Post by uptowndragon on May 5, 2006 16:18:44 GMT 7
CALL IT BY ANY OTHER NAME!!!
MI3 is finally back. Well sort of. In a thinly veiled disguise called ¡§One In A Million¡¨. I suppose it was probably for the best, considering the exorbitant fees charged for the Idol franchise by the license holders, and, with no real signs of World Idol materializing any time soon, to make it worth while. Plus it didn¡¦t help that one former key sponsor is having financial troubles of their own.
Anyway, a big "syabas¨ to Izham, Paul and the team that concocted this new recipe of a show. The premise is interesting enough. The format is not very much different from the previous show, but the prize at stake is certainly intriguing enough. Win this and you get a million RM to help you launch your career. Seems like a good deal no doubt. But be vary of the small print, though. You get only 33% say¡Kthat¡¦s right "SAY¨, on how you get to use the money. The other 66% "say¨ belongs to the management team & the record label which will be appointed by the producer of the show, in equal proportions of course. So I certainly hope the contestants will not be expecting a big windfall right after they win this contest. With your 33% you can request for any sum of money, but be prepared to be turned down by the two thirds majority. Meaning, the money is there but you are not likely to lay your hands on it any time soon. It¡¦s really there to give you a ¡§never before possible¡¨ head start. It¡¦s not a payoff but an investment into your future. And that¡¦s the reality of it. Which may not be such a bad thing.
A million RM is a tremendous sum of money to spend, especially in this country, and certainly unfathomable by local artistes, who are normally restricted by lame budgets. It simply means you can afford to get some brilliant material from the best songwriters, a top notch music producer (perhaps even one of international calibre), excellent recording facilities & sound engineering, and maybe even an MTV standard video. After all that, you¡¦ll probably still have heaps of money left to have a grand makeover as well as to run a massive promotional campaign to market your brand. And not just locally. Certainly worth the time and effort to take up the challenge. So much so that even a few recording professionals who have already made it in the industry have decided to give it a shot, especially since the show has limited restrictions on who can participate. That says a lot.
But all that matters naught, if the eventual winner is of mediocre quality. Remember that not all contestants who have won reality talent shows actually have the vocal quality, range and talent to take them far. Most of them, bar a very few, are just of the ¡§flavour of the month¡¨ variety, who have milked the hype to get as much commercial mileage out of it. Nothing wrong with that as that is their ¡§rezeki¡¨ and that is exactly what they ought to do. After all it is not going to be forever and they have to earn all their dues while they are still hot. I have no problems with that. My contention, however is that, I want to see that prize money put to some real good use, to develop a deserving talent with all the best qualities that eventually will become an unforgettable legend, rather than a short-lived memory. And I want to see someone good enough to be given the opportunity to break ground in the markets that matter. I want to see someone of truly of global standard and appeal to make their mark this time around. Someone strong enough to stand their ground and hold their heads high, knowing honestly that they are good enough to compete with the very best anywhere in the world, and making a real go at it. We may have had a few local artistes making excursions across our borders but they never really made any recognizable impact. Merely ¡§dents¡¨ here and there. Siti Nurhaliza, our queen of Malay pop, and arguably the country¡¦s very best singer, may have a solid following in Singapore, Brunei & Indonesia, and may have performed in the Royal Albert Hall, but no British local or Western tourist walking around in Piccadilly Circus is gonna run into the nearest HMV and say ¡§Can I have that Siti CD, please?¡¨ Anita Sarawak (a Singaporean by the way, but we consider her ours) may have star billing in Las Vegas, but she has never had even a listing on the Billboard 200, let alone 1000. As far as the yanks go, she is just one of the many ¡§black¡¨ crooners who will never cut a real album deal in the US. Sheila Majid, our queen of jazz, may have had some exploits in Japan, and was a household name in Indonesia, Singapore & Brunei at one time, but, even her following here in Malaysia has dwindled. The best local export we probably had was that boy from Klang, who won ¡§Australian Idol¡¨, and had a chart topping album there, but he is an Australian today. Frankly, the closest we have come to actually putting a Malaysian at an internationally recognizable stage was with our very first and truly gifted Malaysian Idol, but even that has come to an abrupt end, thanks to the non appearance of World Idol. The yanks claim that it¡¦s due to the technicality of staging & judging such an event, but honestly, I think they just don¡¦t want an American artiste, to loose to some brilliant unknown from some other part of the world. After all their music industry is one of their big exports. And the money hungry buggers are unlikely to share that with the rest of the world.
Some time last year, I read in the papers, that an MI finalist was offered by Phil Collins to produce her album. Wow. I was amazed that she didn¡¦t grab that opportunity right there and then, and made a go for it. Hmm! Or perhaps, the conversation went more like this;
MI Finalist: ¡§Wow. You are Phil Collins. I love all your songs. I am a big fan¡¨
Phil Collins: "Oh really. Thanks. You are one of the contestants right? You are not too bad, yourself¨ (being courteous)
MI Finalist: "Really, ah? Thank you, thank you. I just won a Gold Medal. Ke! Ke! ke!¨
Phil Collins:"Oh, I see. Where are you from?"
Mi Finalist: "I am from Malaysia. You know, The one with the Petronas Twin Towers, the tallest building¡K.2nd tallest now, in the world¨
Phil Collins: "Oh? (Ka Ching! Ka Ching!). Ever thought of making a go for it stateside?¨
MI Finalist: "Can ah?¨
Phil Collins; "I can produce it for you, if you like?"
MI Finalist: "Wow! That would be so cool. Ke! Ke! Ke!¨
Phil Collins: "It will cost you only about between US$5 to US$ 10 Million to get a decent album out.¨
MI Finalist: "Uhmp! (swallows a lump saliva). Can I think about it first!?¨
Phil Collins: "Sure. Give my agent a call if you are interested. I am sure we can work something out¨
MI Finalist: "Ok! Thank you so much!¨
Sorry for the digression but I don't really care much for hype. The fact is, I want to see a truly deserving vocal talent who can have the most global appeal (and we are not talking looks here), making it to the top and making a real a go at it. I don¡¦t want to see the money go to waste. After a million RM investment (from the sponsors & the sms voters, which means ¡§us¡¨), I want to see someone of calibre, working his guts out and making us proud. With that kind of real investment, I wanna see some brilliant returns. Forget 25,000 record platinum sales or even a 100,000. I wanna see half a million if not a million records sold, all over the world if possible, the least I should expect for that kind of investment. Perhaps, I am setting the mark too high, you may think? If you do not even dare to dream that high and have as lofty goals as that, then you are definitely NOT the ¡§One In A Million¡¨.
The producers of the show have given the contestants a fantastic opportunity (some real thinking out of the box, for a change) and it is truly up to the contestants to raise the bar. Don¡¦t even think Malaysian Idol anymore, or even worse, Akademi Fantasia. You have to go way beyond that. Remember it is a big investment from us the voting public, of which, we will not see any monetary returns ourselves. Merely personal satisfaction, that we were responsible for making it happen.
And a big word of advice to the investors (us voters). Please do our jobs right as well. Enough of picking the mediocre. Its time to stop picking the "cutest¨ or the "coolest¨ or the "holiest¨ or such, and start making some sincere and intelligent decisions. Be brutally honest with your votes, and pick the truly deserving. And stop making a mockery of the sms voting system, by turning it into ¡§money politics¡¨. Its time to be a responsible, informed and sensible voter, and, not one that just follows our hearts own desire. Be absolutely fair. Make the winner a truly "One In A Million¨.
Still don't get it? A simple test which you do not have to answer here. Just answer it to yourselves. If these two were the final two, who do you "HONESTLY¨ think is the better talent? Hazami or Mawi? It's just an example so let's not incite a war here. Just think about it. And then vote wisely when the time comes. After all, in order for the contestants to aim high is when us viewers ourselves raise the bar and set it high enough, and let them know what we expect out of them. It's time to leave the shallow end of the pool, and start swimming the English channel (well at least one Malaysian did that).
To the contestants, be the "One In A Million¨ right from the beginning and be it all the way through. Show us that you deserve to be the one. You have to want it bad enough and never doubt that you are not the one. You have to put it on the line and show us what you are truly made of. It¡¦s going to be a hard season, and you are gonna get whacked, stamped on, torn apart and most likely hung out to dry. But you have to be resilient, persevering & focused on the ultimate goal. Don¡¦t ever take your eyes of the ball. The competitions gonna be tough but you gotta be tougher. And most of all you must have some real talent and be able to show it completely and uncompromisingly. And then, just maybe, you may get the judges and our VOTE!!!
To the producers of the show, thank you for being bold enough to venture beyond the norm, and perhaps start a new revolution in the Malaysian music industry. We know it's long overdue. We look forward to an entertaining season and look forward to a healthy and positive outcome. And hope you make some money out of it too. LOL.
Cheers all.
MI3 is finally back. Well sort of. In a thinly veiled disguise called ¡§One In A Million¡¨. I suppose it was probably for the best, considering the exorbitant fees charged for the Idol franchise by the license holders, and, with no real signs of World Idol materializing any time soon, to make it worth while. Plus it didn¡¦t help that one former key sponsor is having financial troubles of their own.
Anyway, a big "syabas¨ to Izham, Paul and the team that concocted this new recipe of a show. The premise is interesting enough. The format is not very much different from the previous show, but the prize at stake is certainly intriguing enough. Win this and you get a million RM to help you launch your career. Seems like a good deal no doubt. But be vary of the small print, though. You get only 33% say¡Kthat¡¦s right "SAY¨, on how you get to use the money. The other 66% "say¨ belongs to the management team & the record label which will be appointed by the producer of the show, in equal proportions of course. So I certainly hope the contestants will not be expecting a big windfall right after they win this contest. With your 33% you can request for any sum of money, but be prepared to be turned down by the two thirds majority. Meaning, the money is there but you are not likely to lay your hands on it any time soon. It¡¦s really there to give you a ¡§never before possible¡¨ head start. It¡¦s not a payoff but an investment into your future. And that¡¦s the reality of it. Which may not be such a bad thing.
A million RM is a tremendous sum of money to spend, especially in this country, and certainly unfathomable by local artistes, who are normally restricted by lame budgets. It simply means you can afford to get some brilliant material from the best songwriters, a top notch music producer (perhaps even one of international calibre), excellent recording facilities & sound engineering, and maybe even an MTV standard video. After all that, you¡¦ll probably still have heaps of money left to have a grand makeover as well as to run a massive promotional campaign to market your brand. And not just locally. Certainly worth the time and effort to take up the challenge. So much so that even a few recording professionals who have already made it in the industry have decided to give it a shot, especially since the show has limited restrictions on who can participate. That says a lot.
But all that matters naught, if the eventual winner is of mediocre quality. Remember that not all contestants who have won reality talent shows actually have the vocal quality, range and talent to take them far. Most of them, bar a very few, are just of the ¡§flavour of the month¡¨ variety, who have milked the hype to get as much commercial mileage out of it. Nothing wrong with that as that is their ¡§rezeki¡¨ and that is exactly what they ought to do. After all it is not going to be forever and they have to earn all their dues while they are still hot. I have no problems with that. My contention, however is that, I want to see that prize money put to some real good use, to develop a deserving talent with all the best qualities that eventually will become an unforgettable legend, rather than a short-lived memory. And I want to see someone good enough to be given the opportunity to break ground in the markets that matter. I want to see someone of truly of global standard and appeal to make their mark this time around. Someone strong enough to stand their ground and hold their heads high, knowing honestly that they are good enough to compete with the very best anywhere in the world, and making a real go at it. We may have had a few local artistes making excursions across our borders but they never really made any recognizable impact. Merely ¡§dents¡¨ here and there. Siti Nurhaliza, our queen of Malay pop, and arguably the country¡¦s very best singer, may have a solid following in Singapore, Brunei & Indonesia, and may have performed in the Royal Albert Hall, but no British local or Western tourist walking around in Piccadilly Circus is gonna run into the nearest HMV and say ¡§Can I have that Siti CD, please?¡¨ Anita Sarawak (a Singaporean by the way, but we consider her ours) may have star billing in Las Vegas, but she has never had even a listing on the Billboard 200, let alone 1000. As far as the yanks go, she is just one of the many ¡§black¡¨ crooners who will never cut a real album deal in the US. Sheila Majid, our queen of jazz, may have had some exploits in Japan, and was a household name in Indonesia, Singapore & Brunei at one time, but, even her following here in Malaysia has dwindled. The best local export we probably had was that boy from Klang, who won ¡§Australian Idol¡¨, and had a chart topping album there, but he is an Australian today. Frankly, the closest we have come to actually putting a Malaysian at an internationally recognizable stage was with our very first and truly gifted Malaysian Idol, but even that has come to an abrupt end, thanks to the non appearance of World Idol. The yanks claim that it¡¦s due to the technicality of staging & judging such an event, but honestly, I think they just don¡¦t want an American artiste, to loose to some brilliant unknown from some other part of the world. After all their music industry is one of their big exports. And the money hungry buggers are unlikely to share that with the rest of the world.
Some time last year, I read in the papers, that an MI finalist was offered by Phil Collins to produce her album. Wow. I was amazed that she didn¡¦t grab that opportunity right there and then, and made a go for it. Hmm! Or perhaps, the conversation went more like this;
MI Finalist: ¡§Wow. You are Phil Collins. I love all your songs. I am a big fan¡¨
Phil Collins: "Oh really. Thanks. You are one of the contestants right? You are not too bad, yourself¨ (being courteous)
MI Finalist: "Really, ah? Thank you, thank you. I just won a Gold Medal. Ke! Ke! ke!¨
Phil Collins:"Oh, I see. Where are you from?"
Mi Finalist: "I am from Malaysia. You know, The one with the Petronas Twin Towers, the tallest building¡K.2nd tallest now, in the world¨
Phil Collins: "Oh? (Ka Ching! Ka Ching!). Ever thought of making a go for it stateside?¨
MI Finalist: "Can ah?¨
Phil Collins; "I can produce it for you, if you like?"
MI Finalist: "Wow! That would be so cool. Ke! Ke! Ke!¨
Phil Collins: "It will cost you only about between US$5 to US$ 10 Million to get a decent album out.¨
MI Finalist: "Uhmp! (swallows a lump saliva). Can I think about it first!?¨
Phil Collins: "Sure. Give my agent a call if you are interested. I am sure we can work something out¨
MI Finalist: "Ok! Thank you so much!¨
Sorry for the digression but I don't really care much for hype. The fact is, I want to see a truly deserving vocal talent who can have the most global appeal (and we are not talking looks here), making it to the top and making a real a go at it. I don¡¦t want to see the money go to waste. After a million RM investment (from the sponsors & the sms voters, which means ¡§us¡¨), I want to see someone of calibre, working his guts out and making us proud. With that kind of real investment, I wanna see some brilliant returns. Forget 25,000 record platinum sales or even a 100,000. I wanna see half a million if not a million records sold, all over the world if possible, the least I should expect for that kind of investment. Perhaps, I am setting the mark too high, you may think? If you do not even dare to dream that high and have as lofty goals as that, then you are definitely NOT the ¡§One In A Million¡¨.
The producers of the show have given the contestants a fantastic opportunity (some real thinking out of the box, for a change) and it is truly up to the contestants to raise the bar. Don¡¦t even think Malaysian Idol anymore, or even worse, Akademi Fantasia. You have to go way beyond that. Remember it is a big investment from us the voting public, of which, we will not see any monetary returns ourselves. Merely personal satisfaction, that we were responsible for making it happen.
And a big word of advice to the investors (us voters). Please do our jobs right as well. Enough of picking the mediocre. Its time to stop picking the "cutest¨ or the "coolest¨ or the "holiest¨ or such, and start making some sincere and intelligent decisions. Be brutally honest with your votes, and pick the truly deserving. And stop making a mockery of the sms voting system, by turning it into ¡§money politics¡¨. Its time to be a responsible, informed and sensible voter, and, not one that just follows our hearts own desire. Be absolutely fair. Make the winner a truly "One In A Million¨.
Still don't get it? A simple test which you do not have to answer here. Just answer it to yourselves. If these two were the final two, who do you "HONESTLY¨ think is the better talent? Hazami or Mawi? It's just an example so let's not incite a war here. Just think about it. And then vote wisely when the time comes. After all, in order for the contestants to aim high is when us viewers ourselves raise the bar and set it high enough, and let them know what we expect out of them. It's time to leave the shallow end of the pool, and start swimming the English channel (well at least one Malaysian did that).
To the contestants, be the "One In A Million¨ right from the beginning and be it all the way through. Show us that you deserve to be the one. You have to want it bad enough and never doubt that you are not the one. You have to put it on the line and show us what you are truly made of. It¡¦s going to be a hard season, and you are gonna get whacked, stamped on, torn apart and most likely hung out to dry. But you have to be resilient, persevering & focused on the ultimate goal. Don¡¦t ever take your eyes of the ball. The competitions gonna be tough but you gotta be tougher. And most of all you must have some real talent and be able to show it completely and uncompromisingly. And then, just maybe, you may get the judges and our VOTE!!!
To the producers of the show, thank you for being bold enough to venture beyond the norm, and perhaps start a new revolution in the Malaysian music industry. We know it's long overdue. We look forward to an entertaining season and look forward to a healthy and positive outcome. And hope you make some money out of it too. LOL.
Cheers all.
for your question dragon gor gor... absolutely i will choose Hazami than Mawi.. sorry to say this but ya.. i go for talent... ;D 
