Ironically, for a show that is part of what is called "the spectaculars", there was nothing even remotely spectacular about tonight's Singapore Idol episode. Big band is all about attitude and substance; yet I felt that these were the very things missing from the contestants' performances. Perhaps with the exception of Olinda, none of the finalists seemed to have any conviction in whatever they were singing... Worse still, though its already the sixth elimination round in the idol competition, even good old Oli lacked a certain, mesmerising, va-va-voom x-factor. Honestly, I am quite ashamed of calling myself a Singaporean... It is therefore quite amazing that I was able to sit through the whole show with my good humor still intact.. ;p
Opening the show was Christopher singing goodness-knows-what. I keep wondering how he's able to have a smile plastered on his chubby face week after week with such horrid performances. If I were him, I'd be thoroughly miserable from all that guilt of making singapore audiences put up with my lousy singing... Daphne's Orange Colored Sky fared slightly better but a good vocal tone aside, it had been obvious for a few weeks already that her range is very limited & this week was no exception. Moreover, I think her hair totally sucks. TCS should really get a less cheesy hairstylist... The classic Fever was almost perfectly rendered by Olinda but I felt that her hat-throwing thing was done abit too early. Contrary to what the judges said though, I felt that there was too little power and too much subtlety in her rendition. And seriously, I much prefer her in pants...
Leandra's Lullabye of Broadway was certainly too lifeless in spirit despite her persistent efforts to groove to the song... I've always loved her vocal texture but she aint no Lauryn Hill or even Fantasia; it's quite apparent that Leandra's weak upper register is not up to the challenge. Half of the time, I didnt know what the hell Taufik was singing (due to his mumbling of the lyrics) but he did sound rather good and his stage presence & performing skills were incredible. The dude sure had some pretty slick moves and smooth vocals that is well suited to the genre, but somebody has got to teach him how to ENUNCIATE his words properly! Speaking of bad pronunciation, Sylvester must be every english teacher's nightmare; he looked like an ahbeng pretending to be the mafia. However, he showed admirable restraint in his rendition of The Way You Look Tonight.. too much perhaps because I found it to be superbly boring and monotonous.
Judging from what I've seen so far, only Sylvester and Olinda are truly of World Idol competition material owing to their unique personalities, strong vocals and ability to belt as per necessary. Taufik and Leandra are close on their heels, their strengths being their pleasantly "pop" vocals & hip personalities... For all my speculations however, I'm not one of the judges and I do not represent singapore's voting majority. I just hope that whoever represents Singapore as Idol is truly someone worthy of the title...
