[izk]-ed™

Project HOPE 2010

I clearly remember last year, when Project Hope was being televised because of the Sumatran national disaster. I was still involved pretty much with Singapore Idol then and we were given this project at the extreme last minute of it all.

When it’s for charity, there was no second thoughts or so despite the hectic schedule we were given but it was all good, to do your bit. Definitely, Project Hope 2009, was quite a memorable for me and together with Idols of 2009 alike. A joint venture together almost 100 artistes for various channels and ethnic groups working hand in hand to lend a helping hand. Whats more, through a music event like this where music is the international language of love.

Here’s a video of last year’s Singapore Idol 2009 performance for Project Hope 2009. Singing, our fellow Asian Idol 2007, Hady Mirza’s winning number, You Gave Me Wings.

This year, Project Hope 2010 is back and definitely for a good cause, to cater to the needs to the recent Mount Merapi, Tsunami of Mentawai and Western Sumatra disasters that just occurred.

The recent tsunami happened on 25 October 2010 in Mentawai, Western Sumatra. The disaster was triggered by a 7.7-magnitude earthquake near a chain of remote islands off western Sumatra.  As of now, the official death toll touched 450, with 96 others missing, feared dead.The rescuers have managed to discover 135 persons, found sheltering on high ground and too scared to return to their ravaged villages.  However, the immediate efforts are now focused on supplying food and evacuating injured victims of the natural disaster that displaced more than 22,000 persons.

Mount Merapi in Central Java erupted on 26 October 2010, a day after the western Sumatran Tsunami.  Nearly 40 people have been killed since Mount Merapi began erupting last week.  Last Saturday, 30 October 2010, saw another large eruption.  Merapi has had 63 lava bursts and nine small gas emissions to date.To date, more than 53,000 people have been evacuated since the eruptions began last Tuesday.

Project Hope hopes to be part of the ongoing relief efforts being run in Singapore, together with NGO, Mercy Relief and contribute to the rebuilding of lives of these victims.

This year yet again, comprising of various artistes around with performances from Singapore; Taufik Batisah, Sylvia Ratonel, Roberto Fernando and Gabrielle Ferdinands.Friends from Indonesia we have, Angel and Petra Sihombing and from Malaysia we have Tomok and Ayu. Hosted by Khairuddin Saharom and Othelli Edwards

Here are the numbers to call in to donate:

1900 112 5010 for a $10 donation

1900 112 5050 for a $50 donation

1900 112 5100 for a $100 donation

Lines are open from 13th November 2010 until 28th November 2010, midnight.

Let’s work together hand in hand, as we help those in need. With that, i end this post with the theme song for Project Hope, Hands United :)

Sylvia Ratonel - Fly!

MY IDOL GIRL IS BACK and she’s back with her latest single, FLY! An upbeat tempo though i thought the music was a little loud which drowns her voice a little but in all vocally she sounds amazinggggg and i miss this girl!

Keep requesting FLY on 98.7fm! :)

Also, join me and Sylvia Ratonel as she heads down to Cineleisure on the 28th of May for “Maybelline New York Launch - The Power In You!” at Cineleisure Orchard at 3pm and stand to win great prizes!  She’ll be singing her single “Fly” and selling her single album as well! :) SEE YA THEREEE!

Sezairi Sezali - Broken Music Video! [finalized]

As voted by the public of which ending should be the best for our Idol’s music video, Broken… here it is the finalized version! Either way of the ending i’m fine with it! hehe Anyway, enjoy guys :)

Sezairi Sezali - Broken Music Video!

Sezairi Sezali - “Broken” (Jez Ashurst / Ben Montague)

Dropped off your keys last night
The front door’s still not painted
You were polite like ice
That I once could have melted
You took our pictures down
And you left them on the ground
It’s like you wiped all the memories
Of what we used to be
You and me before it all crashed down

And I know I never told you
That I love you
Now it’s all too late
And I don’t know how to hold you
But I want to
I don’t want to leave this way
All I know
Is broken

I heard your voice break when you said
Well I hope you’re happy
Nothing to say I stared straight into my coffee
Then the conversation changed
And we talked around the blame
And the pain of losing
All of the good times lost
When it all crashed down

And I know I never told you
That I love you
Now it’s all too late
And I don’t know how to hold you
But I want to
I don’t want to leave this way
All I know
Is broken

But I’m here if you need me
I know you don’t believe me
And well I’m so sorry
For all the pain I’ve caused
For the pain I’ve caused

And I know I never told you
That I love you
Now it’s all too late
And I don’t know how to hold you
But I want to
I don’t want to leave this way
All I know
Is broken

Here’s something for Sezairi’s fans. There are 2 endings to his Music Video. The fave one voted will be aired 1 week after the premiere of the video. Voting details coming soon!

Hope you liked Sezairi’s music video! The videos with the 2 endings will be posted up very soon! just click “like” for your favourite ending and Ch 5 will play the one with the most votes next week!

Go to http://www.facebook.com/MediaCorpCh5 to vote! :)

ENDING ONE


ENDING TWO

AnugeraHitz.Sg; The SHOWDOWN!

Oh this is a post that i should have written like two weeks back! Hey, don’t be angry with me because of the lack of entries alright, i’ve already apologised hor. hurr. Anyway, ANUGERAHITZ.SG; boy that was one helluva night! A night to remember that’s for sure, especially for the local Malay music industry. The theme for the event was Rock-Nation, i’m all about dressing up for any themed event but hey; I AM NO ROCKER MAN!

I stood for a good 5 minutes starring into my open wardrobe, scanning around for anything rocker related. Besides the same stereotype of you gotta be black to be rock things out, i decided to follow the notion as i put on a black military jacket. HOW original -.-

I brought Shenthy Feliziana (a.k.a Elly) and Setia Vegawati (a.k.a Vega) from Cinta Ixora along for the night. These beautiful ladies sure did blew me away with their looks and their intrepretation of Rock-Nation. As i look at myself, i’m a piece of rag that’s for sure haha.

Anyway, as i was invited down for the red-carpet event i did my job as part of the media, though still new with this whole opportunity cum industry given to me, i took a shy step back and witness how the professional media work including, PujanggaMalam.com and Izone.sg work. I can’t thank Mediacorp Suria enough for the endless opportunity, really.

It was uber interesting, Singapore Idol was different but i’m still getting used to it. Besides the mingling and whats not, i captured a few shots with my trusty Canon. Well, nothing to rave about hey, i like random shots alright.

The theatre was packed with fans, screaming fans. The screaming fans made me reminisce those good Singapore Idol live shows. Aww, boy it was all good. I was a nervouse wreck for the nominees that night especially for the duo, Sleeq. I kept telling Elly, that i hope the duo wins an award like over and over again haha. Trust me, i sounded even broken than a broken record. I was hoping and praying that the brother would an award. I know his duo(Sleeq) will somehow clinch at least one award that night. I’ve got faith in them.

The trophy was specially designed by Meyvi Wedelia, 20, a Year 3 Visual Communication student from Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts. The design symbolized reverberation - a reflection of sound and echo that signified the awards show’s fluid music expression.

I personally think the trophy looks, rather questionable. Yes, kudos to the designer for her hardwork but i think everyone has an opinion. I thought the trophy would be somewhere along the lines of prestige and honourable, getting reviews from the public, the trophy looks bulky and unfortunately cheap.

For example, i thought it would be made from crystal or maybe polished metal. The ergonomics of the butterfly looking trophy looked rather big for the handler to actually manoeuvre around it, but i guess that’s why it’s rather light weight. The designer nailed it with the concept, but maybe execution wise comes into the situation. Trust me, i’ve been there and done that. Oh well.

They made the opening rather happening with the emcee’s entering riding the Harley’s. The opening number as well was good “Live” because it did capture the atmosphere against the screaming fans but upon watching on tv, there were slight flaws. Here’s a video of it, try to spot a particular awkward silence because one of the artistes forgot the lyrics or so?

The opening number.

In all the night went to Taufik Batisah. He bagged 6 awards. Greedy much? HAHAHA, he is like the Siti Nurhaliza of Singapore. Just like the fellow Dato’, you throw them into any competiton, they’ll reach the finishing line first. Well, you can’t blame them, they are that good. 

I was slightly confused with the nominees for Best New Duo/Group and Best Duo/Group. Revalina got nominated in both? I got nothing against Revaline, but  that’s quite a weird categorising entry, Revalina won for the first category and the latter goes to Sleeq. Hey, i was a happy kid alright, uber happy!

Oh oh, we public love to see bloopers don’t we!? How about the one where Elfee Ismail took a peep at his palm while singing. I say, lyrics recap on live stage? HEHE. You guys won’t be able to see all these bloopers on the repeat last Friday but, this video shows it all! I is evil, i know but bloopers make such shows even much more interesting to watch! Hehe.

Elfee Ismail’s performance.

I thought Sleeq could win the 3rd spot for Top 3 Popular Artistes, they were in the Top 3 until the last minute. ARGH ARGH ARGH. They shouldn’t have show the charts! Quite a bummer but oh well, the show had to go on. Trust me, the crowd were particularly disappointed they didn’t made it to the top 3 alright. I received rants of disagreement via twitter and text messages. Well, these things are just unpredictable.

Like i told my brother, “So what if my votes went to waste, bro what we’ve got is priceless and i am damn proud of you and Alif for making it this far. Without a doubt, i’ll support ya still :)”

Here are the results for the night!

I loved the fact that Eiss and Nana sang the nominees for the Best Category. The power vocals of the sexes really proves them that they are not just singers, but they are vocalists of extreme calibre. Their performance gave me goosebumps besides the head-banging performance of Hanafi Warren and company that night. I was ultra happy to watch Sezairi Sezali perform. It’s been a while since Idol and looking at where he is now, proud for you dude sincerely :)

Sezairi’s performance that night.

In all, the show to me was pretty dope, the excitement and all. Nothing beats watching a “Live’ show. You could feel the atmosphere in the theater and the vibes. The award show then, clashed with a much anticipated soccer match, between Chelsea and Manchester United. Which unfortunately, to those Man. U. fans; they lost 2-1 to Chelsea. Quite shocking i say, and this is a random update of soccer amongst all of my entry. I didn’t like the repeat telecast because it was way edited too much, and the rush of it seemed rather anti-climatic =/

ANYWAY. When Rahimah Rahim was announced the Prime Lifetime Award recipient, it was nostalgic and brought a tear to many eyes. She’s a distinguished contributor to the industry who has made her mark with her outstanding local and overseas achievements. Sarah Aqilah sang her evergreen hit, Hati Yang Rapuh (Fragile Heart). She rightfully deserves the award without any doubt.

YOU GO KAK GIRL!

Rahimah Rahim’s thank you speech.

THE POST-RECEPTION (pictures galore yo!)

Whoah, the reception was packed to the core and there were camera flashes almost everywhere. Yes yes, i was part of the whole calamity of flashes haha but i didn’t stay long because i wanted to meet MJ Kuok! Yeah, the brother from San Frans is in town for a bit! I didn’t want to leave Elly and Vega, so i brought them along :) SUPPER AT SWENSEN’S YO, and of course an appearance by our Singapore Idol, Sezairi Sezali! Hoho!

I swear, Elly’s mind games were intriguing enough to cause a blonde moment between MJ and Sezairi. Not forgetting, MJ’s attempt to make us smile and frown at the same time. Making us look horribly constipated and yes Elly, i will upload that video of you interviewing Sezairi. Of course much to our private viewing only HAHAHAHA =P

The night definely hits a high note with the revelation of award winners and upbeat performers by local singers and musicians (heh, i copy this off from the media brief hurhur). The inaugural award shows just level up the bar of competency and excellence for the local Malay music industry. The passion these local singers and musicians have in them are to be mentioned no matter what.

They created the vibrancy that it is now and finally an effort to honour them. Congratulations to all the winners and nominees. Win or loose, it doesn’t matter because you are part of the this colourful chapter in the history of local music.

To the aspiring musicians and singers, the future is bright. Singapore is definitely ready to embrace the sounds of Singapore in any genre. You’d never know maybe, we might be able to garner a Grammy or two in the future.

Have faith always :)

P.S. Visit these two other blogs for reviews of the night; www.pujanggamalam.com and www.izone.sg (i’m a huge fan of them!)

P.S. Photo credits belong to the rightful owners

P.S.S. Go to youtube username: omgsianz for more videos

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A little mention to the best friend;

Syarif brothaaa! You did me proud and alot of others that’s for sure! Com’on, it’s ok for not winning any spot from the most Popular Artistes. You’ve got fans that love you guys, loved ones and of course friends. Votes are nothing compared to what you guys established. By far, i am uber proud of you and Alif; of course Sleeq :)

Hands down to you guys!

Anugerah Skrin (Finally an update!)

*dusts off virtually cobwebs*

This is insane, but i’ve not touched this blog for ages and honestly, i apologise sincerely from the bottom of my heart because of the lack of entries. I’ve been busy re-collecting myself, sashaying in some work and whatsnot. I’m all geared up for a couple of entries tonight.

I do feel that my writing feels a tad rusty right now, but whatever it is here’s an entry that is way due, over the top; DUE. Hurr.

I attended Anugerah Skrin auditions last month (yes it was last month!) and the response for it was pretty decent. If you’ve been following my twits, i uploaded pictures and messages live the other day. I remember clearly it was a rainy Saturday, but that didn’t stop the line of youngsters giving their godforesaken a shot at fame.

As i walk around, trying to spot anyone with the X-Factor, i came across some friendly ones, some really over friendly ones (like chill yo) and those quieter ones. Well, for sure i believe that if you want to step into the media industry, personality is the number one choice but i guess it’s too early judge. For those over friendly ones, maybe taking a step back with the “over-enthu” factor and go a little mellow would be good.

Some recognises me from Singapore Idol and to those who hollered, very nice to meet you as well. To that particular fella whom waggled my bag and said, “Kau yang tulis tulis tu kan?!”, that made me laugh so bad but hey at least your approach was a memorable one for me! haha.

The procedure was pretty the same as compared to Singapore Idol. Queue, registrations, wait wait wait wait and more waiting. I mean, how “complicating” does it get. I actually did a video, but damn it, the file got corrupted! Anyway, after the long wait outdoor, these potential stars were hurdled into the audition room with a teeny weeny scrip to memorise.

That’s where the nerves comes in, knocks in or even rolled in; in many ways. Here are some pictures of the auditions and of course to those that received the golden tickets to the next round, HURRAY! for those who didn’t make it, i’m sorry maybe you could do better the next round.

Maybe, minus the braces for some hehe (no offence to those affected :P)

I’m attending the Media Conference tomorrow for Anugerah Skrins reveal of it’s Top 24! Hurray! Let’s see what the bunch is like :) As usual follow my twits @izked!

Achtung! Media Plugins!

I took forever to plug in this because procrastination is my middle name. One after another, something crops up. Blame it on the black box in my living room. HEY come to think of it, we’ve always used the phrase “the big black box” which is also known as the television.

Amazing much, with technology nowadays “the big black box”, is no longer erm related much to television sets eyh? Thanks to plasmas and flat screens, television sets nowadays are slimmer than you could imagine. Oh well. Lame, and much random information at 3 in the morning.

Anyway, 19th and 20th February is Chingay! I know it’s Chingay already, i still remember last year’s Chingay vividly and now it’s CHINGAY ALREADY!? But yeah, i’m doing a little plugin for Singapore idol alumni 2009, 2nd-runner up Tabitha Nauser and of course not forgetting our very first Singapore Idol; Taufik Batisah! Ng Zhiyang winner of Campus Superstar 2006 is also making his appearance!

Watch out for this crazyass float that has a Star Wars theme going on, as your 3 celebrity singers will sing the finale song composed by Iskandar Ismail (it’s not me la) in a hot air balloon! Interesting much yo. Though, i wouldn’t give in my pewny soul for such heights. I know, i’m a wimp. I enjoy plane rides by not looking out the window and sleeping through the entire journey.

I’m such a wuss. Here’s a plugin collateral below-

Unfortunately, the show is not being aired live EXCEPT online on the 20th of February 8pm at www.chingay.org.sg and a recorded telecast will be shown on Channel 8, 8pm on 21st February! I was searching high and low for the air dates, one of the reasons i took forever to blog heh. So don’t missed it yo!

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Now, another plugin for the brother. Get Junk Magazine at all leading bookstores. This regional magazine that features music, fashion and trends nowadays are hitting our shores hard. It’s pretty much equivalent to the free Juice magazine only that, it’s slightly more mainstream.

Grab Junk magazine, because Sleeq is featured in it. Show some love for the duo, of course my brother from another yo! Com’on it’s only $4.50 (and maybe $6.80 for some), if you could afford a bloody McDonald’s meal for a dressed up Doraemon i think you’re able to grab at least a copy of this magazine.

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ONE LAST plugin. So MJ came online not too long ago and tempted me with even more Supras. The amount of hatred i have for him, is pretty much the size of the earth. Thanks alot bro. Haha well, this is also the brother that offered me Supras from the U.S., so at least i won’t get that easily mad with him hehe.

He’s been working on a couple of songs in the US and we’ve been keeping in touch with each other via Skype now and then and boy how much i miss him. Yeah, we grew kinda close in idol; his departure during the early part of show made me whimper so bad. All is good now, better than ever as a matter of fact.

Here’s a snippet of his upcoming MTV for his single, Once Twice 3. No, guys it’s not the famous duet done by Tabitha and him; that is called Breathe by the way. WHICH MJ BRO, i’m still looking forward to a proper recording of that song. As promised here’s the video of his upcoming single (please take note, HE IS WEARING SUPRAS IN THE MTV TSK). Ok another update later in the day! :]