Thank God for repeat telecasts! Therefore, I was able to catch Anugerah's semifinals on Sunday morning (it's quite a miracle I didn't sleep in); however, I missed Azrin's and Md Khairil's performances. Then again, that doesn't really matter because we all know by now who managed to get into the finals... =)
Eddie told me that Khairil's rendition of Vince's Mengapa Harus Cinta was quite terrible despite the fact he managed to pull through to the finals (which will be aired live this coming thursday evening). After watching Anugerah's "preview" episode earlier, Khairil's admittance that he did perform badly left me wondering why he had the highest number of votes for that semi-finals show. Sympathy votes perhaps?
Whatever the case, I've never been a fan of his vocals and have always found his singing style to be a little peculiar. It's just the way he enunciates certain words and phrases which kinda turns me off (especially during Anuar Zain's Mungkin and PeterPan's Mungkin Nanti).
Ditto for Khairul Anwar -- that poly bloke whom Kumar had christened to be the guy with the "kepit" voice. I don't think Kumar was being too critical; it IS true... and his Menaruh Harapan (despite what the jury had to say) just seems weird. Those judges had probably never heard Jamal Abdillah's cover of that Zaiton Sameon song in his latest album, Aku Penghibur, which indubitably, Khairul Anwar was trying to emulate (with less than sterling results).
In my honest opinion, only Fauzie Laily and Syed Azmir are most deserving of their spots in the finals.
When we first heard Fauzie sing during Anugerah 2003, his voice hasn't "matured" yet and he wasn't able to leave an indelible impression with his audience... Today, his vocal tone has definitely become more steady and he has developed a rather confident stage presence. There is also a certain originality in his easy-going style and kooky smile.. This is definitely someone we'll see more of in future Suria programmes, whether he becomes the juara or not...
I feel that comparisons between Syed Azmir and Taufik Batisah are completely unjustified; while both are clearly RnB protagonists, they have different vocal tones/textures and dissimilar performing styles. Still, it seems that Syed Azmir is the clear favorite to win this competition. This probably could be attributed to his excellent stage charisma and his uncanny ability to choose songs that suit his husky vocals (and limited range). Nevertheless, I would love to see him explore the boundaries of his voice, like what he did last week during Kau Pergi Jua -- this IS a singing competition, afterall...
When all is said and done, this year's Anugerah is a little bland compared to the benchmarks set by previous years' Anugerah finalists; there is not one contestant with a blow-you-away type of voice (that credit this year belongs to the disqualified Samsuri) and not one finalist is female. Since it is rather impossible (and insanely chauvinistic) to conclude that girls are not as talented as guys, I would therefore presume that there is something gravely wrong with this year's Anugerah system...
