Tuesday, October 05, 2004
Where Got Future???

Truth is,I haven't watched a single moment of Singapore Idol after the initial auditions at Suntec City.I have totally no interest in it and I doubt I will have any for the rest of the "season" that remains.It does not mean that I think the contestants are mediocre,although they migth well be,I have no idea.I am just not interested period.The title of this blog of course refers to the future of local Idol contestants and winners when the curtains fall after the finale.Seriously,will anybody remember them a year from now.I have serious doubts.Just like will anybody remember the finalists of AI3 a year from now?I doubt that too.

Let me divert for a moment about the boring and non-consequential subject of Singapore Idol.The "results" for the 1st US Presidential debate are "out" and apparently John Kerry emerged from the debate looking a much better prospect than George Bush,who was said to be "twitching,grimacing and pop-eyed".Whatever that means.Personally,I would prefer Kerry to win than Bush,not because the guy is necessarily better than the incumbent but because of Bush's stout refusal to admit to his mistakes such as the Iraq WMD debacle and his unilateralist view.Three years of fighting and the world has not become any safer than it was then.Kerry might have a better idea how to deal with terrorism than Bush's hardline approach.

Anyway,back to S'pore Idol.I had not figured to write about SI until I saw a TV advert on it last night about an eliminated Idol saying that she felt hard done by and the clincher of a comment by Dick Lee,one of the "esteemed" judges.I quote:"This is a serious matter.Please vote to ensure only the best candidate gets in."Serious matter?I have a comment for you,Dick Lee:Don't be a dick,Mr Lee.When did SI become a serious affair?And for what ends and purposes?Who even cares about the whole thing anyway besides the nine contestants and their families?We have genocide in Sudan,a close US Presidential campaign that might shape future world events,bird flu in the region and NSmen getting dunked in water(Is that NEWater they use?Is it processed?)and you say SI is an important matter?I hope he was kidding,if not,he needs to get dunked in water too.And I implore the NS trainers to hold his head in the water permanently.

Maybe Dick Lee does have a poitn and the whole affair is serious in some cosmic way that I can't fanthom,I still have one thing to say.The whole event itself,whatever the outcome,whoever the winner,might not actually create any sort of a dent in the local entertainemnt scene and the winner,I suspect,will fade into oblivion by the same time next year.Why?Because the contest is an English language contest,my friends.Everybody knows in Singapore,the real money is in Chinese pop music,not English pop.I have only soooo many examples to show to you guys.

How many of you actually EVER bought an English album by a local artiste(discounting whatever CDs your church may release ok!That's not pop.)?Hands up!Ohhh,I don't see any hands,do I?When a local band releases a album,they usually have to struggle just to get stores to stock their LPs,let alone think about selling them.Of course,there's actually a core group of discerning listeners who give local artistes a chance and buy their albums or demos consistently to support them.I have to confess I am not one of these people.No defense offered as to why I don't buy either.I just don't.

There also used to be a label that supports local music called Pony Canyon.It's gone bust now.And as for prominent bands,how many can one seriously name?Past names include Humpback Oak,The Oddfellows,The Padres...???As for current bands,I can only name the Observatory and Force Vomit.Very pitiful yeah?But how many of you actually know any of these bands in the first place?Remember Art Fazil?Hahah,I am sure you don't.

After writing some of these,my point up till now is that locals simply do not care about local English artistes.No sir.We don't even know they exist,let alone name them.Why such apathy?I have no idea.I certainly don't hink people inherently think local talent is crap.I hope not.So where do you think a winner of a local Englsih language singing contest?Yes.Precisely nowhere.I am sure the contestants have grandiose dreams of making it big not just here but overseas as well,cracking the US,European and Aussie markets,becoming a world star and so on but I have a sobering example to show you.Coco Lee,with all the millions of dollars of backing from Sony,couldn't crack the US market nor just about anywhere else.Now she has to crawl back to Asia with her tail between her legs and wear boob-revaling outfits to make herself popular to Asians again.Why couldn't she just stick to singing Ang-Moh accented Chinese songs?For some mysterious reason,Asians loved her anyway.Now she has to cheapen herself FURTHER to get bcak into our good books.Now having raised this example,do the local contestants still think they can make it?Seriously?

Now let's look at the other side of the equation.Name me the most famous Singapore pop exports.Stefanie Sun,Tanya Chua,A-Do,Kit Chan,Stella Wong...erm,Fann Wong?!Ok,the last was a bad example but what do these fellows have in common?Yes,they all have an "a" in their names one way or another.No lah,bohdoh,they all made it big regionally singing Chinese songs.They are all Chinese artistes.Some of them are damn rich too.That's you,Ms Sun and Mr Do,don't look around.Look,even Tanya Chua had to switch over from English to Chinese to make herself big and earn a decent living.It's a wise choice because she couldn't sell much of her English debut but look where she is now.Getting nominated for awards and all.If she had persisted and didn't switch,I guess we'd have seen a female busker near Orchard MRT,won't we?

And how much support does these artistes drum up from locals?HUGE!Sun is called a national treasure and gets to sing National Day propaganda songs,have you ever heard Chris Ho being asked to do such a thing?They do sell-out concerts locally and regionally in front of 10,000 people.English singers sing in pubs in front of 10 people(out of 100)who actually pay attention.They go multi-platinum here in Singapore and attend success celebrations.English singers will be lucky to go copper,if there's such a sales standard.They are idolised by millions,gets mobbed for pictures and autographs and everything they do are headlines.English singers get idolised by their friends,only get mobbed in a shopping queue,only autograph whne they use their credit cards and only make the headlines if they particpated in a mass brawl with foreign workers aginst policemen.Sad,ain't it?Very.

Why the differential treatment?How I know?For myself,I will readily confess I would pay to buy a Stefanie Sun album anytime but if you ask me to buy an Art Fazil album,I'd sooner give it away to that shameless 25-year-old beggar at the Orchard underpass.Well,in my defense,I don't like Art Fazil and I like listening to Chinese pop songs.But why the apathy towards local English singers in gerneral?Don't know,don't care.

At the end of the day,let's be honest here.The winner of SI will probably have to cross over to singing Chinese songs to eke out a living sooner or later.Which means that the winner IS likely to be a Chinese.Call me controversial but this is simple reasoning.The record company cannot see its investment go to waste,can it?It's all about money and turning a profit.Otherwise sticking to just English songs,where got future?