F1 Huixian - She gives me the feeling that she's trying very hard to imitate Xu Ru Yun's xu1 yin1 airy voice, up to the extent it sounded funny at certain parts. Control of voice wasn't so well as it was shaky. Overall seemed rather tight and unnatural.
F2 Agnes - Was amused at how she likes to shake whenever her voting number is announced. Anyway so far in CSS she sang a song which I've never heard before haha. Sounded ok to me but the judges dun seem to fancy fast songs anymore.
F3 Teri - Looks like most contestants have the problem of eating some words in the first phrase of the song, before the voice starts to stabilise. Have to re-commend her clarity despite her language background. I'm starting to appreciate her voice haha. But then she's still quite stiff.
F4 Joanna - Wow, was shocked that she actually picked such a difficult song. It requires strong vocals, tons of breath and good sense of tempo. For those who dunno the song is Bu Tong haha. Was really impressed that she had the bao fa li, the breath to hold loud high notes at the end of the chorus phrases. Applause to her skill! Probably becos she's an athlete haha.
M1 Guohua - Shook my head in dismay the moment he started singing. His voice seems suitable for animation dubbing rather than singing. Would prefer him to sing comical songs like Nan Yong than light sentimental songs. The way he sang was just so wrong. He seemed to be speaking the lyrics, tuning was terribly off, went flat at the final chorus, voice was piercing and shaky. Gosh! It's no wonder he scored the lowest (16.5) so far in the 4 rounds of CCS 2.
M2 Zijie - Key of song lowered, till the verse was so low that he went sharp haha. As there are so many falsettos in this song, it exposed his weakness of poor transition between false and true voice. The last word 'melody' sounded impressive though he seemed to force it out of his throat lol.
M3 Shawn - Sooo cute! Sitting down and swinging his legs haha. Probably becos his voice has yet to be broken he couldn't sing the low verse well. And his greatest flaw is falsetto lol. Other than that his performance was ok, and those mistakes dun seem to deter the judges from giving him high marks. =p
M4 Marcus - Not bad. He can sing really well. Like the judges said he had the most musicality. His voice is strong too, but slightly muffled as if something is blocking the air from his throat. I like his falsetto, sounded the most un-forceful and smooth. Let's forget the hiccup in his Wo Ke Yi, ya? I would have given him the highest score tonight.
As the contestants' music tutor, Jimmy Ye would probably tend to give higher marks as a form of encouragement and reward for their improvement.
LATEST: Breaking news! Xiao di di Shawn is kicked out! Oh no, how come? Sobz...
Monday, June 25, 2007
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Haiz
There has been news that the technicians would have to stay in from August onwards after our parent unit dissolves.
After living a year of staying out, I'm finally going to experience the true NS life of staying in camp, like the majority of my peers. Guess I can't avoid the easy way out of NS after all.
Will miss my com, my bed, my bolster, toilet...
Was feeling very depressed since the news broke out yesterday. Probably need some time to face the fact and get used to being out of the comfort zone.
After living a year of staying out, I'm finally going to experience the true NS life of staying in camp, like the majority of my peers. Guess I can't avoid the easy way out of NS after all.
Will miss my com, my bed, my bolster, toilet...
Was feeling very depressed since the news broke out yesterday. Probably need some time to face the fact and get used to being out of the comfort zone.
Monday, June 18, 2007
Campus Superstar III
Never knew the first judge was so generous: gave an additional mark during the 1st round as an encouragement. Instead of the 'highest lower lowest' scores order, it has become 'low high low'. Now it seems Jimmy Ye is the most lenient judge haha.
F1 Jiajun - When the hosts introduced her song, I thought it was Cyndi's Honey haha. Honey Honey is still a cute song lah haha. F1 sticked to the safe side by choosing another light hearted song, but looks like this plan failed badly. There is no breakthrough from the first round, and this song does not provide anything to showcase her singing skills. Should have picked a more challenging song.
F2 Elaine - Her voice is really good! Clean and clear. Can't find anything to pick on haha. This songs shows another side of her singing, proving her versatility. =)
F3 Keely - I don't really fancy her hoarse (and occasionally nasal) voice. She seemed to be a bit breathless at the bridge. Like the judge said, Gigi's song does not really suit her. Somehow I would prefer her to sing Elva songs instead...
F4 Zhengning - Another Stefanie's song. Haiz. The verse sounds weird, dunno why she sang it that way. Like Li Fei Hui, I was actually looking forward to how she was going to sing the chorus. But I was disappointed. Her voice is not broad enough and lack the bao fa li required in Ni Guang. A little mismatch of song.
M1 Junjie - Cao Ge with sore throat, flu, cough, fever......can sing better than him lol! The key of the song has been lowered to the point that it does not sound nice at all. Plus his low rough muffled voice, the song is beyond recognition. Last time he spoilt Zhuan Shu Tian Shi, now he spoilt Bei Pan! Those who did not manage to catch the show, can probably go Youtube and see for yourself...
M2 Javin - I think it would be better for contestants with naturally low voice to pick songs with low range rather than lower the key of a high ranged song. His Fei Ni Mo Shu this time is better than his previous Love Story, though his falsetto needs improvement. I like his final chorus.
M3 Benjamin - From JJ to Jay. He definitely does not sound like Jay cos his pronunciation is significantly clearer than Jay haha. The song made him breathless, like most Jay songs usually do with their stunning long chorus/bridge. And his falsetto at the end was a bit... >_> <_<
M4 Fukuan - Liang Zhi Lian Ren again...haha. Dunno sang this song how many times liao. Anyway his rendition was not bad, a great improvement from his previous Yong Qi. He seemed to be able to control his voice quite well, esp the wei yin which was done rather nicely, got a bit of vibrato somemore lol. Was expecting the final chorus, but sadly he did not sing the extremely high part haha.
I predict the two JJs to be out.
F1 Jiajun - When the hosts introduced her song, I thought it was Cyndi's Honey haha. Honey Honey is still a cute song lah haha. F1 sticked to the safe side by choosing another light hearted song, but looks like this plan failed badly. There is no breakthrough from the first round, and this song does not provide anything to showcase her singing skills. Should have picked a more challenging song.
F2 Elaine - Her voice is really good! Clean and clear. Can't find anything to pick on haha. This songs shows another side of her singing, proving her versatility. =)
F3 Keely - I don't really fancy her hoarse (and occasionally nasal) voice. She seemed to be a bit breathless at the bridge. Like the judge said, Gigi's song does not really suit her. Somehow I would prefer her to sing Elva songs instead...
F4 Zhengning - Another Stefanie's song. Haiz. The verse sounds weird, dunno why she sang it that way. Like Li Fei Hui, I was actually looking forward to how she was going to sing the chorus. But I was disappointed. Her voice is not broad enough and lack the bao fa li required in Ni Guang. A little mismatch of song.
M1 Junjie - Cao Ge with sore throat, flu, cough, fever......can sing better than him lol! The key of the song has been lowered to the point that it does not sound nice at all. Plus his low rough muffled voice, the song is beyond recognition. Last time he spoilt Zhuan Shu Tian Shi, now he spoilt Bei Pan! Those who did not manage to catch the show, can probably go Youtube and see for yourself...
M2 Javin - I think it would be better for contestants with naturally low voice to pick songs with low range rather than lower the key of a high ranged song. His Fei Ni Mo Shu this time is better than his previous Love Story, though his falsetto needs improvement. I like his final chorus.
M3 Benjamin - From JJ to Jay. He definitely does not sound like Jay cos his pronunciation is significantly clearer than Jay haha. The song made him breathless, like most Jay songs usually do with their stunning long chorus/bridge. And his falsetto at the end was a bit... >_> <_<
M4 Fukuan - Liang Zhi Lian Ren again...haha. Dunno sang this song how many times liao. Anyway his rendition was not bad, a great improvement from his previous Yong Qi. He seemed to be able to control his voice quite well, esp the wei yin which was done rather nicely, got a bit of vibrato somemore lol. Was expecting the final chorus, but sadly he did not sing the extremely high part haha.
I predict the two JJs to be out.
NDP @ Marina Pics!
It was raining last rehearsal and the dark clouds got really low to obscure the roof of the 3 tallest buildings in Singapore. The poor marching contingents had to stand in the rain whereas the marshallers went to seek shelter below the gallery. =p
Can you make out the letters and numbers formed in the middle?
A close-up of the contingent I'm marshalling. RSAF GOH
Another close-up during march past.
The cannons at the opposite shore can be seen from the spectator seats, unlike the previous NDPs where only their blasts could be heard.
This chopper flew really close to the water surface, resulting in a spectacular 'fountain' surrounding it. There were supposed to be divers plunging into the water from its ramp behind.
That's it for this rehearsal. Many more coming up! Many thanks to my POC for taking these pictures!
Monday, June 11, 2007
Campus Superstar II
Yup, here comes my comments again for the next 10 contestants in the 2nd preliminary round.
F1 Amy - Too stiff. Sang the song rather blandly too, though the enunciation and tuning is fine. Used to listen to this song very often and I liked it, but can't get the same feeling when Amy sang.
F2 Huixian - Well, she actually sang my top song for last year! Therefore I had very high expectation, and indeed she did not disappoint me. However she had the habit of zhuan yin too much, and her first note of the chorus phrase sounded weird, like a grace note was present. Nvm. Anyway her chubby image doesn't seem to fit with the atmosphere of the song lol.
F3 Teri - Stiff...like F1. But she sang pretty well for someone who doesn't really know how to speak mandarin. Liked her gentle airy tone. =)
F4 Jiajun - Wah, was impressed the moment she started to sing. Unlike the previous stiff contestants, she appeared to be smiling all the time, fitting the mood of the song. It was an enjoyable performance. =D
F5 Elaine - Wahhh, she's better than F4! Seems like singing those light cheery songs is a good choice haha. Smiles on her face all the time too. =) She scored the highest among the 5 girls tonight (23.5), as well as the highest among all the 10 female contestants, and the 2nd highest among the 20 contestants after Shawn. Congrats!
M1 Zijie - His tuning is...bad. Already went off tune the moment he voiced the first line, and went out of tune again before entering the chorus. Lots of actions but doesn't seem to be impressive.
M2 Benjamin - Is it some kind of 模仿歌唱赛? He really sounded like the imitation of JJ Lin. Yuan Lai is a difficult song to sing too, with its ending notes at the verse and the rhythmic chorus which require lots of breath control. He sang at the original key too! Remarkable. But the judges warned him not to choose JJ songs anymore lol. We all know the rules for such Superstar competitions right？ NEVER EVER CHOOSE JJ OR STEFANIE SONGS! SING THEM AT YOUR OWN RISK!
M3 Wilson - Yeah the Tank and Wilber crossbreed. Remember how Renfred killed himself by singing rap songs? Seems like history repeated. Articulation was poor, becos he was thirsty lol. (still can whine in front of the judges haha) Dance was good although singing was rather breathless.
M4 Guohao - Am I watching a musical? His performance was very entertaining and I actually enjoyed watching it! Really acted like a Nan Yong. Nice 'falling off the stage' and waving the white cloth lol. Comical as it might be, singing such songs for competition isn't a great idea. 吃力不讨好
M5 Javin - Lowering the key of song indeed sounds weird, like what judge Jimmy Ye had mentioned. As a result the verse sounded terribly low. Better to sing a song in its original key.
Li Fei Hui's favourite number is 6.0 haha... I think the first judge is being too lenient.
Who will be out tonight? I predict Amy and Benjamin.
Had enough of the faulty keypad of my hp and went to change for a new one today. Yay!
F1 Amy - Too stiff. Sang the song rather blandly too, though the enunciation and tuning is fine. Used to listen to this song very often and I liked it, but can't get the same feeling when Amy sang.
F2 Huixian - Well, she actually sang my top song for last year! Therefore I had very high expectation, and indeed she did not disappoint me. However she had the habit of zhuan yin too much, and her first note of the chorus phrase sounded weird, like a grace note was present. Nvm. Anyway her chubby image doesn't seem to fit with the atmosphere of the song lol.
F3 Teri - Stiff...like F1. But she sang pretty well for someone who doesn't really know how to speak mandarin. Liked her gentle airy tone. =)
F4 Jiajun - Wah, was impressed the moment she started to sing. Unlike the previous stiff contestants, she appeared to be smiling all the time, fitting the mood of the song. It was an enjoyable performance. =D
F5 Elaine - Wahhh, she's better than F4! Seems like singing those light cheery songs is a good choice haha. Smiles on her face all the time too. =) She scored the highest among the 5 girls tonight (23.5), as well as the highest among all the 10 female contestants, and the 2nd highest among the 20 contestants after Shawn. Congrats!
M1 Zijie - His tuning is...bad. Already went off tune the moment he voiced the first line, and went out of tune again before entering the chorus. Lots of actions but doesn't seem to be impressive.
M2 Benjamin - Is it some kind of 模仿歌唱赛? He really sounded like the imitation of JJ Lin. Yuan Lai is a difficult song to sing too, with its ending notes at the verse and the rhythmic chorus which require lots of breath control. He sang at the original key too! Remarkable. But the judges warned him not to choose JJ songs anymore lol. We all know the rules for such Superstar competitions right？ NEVER EVER CHOOSE JJ OR STEFANIE SONGS! SING THEM AT YOUR OWN RISK!
M3 Wilson - Yeah the Tank and Wilber crossbreed. Remember how Renfred killed himself by singing rap songs? Seems like history repeated. Articulation was poor, becos he was thirsty lol. (still can whine in front of the judges haha) Dance was good although singing was rather breathless.
M4 Guohao - Am I watching a musical? His performance was very entertaining and I actually enjoyed watching it! Really acted like a Nan Yong. Nice 'falling off the stage' and waving the white cloth lol. Comical as it might be, singing such songs for competition isn't a great idea. 吃力不讨好
M5 Javin - Lowering the key of song indeed sounds weird, like what judge Jimmy Ye had mentioned. As a result the verse sounded terribly low. Better to sing a song in its original key.
Li Fei Hui's favourite number is 6.0 haha... I think the first judge is being too lenient.
Who will be out tonight? I predict Amy and Benjamin.
Had enough of the faulty keypad of my hp and went to change for a new one today. Yay!
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Marina Bay 2007
I thought May was just over, and now already a third of June has passed. Fast as time might pass, but my ORD date still seems far far away.
NDP rehearsals are getting more interesting. From 3 GOH contingents rehearsing at Nee Soon camp on weekday mornings, we have advanced to 20 over contingents (including all econs group, marching contingents, uniform groups, etc) rehearsing at Marina Bay on saturday afternoons, along with the huge performing party. There are new additions to every rehearsal as the committee piece the entire programme bit by bit like a jigsaw puzzle, and eventually we will watch the rehearsal as how it will be on National Day.
Yesterday's rehearsal saw the first airborne and sea performance. Though it was just an initial try-out, it looked really spectacular from a live view. Attracted quite a bit of audience from the Esplanade and Merlion too. That made me feel getting involved in NDP logistics was quite a worth experience, though I still miss my Saturdays. =p Very different from getting involved as a performer in 2000 at Padang (pre-parade some more lol). Had to stay together and couldn't move around freely, unlike being a marshaller who can even get up to the spectator seats hehe. It's a pity that I won't be able to watch the full programme live but being so up close to the first ever NDP at Marina it's already considered very lucky.
Tickets for preview is not guaranteed, but really hope to get some for my family. =) I realise I'm not fated with National Stadium lol.
Who shall be the NDP theme singer this year? Hmm...
A simple and addictive game here:
http://www.nekogames.jp/mt/2007/05/post_16.html
Have fun looking for all the stars!
NDP rehearsals are getting more interesting. From 3 GOH contingents rehearsing at Nee Soon camp on weekday mornings, we have advanced to 20 over contingents (including all econs group, marching contingents, uniform groups, etc) rehearsing at Marina Bay on saturday afternoons, along with the huge performing party. There are new additions to every rehearsal as the committee piece the entire programme bit by bit like a jigsaw puzzle, and eventually we will watch the rehearsal as how it will be on National Day.
Yesterday's rehearsal saw the first airborne and sea performance. Though it was just an initial try-out, it looked really spectacular from a live view. Attracted quite a bit of audience from the Esplanade and Merlion too. That made me feel getting involved in NDP logistics was quite a worth experience, though I still miss my Saturdays. =p Very different from getting involved as a performer in 2000 at Padang (pre-parade some more lol). Had to stay together and couldn't move around freely, unlike being a marshaller who can even get up to the spectator seats hehe. It's a pity that I won't be able to watch the full programme live but being so up close to the first ever NDP at Marina it's already considered very lucky.
Tickets for preview is not guaranteed, but really hope to get some for my family. =) I realise I'm not fated with National Stadium lol.
Who shall be the NDP theme singer this year? Hmm...
A simple and addictive game here:
http://www.nekogames.jp/mt/2007/05/post_16.html
Have fun looking for all the stars!
Monday, June 04, 2007
Campus Superstar
I created a disaster at the workshop today. Everyone would probably be talking abt it for the next few days. Fortunately I will be having my off tmr and guard duty on wed, can avoid all the complaints, whines, sneers and sarcasm towards me...
Regretted not using my brain while working. I can be really stupid at times, haiz.
Just watched CSS. Lots of comments stirring in my mind now abt the individual contestants:
F1 Agnes - Too bubbly for my liking lol. Was she high on drugs or sth, kept shaking and smiling when her voting hotline was read, haha. Fen Shou Kuai Le is indeed a very wordy song, can't really express the feelings well. So-so lah.
F2 Keely - Said to be the best looking among the girls. But somehow I dun really fancy her hoarse voice. And it sounded nasal at times, or is it the mike or my sound system...
F3 Jiaqi - Has a powerful voice. Performed the rather difficult song Ben Lai quite well, except for the low parts. Her profile seems to be low.
F4 Joanna - Can sing very well but not very good looking. Was even described as a 'satay' by a judge during auditions haha. That's the result of being so sporty lol.
F5 Zhengning - Said to be the hottest girl and have the best dancing skills. The only contestant to sing a fast song. But she seemed to focus too much on dancing that her singing was compromised. Sounded rather bland, partly becos of the nature of the song. However she still got the highest score among the girls, due to her additional talent.
M1 Marcus - Quite shocked that he chose to sing Wo Ke Yi, at the original key too! BUT that high part really killed him lol. He failed to reach the pitch in both chorus. Besides this I think he sang very well, the power is there. Though he looked very embarrassed after the song, the judge still gave him some face haha. Truly admire his courage. =)
M2 Junjie - Bland and boring. Probably becos the key of the song was lowered by alot, and his voice doesn't seem to help. Even the background he yin was louder than him.
M3 Fukuan - One of my warm-up songs in kbox lol. So-so singing, the key was lowered also. Songs usually sound more bland when they are sang too low a key.
M4 Xubin - I can see the similarity between Wu Zun and him. Good looks but bad singing haha. From the first line he uttered I feel like sleeping liao. I think the song was over-sung too, seem to always hear this song for every superstar competition... Got the lowest score among the 10, but his huge fanbase would probably salvage him.
M5 Shawn - Wah my xiao didi! *gives him a pat on his head for his superb singing* Would prefer him to sing Mu Nai Yi instead, more lively. But can't repeat songs haha. He beat all the contestants and got the top score of 24! Look at his reaction when he was given 9 marks! Hope his voice won't break that fast haha.
The leniency of the judges is evident: Lin Qi Yu always give the highest whereas Li Fei Hui gives the lowest, usually around 5, 6 marks or so.
Can't wait the see which 2 will be out tonight!
I predict Jiaqi and Fukuan.
Regretted not using my brain while working. I can be really stupid at times, haiz.
Just watched CSS. Lots of comments stirring in my mind now abt the individual contestants:
F1 Agnes - Too bubbly for my liking lol. Was she high on drugs or sth, kept shaking and smiling when her voting hotline was read, haha. Fen Shou Kuai Le is indeed a very wordy song, can't really express the feelings well. So-so lah.
F2 Keely - Said to be the best looking among the girls. But somehow I dun really fancy her hoarse voice. And it sounded nasal at times, or is it the mike or my sound system...
F3 Jiaqi - Has a powerful voice. Performed the rather difficult song Ben Lai quite well, except for the low parts. Her profile seems to be low.
F4 Joanna - Can sing very well but not very good looking. Was even described as a 'satay' by a judge during auditions haha. That's the result of being so sporty lol.
F5 Zhengning - Said to be the hottest girl and have the best dancing skills. The only contestant to sing a fast song. But she seemed to focus too much on dancing that her singing was compromised. Sounded rather bland, partly becos of the nature of the song. However she still got the highest score among the girls, due to her additional talent.
M1 Marcus - Quite shocked that he chose to sing Wo Ke Yi, at the original key too! BUT that high part really killed him lol. He failed to reach the pitch in both chorus. Besides this I think he sang very well, the power is there. Though he looked very embarrassed after the song, the judge still gave him some face haha. Truly admire his courage. =)
M2 Junjie - Bland and boring. Probably becos the key of the song was lowered by alot, and his voice doesn't seem to help. Even the background he yin was louder than him.
M3 Fukuan - One of my warm-up songs in kbox lol. So-so singing, the key was lowered also. Songs usually sound more bland when they are sang too low a key.
M4 Xubin - I can see the similarity between Wu Zun and him. Good looks but bad singing haha. From the first line he uttered I feel like sleeping liao. I think the song was over-sung too, seem to always hear this song for every superstar competition... Got the lowest score among the 10, but his huge fanbase would probably salvage him.
M5 Shawn - Wah my xiao didi! *gives him a pat on his head for his superb singing* Would prefer him to sing Mu Nai Yi instead, more lively. But can't repeat songs haha. He beat all the contestants and got the top score of 24! Look at his reaction when he was given 9 marks! Hope his voice won't break that fast haha.
The leniency of the judges is evident: Lin Qi Yu always give the highest whereas Li Fei Hui gives the lowest, usually around 5, 6 marks or so.
Can't wait the see which 2 will be out tonight!
I predict Jiaqi and Fukuan.
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