...of the singing contest Anugerah on Suria.
I have not followed it closely so basically my comments will not weigh its weight in gold, but for the sake of viewer power, I shall say my piece.
When I saw the four finalists, I actually wondered, how did they end up being there? Far from being cynical, I am purely basing it from a commercial value viewpoint. And I would dare say three out of four of them have almost to none. The one that strikes me most as having commercial value is definitely Aliff. He has that cute boyish looks that go down very well with screaming, virginal teens as well as over-zealous makciks. From a social, political and economic viewpoint, there are no winning choices except for Aliff. Here's my take on why Aliff had to win. And he did.
It's been a very long time since a big music label like Sony BMG decides to put its dollar on a Malay singing sensation that hails from Singapore. And for this collaboration between Sony BMG and Suria to work in terms of dollars and common sense, plus perhaps putting Singapore Malay music back onto the map, and raising the value (maybe standards) of the Malay music industry, Aliff has to be the winner. You need to make some dough first for music labels to believe that investing in a Singaporean Malay singer will reap benefits. They just perhaps realised this with Taufik Batisah and Hady Mirza, I suppose. This will only mean repeat future investments, instead of dying off like it did. It's also a way of saying to the Malaysians (and Indonesians), "Look here, we do have talent too!" and socially, this will rub off to the other talents in this industry and will make the struggling local singers feel that their recognition and worth are long overdue.
For all its worth, Aliff was not a disappointment. Despite his rather raw and breathless singing, he had good control of his voice. It was not pitchy and did not fall flat as much as the others. On the other hand, he really rocked it with his own rendition of that Indon song with Addy Cradle. He commanded the stage like it was his. He was entertaining, and it looked like he loved to please and entertain. He immersed himself and enjoyed himself and his personality showed through. In comparison to Maiya, whom I would credit as having the most powerful vocals, Aliff still win hands down for being the moderately good singer with excellent stage presence, good boyish looks, charisma and overall commercial package.
Now, the things that are left to be seen is for him to find a niche in his music. And somehow the rock in him fits nicely with his boyishness, and romantic ballads also go well with his breathless whispery voice. That, to me, seem to be his winning formula. It is left to be seen whether he will remain humble and pleasing, as his confidence over Judge Shafinaz's superb comments have raised his head a little higher, based on the body language that he displayed on the show and during his encore singing. So I hope he'll know what to do to remain likeable in this rather volatile industry.
Back to the three other finalists.
Maiya had the best vocals to boot, but she was lost. Lost in the sense like what Judge Gani said, her performance did not match her powerful vocals. I'm sure she can do more. And if she had done a lot more by commanding her moves, her facial expressions, body language and conquering the stage, she has got it all BUT she is still not the winner for me. She is an 'old' singer, 'old' not in the sense of age, but in her overall presence. I mean she aint the young pretty lass that is very necessary for this rather cruel music industry. Of course talent will get you far, but talent and looks plus something else will get you even farther. I would think that Maiya could and should emulate someone like Melly Goeslaw - the Indonesian singer that made her mark most for being a superb composer of other acclaimed singers. Maiya has got what it takes, if she is willing to work hard at learning to play the piano, reading notes, composing and rearranging, to be a great music composer and producer, I believed.
Roslan, he is just like Hyrul or Hazami, don't you think? Minus the vocals for Hazami that is. When Judge Eddie said that he did the Imran Ajmain's song justice, I beg to differ. Perhaps Eddie was just being nice, and far from being disappointed with Roslan's rendition, he was pleased. But, without trying to sound apologetic, I'm sure Imran who was one of the invited guests would be shock to hear that. I did. Roslan was lost too, and since his vocals were not as superb as Maiya, he was doubly lost. He did not grab my attention, and I am not sure whether he was not interested or that it was purely nerves. He is a ballad and soul guy but when he deliver ballads with the 1)first song which is very unfamiliar and alien even to Judge Rahimah Rahim and 2) other songs that sounded very lacklustre and void of feelings and emotions, it just didn't do. His voice is relatively acceptable, but he needed to put more oomphh and panache to make it. Anyway, with the help of Mayuni Omar from Soundlink, I'm sure he will do well with such ballads in the compilation album. I mean, please kick some edge into your singing!
Nurrun, how is it that she looked almost like Maiya with round face and short hair? The difference, her voice is super raspy and she is super short. Cute and small were rather the cute terms to use from Judge Shafinaz. She worked hard and clearly was not going to let her dismal support from viewers demoralised her spirits. She is edgy and that is what I like about her but unless she can be someone like Hi Hi Bye Bye Ezleen, or Rama-Rama Ella, then it will be difficult for her to move in this industry. She needs something else, and that something else, whether it is x-factor or whatever it is, is the missing ingredient. But she's cool.
Now, for something a bit frivolous... what do you notice about Clay Aiken and Elliot Yamin of American Idol?
Well.........................They had a dental makeover.
So to Aliff and Nurrun...when you're singing, the mouth is the part that people will see most, and that's the part that has to be attractive most. I hope you understand what I mean, you just have to try and have it all. It's a frivolous shallow thing but just look at Hady Mirza after winning Singapore Idol, and all other Idol winners and finalists whether from US or Singapore. Hady's bod is more lean, and his face more angled. I don't mean that he went for cosmetic surgery but I'm sure he hit the gym more after winning the title.
Well, who says winning (or being a top notch celebrity) is easy?
