Two Moo's & A Foo

ARTIST ANTICIPATION : IDAYU (Previously AF3 Student)

nobody@vox.com(Jools) — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 16:28:51 +0800

ARTIST ANTICIPATION : IDAYU (Previously AF3 Student)

Similar to major disappointments that I went through when great talents like Chris Daughtry and Michael Johns were eliminated in the early stages of American Idol, IDAYU was another smiliar case during the 3rd season of local reality singing competition, Akademi Fantasia. She is to me one of the most talented potentials we could ever have witnessed in the local music industry, but was unfortunely booted out in as early as the 4th week.

Artist Anticipation_Idayu_02

She has vocal capabilities of 5 octave range and could reach the whistle register which only few artists around could, including Mariah Carey. Some argued her singing style to be very similar to Mariah, but my thoughts here would be, many (and I do mean many) can try all they want to sing like Mariah, but can any actually succeed to even sound pleasant when they try on any of Mariah's almost-impossible songs? It takes a really capable talent to be able to do so, and I for one am quite sad Malaysians are not appreciating such a potential we have, and take the opportunity to groom any great artist-to-be in the local scene.

Artist Anticipation_Idayu_01

It's been sometime now since her leaving from AF, I've been waiting and waiting (or rather hoping) that some senseful producers would grab this opportunity to take her in, groom her and give her good songs to a decent debut album. But so far she has only been given two singles, Kasih Yang Terpisah and Paluan Rindumu. Kasih Yang Terpisah is one great piece of testament of how great her vocals can be, but again sadly failed to garner enough attention by the Malaysian public, or even decent amount of air-time over the radio. Well, you be the judge, here's one her performances during AF singing Tiada Lagi Tangisan just before her exit from the competition.

Live Performance : Idayu (AF3) - Tiada Lagi Tangisan

Lately Idayu is finally back with a new single titled Aku Tak Lupa. Friends who know me well were all excited to tell me about it, knowing how long I've been waiting. One even recorded the song over the radio in his handphone to let me listen to (thanks!!). This is promising, great song, I hope a debut album is already on the way soon for Idayu.

To listen to the song Aku Tak Lupa CLICK HERE

To download the MP3 of Aku Tak Lupa CLICK HERE (Take note link will only be available for download for 7 days from 7th July 2008)

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Category : MooSic

nobody@vox.com(Jools) — Sun, 25 May 2008 23:02:15 +0800

AKADEMI FANTASIA 6 FINALLY CROWNS A SABAHAN CHAMPION

Akademi Fantasia 6_Winners (from left)_2nd Runner-up Nubhan, Champion Stacy & 1st Runner-up Riz

The final concert was held yesterday with host AC Mizal and pengkritik Ogy, Ning Baizura & Adlin Ramli. The opening was rather OK, with Adam AF dancing along with some modern dancers, introducing each contestants with wide screens flashing their pictures behind each of them. Each of the pengkritik also get to sing a short tune when they were introduced.

Round 1 - Toi opened the show with Mawi's song Cinta Zulaika. I would say Toi has improved since the last 2 concerts, but my sentiments towards him still remain the same, he is just no singer at any standards. His vocals remained below average and his movements remained awkward, no suave at all as an artist. Next was Riz, singing his new song Hanya Sandiwara. This song needs a rather outstanding singing style to bring out the impact and I thought Riz failed to do so. His vocals was very ordinary and was mostly drowned by the music. Nubhan was next singing Bukan Di Sini. It was to me the worst performance for Round 1. His movements were so awkward you'd just want to throw him off stage! I still can't believe qualities like Toi and Nubhan are in the finals.

And then the show really started, with the two more promising ladies taking the stage. Nadia was next singing her new song Kalut Lagi Mengarut. It was an upbeat rock song, and she delivered the right level of impact and energy to match it. I hated the song, but her performance on stage was really good. Right at this point Adlin said the exact words right out of my mouth. He complimented Nadia, while swinging a huge slap towards Toi and Nubhan, saying Nadia had synchronization between rhythm and performance, not like Toi and Nubhan. The whole stadium gasped with his blunt comments. Right on, Adlin.

Then it was Stacy, singing Rossa's Atas Nama Cinta. As usual, she did not disappoint the audience, delivering the song with consistency and emotions. Well done. They displayed the chart positions at that point right after Round 1, and it went Stacy - Riz - Nubhan - Toi - Nadia. Nadia last?? Hmm...

Round 2 - Toi sang his new song in Round 2, titled Panahan Asmara. What in the world was he wearing? I just hope they throw the fashion designer away next season, his work is just atrocious. The song was relaxing, non-vocal challenging and yet he sang out of tune at a few points. He seemed very disturbed and demoralized with Adlin's sharp criticisms earlier (at least I think so). But again, Adlin was not giving any mercy that night, he slammed Toi one more time, saying he was just a 'filler' in this competition. Brutal yes, but c'mon, it is the truth!

Nubhan sang Ada Untukmu for his new song next. Surprisingly, he was unlike Toi, and he seemed undeterred by Adlin's previous comments. To be fair, this song was suitable for him, and I thought it was his best performance for the whole season. The audience went crazy with their applause. It's a good song, and I think he will sound good in the recorded version. Nadia sang Mila's Aku Lebih Tahu and she did quite a good job. Then Riz was next, singing Indonesian band Gigi's 11 Januari, I like this song. Did he do the song justice? Not really. I felt his performance was too controlled, he had no emotional excellence in his performance at all. And his vocals were almost too ordinary until towards the end where he hit the high notes well during the last chorus. Ogy said 'I feel you', which I totally disagree. Adlin again was right on about how I felt, he pointed out that the performance was lacking feelings. The whole night I felt Adlin had the most sense in his feedback. Ogy was rather pointless, going on and on about 'penceritaan' and her usual scripts. Ning was going on and on about good luck when you go out there after the competition, like hello, you were asked to comment on that night's performances, not after that!

Akademi Fantasia 6 : Konsert Akhir - Stacy Sings Aku Stacy

Stacy was given a rather unconventional new song, titled Aku Stacy. The song was querky, upbeat and had the rock 'N roll theme. Regardless, she did it again. She was full of energy, sang her heart out, and brought the stadium soaring. At this point it was no surprise she deserved the title 100% fully.

The results were announced and the only surprising thing was, Nadia was last, losing to even Toi!! Stacy won the title, Riz was 1st runner up, followed by Nubhan. All in all I was rather impressed with the finals, given the fact that I wasn't expecting much from this season. A Sabahan was finally crowned, rightfully. Congrats Stacy.

Akademi Fantasia 6_Konsert Akhir_Stacy Wins The Title

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Category : MooSic

nobody@vox.com(Jools) — Thu, 22 May 2008 00:01:50 +0800

AKADEMI FANTASIA 6 - FINAL FIVE CHOSEN TO KONSERT TERAKHIR

Akademi Fantasia 6_Lima Mara Ke Konsert Akhir

The 9th concert announced the final five comprising of Stacy, Nadia, Riz, Nubhan and Toi. Stanly is finally out. But then again the quality of the contestants this season is just so bad that even after Stanly's boot, we still have weaklings like Toi and Nubhan in the finals. Ridiculous. I did not watch the concert this week, and I'm sure I did not miss much. I went to YouTube to look at Stacy's performance (the only contestant I feel worth looking out for). They gave her Michael Jackson's Beat It! Oh wow, after watching the performance, given the fact that she has to dance and prance around the whole song, while reaching the high notes with a raunchy attitude, she did splendid. I definitely hope she wins the competition.

Akademi Fantasia 6 : Konsert Ke-9 - Stacy Sings Beat It

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Category : MooSic

nobody@vox.com(Jools) — Wed, 07 May 2008 00:56:51 +0800

AKADEMI FANTASIA 6 UPDATES - KONSERT KETUJUH 4 MEI 2008

Akademi Fantasia 6_Penyingkiran Konsert Minggu 7_Alif

AF concerts continue to bore all of us. I'm actually only watching out for performances from Stacy, Nadia and Riz every week. The usual bunch of disasters like Stanly, Toi & Nubhan will continue their legacy of tuneless and atrocious showmanship on stage. I wonder at times what's the point of having so many concerts, might as well just kick the rest out and have Stacy, Nadia and Riz for the finals. Yet we know public-voted reality shows are capable of undesired results, good ones get booted at times and some that totally can't sing get to stay on. This week another shocker came around when Alif got booted. Although I don't think he's good, but he definitely is not as bad as Toi or Nubhan, who sing out of tune week after week.

Akademi Fantasia 6_Konsert Minggu 7_Alif Terkeluar

Stacy's Don't Speak was the best performance for me that night, eventhough it was nothing to shout about, but it was definitely way above the rest. Nadia sang One Night Only and got great reviews from the pengkritik. I didn't like the arrangement, they spoilt the song, and as usual the only thing that always put me off in Nadia's performance is her horribly overdone accent. Please, we do not need another Anita Sarawak, especially when you actually can sing, Nadia!

Akademi Fantasia 6_Konsert Minggu 7_Kini Tinggal Enam

Pics courtesy of www.astro.com.my/akademi_fantasia

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Category : MooSic

nobody@vox.com(Jools) — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 01:44:17 +0800

AKADEMI FANTASIA 6 UPDATES - KONSERT KEENAM 26 APRIL 2007

Akademi Fantasia 6_Penyingkiran Konsert Minggu 6_Rina

Watching AF for six weeks now, some things are very consistent. Firstly, two female contestants stand out week after week, Stacy and Nadia. And a few are just painful to watch without fail, Stanly, Toi and Nubhan. And yet we see another contestant leaving before the three, and this time it's Rina. Although sufferring from the club-singer image which she could not erase no matter how, Rina could at least carry all her notes in tune. Try counting how many times in a song Toi or Nubhan sings out of tune each time, trust me you'll lose count!

Akademi Fantasia 6_Konsert Minggu 6_Rina Terkeluar

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Category : MooSic

nobody@vox.com(Jools) — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 00:36:43 +0800

AKADEMI FANTASIA 6 UPDATES - KONSERT MINGGU KELIMA (19 APRIL 2008)

Akademi Fantasia 6_Penyingkiran Konsert Minggu 5_Saida

I apologize if my updates on AF have not been very positive or comprehensive, the show just fails to earn my attention or praise so far. The quality of the contestants to me are one of the worse by far. This week is no different than any other week, where I felt only the two ladies Stacy and Nadia were giving us performances worth watching. I really liked Stacy this week, it was powerful, she danced well, and was full of attitude, she brought the house down.

Live Performance : Akademi Fantasia - Stacy Sings Makhluk Tuhan Yg Paling Seksi

Riz, although another crowd favourite so far, was to me ordinary and slightly self-absorbed. As usual, Stanly, Toi and Saida were painful to watch. Everytime I hear these three sing, I can't wait for them to finish.

Akademi Fantasia 6_Konsert Minggu 5_Saida Terkeluar

This week it's Saida's turn to leave. Apparently word has it that Saida's a victim in the politics of this competition, as the only reason she was put in the competition, was the fact that she is one of the most renowned figures in the industry, Dato Siti Nurhaliza's sister, one of the ways to pull more viewers. True or not, I'm sure she was glad to leave too. I just don't see her fitting well at all in this industry, she's just to 'lembik' and we are not seeing any improvements at all after 5 weeks.

Another thing worth mentionining is, what's with the gimmicks used in the concert? I felt they were unnecessary, stupid and a waste of time. Getting an indian man called Sean Kanna (when Toi was singing Sean Kingston's Beautiful Girl) to clown around was irrelevant and completely silly. And having Korey prance around like the Matrix movie in a video clip, huh??? I can't stress enough, this is one of the worst seasons of AF so far.

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Category : MooSic

nobody@vox.com(Jools) — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 00:23:52 +0800

AKADEMI FANTASIA 6 UPDATES - KONSERT MINGGU KEEMPAT (12 APRIL 2008)

Akademi Fantasia 6_Penyingkiran Konsert Minggu 4_Faisal

This week Stacey got to sing her own new song, titled Cinta Khayalan written just for her. She did quite a good job, but not too sure I like that song very much. To me Nadia was the only other better performance that night. As for the rest, unfortunately were quite disappointing. Stanly, Toi and Saida were painful to watch, really.

Live Performance : Akademi Fantasia Konsert Minggu Keempat - Stacy Sings CInta Khayalan

This week it was Faisal's turn to go, that would have been my personal choice too. That bloke just can't sing.

Akademi Fantasia 6_Konsert Minggu 4_Giliran Faisal Disingkir

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Category: MooSic (Malay)

nobody@vox.com(Jools) — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 23:01:23 +0800

AKADEMI FANTASIA 6 UPDATES : KONSERT MINGGU KETIGA (5 APRIL 2008)

Akademi Fantasia 6_Penyingkiran Konsert Minggu 3_Luftya & Naim

Week three's theme was Rock, and I knew it was a bad idea. It is not easy for any singer who's not in the rock genre to belt out rock tunes, let alone if you're a bunch of less versatile singers. However, AF did give a few surprises this week. Nadia wasn't bad at all, except for her overly-exaggerated English accent whenever she sings, really hope she gets rid of that. Rina and Stacy were alright as well. Stacy needs to develop a more matured & unique charisma on stage, as she's still coming across as very amateur when she performs. Alif, with his limited vocal range, finally got a song which suited him well, and for once he sounded OK.

Akademi Fantasia 6_Konsert Minggu 3_(clock-wise top left)_Nubhan, Stanly, Toi,Naim & Faisal

Apart from that, it was horrible. So horrible I was glad they decided to kick two contestants out this week. Topping the worst-performance list was Faisal. I just have three words, 'Oh-My-God', he was barely in tune throughout the whole song. Stanly to me has never been any good a singer, and this week he was no different. Toi, Nubhan and Naim were the other contestants that gave really, really poor performances that night. Unfortunately in a way, only Naim from my Why-Are-They-Still-In list was booted, as Luftya was the other one to say good-bye. She wasn't that bad, and deserves to stay on for at least 1-2 more weeks. Who else are in that list of mine? Faisal & Stanly of course.

Akademi Fantasia 6_Penyingkiran Konsert Minggu 3_Luftya & Naim Terkeluar

Pics courtesy of www.astro.com.my/akademi_fantasia

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Category : MooSic (Malay)

nobody@vox.com(Jools) — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 17:07:34 +0800

AKADEMI FANTASIA 6 UPDATES : KONSERT MINGGU KEDUA (29 MARCH 2008)

Akademi Fantasia 6_Penyingkiran Konsert Minggu 2_Ika

The 2nd week's concert was rather disappointing, with most of the contestants revealing their weaknesses in being more versatile. I could hardly pick my favourite performance, except maybe Stacy's. This week we say good-bye to Ika, and yes it's about time, the girl could hardly sing. Perhaps she'll do better as an actress, with the cute looks.

Akademi Fantasia 6_Konsert Minggu 2

Pics courtesy of www.astro.com.my/akademi_fantasia

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Category : MooSic

nobody@vox.com(Jools) — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 00:50:48 +0800

AKADEMI FANTASIA 6 UPDATES - KONSERT MINGGU PERTAMA (22 MARCH 2008)

Akademi Fantasia 6_Konsert Pertama 22 March 2008

The first concert was held on Saturday 22nd March 2008, with AC Mizal hosting for the first time. Did he pull it off, well we certainly missed good old Aznil and I certainly for one still preferred Aznil, but I'd say to be fair AC Mizal did not do too bad a job, let's hope he gets better as time goes on.

I watched all the performances, and have to say, quality of the contestants definitely are better compared to the first few concerts in every previous season, where we heard really appalling vocals. This time it's not too bad, generally most of them were not terrible and could pull it off, only a few here and there with pitching problems, but definitely not as glaring as previous seasons.

Performances which stood out: I pick Nadia, Riz and Nubhan for Week 1. Nadia does have an all-rounded potential, but I hope she does not overdo her vocal styles. Riz is quite matured on stage, vocals not bad at all. Nubhan has a very unique, husky voice, but seriously lacks charisma and style (kampung sangat).

Akademi Fantasia 6_Penyingkiran Konsert Minggu 1_Yana

Yana was the first contestant which was booted in Week 1. To me based on performance she wasn't the worst, but we know very well by now AF is definitely a popularity contest, rather than a talent contest (no matter how much they'd like to claim it as one).

The judges were Ogy, Ning Baizura and guest judge Ajai. And boy did he annoy me. Ajai was trying hard to be the Malaysian 'Simon Cowell' (and failed terribly), giving really harsh comments on the contestants, despite it was their first concert attempt. He came across as nothing but rude, uncharismatic and disrespectful, nothing close to Simon Cowell. Please leave him out in future concerts!

Pics courtesy of www.astro.com.my/akademi_fantasia - A Big thank U!

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