Malaysian Idol 02- Extra – Pre Wildcard Show Assessment

(Image courtesy of malaysianidol.bluehyppo.com)

It seems that they have released the names of those who will be getting their second chance to showcase their talents in hopes of getting a spot in the Malaysian Idol Spectacular shows. I am a bit relieved that they decided not to be cruel to the 15 who didn’t make it through the workshop rounds and tell them upfront who the 6 among them are to perform in the Wildcard show. It would be too heartless of them to let all 15 practice and cut them out immediately before they have a chance to perform at the beginning of the Wildcard show next Friday.

As per the list form the official Malaysian Idol website, the following are the names of the six contestants competing in the Wildcard round for their second chance to get through to the Spectaculars.

From 1st Workshop
- Mohd Fauzi Abdul Wahab (Fauzi)
- Malissa Janudin (Lisa)

From 2nd Workshop
- Adam Ali (Adam)
- Azam Yaakab @ Yakob (Azam)

From 3rd Workshop
- Aesar Mustafa (Aesar)
- Prakash Karunamuti (Kash)

From the 6 selected, there is only 1 female which is a shame as there are other female contestants in the cut 15 that would also benefit greatly in the Wildcard round. I guess that the producers wanted to balance out the gender spread of the contestants that will be competing in the Spectaculars since the majority that already went through are females. I don’t really agree with this but I guess that the producers felt that they needed to make sure that they don’t lose out on the female demographic votes to the other talent show currently on air by not having sufficient male contestants to keep them interested to tune in.

I am no means a professional in the field of music and I definitely know that none of the contestant knows that this blog exist but if I had a chance to give them my two-cents on how to prepare for the wildcard show, I’ll give them the following advice.

Fauzi – last sang “Angel” by Jon Secada

We now know that he has a soulful voice that is more suited for a R&B type of song which for the time being would be his best bet. He needs to select a good song that will allow him to showcase his vocals that for now is the best thing that he has going. That big and projecting clear voice can really be best served by something that allows him to express himself fully so I think that he should stay away from torch ballads and go with something with a more up-tempo beat. This is of course if he can maintain his stamina and perform a fast number confidently

Lisa – last sang “Ku Tak Sanggup” by Kris Dayanti

The biggest weakness that I had her down for in her last performance was how she lose steam midway though the song she was performing and ended weaker than how she started the song. She needs to find a song that she can consistently control her pitch and pace so she doesn’t fizzle out towards the end. If she does attempt another power ballad, she needs to build up her stamina so she can sustain her performance. The voice and talent are there in this package but she needs to be able to deliver it consistently. She also needs to own her performance for which ever song she takes and that would only come is she is confident in her own song choice.

Adam – last sang “Setulus Cintamu” by Hazami

He needs to tone down his tendencies to over exaggerate his performance and focus more on his vocals. Take a page from Yasir’s playbook last week and find that fine line between overdoing the showmanship and being too boring to be considered alive. Adam already has the talent in the vocal aspects of his performance and what he needs know is something that will make him stand out among the 6 to ensure that he gets a chance to move to the next level. A bold song choice that people would not expect him to sing might help him but it has to be a calculated and informed risk.

Azam – last sang “Kenangan Lalu” by Flybits

Azam will need to be the opposite of Adam for the Wildcard show. The main reason that he was all looks and no substance in his last performance was because it was too low key to be consider as anything other than boring. He needs to amp up the energy in his performance by selecting something more up-tempo easily recognizable song or else he’ll just be another singing flag pole not unlike the one we got in last year’s competition. He already has looks on his plus side of the equation but it won’t do him any good if he doesn’t step up his game and invest in more intensity in his next performance. Since this is a singing talent competition, he needs to think less like a model and more like a singer.

Aesar – last sang “Layu Sebelum Berkembang” by Broery Marantika

Aesar needs to dial down his showmanship a bit and focus more on delivering the best vocal performance he can. Stop planning the eyebrow pop and focus more on hitting the notes correctly in tune. He also need to let more of himself come through in his performance instead of getting too carried away in imitating the original singer that he sounds fake. Most of all he needs to stop putting unnecessary vocal flourish and sing the song simple but true to the melody. A simple and straightforward song done with conviction will help him greatly than an over baked performance.

Kash – last sang “Belaian Jiwa” by Innuendo

Selecting a song that is currently beyond his abilities now was his downfall from before so he needs to go back to what he does back and really impress the judges/voters if he wants to get through. The judges already told him before what he is best at for now and he should take advantage of that advice. If he is smart, he would try to put more for himself in the performance instead of just doing an impression of the original artist. He needs to focus on delivering a good performance that will showcase his soulful voice and think about how to show versatility later if he gets through to the Spectacular shows.

Based on what I’ve seen from their last performance, all these contestant have the potential to get better in the future shows if only they don’t screw up their Wildcard performance royally. It seems that there would only be 1 person selected by the judges and 1 person selected by the audience votes who would go thorough to the Spectacular rounds. With the 2 from the Wildcard show, it would make up a total of 11 contestant vying for the top position of Malaysia Idol in the next few weeks. I wonder why they don’t make it an even 12 or just 10 contestants?

I think I’m now looking forward for the show this upcoming Friday just to see if any of my assessments and recommendations turn up in their performance if nothing else.