"Touched by an Angel", the wonderful song penned by Singapore Idol's ruthless judge Ken Lim ought to be the decisive piece which determined the winner of the Singapore Idol 2009.
Although I am one of those who are dying to see the winner of Singapore Idol 2009 to be a female & not a Malay, I must admit Sezairi Sezali performed the song, "Touched by an Angel" way better than Sylvia Ratonel.
Wait a minute, explain why you want the winner to be a female & not a Malay, I can hear that question alright.
See, the winners of Singapore Idol so far have been a Malay male: Taufik Batisah (2004) and Hady Mirza (2006).
And I can imagine the future Singapore Idol competition may be less appealing if such a strong pattern has been established. And guess, the Singapore Idol 2010 winner is ... (insert the name of another Malay male).
I tell you, what, let's rename "Singapore Idol" to "Singapura Idola", shall we?
However, on the other hand, I too had a feeling that the title of Singapore Idol ought to go to the male finalist, Sezairi Sezali.
The flaw lies in the voting system. No matter how wonderful Sylvia Ratonel performs the song (or how short her skirt is like in her rendition of the song, "Mercy". Hur hur), there are more 'logical' male audiences who would rather support her 'morally' than to bother wasting their time & money to sms their votes for her.
For Sezairi Sezali, he can rely on the generous support of his group of fans namely female audience. Wanna bet?
Oh, and don't forget about Tabitha Nauser who was one of the top three of Singapore Idol 2009 before she's eliminated.
Very likely her fans would turn their votes to Sezairi Sezali and not to Sylvia Ratonel. They are thinking like this: If their chosen female contestant (Tabitha) is not the winner, why should there be a female winner for this year Singapore Idol?!
Whatever. I mean, congratulations to Sezairi Sezali!
And as a proof that I really like his performance of the song, "Touched by an Angel", please check out this YouTube clip here.
And the Facebook of Sezairi Sezali & read how the fans support him.
Sezairi Sezali beat hot favourite Sylvia Ratonel to be crowned the winner of Singapore Idol at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on Sunday.
"I don't know what to think right now. Thank you guys so much, you made my dreams come true," said a shocked Sezairi.
The 22-year-old, who is waiting to enlist for National Service, dashed audiences' hopes of crowning a female Singapore idol. Taufik Batisah won the singing competition in 2004 and Hady Mirza took the title in 2006.
Along with the title and bragging rights, Sezairi wins a recording contract with Universal Music.
Though Sezairi's laid-back performances did not make much of an impression with the judges throughout the third season of the singing competition, he was determined not to go down without a fight.
And Sezairi, who performed Jamiroquai's "Virtual Insanity", "Crazy" by Aerosmith and "Touched By An Angel", a song penned by Idol judge Ken Lim for this year's winner, sure sang his way into the hearts of voters on Sunday.
From Channel NewsAsia, "Sezairi Sezali wins third season of Singapore Idol".
SEZAIRI Sezali made it three wins in a row for aspiring male Malay singers when he was crowned 2009's Singapore Idol on Sunday night.
The laidback 22-year-old beat hot favourite Filipino-Singaporean Sylvia Ratonel to become champion of the reality TV singing contest in front of an estimated 8,000-strong crowd at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
Sezairi, who is waiting to enlist into National Service, dashed public hopes of crowning a female Singapore idol. His rival, a hotel secretary, was expected to win after defying expectations to become the first woman to make it to the competition's finale.
He joins Taufik Batisah, who won the inaugural competition in 2004, and Hady Mirza, the 2006 winner.
"I don't know that to think right now. Thank you guys so much, you made my dreams come true," a visibly shell-shocked Sezairi told Channel NewsAsia.
Along with the title and bragging rights, he wins a recording contract with Universal Music.
From MSN Entertainment, "HAVE YOUR SAY: Sezairi Sezali wins Singapore Idol".
22-year-old Sezairi Sezali has won the third edition of Singapore Idol. But his win garnered some mixed reactions.
"I'm very happy and proud, and this drink is for you, Sezairi. All the hard work and effort he went through - thank God," said Rubiah Chayan and Sezali Suliman, parents of Sezairi.
The judges said it has been a fair competition.
"Sezairi did a better performance tonight. And to be fair to him, he showed a lot more. He was a lot more convincing than Sylvia," said Ken Lim, Singapore Idol 2009 Judge.
But Sylvia's supporters were in shock, and within 24 hours, disgruntled fans had voiced their displeasure on the online platform.
Mr Lim said: "Every competition has got its plus points - its advantages and disadvantages. What is important here is that we have to support who the public has chosen as their idol".
The winner is looking ahead and gearing up for his music career. Sezairi has signed with Universal Music Singapore, and he said his album will be out by April or May 2010.
"My musical direction will probably be very acid jazz, very soul. It is a mix of Jamiroquai, John Mayer. Expect to hear a lot of live instruments, expect to hear a lot of guitar as well," Sezairi said.
On asking whether this is enough to set him apart from the past two Singapore Idols - Taufik Batisah and Hady Mirza - Sezairi said all three idols have different singing styles and personalities which show in their music.
Sezairi said: "The three of us have distinctively very different styles, and we are completely very different people and we have really very different personalities as well.
"So if you see beyond that, and if you really take a listen and open your heart, your mind, and your ears, you will see the difference."
From Channel NewsAsia, "Sezairi Sezali's Singapore Idol win garners a mixed reaction".
