Nicole being very fierce
Laura being equally fierce
Jennifer poses for National Geographic. I want these three in the final 3.

Brett is so smart. See, those graphic tee designer skills come in handy during challenges that require one to decipher patterns.
Liz is so smart. But her tribemates are stupid. Very stupid. They merge next week. Galu will start eliminating their own members for no reason. I hate when such things happen. Russell will most likely be very smug, and sound as though he planned everything, when it is just absolutely coincidental.

Singapore's fourth public-funded university, which is scheduled to open its doors in 2011, has been named the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SU). Thankfully it wasn't STD. Hideous name nevertheless.
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SYTYCD
The live show begins!

The three judges are such a joy to watch. They make sense in their critiques, they are so quick-witted, and they have such a keen eye on technical details! Brilliant! Shows like SYTYCD and X Factor make the show that Channel 5 plays on Wednesday nights look particularly dreadful.

Billy Bell, my pre-show favourite, had to withdraw from the competition because he was down with a major illness! What a bummer! Another contestant, Noelle suffered an injury, but the judges her somewhat awarded her immunity by giving her a free pass to next week’s show, which isn’t particularly fair in my honest opinion. If that’s the case, then give Billy some time!

In the first live show, all the dancers performed their own styles. The more exciting ones included:

Contemporary Gang #1 – Billy, Victor, Noelle and Kathryn - ‘Viva La Vida’ - Coldplay
Contemporary Gang #2 – Ariana, Jakob, Channing and Nathan - ‘Crying’ – k.d. lang


The next episode came the performances proper, where they were put into pairs once again.
The 6 fiercer performances included:

Kathryn and Legacy – Hip-Hop
They have great chemistry! Trust they would go far!
Mollee and Nathan – Disco
HSM girl does a good job! Loved the song and the dance. So enjoyable!


Karen & Kevin – ‘Push It’ by Glee LOL! - ChaCha
Listen to Adam Shankman’s comment at the end. Absolutely hilarious.
Bianca and Victor – Contemporary


Ryan and Ellenore – Jazz
Jakob and Ashleigh – Broadway


Notable performances:
Pauline and Brandon – Smooth Waltz
Brandon replaced Billy in just one and a half days. Considered he was thrown in so late, it was really tough for him. Objectively speaking, performance-wise, it was pretty blah.
Ariana & Peter – ‘Black and Gold’ by Sam Sparro (Hip-Hop)

Bottom 4: Ariana, Pauline, Brandon, Russell
Eliminated: Ariana and Brandon (Brandon’s invited to join the Top 20 next season though, Nigel’s going to ask the Fox producers to rewrite the terms and conditions. How magnanimous of him!

[Latest: Danyl Johnson and Miss Frank were in the bottom two, with Miss Frank getting the boot. Such a result is far worse any decision that Singapore Idol has made. Looks like Louis Walsh's sole representative act is John and Edward.]

• Lucie Jones – ‘My Funny Valentine’ – Mitzi Green
  This was her best performance this season, and was also the best performance of the night. Absolutely stunning!
  
  
• Danyl Johnson – ‘Feeling Good’ – Michael Buble
  This is the cursed American Idol: whoever sings this song gets eliminated in that episode. Obviously this isn’t going to happen to Danyl. Incredibly diva-ish and theatrical, but it works to this genre. The most dramatized rendition of this song, but I loved it. Hot!
• Rachel Adedeji – ‘Proud Mary’ – Creedence Clearwater Revival
  Fugly new hair, but she definitely got the chops! Her personality finally shone through, and I’m so happy for her! Now, it’s time for her to attain Alexandra Burke status!
  
  
• Miss Frank – ‘That’s Life’ – Frank Sinatra
  They were vocally very competent this week, great harmonies, fantastic rap by Gretel. Overall an impeccable performance! One gripe though: they’re getting hoochier by the week.
• Olly Murs – ‘Bewitched’ – Steve Lawrence
  He’s such a natural performer! Style, charisma, confidence – aced every single component!
  
  
  
  Other performances:
• Stacey Solomon – ‘When You Wish Upon A Star’ – Cliff Edwards
  She looks absolutely gorgeous, but she somewhat confirmed that she isn’t really that much of a belter. Nevertheless, good song choice, and I think she’s more likeable than Joe.
• Lloyd Daniels – ‘Fly Me To The Moon’ - Kaye Ballard
  Simon’s facial expressions tickled me throughout the performance. Lloyd figured his voice isn’t going to support the performance, so he did a back flip to entertain the crowd. How does that complement a Jazz song?
• Joe McElderry – ‘Sway’ – Michael Buble
  Face made me cringe. Voice made me cringe. Dancing made me cringe. Why is he so popular?!?! It’s a UK thing right? He smiles like 24/7!
• Jamie Archer – ‘Angel of Harlem’ – U2
  I totally agreed with Louis Walsh. It sounded karaoke-ish, and I wasn’t particularly excited this time round. Bottom 2 please, he needs a wake-up call.
• John and Edward – ‘She Bangs’ – Ricky Martin
  They’re living proof of how one can stay in a singing competition despite having absolutely no talent. Honestly, they’ll be eliminated the moment they land themselves in the bottom 2.

Irina's winning design. Fierce.

[Celine, the Singaporean model, got eliminated this episode. Oh well, it was a good run!]

Here are 6 of my current favourites!

• Top Band
• Sezairi – Ordinary People – 9.5 [Brilliant song choice once again, great]
• Faisal – I’m Yours – 9.0 [Such a cliché song choice, but he duly impressed me.]
• Duane – A Song For You - 9.0 [not as good as his Poker Face cover, but nevertheless a good job]
  
• Middle Band
• Malaque – Because You Loved Me – 8.5 [Died before reaching the high note, but still good.]
• Tabitha – Halo – 8 [Shitty backing track couldn’t support those great vocals]
• Charles – Fall For You – 7.0
  
• Predicted bottom 3:
• Amira – Back At One – 6.5
• Sylvia – When You Believe – 6 [Bad. Bad. Bad.]
• Mae Sta – Hero – 5.5 [Worse. Worse. Worse.]

Dick Lee and Ken Lim are the worst judges you can ever find. They don’t realize how much Amira has gained in terms of confidence, how Duane was possibly the best performer that night, and how people like Tabitha were terribly affected by the pathetic backing tracks. I’m absolutely looking forward to Ellen judging American Idol in 2010. I’m so deprived of wit.

Kermit Singh called the Music Director the wrong name. He ought to be shot.

In the words of Lambert, it's Time For Miracles. Singapore Idol needs major restructuring in its judges and host line-ups, and needs better backing tracks and the existence of back-up singers.

• Blake Lewis - Sad Song
  
• Britney Spears - 3 [#1 in the Hot 100 charts]
• Leighton Meester - Somebody to Love (feat. Robin Thicke)
• Norah Jones - Chasing Pirates
• Fall Out Boy - Alpha Dog
• Madonna - Revolver (feat. Lil' Wayne) [an amazing fan video]
• Usher - Papers
• 30 Seconds to Mars - Kings and Queens
• Michael Jackson - This Is It [Controversy: Paul Anka demands rights to the song.]

Tell me where you guys watch your Glee episodes. I'll need to find another source. =(

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Penn Badgley (my Monopoly acquaintance) is going to feature in a new horror movie called 'The Stepfather'. Looks like a potential flop, but I might just catch a movie to horrify myself. Haven't watched such genres in theatres for a long long while.

• Zev and Justin was leading the episode from start to finish, only to realize they lost their passports. Well, obviously you can’t check into the pit stop with a missing passport.
• Canaan owned the roadblock – manoeuvred like a total monkey.

ANTM - The Martial Arts Challenge

Nicole won this episode (the one in purple), Laura came in 2nd (orange), Kara got eliminated.

• Winner: Carol Hannah
• Eliminated: Shirin (Very shocking considering she received the highest scores in the past 2 episodes.)

• Large wave crashes Erik’s head. “I’ve never seen an object, inanimate or animate, that was angry and fickle as this ocean”
• Russell thinks he’s the only mind game player, when in fact, he’s the worst at it.

• Ashley gets taunted by Dave’s vomiting sounds during the food challenge, and calls it quits with only like 5ml of sea slug guts juice to go.

• The sausages Galu enjoyed were black.
• Russell, Galu’s leader, cannot make fire.
• Dave makes fire in an instant.
• Jaison looks like a basketball player, but can’t throw in those coconuts for nuts.
• Natalie actually has a brain and voted off Ashley, her closest but weakest ally in Foa Foa. Russell too.

Latest: Nurul eliminated. Charles and Malaque were the other two in the bottom three. Shocking.

1. Amira – ‘You Are Not Alone’ – 9.0
   Very, very impressive. Finally something which fitted into her register so well! Well done. The best tonight. Her confidence finally came back tonight.
2. Sylvia – ‘The Way You Make Me Feel’ 8.5
   She is the most consistent contestant who aces every single genre. Dick said she wasn’t giving her all, though I thought she had stage presence and was vocally competent. Ken has his moment of self-fulfilling prophecy when he reminds Sylvia that he pressurized her in getting into the top 10.
3. Malaque – ‘Rock With You’ – 8.0
   I am in love with Malaque. She took the risk of doing a rap, and it was absolutely brilliant! No one, not even Charles, can possibly pulled that off. Great vocals. Ken thinks she destroyed it, and calls it ‘the worst performance’, Florence thought the ‘interpretation was not there’. Ken thinks ‘it’s not good for her’. Honestly, that was one of the best performances of the night? The comments came as an absolute shock.
4. Nurul – ‘Ben’ – 8.0
   This was quite an impressive performance. Ken undermines it by dishing out all the rhetorical philosophical blabbers.
5. Faizal – ‘Billie Jean’ – 7.5
   He found the right feel, thoroughly enjoyed this performance of his. Hated the way he pronounced ‘kid’.
6. Charles – ‘Remember The Time’ – 7.5
   Choose a Kris Allen song, and Blake-Lewisize it. That’s his approach, and that’s what differentiates himself from some of the bland performances. If you got it, flaunt it. God, when he started beatboxing, he totally deserved a 10. Then, he starts singing, and all his ‘cool’ factor just vanished. He kept running ahead of the beat, and I almost fell asleep.
7. Tabitha – ‘Who’s Loving You’ – 7.5
   She has hot bangs. Good song choice; she performed it better than Miss Frank. Smooth delivery in general. It’s hilarious when the Angmoh’s face is displayed, he’s like laughing at all the stupid things Ken is saying.
8. Duane – ‘The Girl Is Mine’ – 7.0 (I’m not like Ken, I don’t give 0/10s.)
   Mr. Duane had a haircut, I think. And there, after so many weeks, the judges realize that Duane is too young! I see that as very constructive criticism.
9. Sezairi – ‘Thriller’ – 6.0
   Quite a thriller. Ok, I can give him props for having a creative song arrangement, but this was way off the mark. Didn’t like his grating sounds at all. And it’s so darn ironic that this is the only Sezairi performance that Ken enjoys, when it obviously is his weakest one.
10. Mae Sta - ‘I Want You Back’ – 5.5
    Very cringeworthy intro video, substantiated with a very corny performance. Seriously, she’s falling off the frontrunners’ list rapidly. It was this series of high-pitched sounds that reverberated throughout my head non-stop.

Predicted bottom three: Sezairi, Mae Sta, Malaque (The judges' comments definitely would've affected her votes)

I love Gurmit when he's not Gurmit.

Rachel Adedeji – Let Me Entertain You (Robbie Williams)
Brilliant and fiery performance!

Olly Murs – She’s The One (Robbie Williams)
OMGGG!! =D His performances just never fails to make me smile. And I love how he dons Fred Perry every single day. A great talent, such humility.



Stacey Solomon – The Scientist (Coldplay)
Loved it how her personality and voice shines through this song. Wonderful.

Miss Frank – Who’s Lovin’ You (Jackson 5)
This is the only group that will go far! Very refreshing, potentially the new Sugababes, with maturity. Huge, huge potential. Louis Walsh calls them the girl JLS, quite funny.



Jamie Archer – Get It On (T. Rex)
Why do I feel like he’s going to be a one-trick pony? Ahh. Still a great performance nevertheless. Simon insists he’s in a different league from the rest.

Danyl Johnson – And I’m Telling You (sung by a million black women)
All his songs very diva! Simon gave him a standing ovation, a little exaggerated there. Agree with Louis that he is slightly cocky, and extremely drama. Dannii drew some flak for her inappropriate comments!



Other contestants:

Rikki Loney – Back To Black (Amy Winehouse)

That was a very unique interpretation. Needs to be more confident, but since he’s from Scotland, he’s going to stay in this competition for quite a while.

Kandy Rain – Addicted To Love (Robert Palmer)
Their provocative costumes got Cheryl and Simon heated up in an argument.

Lucie Jones – Footprints in the Sand (Leona Lewis)

Ok, still prefer Leona’s version (bound to comparison). Lucie’s rendition was just quite blah, as boring as a plateau.

Joe McElderry – No Regrets (Robbie Williams)

I like his looks, but I really don’t like his voice. He’s expected to be a frontrunner though.

Lloyd Daniels – Cry Me A River (Justin Timberlake)
Oh my god, so effing disappointing! Bland and boring. His stage-acting was hilarious, so stiff.

John & Edward – Rock DJ (Robbie Williams)

Oh no. Oh no. They sounded as though some audience participant came up to sing the song. Epic failure. Even the voice qualities of all the Singapore Idol finalists trashed them. They had better be out. Guessing the other performing act in the bottom 2 would be Rikki Loney or Kandy Rain.

1. Malaque – Omg, look at the way she moves throughout the performance! It was really so Bollywoodesque (borrowing from Flo’s Idolesque)! Was so impressed by her vocals and her flirtatiousness! She is absolutely growing on me! 9.5
2. Sezairi – OMG, his beginning verse was so brilliant. Great song choice once again, loved the spotlight shining on him. Was very engaging. 9.0
3. Charles – Anjing. Ok piano. Good. This was better than I had expected. Ok luh, beat Sly. Did you see Ken’s expression when Charles came in with that erhu? 8.0
4. Sylvia – Started the night very well, because I’m anticipating a lot of bad performances. She feels very comfortable singing it. 8.0
5. Mae – Nobody (Acoustic version siah.) Omg, the ending was so abruptly cut. But a cool interpretation overall. For the first time I agree with Ken, she hasn’t dished out an ‘awesome’ performance yet, but props to her for choosing one of the few songs I know today. 7.5
6. Nurul – Made In India. Omg, she’s damn quirky ah. Last week go Egypt, this week go India. 7.5
7. Farhan – Ok la, tried to display some personality here today. But it’s really not smart to sing a Taufik song when you don’t really sing as well as him. Ken, why would you even need to care about the children having to sleep early? 7.0
8. Tabitha – Ting Hai. Ok la, I shall forgive her mispronunciations because she’s not Chinese unlike Duane. Hilarious, she looks so freaked out throughout the whole performance. But vocally, it was smooth. 7.0
9. Fathin – Aiyah, why she keep singing all these boring powerhouse songs that she has problems coping with? She feels like so unconfident too, pretty disappointing. Omg, totally trying to pull votes with that Philippines plea, not impressed. 6.0
10. Faizal – Yawn. Wow, awkward moments. 5.5
11. Duane – There, the massacre begins. Dang Ni. Oh no. Hanyu pinyin lessons please. Absolutely lame reason he gave there for his song choice (‘Cos’ I want Singapore to love ME!’) 5.5