Singapore Idol

Singapore Idol
Created by Simon Fuller
Presented by Daniel Ong (2004–06)
Gurmit Singh
Hady Mirza (2009)
Judges Dick Lee
Florence Lian
Ken Lim
Douglas Oliverio (2004)
Jacintha Abisheganaden (2006)
Country of origin Singapore
No. of seasons 3
No. of episodes 54
Production company(s) MediaCorp Studios
FremantleMedia Operations BV
Release
Original network MediaCorp
Original release August 9, 2004 (2004-08-09) – December 27, 2009 (2009-12-27)
External links
Website

Singapore Idol is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by MediaCorp Studios and FremantleMedia Operations BV. It began airing on MediaCorp Channel 5 on August 9, 2004, as an addition to the Idol franchise based on the UK show Pop Idol, and became one of the most popular shows in the history of Singaporean television.

The concept of the series is to find new solo recording artists where the winner is determined by the viewers. Through telephone and SMS text voting, viewers have chosen as winners Taufik Batisah, Hady Mirza and Sezairi Sezali.

The series employs a panel of judges who critique the contestants' performances. The original four judges during season 1 were singer/songwriter Dick Lee, Florence Lian, record producer Ken Lim and singer Douglas Oliverio. In season 2, all the judges from season 1 returned to the show except for Oliverio who was replaced by singer Jacintha Abisheganaden. In season 3, Abisheganaden left the judging panel and the rest of the judges returned to the show. From the start, the show has been hosted by Singapore celebrity and funnyman Gurmit Singh. Radio deejay Daniel Ong was the co-host of the show for season 1 and 2, while season 2 winner Hady Mirza replaced him as the co-host during season 3.

Season 1 (2004)

Singapore Idol
Season 1
Broadcast from August 9 – December 1, 2004
Judges Dick Lee
Florence Lian
Ken Lim
Douglas Oliverio
Host(s) Daniel Ong
Gurmit Singh
Broadcaster MediaCorp
Finals venue Singapore Indoor Stadium
Winner
Taufik Batisah
Origin Singapore
Song "I Dream"
Genre(s) Pop
Runner-up
Sylvester Sim

Season 1 of Singapore Idol premiered on the National Day of Singapore (9 August) in 2004. This season produced a few memorable, albeit notorious, performers during the audition round. They included Skyy Sia aka Bananaman, who wore a mask of watermelon and bananas; Kelvin Sim, who accompanied his very bad rendition of Fool's Garden's "Lemon Tree" with a dance that rivalled that of William Hung; and Patrick Khoo, who literally whispered George Michael's "Careless Whisper".

As with other shows in the Idol series, the viewers' votes decide who goes on to the next round. This has always produced controversial results in every singing competition. In the third preliminary round, Jerry Ong, whose singing was described by judge Florence Lian as being "constipated" and "weak", was voted through to the finals, beating favourites Beverly Lim Morata and Nur "Nana" Hasanah, both of whom were thought to be better singers. Candice Foo, who got into the finals from the second week, withdrew from the contest at the last minute due to "financial difficulties". In a bigger upset, Jeassea K. Thyidor, considered by many to be a frontrunner in the competition, was eliminated in the very first round of the finals by a margin of 200 votes. This sparked a brief anti-Jerry campaign that lasted for the next 2 weeks until his elimination on October 15. In the final weeks of the Spectaculars, many speculated that Olinda Cho, one of the most consistent performers, would go on to the Grand Finals with Taufik Batisah, but Sylvester Sim, who had been in the Bottom 2/3 positions more than anyone else, made it through instead.

In the final showdown held at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on 1 December 2004, Taufik beat Sylvester with 62% of the votes to become the first Singapore Idol. The song both Taufik and Sylvester were required to sing was I Dream. Both received recording deals from Sony BMG on the same day. Taufik's album, Blessings, was released on 17 January 2005. Sylvester's album, Take Flight, was released on 8 April 2005. Another finalist, Maia Lee, also released an album titled Emotionally Advised on 20 August 2005. Sylvester was granted a release from Hype Records in mid-2006 due to personal problems. Daphne Khoo also release her debut album 'Desperate' in 2008 and won Best Breakout Solo Artiste, and EP 'Wonderland' in early 2014.

Top 11 Weekly Song Themes

Elimination Chart

Legend
Female Male Top 30 Wild Card Public Vote Wild Card Judges' Choice Withdrew Top 11 Winner
Bottom 4
Bottom 3
Bottom 2
Eliminated
Stage: Top 30 Wild
Card
Finals
Week: 27/8 3/9 10/9 17/9 1/10 8/102 15/10 22/10 29/10 5/11 12/11 19/11 1/12
Place Contestant Result
1
Taufik Batisah
2nd Btm 3
Winner
2
Sylvester Sim
Elim PV Btm 3 Btm 2 Btm 3 Btm 2
Runner-Up
3
Olinda Cho
1st Btm 4 Btm 3 Btm 2 Elim
4
Daphne Khoo
1st Btm 4 Elim
5 Leandra Veronica Rasiah 1st Btm 2 Btm 2 Elim
6
Christopher Michael Lee
2nd Btm 2 Btm 3 Elim
7
Maia Lee
Elim JC Elim
8
Jerry Ong
3rd Btm 3 Elim
9
David Yeo
3rd Elim
10-11
Jeassea K Thyidor
2nd Elim
Beverly Lim Morata
5th JC
12
Candice Foo
3rd WD1

1Candice Foo withdrew from the competition 1 day before the Top 12, citing "financial" reasons. Her departure was too last minute for any replacement to enter.

2The Top 11 elimination round featured a double elimination. Beverly Lim Morata was eliminated first, followed by Jeassea K Thyidor.

Season 2 (2006)

Singapore Idol
Season 2
Broadcast from May 21 – September 25, 2006
Judges Jacintha Abisheganaden
Dick Lee
Florence Lian
Ken Lim
Host(s) Daniel Ong
Gurmit Singh
Broadcaster MediaCorp
Finals venue Singapore Indoor Stadium
Winner
Hady Mirza
Origin Singapore
Song "You Give Me Wings"
Genre(s) Pop
Runner-up
Jonathan Leong

Auditions for season 2 were held on 11 February 2006 at *Scape in Orchard Road and was extended twice due to overwhelming response - 12 February at the same location and 19 February in Toa Payoh. The season premiered on 21 May with clips of the auditions. Dick Lee, Florence Lian and Ken Lim returned as judges while Douglas Oliverio was replaced by Jacintha Abisheganaden. After widespread criticism of his hosting abilities in season 1, Gurmit Singh was paired with Daniel Ong as co-hosts for season 2. Ex-contestant from Singapore Idol season 1 Daphne Khoo hosted Singapore Idol On Demand, an online subscription service that provided media downloads and exclusive footage of the show.

A day after the results for Piano Show #4 were announced, MediaCorp revealed that a computer glitch in the voting process had mistakenly sent Mathilda D'Silva into the top 12, instead of Nurul Maideen. Mathilda was placed in the wildcard show and was subsequently voted into the finals. Shortly after the technical glitch fiasco, frontrunner and wildcard contestant Meryl Joan Lee announced her withdrawal from the contest to focus on her studies.

The final 12 contestants were housed in Hangout @ Mount Emily, a budget hotel, for as long as they remained in the competition.

The Final Showdown for the title featured Jonathan Leong and Hady Mirza singing three songs each at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. Due to the frequency jam that took place in the first season, the finals was held on 2 separate days; the performance show on the 24th of September, and the results show on the 25th of September. One of the songs which both contestants sang was "You Give Me Wings", which became the winner's first single. On 25 September 2006, 26-year-old Hady Mirza was declared the winner of Singapore Idol 2006 with about 70% of the votes cast. Hady's self-titled debut album was released in mid November 2006. Hady would then go on to compete in Asian Idol and become the first Asian Idol in December 2007 in an upset victory.

Top 12 Weekly Song Themes

Elimination Chart

Legend
Female Male Top 28 Wild Card Public Vote Wild Card Judges' Choice Top 12 Winner
Bottom 4
Bottom 3
Bottom 2
Eliminated
Stage: Top 28 Wild
Card
1
Finals
Week: 1/6 8/6 15/6 22/6 29/6 13/7 20/7 27/7 3/8 10/8 17/8 24/8 31/8 7/9 14/9 25/9
Place Contestant Result
1
Hady Mirza
1st Btm 2 Btm 2
Winner
2
Jonathan Leong
1st Btm 3 Btm 3 Btm 3 Btm 3 Btm 2
Runner-Up
3
Jasmine Tye
2nd Btm 3 Elim
4
Paul Twohill
2nd Btm 3 Btm 2 Btm 3 Btm 2 Elim
5
Joakim Gomez
2nd Btm 2 Elim
6
Nurul Maideen
1st Btm 2 Elim
7
Mathilda D'Silva
Elim 1st Elim
8
Rahimah Rahim
1st Btm 2 Elim
9
Jay Lim
3rd 2nd Btm 2 Elim
10
Emilee Kang
2nd Elim
11
Gayle Nerva
3rd 1st Elim
12
Norman Then
3rd 2nd Elim
Wild
Card
Choy Siew Woon
Elim Elim
Geraldine Chua
4th
Primero Ang
Elim
Piano
Show 4
Annabelle Lu
Elim
Charmaine Palaez
Loh Wan Hua
Meryl Joan Lee
Piano
Show 3
Randy Chua
Elim
Roslan Muhamad
Tengku Adil Bahdar
Piano
Show 2
Melissa Loo
Elim
Milly Khoo
Piano
Show 1
James Tay
Elim
Janson Tay
Levin Ng
Terence Tay

1Meryl Joan Lee was originally offered a Wild Card slot, but she turned down the offer, officially eliminating herself from the competition.

Season 3 (2009)

Singapore Idol
Season 3
Broadcast from August 9 – December 27, 2009
Judges Dick Lee
Florence Lian
Ken Lim
Host(s) Hady Mirza
Gurmit Singh
Broadcaster MediaCorp
Finals venue Singapore Indoor Stadium
Winner
Sezairi Sezali
Origin Singapore
Song "Touched by an Angel"
Genre(s) Pop
Runner-up
Sylvia Ratonel

On December 15, 2008, MediaCorp mentioned in its free-circulating-paper, TODAY, that Singapore Idol Season 3 would be one of the new programmes for 2009. The third installment comes three years after the previous.

Registration for Singapore Idol 3 officially started on 1 May 2009, and the season premiered right after the National Day Parade segment on August 9, 2009, 8.30pm on Channel 5.

Returning host Gurmit Singh co-hosted with Singapore Idol 2 winner Hady Mirza, replacing Season 2's Daniel Ong. The returning judges were Dick Lee, Florence Lian and Ken Lim, with Jacintha Abisheganaden leaving the show.

The Top 100 contestants were put up at Orchid Country Club for a week of intense auditions and training. They were then reduced to a Top 76 for a group round, Top 54 for an Idol first where the contestants write and compose a duet and perform it, then the Top 40 of sang-off at Caldecott Hill. Top 24 consisted of half the contestants (6 males and 6 females) performing each night on 2 separate Piano Shows for a spot in the Top 12. The Results Show was screened 30 minutes after the Performance Show. Voting began at the start of the Piano round at 8:00pm, and closed at 9:45pm (later extended to 10:00pm and finally to 10:15pm). The Top 3 public vote-getters, regardless of gender, advanced together with 3 of the judges choices per episode. Coincidentally, all the contestants who made it to the next round by public voting were male contestants. There was no Wild Card round for previously eliminated contestants, unlike the previous two seasons.

After the Top 12 was revealed during the second Piano Show results segment, the judges announced that Mae Sta Maria would join the 12 and form a surprise Top 13. The season has received mixed to negative feedback from fans due to the new rulings (absence of the Wildcard round, lack of a gender cap and voting beginning at the start of the show rather than at the end).

It was revealed on 14 September that MJ Kuok, who had gotten into the finals by public voting after Piano Show 1, had withdrawn from the competition on September 11, citing "personal reasons". The news was confirmed in 8 Days Magazine. He was then replaced by Nurul Huda from Piano Show 1. It was revealed that she had received the next highest number of public votes out of all the other eliminated contestants.[1]

This season also introduced the "Judges' Save", similar to American Idol Season 8, which could be used only when the judges unanimously decide to save an eliminated contestant up to and until the Top 5. The save was ultimately not used, when the judges decided not to save Faizal Isa, who was eliminated in 5th place. In retrospect, except for the Top 13 Results Show, where Gurmit explicitly asked the judges if they wanted to save Syltra Lee, the judges' save was hardly, if only briefly, mentioned.

Another first for the franchise was a surprise non-elimination round during the Top 4 Results Show on 25 November, similar to American Idol Season 6, although, unlike the American version where the bottom group was never revealed, Charles and Tabitha were first revealed to be the bottom two before they were announced as safe.

The order for the final performance show was decided by a coin toss immediately after the Top 3 elimination show. Sylvia won and decided to go first. The Grand Finale, unlike Season 2, was not a two-night event. The performance was aired at 8:00pm on 27 December 2009 and the results show at 10:00pm on the same day. It was held at the Singapore Indoor Stadium with a full capacity of 12,000. The special guest was international recording artist Charice where she performed 3 songs which included her first single Note to God. The Singapore Idol stage will be torn down from the MediaCorp studio permanently thereafter.

This season was abound with controversy. During the Top 8 and 7, while the judges claimed both nights as "girls' nights", the girls filled up the bottom groups. This resulted in extensive media promotion for the females left in the competition, and the idea of a female idol was fueled by both the judges and the episodic trailers. However, the last male standing in the Final 3, Sezairi Sezali, still ultimately won, receiving 61% of the votes cast in the finale. While Sylvia became the first female to make it to the finals, Sezairi's win makes all three Singapore Idol winners young Malay males.

Piano Shows

Group 1

Order Contestant Song Result
1 Charles "Stitch" Wong "Collide" Advanced
2 Frances Maria "So What" Eliminated
3 MJ Kuok "These Walls" Advanced1
4 Jannah Shaharuddin "No One" Eliminated
5 Farhan Shah "When You Look Me in the Eyes" Advanced
6 Ryan Lee "Moondance" Eliminated
7 Malaque Mahdaly "The Voice Within" Advanced
8 Nurul Huda "Rehab" Eliminated1
9 Theodore Teow "Bless the Broken Road" Eliminated
10 Douglas Wong "How to Save a Life" Eliminated
11 Tabitha Nauser "One Night Only" Advanced
12 Syltra Lee "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" Advanced

a Nurul Huda was originally eliminated but was invited back to the competition as a replacement of MJ Kuok, who withdrew from the competition after being voted into the top 13 by the public.

Group 2

Order Contestant Song Result
1 Sezairi Sezali "Sunday Morning" Advanced
2 Gabrielle Ferdinands "Thinking of You" Eliminated
3 Duane Ho "A Little Too Not Over You" Advanced
4 Jonathan Cheok "Come Together" Eliminated
5 Fathin Amira "Karma" Advanced
6 Sylvia Ratonel "Mercy" Advanced
7 Faizal Isa "This Love" Advanced
8 Charlene Torres-Tan "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" Eliminated
9 Benjamin Chow "At Last" Eliminated
10 Samantha Lee "Don't Speak" Eliminated
11 Justin Jap "So Sick" Advanced
12 Mae Sta Maria "Better in Time" Advanced

Spectacular Shows

Top 13 – Chart Toppers

Order Contestant Song Result
1 Mae Sta Maria "Lady Marmalade" Safe
2 Charles "Stitch" Wong "Low" Safe
3 Syltra Lee "Breakaway" Eliminated
4 Sylvia Ratonel "Fallin'" Safe
5 Sezairi Sezali "You Give Me Something" Safe
6 Tabitha Nauser "Big Girls Don't Cry" Safe
7 Justin Jap "Heartless" Safe
8 Fathin Amira "Hurt" Bottom 3
9 Nurul Huda "Oops!... I Did It Again" Safe
10 Farhan Shah "Bad Day" Safe
11 Malaque Mahdaly "Hush Hush; Hush Hush" Bottom 2
12 Duane Ho "Poker Face" Safe
13 Faizal Isa "Stop and Stare" Safe

Top 12 – The Year I Was Born

Order Contestant Song Year Result
1 Nurul Huda "Walk Like an Egyptian" 1987 Safe
2 Justin Jap "Together Forever" 1988 Eliminated
3 Tabitha Nauser "Bohemian Rhapsody" 1992 Bottom 3
4 Charles "Stitch" Wong "You Give Love a Bad Name" 1986 Safe
5 Sylvia Ratonel "Sweet Child o' Mine" 1988 Safe
6 Faizal Isa "End of the Road" 1992 Safe
7 Fathin Amira "I Love Your Smile" 1992 Safe
8 Mae Sta Maria "Lately" 1981 Safe
9 Malaque Mahdaly "Right Here Waiting" 1989 Bottom 2
10 Duane Ho "I Have Nothing" 1993 Safe
11 Farhan Shah "Love Will Lead You Back" 1990 Safe
12 Sezairi Sezali "Faith" 1988 Safe

Top 11 – An Asian Feast

Order Contestant Song Result
1 Sylvia Ratonel "Sinaran" Bottom 4
2 Duane Ho "Dang Ni" Safe
3 Malaque Mahdaly "Kuch Kuch Hota Hai" Safe
4 Fathin Amira "Bakit Pa" Safe
5 Sezairi Sezali "Jeritan Batinku" Bottom 2
6 Mae Sta Maria "Nobody" Safe
7 Faizal Isa "Hapus Aku" Safe
8 Tabitha Nauser "Ting Hai" Bottom 4
9 Farhan Shah "Teman Istemewa" Eliminated
10 Charles "Stitch" Wong "An Jing" Safe
11 Nurul Huda "Made in India" Safe

Top 10 – A Tribute to Michael Jackson

Order Contestant Song Result
1 Faizal Isa "Billie Jean" Safe
2 Sezairi Sezali "Thriller" Safe
3 Nurul Huda "Ben" Eliminated
4 Sylvia Ratonel "The Way You Make Me Feel" Safe
5 Charles "Stitch" Wong "Remember the Time" Bottom 3
6 Tabitha Nauser "Who's Lovin' You" Safe
7 Mae Sta Maria "I Want You Back" Safe
8 Duane Ho "The Girl Is Mine" Safe
9 Malaque Mahdaly "Rock with You" Bottom 3
10 Fathin Amira "You Are Not Alone" Safe

Top 9 – For Someone Special

Order Contestant Song Result
1 Charles "Stitch" Wong "Fall for You" Safe
2 Sylvia Ratonel "When You Believe" Safe
3 Faizal Isa "I'm Yours" Safe
4 Malaque Mahdaly "Because You Loved Me" Safe
5 Mae Sta Maria "Hero" Safe
6 Duane Ho "A Song for You" Safe
7 Fathin Amira "Back at One" Eliminated
8 Tabitha Nauser "Halo" Safe
9 Sezairi Sezali "Ordinary People" Safe

On the results show, no "bottom three" was announced as the voting results were announced in "random order". Gurmit Singh announced the safe contestants one by one. After Sylvia, Faizal, Malaque, Duane, Tabitha and Sezairi were announced as safe, Charles, Mae and Amira were the last three remaining. Gurmit Singh then eliminated Amira immediately. Charles and Mae were not necessarily among the bottom three vote-getters that week.

Top 8 – Mambo Mania

Order Contestant Song Result
1 Sezairi Sezali "Play That Funky Music" Safe
2 Duane Ho "Tainted Love" Safe
3 Tabitha Nauser "Ain't Nobody" Bottom 3
4 Charles "Stitch" Wong "Take On Me" Safe
5 Sylvia Ratonel "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" Bottom 2
6 Mae Sta Maria "Kiss" Safe
7 Faizal Isa "That Thing You Do" Safe
8 Malaque Mahdaly "Last Dance" Eliminated

Top 7 – My Folks Love This

Order Contestant Song Result
1 Faizal Isa "The Reason" Safe
2 Sylvia Ratonel "Warwick Avenue" Bottom 2
3 Sezairi Sezali "Georgia on My Mind" Safe
4 Tabitha Nauser "Summertime" Safe
5 Charles "Stitch" Wong "Fly Away" Bottom 3
6 Mae Sta Maria "Over the Rainbow" Eliminated
7 Duane Ho "Imagine" Safe

Top 6 – Killing Me Softly (with This Song)

Order Contestant Song Chosen By Result
1 Tabitha Nauser "Ain't No Other Man" Charles "Stitch" Wong Safe
2 Sezairi Sezali "What Goes Around... Comes Around" Faizal Isa Safe
3 Charles "Stitch" Wong "Insomnia" Sezairi Sezali Bottom 2
4 Sylvia Ratonel "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" Tabitha Nauser Safe
5 Duane Ho "Paparazzi" Sylvia Ratonel Eliminated
6 Faizal Isa "Always Be My Baby" Duane Ho Safe

Top 5 – You Asked for It

Order Contestant Song Result
1 Faizal Isa "Beautiful Soul" Eliminated
2 Tabitha Nauser "Roots Bloody Roots" Bottom 3
3 Sylvia Ratonel "Cry" Safe
4 Charles "Stitch" Wong "Wherever You Will Go" Bottom 3
5 Sezairi Sezali "Virtual Insanity" Safe

On the results show, the "bottom two" was not announced. Gurmit Singh first revealed that Charles and Tabitha were in the "bottom three". Gurmit then eliminated Faizal immediately and the other contestant which was in the "bottom two" together with Faizal was not revealed.

Top 4 (first week) – A Song for a Cause

Order Contestant Song Result
1 Sezairi Sezali "Where Is the Love?" Safe
2 Tabitha Nauser "No Matter" Bottom 2
3 Charles "Stitch" Wong "One" Bottom 2
4 Sylvia Ratonel "I'll Be Here" Safe
5 Sezairi Sezali "You" Safe
6 Tabitha Nauser "Praying for Time" Bottom 2
7 Charles "Stitch" Wong "Before You Hit the Ground" Bottom 2
8 Sylvia Ratonel "Make You Feel My Love" Safe

On the results show, Gurmit Singh first revealed that Tabitha and Charles were in the "bottom two". However, the two contestants were then declared safe together with Sylvia and Sezairi and no one was eliminated. Gurmit Singh stated that it was a surprise non-elimination round and votes for that week would be carried over to the following week. The contestant with the lowest combined votes over the two weeks would be eliminated the following week.

Top 4 (second week) – Step Up & Dance!

Order Contestant Song Result
1 Tabitha Nauser "Crazy in Love" Safe
2 Sezairi Sezali "Mad" Bottom 2
3 Sylvia Ratonel "I Don't Need a Man" Safe
4 Charles "Stitch" Wong "With You" Eliminated
5 Tabitha Nauser "Mama Do (Uh Oh, Uh Oh)" Safe
6 Sezairi Sezali "Caught Up" Bottom 2
7 Sylvia Ratonel "American Boy" Safe
8 Charles "Stitch" Wong "LoveStoned" Eliminated

Top 3 – Judges' Choice

Order Contestant Song Chosen By Result
1 Tabitha Nauser "Spotlight" Dick Lee Eliminated
2 Sylvia Ratonel "Angel" Ken Lim Safe
3 Sezairi Sezali "Your Body Is a Wonderland" Florence Lian Safe
4 Tabitha Nauser "Superwoman" Dick Lee Eliminated
5 Sylvia Ratonel "Held" Ken Lim Safe
6 Sezairi Sezali "Haven't Met You Yet" Florence Lian Safe

Top 2 – Favourite Performance / Contestant's Choice / Winner's Single

Order Contestant Song Result
1 Sylvia Ratonel "Mercy" Runner-up
2 Sezairi Sezali "Virtual Insanity" Winner
3 Sylvia Ratonel "Yellow" Runner-up
4 Sezairi Sezali "Crazy" Winner
5 Sylvia Ratonel "Touched by an Angel" Runner-up
6 Sezairi Sezali "Touched by an Angel" Winner

Elimination chart

Did Not Perform Female Male Top 24 Judges' Choice Public Vote Winner
Safe Safe First Safe Last Eliminated
Stage: Piano Shows Spectacular Shows
Week: 9/12 9/9 9/23 9/30 10/7 10/14 10/21 10/28 11/4 11/11 11/18 11/25 12/2 12/8 12/27
Place Contestant Result
1 Sezairi Sezali Top 13 Bottom 2 Bottom 2 Winner
2 Sylvia Ratonel Top 13 Bottom 4 Bottom 2 Bottom 2 Runner-up
3 Tabitha Nauser Top 13 Bottom 3 Bottom 4 Bottom 3 Bottom 3 Bottom 2 Elim
4 Charles "Stitch" Wong Top 13 Bottom 3 Bottom 3 Bottom 2 Bottom 3 Bottom 2 Elim
5 Faizal Isa Top 13 Elim
6 Duane Ho Top 13 Elim
7 Mae Sta Maria Top 13 Elim
8 Malaque Mahdaly Top 13 Bottom 2 Bottom 2 Bottom 3 Elim
9 Fathin Amira Top 13 Bottom 3 Elim
10 Nurul Huda Elim1 Elim
11 Farhan Shah Top 13 Elim
12 Justin Jap Top 13 Elim
13 Syltra Lee Top 13 Elim
14 MJ Kuok Top 132
15-24 Jonathan Cheok Elim
Benjamin Chow
Gabrielle Ferdinands
Samantha Lee
Charlene Torres-Tan
Ryan Lee Elim
Frances Maria
Jannah Shaharuddin
Theodore Teow
Douglas Wong

1Nurul Huda was originally eliminated during the Piano Show 1. However, she was called back after MJ Kuok withdrew from Singapore Idol and she replaced MJ Kuok on the final 13.

2MJ Kuok was originally joined in the top 13. A few days later, he withdrew from Singapore Idol, citing "personal reasons".

Post-Idol

Of the thirteen semi-finalists, only the Top 3 contestants have continued to remain in the public eye. Sezairi Sezali and Sylvia Ratonel have released their debut studio albums, Take Two and Sylvia Ratonel respectively. Singles were released from the album and have made it into the Top 10 on the 987FM Top 20 Chart, with the best-performing single being Sylvia Ratonel's "It's Raining" (it peaked at #3). While Tabitha Nauser has not released an album, she collaborated with international artists Sean Kingston, Steve Appleton, Jessica Mauboy and Jody Williams on the official theme song to the 2010 Youth Olympics, "Everyone". Nauser was given the opening lines of the first verse, and her vocals can be heard harmonizing with the other artists in the choruses and bridge. The song was released as a CD single, which included an acoustic version of "Everyone" performed by Nauser alone. Successful airplay of the song made "Everyone" reach #1 on the 987FM Top 20 Chart, making Tabitha Nauser the first Singaporean vocalist, at least in recent years, to achieve that feat. "Everyone" remained on the top spot for 2 weeks.

Criticism

Singapore Idol has been criticized for a lack of talented contestants, the most prominent of which being Joakim Gomez in Season 2, who was dubbed the Sanjaya Malakar of Singapore for remaining in the live shows over an extended period of time even after consistent criticism from the judges. The third season of Singapore Idol was particularly noted for an insupportable budget. Live performances relied solely on solo performances by the contestants, without any performance choreography, backup dancers, pyrotechnics or other spectacular theatrical effects.

The show has also produced a low number of recording artistes, as well as artistes that have little influence over Singaporean pop culture, largely due to the predominance of American pop music and K-Pop.

References

  1. "Nurul replaces MJ in Top 13". MediaCorp TV Singapore Pte Ltd. Retrieved September 15, 2009.

External links

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