Reactions on Asian Idol Results

Hady Mirza's win came as a surprise, as at least three of the judges predicted that the winner would either be Marcelo, Mohede, or Victor.

There were claims that Hady may have gotten the crucial second vote outside of his home country, wherein it is claimed that votes for strong candidates were paired with weak ones like Hady and Sawant who were trailing in Asian Idol's online survey. This voting tactic was said to avoid viewers' home Idols be beaten by their closest rivals.

In Singapore, the victory stirred hopes of a revival of the country's golden age of music during the 1960's and 70's. Taufik Batisah, first season winner of Singapore Idol, said that the win is something their country should be proud of and hopefully this would "open the eyes and ears" of listeners. However, there were viewers in Singapore who still doubt Hady's singing ability, claiming that his performance in Asian Idol was not as strong as other competitors and it was a matter of "luck over talent". Singapore Idol judge Ken Lim reiterated that "looks and voice" had won the title for Hady.

Meanwhile, Hady shrugged off speculations that he won because he was a "non-threat", but considered himself an underdog and that he did "pretty well" in terms of sincerity and connecting with the audience.

Filipino TV and movie critic Nestor U. Torre mentioned that he was not surprised about Hady's win, even lauding him for his "impressively cool yet dynamic" performances. He also appreciated Victor and Phuong Vy's performances. While Torre was also equally impressed by Marcelo and Mohede's voices, he also said that their girth worked to their disadvantage. On Sawant, Torre noted that his "balladeer" projection was "less dynamic" with his country's large voting population failing him. Despite the surprises and disappointments in the competition, Torre regarded Asian Idol a success as it produced relatively new talents in the Asian and international music scene.

Jaclyn Victor

Jaclyn A/P Joshua Thanaraj Victor or popularly known as Jac, was the winner of the first season of Malaysian Idol. Along with the title, she won a recording contract under Sony BMG Entertainment and collaborated with famous composers such as Aubrey Suwito, Azlan Abu Hassan, and Ajai.

Jac was born in Kepong, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on December 4, 1978. She is the eldest daughter with Indian descent and has 3 younger brothers. When she was 9, Jac�s father passed away, forcing her mother to take on 3 jobs simultaneously to support her four children. So to help the financial burdens of her family, Jac at the age of 18, started singing in clubs and hotel lounges.

With the support of friends and family, in 2002 Jac and her friend recorded an album, titled Dream. This self-produced album features songs co-written by Jac as well.

Her mother finally encouraged her to audition for Malaysian Idol in 2004. Jac had become the final two contestants on Malaysian Idol, and on October 16, she took the title of Malaysian Idol, earning 76% of audience votes over Dina. Her favorite activities are singing, reading, traveling, swimming, and shopping, while her most favorite artists include Aretha Franklin and Steven Tyler.

Technorati Tags: Jaclyn Victor,Malaysian Idol,Asian Idol

Asian Idol Participation

The first season was hosted by Amelia "Ata" Natasha and Daniel Mananta, both from Indonesian Idol, and Malaysian Idol's Soo Kui Jien.

Each participating country had its own system of determining its representative.

As a kickoff to Asian Idol, all six contestants were introduced through a special presentation called Road to Asian Idol on December 8, 2007. Meanwhile, fans of each contestant will be able to choose the song they want their Idol to perform before the Asian Idol performance show. The Idols performed two songs each—one in English and another in their native language.

In addition to the coverage of Asian Idol, RCTI ran a series of features called Asian Idol Extra between late November to mid-December 2007.

Every competing country sent a judge to serve as the contestants' critics, but comments from only three judges on each performer were shown due to time constraints.

Special guests in the Results Show included American Idol winner Taylor Hicks, Australian Idol winner Guy Sebastian, Indian Idol judge Alisha Chinai, and Vietnam Idol judge Siu Black. It also featured performances by Rivermaya, Peterpan, and Agnes Monica.

The production of Asian Idol was put up with the help of the production crew from Australian Idol.

Participation details

The table below lists the contenders in Asian Idol and the songs that each performed. It also lists the representative judges and the TV networks that participated in the show. Kazakhstan's franchise is also listed below because it was originally in the line-up of countries for the show. Gold background indicates the winner of the competition and the songs performed.

Asian Idol Franchise - Representative Idol - English song:

Indian Idol - Abhijeet Sawant - (Everything I Do) I Do It For You
Indonesian Idol - Mike Mohede - I Believe I Can Fly
Malaysian Idol - Jaclyn Victor - For Once in My Life
Philippine Idol - Mau Marcelo - Reach
Singapore Idol - Hady Mirza - Beautiful Day
Vietnam Idol - Phuong Vy - River Deep - Mountain High

Jac to rock at ’Asian Idol’ contest

MALAYSIAN Idol winner and recording artiste Jaclyn Victor, 29, carries the hopes of the country when she participates in the first-ever Asian Idol next week.

Jaclyn said: “The Asian Idol is a good chance to show the world that Asia has talent. Perhaps Freemantle (the organiser) would want to turn more towards Asia.”

The Asian Idol also features winners from Indonesia, India, Singapore, Vietnam and the Philippines.

The show will be broadcast live to the six countries on Saturday at 9pm (10pm Kuala Lumpur time).

Viewers will vote for the winner. The number to call will be announced later.

Jaclyn said she was excited to be among the top talents in Asia.

“The people here are talented. I am happy to be with them and I know I will learn from them. I am not going to rate my chances in the competition because it could go in any way.”

She said was nervous about the big day.

“I am going to control my nerves and turn it into positive energy in my performance next week.”

Dressed in jeans and sequinned print blouse, she looked trendy and poised when she took to the stage with the other contestants for a press preview yesterday.

She sang George Benson’s Masquerade. The reporters broke into applause.

Vietnam Idol Phuong Vy, 20, stunned the room as her voice was strong yet expressive.

Indonesian Idol Mike, 24, lost 8kg for the competition.

“I lost the weight in two months. I now weigh 112kg.

“This helps me to sing better in terms of breathing and projecting my voice.”

But Mike’s love for food is mirrored in his hospitality; he plans to take his Idol friends to taste the food here.

He said: “I want to take them to try traditional food, Sundanese food and bakso (meatballs) noodles.”

Singapore is represented by Hady Miza while the Philippines sent Mau Marcelo.

India is represented by Abhijeet, a singer with Bollywood looks.

Technorati Tags: Jaclyn Victor,Malaysian Idol,Asian Idol

The New Straits Times Online......

Meet the Asian Idol Contestants

After Indonesia has chosen their idol who is Mike Mohede last November 24, the roster of Idol competitors for the upcoming Asian Idol is now complete. The remaining five are Indian Idol Abhijeet Sawant, Malaysian Idol Jaclyn Victor, Philippine Idol Mau Marcelo, Vietnam Idol Phuong Vy and Singaporean Idol Hady Mirza.

On December 15, the Finals Performance Show will be aired (locally on ABC 5), the public will be given 24 hours to vote two Idols they want to be the first Asian Idol, and on December 16, the first Asian Idol will be proclaimed!

Asian Idol will be hosted by Indonesian Idol hosts Amelia Natasha and Daniel Mananta. Guy Sebastian, the first Australian Idol will be a guest in the said Finals.