Singapore Idol

Singapore Idol is a television show that premiered on MediaCorp TV on August 9 2004. It is a contest to find the best young singer in Singapore. Like others in the Idol series, it is modelled after Pop Idol . The judges are Dick Lee , Douglas Oliverio , Florence Lian and Ken Lim. The show is hosted by Gurmit Singh.

Singapore Idol has 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; Patrick Khoo, who literally whispered Wham! s Careless Whisper ; and Steven Lim, who stripped down to a pair of yellow swimming trunks.

As with other shows in the Idol series, the viewers votes decide who goes on to the next round. This sometimes produces Controversy results. In the third preliminary round, Jerry Ong, whose singing was described by judge Florence Lian as being constipated, was voted through to the finals, beating favourites Beverly Lim Morata and Nur Hasanah (Nana).

In an even 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 a mere 200 votes. Her premature exit was variously attributed to her guarded persona, complacency of her supporters and her nationality (she was originally from Canada).

In the final showdown held at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on December 1, 2004, Muhammad Taufik bin Batisah beat Sylvester Sim with a large margin (62%) of the votes to become the first Singapore Idol. Both received recording deals from Sony BMG Music Entertainment. Taufik s album, Blessings, was released on 17 January 2005.

Hot finalist Maia Lee recently became the first female finalist to have a solo album under her belt. Her English album titled Emotionally Advised , was released on 20th Aug 2005.

There were also rumours spreading that Maia Lee and Sylvester Sim, the runner-up were a couple, as the two were seen registering their marriage. However, Maia Lee denies this, saying that she has broken up and is now with one of the producers that helped in her Emotionally Advised album.

Singapore Idol is produced by MediaCorp Studios (Entertainment Productions) & FremantleMedia Operations BV

=External link=

*[http://www.singaporeidol.com/ Singapore Idol official website] *[http://www.channel5.com.sg/ MediaCorp TV 5]