The Singapore Idol Controversy

I had been wanting to blog about the Singapore Idol controversy all week (since I watched it on Wednesday) but I've been very spaced out lately. An entry of this sort requires alot of brainpower and analysis (ya right), and I just didn't have the energy to do such.

Alot had been going on about how Joakim doesn't deserve to be in Singapore Idol, and it's a singing competition and Singaporeans are not voting for talents to be in the show. Instead, we have all the non-talented singers on the top of the popularity list, and all the talented ones getting booted out (think: Mathilda).

Last season, when Olinda got booted out of the competition, I had similar sentiments. That Sylvester was in only because he's popular with the girls (actually so's Taufik). Someone then told me, that Singapore Idol is an idol competition, so besides singing, one must have that "star" factor.

I thought about it, and agreed (reluctantly).
I mean, look at Jessica Simpson, Paris Hilton and..... Rain?
How many of them are truly good singers?

More often than not, the good singers are the ugly ones, or the ones behind the scene (Ocean Ou De Yang-where's he now?) So when you have a competition of such in a country as small as Singapore, what did we all really expect? A Taylor Hicks hiding in our backyard? A Clay Aiken in our sewer systems?

C'mon, Singapore is so small.
Whatever happened to Talentime winners? Do we see Dick Lee (one of the most celebrated English singers from Singapore) singing in the international arena? Or cutting albums that are well, sellable internationally?
Of course not.

Let's begin at looking at our judges.
Dick Lee, Jacintha (who?), Florenece Lian and Ken Lim.

Where's the Paula Abdul?
I mean, here in Singapore, at least we know who Paula Abdul is (even though she is not that much a singer). But at least it's someone we know.

So what can we expect from the people taking part in the competition?

Singapore Idol (and American Idol alike) but only provides entertainment.
Sure, everyone has big hopes and dreams of being a singer.
So what?
Gone were the days a singer works real hard, eat crap and work hard for passion?
Replaced are reality singing competitions that provide a fast track for singer wannabes?
Grow up.

There is no fastforward trump card in life.

So, why all the hoo-haa on who's in and who's not in Singapore Idol?
Does it matter?
I mean really.

Whoever still buys Taufik's CD? Or, are we even listening to it regularly on radio? I know I don't.

There are singers who choose the more conventional way to stardom (though mostly mandarin singers). But that's because there is a ready market in Taiwan. (think: Lin JunJie, Sun Yan Zi). Is there a ready market for English Pop in another country for us?
No.

It's saturated everywhere!

I personally think, this controversy and debate is all hyped up for the sake of profit. (In the form of sms votes).
Without the controversy, and debate, do you think people would vote at all?
Let's say, the top 4 at the end of the day are Jay Lim (the technically perfect singer), Jonathon Leong (I'm not biased here), Mathilda (the aggressive go-getter) and Hady (yes yes, the smooth operator), there's no hype, no excitement, no nothing!

The Joakim saga is strangely similar to the other Jerry saga from last season. We have people criticising one person's singing and then everyone seems inspired to work hard and send in more votes, so that "our Singapore Idol will be one who sings"
So now what? With Joakim out, who are they going to target next?

I'll put my bet on Paul Twohill and Jasmine Tye.
Though I reckon, there'd be yet another shocker before Mediacorp earns enough money they finally unrig the competition and let the "good ones" stay. Then again, it might take quite awhile.

I am supporting the view that Singapore Idol is rigged (the votes).

Think about it, Mediacorp pays money to bring Singapore Idol to Singapore.
If it ain't profitable, it'll be a burden.
Thus, we have demandtv, Singapore Idol magazines and what-nots to generate revenue to support the expense incurred to bring Singapore Idol to Singapore.

So, by having this controversial booting out, and urging Singaporeans to "really vote for the talent" they are really getting us to spend more money to sustain the cost they had incurred is it not?

"Singapore, it's important to vote."

"Singapore, please vote for talent, make sure you vote so that the good singers stay in the competition"

All the hype was meant to serve as a wake-up call to Singapore.

"wake up! Time to vote for talents"

When in actual, all the results have been rigged in accordance to the most profitable results.

Why do you think Superstar, Superband and Campus Superstar doesn't have this problem or controversy?

Disclaimer: This is all, but the writer's 2cents worth, it does not constitute the truth, just the writer's humble opinion.