2006-09-22
Why Jonathan Leong Should be Singapore Idol
Of course, we shall first define the term "Singapore Idol". I should think that the Singapore Idol must be able to inspire pride and music-lust from Singaporeans. He must be talented, and he must be an Idol.
You know I don't particularly enjoy watching local television. Especially local television where talentless people flock in to make fools of themselves. I picked up Singapore Idol (ie. actually intentionally watching it) halfway through the top twelve. And I started watching it only so that I could practice my Ken Lim impersonation at home.
But Jonathan Leong made a convert out of me. What can I say? Talent is one thing, marketability another. And where talent and marketability finally coincide in one enviable person, don't let the national habit of remedying God's generosity come in.
A good number of people hold the belief that local talent searches like that, are meant to give underdogs a chance - to dig out people who would otherwise not break into the industry. So when contestant A seems to have a little more of idol-ability than contestant B, votes are casted agaisnt A, because B shouldn't be hidden by A's charisma. Where great singers like Mathilda De Silva were kicked out before Joakim Gomez, I would a little meritocracy in the way of spotting talent be in order. But when we're left with two awesome vocalists of comparable talent, even if one may only be the slightest bit better, perhaps the ability to carry a tune well shouldn't be the only yardstick.
This season smells suspiciously like the last. Hady seems like Taufik reincarnate - only likeable, this time - with picture perfect vocals, and boyish good looks. Battling for votes on the other side, we've got ourselves another rocker with chinese eyes, long hair, and tons of female fans. Like his predecessor, Jonathan Leong owns the stage and clinches the crowds. Unlike his predecessor, Jonathan Leong's image is squeaky clean, intelligent, full of charm and calls gravitas his own with his husky, slow voice. (You already know this entry is in support of him, so I won't bother masking praise.)
Clean and green as we are, let us not bother to pretend that not-so-clean undercurrents actually to exist. The battle draws in race once more - one cannot help but notice the ethnic purity of Hady's fanclub, just like Taufik's. But this isn't all this season - Hady's from polytechnic, Jonathan Leong's from NUS. With the suspiciously large and highly unnecessary emphasis placed on their "homegrounds", one cannot help but wonder just how it'll sway votes. Especially with the general population most keen on affirmative action (note how all the underdogs have won in all talent search projects).
It is not for me to say how Singapore will vote. But I urge those with cash and smses to waste to -really- think about what an Idol should be, not what a Singporean package should be. While I do not purport the opinion that Sylvester should have won the last Singapore Idol, Taufik, really, has been reduced to nothing more than 7-11's poster boy.
If Jonathan Leong has managed to make love to the stage, made hundreds of girls swoon, then he indeed has proven himself to be worthy of the status of Idol - because that's what an Idol has to be able to do.
nothing ever happens at 3:03 p.m.