been "we've already had Daughtry. why do we need Cook?"
however, i do hope cook becomes real big. he deserves it and has earned his way.

IDOL IDOL IDOL. i peaked my excitement at the right time. its the best show on earth, and tonight's finale has been the best and most exciting in recent memory (NIKON THEATRE! STUNNING!)highlight of the past 2 week! hot molten hot!

xiaojun's bday / dim sum with SH colleagues

dim sum buffet - 160508




XJ's bday at minds cafe - 170508






______________________________________________________________________











- i nv thought i'd like Duffy's music. it all sounds very tryin-hard-to-fill-Amy's-shoes, thou the style is slightly different. but i've grown to accept and identify with her songs.

- i believe things happen for a reason, but that thought scares the shit out of me when the reason is something undesirable. i believe tt there is a timely sign for watchin The Bridges of Madison County now.
i'm currently watchin the movie. i've yet to finish, but i hope the movie makes me cry. Clint Eastwood movies unravel like a slowburn tt builds u up, so high, only to rip u apart. like Million Dollar Baby. predictable, conventional, yet so effective.

In the movie, Meryl Streep is sick of her life. so when her family went to the city, leaving her alone in her house, she met a National Geographic photographer that would forever change her. IN 4 DAYS.
amazing how someone can find life in 4 days, and in tt 4 days forever change her views.
i paraphrase Clint Eastwood, that if u see change as the only constant, it might become a comfort because it is something u can count on.

- i cant wait to watch INTO THE WILD next.

- i cant wait to catch INDIANA JONES (cos of Cate Blanchett) and SATC (sex and the city).

- i need to plan my tv calendar. lotsa new shows. pushing dasies, dirty sexy money, 30 ROCKS!!!

- i quote QJ who quote Susan: 'growing up is only about learning how to let go'

- 2 qns on my mind these few days: "what do i want to bring with me to my grave?", and "if i were stuck on an island, what are the things that i want with me?"

- i am devastated that the Faye Wong box set is sold out in China town and HMV. when weiquan ask me if i still like Faye Wong, (he seldom even talks to me), i told him, "always and forever."

- i'm feelin nostalgic (and random), so i posted a rather excessive amt of old photos.

28th JJC Students' Council Investiture

for the first time in nearly 3 years, i went back to JJC today for the 28th Students' Council Investiture.

so much has changed since my JC days. the college looks so commercialise now. everything is elaborate and extensive. there's a fountain, synthetic grass, entrepreneur-like stalls selling ice-cream and stuff, a seeming travel-agency tt plans overseas trips, a lounge of sorts, etc etc. and i didnt even have time to explore the 3rd and 4th level at the new building-extension.

apparently i'm the only one from my batch. i went back with a group of juniors one year younger, and they came out in full force: i think there were 7 of them. and then there were some of the younger ones as well.

not being in the council for a few years made me realise how, for lack of a better word, silly things were those days.till today, these remain: the cheesy walk-in music tt till now revolves around Bond and some grand music from movie soundtracks. the walk-in from the sides, slower the better. the unconscious desire to play soppy music. the serious looks of everyone on stage. the abrupt cut in music. the poor PA technical assistance.



yes, i was skeptical and mocking the procedings. i joked about the P's entrance, and how everyone needs to "rise for the arrival", only to see alot of very random ppl walk in before him, and i casually joked tt he's got a big entourage nowadays(yes, everyone likes to make fun of the principal). but i was thoroughly respectful of the ceremony (not that there's any kind of formal respect needed). i recognised how the outgoing batch must have felt on that stage, feeling a sense of relief, yet unwilling to let go of the most familiar thing they've had since J1. i was respectful of the college song and sang loud and proud.

there's something very social about goin back to college. goin back with long hair felt like i'm attracting more unfounded attraction. like, duh, get over it, just cos i have long hair doesnt mean
a) i look worse
b) i'm tryin to be a lame F4 wannabe/poser
c) i'm an ah-beng
d) i have bad sense of style.

yea i feel insecure about my hair la but screw all who thinks this way. ha. "why ya hair so long!"
i wanted to say "oh cos i'm out of sch and i'm cool"

hahahahahaahahah

but anyways, what i really wanted to say is that i'm glad the bee hoon auntie is stilla round after all these years!!!!!!!!!! yeahh!!!!!!! those who've seen my "mee-fen poster boy" pic from friendster sld know that mee-fen was my MUST HAVE STAPLE FOOD durin college days. i religiously eat it almost every single day. it's like a pilgrimage, chilli strictly not included. and i'm glad the over-priced veg rice and the chicken rice family are still there.

and i am very glad to see my juniors. the welfare committee is goin very strong and we came out with a bang today: a record breaking 6 batch of welfare heads, including me, were back to witness the investiture. from the 22nd batch to the latest 28th batch ( see pic 3). i am proud to be a Welfarian. jess was telling me, when the incoming head asked jess what is the secret of being a welfare head, jess immpediately recounted the incidences we had buffet and how the welface comm will be so considerate and eco-friendly (ha!) to keep all the remainin forks, spoons, plates, and napkins after a refreshment. yea. tt's what jess said. i am not embarrassed at all tt my kiasu legacy has been passed down. in fact it touches me to see tt the welfare committee is doin so well. i even met a few Commonwealthians at JJC and am glad Shiva and celisse is in council. i dun actually know celisse but she recognised me fr prom, so yea. =)




and i finally spoke to Ms Lai. she was my civic tutor then. before goin i contemplated bringing our class photo along, just in case she forgot who i am or if she cant recognise me with the hair. surprisingly, she still does =) we had a longer-than -expected chat, from teaching to how everyone else is doin. Ms Lai has been teaching for many years and i've always respected her for her dedication and her understanding of us as students. she accepted us for being art students, and thou my class didnt do well for A lvl, she was cool with it. there wasnt any "i told u so" or disappointment, just very cool acceptance of who we are. every year since i graduated i've been wanting to go abck on teachers' day to visit her. but sadly i was either boged down by work or stuff. this year, i'm making it a point to go back. with a present.



oh, and Mr Mathai is no longer HOD maths. i asked Ms Lai if it's considered a demotion, she said, very politically, that he's "giving up his place for the younger ones". yea. she said the teaching world is cruel.

so that's the highlights from my trip.
i miss my college days. after today's trip, i feel tt me and Mr Ng cant be more different. in a way, i am more unorthodox and he goes for the elaborate. workin for jj prom sld be interestin.
i told Ms Lai that i wish i had done better, but i have no regrets with the way things turned out. "we shall not stay nor linger", tt's one line fr the college song. i wished tt back then i had the foresight to see beyond my years and beyond my peers. even now, that's what i'm tryin to achieve. i wished that i'd done more for the college and for myself. that period of self-discovery was wasted on uneventful matters that were done in a teenager's fit of the moment. but regret's regret. we can onli look past them. so at 23, if u ask me what i have done with my life, i cant really say. i've done good and i've done bad. i haven live enogh tt's for sure. i believe the day i answer tt qns might be the day i stop living. but i'm at peace with myself. totally.

无常

i find it harder to blog nowadays. it's a vague sense of nihilism, that nothing is ever worth mentioning it seems.
so in a fit of the moment, i have decided to reflect what's in my head. No wonder this has remained one of my all-time fav albums.

无常
词曲 王菲

夜风微凉 树摇月晃
云儿在飞 我在想
水流 花儿香
一片夜色放心上

喜中带忧 暗中有光
怎么度 怎么量
田野 山岗
美丽之下的凄凉
无常

你看那山色湖光
你看那蓝天白杨
看不到一丝渺茫
你再看海天碧浪
你再看晚霞曙光
禁不住匆匆忙忙
把希望留给失望


堕落
这世界看来很快乐 看不出难过 始终笑著沈默
你不慌不忙 你自然(而)坦荡 脱下了伪装 摘去了信仰

你不愿多说话 你想放纵一下 没甚么可怕 没甚么放心不下
痛苦地享乐 犹豫著堕落
左右不了诱惑 你才拒绝寂寞 你没有错 因为没有谁对谁过
心安理得 于是你堕落

来啊 来啊 我陪你 来啊 来啊 来啊 继续 继续

我没甚么可说 想不清后果 也不准备自责
我不慌不忙 自然（而）坦荡 绝望地逆流而上 甘心地自投罗网

没有别的想法 只想放纵一下 就当没发现 美好背后的虚假
敷衍著灵魂 勉强地挣扎
甚么也没错过 其实一无所获 谈不上失落 陶醉和麻醉交错
从这里开始 无意识地堕落

you remind me of...

ARTHAS HO!
first u were a NATION-lover




then u were a singer




now u r an actor?!?!


i just have to show the world the striking resemblance.

Another suitcase in another hall

I remember in between 1996-1999, i discovered the vcd on my computer. One of the very first movies i caught on vcd, if memory serves me well, was My Best Friend's Wedding and Evita. Back then i was living in a 3-room flat across the PIE from CSS. i shared a room with my sister and the Faye Wong casette tapes accompanied me to sleep almost every night. my mum use to scold me for plugging in the walkmen to bed. "bad for the ear", she would say. I remember how i use to love sitting outside my corridor steps, and once, after gettin my hands on the freshly released Faye Wong EP "Toys", i listened to it over and over and over again there and then. I miss the sounds of the PIE, then endless traffic that served as a constant distraction. Here in my new bedroom, silence is the default noise. luckily, my sound system is louder than the Walkman i use to have.

My Walkmen is now broken. it's hidden somewhere in the house.

that was a digression. back in the days when neighbours treat neighbours food and climb onto their window ledge to see what they were doin inside, peering over the glass window pane tryin to catch a figure sleepin or whatever it is they're doin, i borrowed the vcd from my neighbour. i didnt want to admit this in the past because it seemed embarassing and cliche. But i gotta say, one of the first movies i shed tears for was EVITA. yes, that Madonna ego-vehicle musical about the life of Argentina first lady Eva Peron. i think it was the "Don't cry for me Argentina" scene and the "Ypu Must Love Me" scene. the latter showed a dying Madonna, askin for her lover to keep loving her despite her illness. Madonna has never sounded so heart-breakin in her life-time.Andrew Llyod Webber taught the lady how to SING. seeing her propped on a wheelchair and carried upstairs by her fellow actor, there was something tragic about that piece. her eventual death scene wasnt as touching. i remember watching that vcd over again just to let myself cry, just to relive that experience of crying over a film, and to see if it would have the same effect, or whether it was a moment of fluk the first time round.

Watching American Idol Andrew Llyod Webber week brought back that memory. pardon me for linkin everything back to American Idol ahahahhahaha. Brooke-Bambi-White totally ruined that song. but it got me interested enough to dig out that old OST, still in the make-shift case i put in to lend to QJ. Jason Castro also RUINED "Memory", but got me interested to watch CATS. and if there's any consolation for Carly's undeserved exit, it's that her performance make me wana see Donny Osmond in that seemingly cheesiest Jesus Christ Superstar musical.

AI, on top of gettin people rooting for someone or cursing at someone's terrible performance or untimely exit, was for me an introduction to the icons of pop culture. the show got me interested enough to purchase my first Barbra Streisand CD which is one of the best CDs i have. it introduced me to the music of Heart, Earth Wind Fire, Neil Sedaka, Barry Manilow, Burt Bacharach, Dolly Parton, etc etc. kimberley's pop-ish "New York state of Mind" got me irked at Joanna Wong's recent cover, no version of "What are you doing the rest of your life?" (other than Barb's) can compare to Fantasia's IMO, and no one can sing "My Funny Valentine" better than Melinda Doolittle. except mayb Frank Sinatra.

hello, and goodbye. 160707 - 140408

9am, handphone and alarm ring
9.20am, get outta bed to get ready.
9.50am, leave house.
10.16am, MRT reaches JE.
10.35am, MRT reaches Raffles Place.
10.46am, reach Dhoby Gaut after a 6-7mins wait for MRT.
10.50am, reach office, make tea.
11.00am, first call of the day.
2.30pm, lunch break on Sat/Sun.
3.00pm, knock off on Mon/Fri.
5.00pm, knock off on Sat/Sun.


that's a typical day at the call centre.

today marks my final day at Haw Par Centre, one of my workplace for 9mths. workin as a CCC (customer care consultant) with StarHub wasnt a job i particularly fancy. therefore i never expected myself to feel emotional today. All these while i have been looking forward to this day, but when it finally arrives, i cant help but to feel a pang of sadness; not at the familarity of the job, but at all the friends that i have made, the regret at not having the time to know them better. perhaps it was the sake i had at ajiteh tt made me so emotional. wine/alcohol always make me candid and susceptible to emotions. here's a lookback at the past 9mths.



Training days.




the enjoyable lunch during training phase. the place has since been renovated. it's a bar by night, hawker by day bar.


eileen's birthday.


with the trainers.


Shannon's bday party at Ritz Carlton Suite! SWEET! marvelous view!!!




my makeshift desk.



my locker.





Jac, my fellow theatre/movies/arts partner-in-crime. she's been like a mama to me, and she treats me like the little bro she nv had. haha. while studyin at marina sq mac one day i chanced upon her walkin past, apparently shopping, with a grin on her face. the next day i told her and we began talkin about movies(she just came out fr one tt day) and etc etc etc. the course of our friendship changed forever then. =)



Marco Yeo Chye Poh has been like a brother to me. i miss callin him by his chinese name and hearing ppl call him "mar-guo-ger". he is labelled Mr StarHub because he works the most OT. he was my double-banker durin my days as a new hire. i've learnt abundant from him, all i know he imparted me. i still remember how he has to clear my shit even before i was on the job. during training, i accidentally terminated a customer's line wrongly, and he, being my future teammate then, had to help me callback cust and clear things up. i was so embarrassed and thought he might give me a hard time when i start work. turns out everything was allright. me being nice and naive, i even believed him when he said he was gonna go to thailand for 2 days for a religious dinner, with air fare paid for by his friend. it didnt sound entirely unbelievable. after tt i found out from a common friend tt he was merely takin a 3 day leave!!

goin to work and seeing him and jac gave me a sense of security tt i have ppl to depend on. they made the place familiar and tt much bearable and less hostile. i will miss them.



i dun have much friends over at SH. amazing but true. in a way, i nv realy broke out of my shell to people outside my part-time team. It's prob due to the nature of the job. or my considerably "short" stay. i am equally puzzled at how some ppl would rather pay $1000 to break their contract and get out of this job, and how some ppl managed to stay on for more than 1 yr.
thou i cant say for sure that the friends i've made will be for lifelong, but i'm glad that thruout my stay, seeing some of them really did make a difference to working. i guess it's how much we keep in touch with one another from now on. it feels like ORD all over again.

and onto a new phase,
i embark.

Hello Dolly!

Dolly Parton is the definition of gumption. just check out the introduction to this song about a husband-stealing woman. love this song. and for those who think she's just a dumb blonde with big boobs, you sld really read her interviews. they can be entertaining as hell, with tt southern country-girl straightforwardness and wry humour.

Dolly Parton - Jolene.



and for those who might not have an idea who she is, this is prob her most famous song
Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers - Islands in the Stream


Dolly Parton - Me and Little Andy
this is quite a sad song. as onli Dolly can sing with tt voice of hers.


Dolly Parton - Coat of many colours

Fengshui?!!?!?!

while reading the latest issue of 8 Days, i came across a very odd piece of Fengshi advertising. it was poorly organised, very wordy and not eye-catching, out of place (sldnt they be on Lianhe or SingMing?!), but most of all, hilarious! basically it mentioned everything tt fengshui can do for u. here, i plagarise with pride the 2 paragrahhs tt got me laughing at how ludricrous and defaming the ad is. i find it amusing with their exceptionally generous use of exclamation marks.

Marriage salvation!When your man stops touching you for weeks! Seek fengshui to ease a tensing relationship. Simple fengshui tactics to strike the 'intruding third party' to great effect. How the house fengshui can be tuned for a more stable marriage! Fengshui and life reading is also marriage insurance. Have fidelity in control! Fengshui and life reading can help steer your relationship clear from potential fidelity threats.

Newborn's best gift
The early detection of a newborn's innate talent and correction of inadequacies, and in some cases physical deficiencies, are also possible with life reading. Autism, Down's syndromw, homosexual tendency are reflected in a person's Eight Characters. Conflicting months of conception, conflicting parents' eight characters are possible cause.





cant wait for I'M NOT THERE in 2 days' time. gonna brush up my Bob Dylan discography. and cant wait for ANNIE LEIBOVITZ in 4 days! whoopeeeeeeeee!

YY!

YY! Rare guest! where have u been hiding man. where's all the cool music on ya blog!? hahahah
anyway, Justin's hair is slightly curly, not as Q as Justified. I feel weird talkin bout hair hahahaha. but anw, did u watch the full vid? why is he always stripping things off women?! first it was Janet Jackson's infamous Nipplegate wardrobe malfunction, now it's Madonna! but u gotta admit this song is wicked rite! love the trumpets. stuck like glue on me. ticktock ticktock ticktock!

anw, fellow Norton fan, here's the trailer for THE INCREDIBLE HULK. this is like his first major blockbuster in eons, i hope this doesnt do for him what Spiderman did for Tobey, cos i like my EN indie and cool. hahaha. still i think this is gonna be a cool flick. what movie is not with EN rite? hahahaha. catch up soon!

4 MINUTES!

QUICK! U've only got 4 minutes to see this latest video by Madonna and Justin Timberlake before youtube removes it!
i promise the hook is WICKEDDDDDD. Timbaland is a genius.

poignance

for some reasons, i find it hard to blog nowadays. i find it hard to put my emotions on my sleeve, knowing tt it might affect others. i'm rediscovering my handwritten journal, after a 2 yr hiatus or so, which is always by my side nowadays it sems.

somehow, i wish things hadnt change the way it did. it seems tt the same problems surround me everytime; ppl leave, and u gotta make room to trust new ones.

but i saw this article and i cant help but to post this. Seeing how Ms Claudette Yamin was so proud of Elliot Yamin during his stint on Idol, tt blissful image of mother-son truely bonding and caring for each other, i cant help but feel a pang of sadness. and thou i dunno Elliot personally, but seeing him then, he's a man easily brought to tears, and i'm sure he must be feeling really down now.

my condolences to Elliot Yamin and his family.


Claudette Yamin, mother of singer Elliott, dies at 65

Tuesday, Apr 01, 2008 - 12:57 AM Updated: 04:45 PM

BY MELISSA RUGGIERI AND CYNTHIA McMULLEN
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITERS






A funeral service for Claudette Yamin, mother of singer Elliot Yamin, will be held at 1 p.m. tomorrow at Bliley's-Central, 3801 Augusta Ave. in Richmond.

Interment will be private.

Mrs. Yamin died last night. She was 65.

The cause of her death was not released. She had been hospitalized during the weekend at a local hospital.

Elliott Yamin, 29, became a national celebrity during his 2006 run on the TV show "American Idol," where he placed third. During the competition, his mother became known to "Idol"-watchers and Richmonders for her fiery spirit.

Last year, Mrs. Yamin moved briefly to Los Angeles. She returned to the Richmond area in February.

"I went to see if I could rebuild my health," she said in a February interview with the Richmond Times-Dispatch. A broken hip had never fully mended.

A message posted last night on Elliott Yamin's Web site by his friend Brandon Crowe said, "The world lost a beautiful soul. I can't go into any details at this time except to say that she went peacefully."

Crowe's message on etrainstation.com said the family has asked for privacy.

Family sources said donations in Mrs. Yamin's memory can be made to Jewish Family Services, 6718 Patterson Ave., Richmond, Va. 23226, or to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation's Central Virginia chapter. (Elliott Yamin has Type 1 diabetes).

In addition to Elliott, Mrs. Yamin is survived by her younger son, Scott Yamin of Buies Creek, N.C.; a daughter, Jodi Queen of Encinitas, Calif. a brother, Eugene Goldberg of Pompano Beach, Fla.; and two grandchildren.


____________________________________________________

on a brighter note, this person's constant post on www.ew.com's Idol comments always makes my day.

on Dolly Parton week, KLC's performance of "coats of many colours":
KristyLee'sHorse: ''Kristy Lee sewed the rags together. She sewed every piece with love. She made my stable blanket of many colors that I was so proud of.''
on Songs-from-yr-u're-born-in week, KLC's performance of "God Bless the USA":
KristyLee'sHorse: ''Whenever Kristy Lee and I are riding from sea to shining sea, the skies are spacious and the Blue Angels are flying overhead.''

KristyLee'sHorse: ''Sometimes, when Kristy Lee and I are galloping across the fruited plain, on our way to deliver freshly baked cookies to old war veterans, a rainbow will appear over our heads. Only it's red white and blue!''


and Michael Slezak's very funny take on Ramiele's performance last night:
"And while Idolatry has built entire episodes around Kristy Lee's robotic showmanship, I don't think there was a more emotionally disconnected performance tonight than Ramiele's. Everything about her number was so hollow, I was surprised woodpeckers didn't descend upon it, looking to build a nest inside."

IDOL!

OK. time of the week again.

this week's idol was a little irritating for me. although some contestants improved, i just wish some wld break out of their comfort zones. while i'm takin time off to get this off my chest by not doin my assignment for 20 mins, i have to say, the most exciting part for me was knowing that Kimberley Locke will be singing tml. =)=)=)



everyone is buzzing about David Cook at the moment. but he still hasnt won me over. he's been doin one too many obscure rock versions of good old classics, so much that it felt like he's tryin to trick the Americans into thinking that it's HIS own rock version! this week he picked the classic MICHAEL JACKSON song, BILLIE JEAN. EVERYONE. LOVES. THAT. SONG. and to sing that rock version, it gives ppl who might have missed Seacrest's small disclaimer the false impression that "wow, he can make that song rock?!" but the credit was not his. just like "the kid is not my son", as the song goes.
although i do give him credit for takin a potential risk, but still David Cook hasnt won me over with his rock credentials. AND he seems smug. i hate smugs.


i wish i can strangle DAVID ARCHULETA. huge potential. wasted on a theme park song. Simon was spot on. i sorta knew tt was coming. David A is proving to be the Melinda Doolittle of the season. started out as the strongest front-runner, then fizzled when it comes to top 12 week. at least Melinda still managed to dazzle and prove impeccable week-after-week, albeit without a vast breakthrough. but for david A, it felt like he's tryin to milk the teeney-boopey vote now by pickin that totally commercial and catchy song. yes, he's got millions of adoring teenage girls behind him. but at some point he's gotta come out and give tt classic idol moment in the reins of past winners, if he ever wana win. he needs to put on a coat, a tie, look smart, and give a CLASSIC CLASSY performance.



i thought Carly might come close to having her moment with TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE EHART. but she didnt. for me, Carly has the most potential to win. and most deservingly if it's purely based on singing(even thou she's a forsaken recording artist before). Carly needs to tery to be less fierce and more tender. it might just work for her.


TWISTY SEA MOOKS. smart song choice la. thou i CANNOT STAND that she is tryin so hard to milk it. when she said in her video that her siblings wld ask her to stop singing in the car, i secretly envision her havin a terrible performance and simon wld use tt video clip to prove the point. INSTEAD, tables were turned. oh well. Josh Gracin nailed tt song in season 2 and no one has done it since. i dun think it was gd, but it sld be gd to keep her 1 more week.

Ramiele. STUPID OR WHAT?!?!! to pick ALONE, a song Carrie Underwood OWNED with gusto is just idol-career suicide. Ramiele has done it for me. she's like a weaker Jasmine Trias with the same body movements and mouth movements week after week after week after week. yes. sweetness and tear ducts can onli bring u thus far girl. i see bottom 2 beckoning.


Michael Johns. can a non-queen song make u good?!?!?! i didnt like it still despite judges' props. u seem like u were struggling at some points. gd voice thou.

SYESHA. SHOCKIN! OMG. BEST IMPROVED. syesha can be the dark horse tt makes it into top 3 like Elliot and Kimberley! impressed.

Chekezie. ya defeated look after the performance might have just bought u ya ticket home =*(




Brooke white and Jason Castro. the guitar-strumming odd ones of the season. not ya usual idol stereotype with the big voice. still, they've proven to be evry endearing. Jason with his killer smile didnt nail FRAGILE. and it's getting irritatin cos i am still waiting to see him bloww but he is still so jack-johnson laidback!!!

Brooke i totally love. i think she might win it. love her song choice thou i was hopin she'd give it her own spin. still waiting for a GREAT performance thou.

at this point of the competition, all u need is a STANDOUT PERFORMANCE that will seal ya fate. i havent seen a standing ovation fr Randy in a long time. and i haven seen Simon give the seal of approval to anyone to certify their front-runner status. David C's come close with "just might win". none has had the Carrie-Underwood-you're-gonna-win-and-sell-more-records-than-any-other-artist, a Fantasia-master-class-in-singing-MAGIC! or a Jennifer Hudson-Latoya London standing ovation yet. it makes me miss the good ol' days. but heck. idol is idol. nothing is certain. u'll only know as well as the next tv-watching buddy.

watch these 2 and u'll see.
Carrie Underwood - Alone


Fantasia - Summertime. if u dun get the buzz bout it, watch the next vid of her winning performance of I Believe.




I MISS AMANDA OVERMYER.

古巨基 - 勁歌金曲2 - 情歌王 MV

k i think i was too psyched to see this MV and hear the song that the eventual product turned out a lil disappointing. personally, what made the first 勁歌金曲 such a hit was how it was jam packed into a power ballad tt was an extended climax throughout. it also had a more cohesive theme in each segment. this one, thou with a love story background to it, felt a lil slow, draggy and overwrought, amounting to 2 mins longer than the canto version. there wasnt a clear breaking point from each section (if any).

is this a sign tt canto songs r better than chi songs? hahaha. i cant help but notice that chi pop is currently littered with females without a distinct voice. it seems that they all come out from the same factory tt devoted all good genes to Rainie Yang. everyone is goin along with cheesy songs, act cute personality, easily forgettable and cheesy names, and bad singing. No one had an ethereal voice like Faye, the tenderness of Sandy, the low growl of Sammi, or the poignance of Tanya. it all felt abit mediocre. and after goin to the S-POP concert yesterday, it onli cemented this notion. singers with names like "mei xin" who act cute, or "jin sha" who's restricted to singing harmonies with JJ, and tt s-pop song-writing winner, whose name i forgot, was a total gross out moment. i am appalled at ehr abd singing, and at how such a common ditty can triumph the heartfelt and better-sung UMBRELLA. sigh.

back to 勁歌金曲2. of cos there were great moments. for the longest time Leo has neglected the chi market. and this could be the song, after tt "clock tt forgot time" song, that Leo wld make a comeback and make it big in chinese music again.






勁歌金曲1 - Canto version. one of my fav ktv songs.

Ken Leeeeee

YY, i miss Felicity too. i have season 1,2,4 dvd. we sld marathon la. wa lau we got so much to marathon la. when man! 40yrs old isit?!?!?! sighh. and i love Waitress la. i hope Keri Russell makes a i'm-gonna-make-it-duper-BIG-someday pie soon. it wld be a feast.

and Belle, zoo outing sounds coOl. u organise k. =)

so anyways i jsut came back from Celest bday celebration at Rice Table. wa the buffet bagus, eat till i wana puke. full to max, then cam whored alot. yes i will post the pics here, before the mention of my name reminds u of how i didnt send so many ppl the pics i took. (who started this accusation in the first place?! i got send lorrr....albeit VERY SLOWLY)

this vid is damn funny. go watch.



ok i should be blogging about my FAVOURITE FAVOURITE HOT FAVOURITE ROCKER NURSE Amanda Overmyer's shocking, unfair, and premature departure from AMERICAN IDOL. but i'm so tired now. so a pic tribute shall suffice for now. pardon the terok broken eng. lazy.

IDOL!

ok, i wld have blogged a long entry bout the 5 performances i managed to catch on idol. but i figured i sld watch the entire show first before i comment on the ghastly new designs, futuristic and distant new set, the performances, and the judges.

but i HAVE TO SAY. "Misty Sea"/"twisty tree" Kristy Lee's performance was SO bad, SO contrived, SO mismatched, that she made me think of last season's worst contestant Hayley Scornato (spelling might be wrong). at least Hayley showed off her nice long legs every week while singing boringly. Kristy made Hayley sound good! the arrangement swallowed her whole and tt country thing did not fit the song at all. no one wants to see a rehash, and she tryin to sound like Carrie is so contrived she sld be gone tml.

and i'll tell u why one sld not repeat past idol contestant's history on idol, esp on live tv.

next entry.

but here i'm gonna make some bold predictions as to who the mentors will eb b4 it's revealed tml:
- TINA TURNER. after a glorious grammy night, she might be thinkin of a comeback.
- Sheryl Crow. see: NEW ALBUM.
- Carly Simon. with the huge influx of singer-songwriter hopefuls this season, and the Brook comparisons, it's very plausible.
- Alicia keys. see: NEW ALBUM.
- Sting. see: legend needed.
- Mary J Blige. see: new album, R&B singer powerhouse needed, CURRENT.
- Paul Simon / Bruce Springsteen?!>!! see: legend needed.
- BON JOVI. everyone loves BJ. rocker needed.


anddddddddd. will Nigel Lythgoe finally get his wish of asking BARBRA STREISAND to appear on stage as a mentor?!!?!!? tt wld be ROYALTY man. but given that it's a no-holds-barred season with the wide range of talents and revamps, it's highly plausible, and much anticipated. =)

"I FEEL ALIVE!!!"

that's the phrase the lead got us to shout out twice in the entire show. BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE KICKED HARD ASS MAN. i first heard of them on the Half Nelson soundtrack, thinkin that they'd be some soft-emo band. turns out they're a rollickin bunch of middle-age man who seem like they've been rockin for the longest time! only 6 turned up tonight. One looked like a skinny Will Ferrell, one had antics and small actions tt reminded me of The Doors frontman, with those slithery hand actions and KT Tunstall album cover-esque poses. The lead reminded me of a rocking Damien Rice, the trumpet player reminded me of Masi Oka. thou without Feist or Mas Silamat, as the voice-over at the beginning cleverly puts it, it was one of the best gigs i've been to.

The concert hall was fully booked. from the first voiceover, u sorta knew it's gonna be great. Never in my life have i seen an audience that willingly stood up without prompting even before the first song came up. my seats were the second closest to the stage, and i could see every single action the members made. we got it at a good $62 bargain, all thanks to Ms Ivy. We gave two 1min long cheering led by the band. THE CROWD WAS HYSTERICAL. i never expected so many fans in Spore.

basically Broken Social Scene derived its name from the state or relationships nowadays. i snapped some pretty nice pic, but somehow cant post them up today. will post more once Ms Ivy sends me her delicious DSLR pics. i sld get one myself. BEST CONCERT OF THE YEAR SO FAR!

next up, it's time to invade the SIFF!!!!! I'm Not There!!!

(Singapore International Film Festival)

FEIST

I was soooooo pleasantly shocked when i saw this video! it totally brought a smile to my face. never will i imagine the seemingly shy and indie Feist to come up with something so racous and jubilant! albeit a tad commercial, it still maintained that lil edge as an indie artist. LOVE LOVE LOVE.



MY MOON MY MAN. another great vid. props to the director man!



and i LOOOOVVEEE this song. ONE EVENING. she sld have won something at the Grammys. anw i've been listening to the album for a long time already, so this post is kinda belated.

idolatory

gosh tonight's idol episode flew by faster than i can say whoa! come friday, two guys will be eliminated, and i actually like 7/8 of the guys! damn!

and i have to say this: didnt anyone notice how Jason Castro was rushing thru the verses and how his voice cracked and he gave a semi-grin on the last 2 notes of Leonard Cohen's 'Hallelujah'?! i LOVED it initially and almost cried during the first part of the performance, but after that i was disappointed. if he had nailed that song, it wld rank close to being one of the best idol moments ever! that song, the Jeff Buckley and k.d Lang versions, was one of my fav songs of all time. and thou i give him props for the courage for choosing that song, i'm disappointed he didnt NAIL IT! still, he gets the coolsville/indie vote of the season.

and despite David H's offscreen reports, i still loved his version of 'It's all coming back to me now'. i hope he stays.

and David A. i love how he changed the phrasing and made every song his own. yes the constant lickin of lips was a tad confusing/distracting, but to get a piano up at this stage of the competition, that's a FIRST. props man.

looking forward to Amanda Overmyer and Carly Smith tml. WHOOHOO!