Singapore Idol begins | writing despite myself

I am watching Singapore Idol, mainly because the Partner wants to watch it. I am posting that piece of information so that Partner will Feel Bad. Also, in unrelated news, I have never been to Bali but would like to go.

Anyway, actually I used to follow American Idol off and on, so no big. Didn't catch the first Singapore idol - can't remember why, but was pleased as punch that Taufik won.

The Girls
I happened to be involved in the FHM Girl Next Door competition this year, so the girls threw up a few familiar faces, including Chanelle. And I will say this: everything that happened in the space of the competition...well, let's just say that I don't think the bizarre little petty "who gets the room" spat initiated by Chanelle versus Geraldine was due to editing. Some of those girls can be just that bizarrely stupid.

So.. I was kinda glad when Charmaine, Chanelle's sister got through but not Chanelle. At the audition, I thought Charmaine had the better voice, but Chanelle had the looks. And as the half-assed cringeworthy poledance showed, Chanelle's just a bit too used to using her body to talk.

People to look out for: Jasmine, Rahimah, Meryl. Meryl's undoubtedly good, and her quality of voice isn't entirely due to vocal training. But I'm willing to bet money that this isn't the first or last time she's sung public - glancing at her bio, church choir's a good bet - and she's had training. Concerns - is there much more to improve, and has Meryl hit a wall? On the other hand, she's got the pretty face and sings well, so she's the equivalent of the PAP when it comes to voters. Also, what's with the bizarre faintly-creepy mommy ties? I mean, ok, she's young and all that, and her mum looks tai-tai so she's probably close to mummy - but all that crying on Gurmit's shoulder about disappointing her mum after she gave an excellent performance that was praised by the judges?

Ploy to gain sympathy votes, or just really emotional? I'm going for b) since she was probably stressed.

Jasmine and Rahimah - good, strong voices that would probably improve after training. Rahimah seems like a girl's girl, and a boy's boy- she cracked me up with her cheerful "Um.. the song was running through my head all night.. i'm going to count that as rehersal time, ok?" Probably won't win because Jasmine and Meryl beat her in the looks department, but I'd like her to go far.

Jasmine and Meryl cite Aguilera as a favourite artist, while Rahimah's got Shakira. So they're ok in that department. Rahimah's coming across as the boho type, which could work in her favour since she's not going to win votes in the pop tart department.

My favourite for now: Rahimah. Rahimah (and Jasmine to a lesser extent) has good interpretive skills, and know how to make emotion come through the song. Meryl's bordering on soul-less - which is in line with her mummy-crafted image.

The Boys
The only one I remember is Jonathan Leong. Whom I taught last year. Heh. He's got a good voice, and he is quite the charmer in real life as well, and it's coming through in the interviews. I found him a nice enough boy when I was teaching him, and the things that I did rip him over are between him and me.

Favourites to win: Jonathan versus Meryl.