Vote for MAU at Asian Idol!

Last night was the Finals Performance Night of Asian Idol. Vote your hearts out! Here's my take on last night's performances. This is of course, subjected on my own perceptions of their performances.

We have seen such great talents. But only three Idols stood out for me and they were: Jaclyn Victor of Malaysia, Mike Mohede of Indonesia and Mau Marcelo of the Philippines.

On Phuong Vy, there's a really great potential on her. Her singing style is good and undeniably, her looks are a plus. But we are looking for an excellent performer and someone who can represent Asia internationally. And from last night, she has the capability to shine, probably because of her looks, but she lacked vocal prowess compared to other singers. Vietnam's representative gave such nice performances on River Deep - Mountain High and Lúc Mới Yêu (Just Falling in Love) but her performance just quite doesn't make it through.

On Hady Mirza, the Singapore's bet. I think he was a little bit overhyped. I was actually eying for him to give a spectacular performance. He must be one of the most talked about Idol from the list. Labeled as the heartthrob of the competition, Hady was expected to deliver his performances well. With his renditions of Beautiful Day and Berserah (Suffering), he had shown the quality of his voice and that he has what it takes to conquer Asia but I believe that he has not that much if we compare him for instance to Kurt Nielsen (World Idol). He's great but I think he doesn't quite make it.

On Abhijeet Sawant, one of the surprises in the competition. He performed really well his local song, Junoon (Obsession). His English performance, as expected was a bit unsteady. This might be due to the language barrier. But yes, he surprised me so much.

Now, my take on my Top 3:

Jaclyn Victor is perhaps the most famous of the contestants considering she has been representing her country lots of times. She was also known for her strong voice and undoubtedly steady stage presence. Last night, she sang For Once in My Life and Gemilang (Glory) for where she had gotten nice reviews at the local song.

In her English song, i noticed that she has the tendency to go over the top and that when she commits some mistakes it was readily known. I, for one, noticed some glitches on her performance. But don't get me wrong, she had given spectacular performances. Her wide vocal range has helped her to make it on the watch list. Also, her defeat in Ikon ASEAN must have had affected her and strived so much for her to covet the title.

Mike Mohede on the other hand, just blew me away with Mengejar Matahari (Chasing the Sun). His soulful voice came out. He really has what it takes to become the first Asian Idol. Though I must say, his rendition of I Believe I Can Fly was not much overwhelming. Lots of artists I have heard singing it, has done pretty far more excellent than him. But he is one of my bets to win this thing since he really made a big impact last night.

Mau Marcelo had lacked that spunk after she had won the Philippine Idol. Maybe her colds have affected her voice, but I sincerely think, that she gave her best and she has done both of her performances well enough to be the first Asian Idol. Her 'Ako Ang Nasawi, Ako ang Nagwagi' kind of disappointed me since she has already performed a better rendition of that (leveling off or better with the original singer of the piece) and last night was safe but her soulful voice came out. I agree that her performance last night was not so much of what's expected. But it was the best of the bunch. Maybe, she controlled her voice because of her colds.

Her performance of 'Reach' was definitely breath taking as the judges say, it was one of the best, if not, the best performance of the night. One thing unique about Mau is that her gestures say a lot. Her soulful voice matches her emotional appeal to the audience and that's what captures the audience's hearts. Her English performance gave me goosebumps again. Maybe not that much of hair-rising when she won Philippine Idol, but enough for me to be satisfied and believe she had the best performance last night. Adding flavor to her performance was her undeniable touchy feel of it, when she performs, she always touches a part of the audience and that kind of appeal can really invade the rest of Asia--- and possibly the whole world.

If you still have time to vote--- for Philippines key in:

VOTE PHIL (Country2) and send to 2959.

For other Asian countries:

PHIL (Country2) and send to:
India: 52525
Indonesia: 9288
Malaysia: 33776
Philippines: 2959
Singapore: 43657
Vietnam: 4365


Again, all the best to Mau Marcelo--- win or lose, you fought hard. But certainly you made us proud! Go Mau! Go Philippines!