Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Pre-Fame Lady Gaga

Now here's something interesting - A no make-up, no crazy-outfit, brunette Lady Gaga! Or back then (actually just in January 2006) she was just plain ol' Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta.


Quite a difference from the Lady Gaga during the recent VMA's huh?


Wednesday, September 23, 2009

My Road to American Idol 2009 Part 7: Day 2 - Red Carpet

Sheesh... I started this blog four months ago to document my trip to the American Idol 2009 finales and I still haven't finished posting everything yet!

Ok... Every little step counts, so here's the next update. Should only be another two more to go after this.

So it was May 20th 2009 and I had just watched the AI finale face-off between Kris Allen and Adam Lambert the night before. Adam definitely was the better of the two, but I had the sneaking suspicion that Kris was going to win it (needless to say, this proved true).

We had the morning free, so Futaba and I decided to take a trip to Pasadena, where Futaba used to stay when she was studying here.


This is where Futaba's aunt's old music shop/cafe used to be. It's now a Spanish cafe.

After a massive shopping spree (lots of stuff for the kiddies ok!), we made our way back to Downtown LA to get ready for the AI Results show!

Since heaps of people brought their cameras the previous day, I decided that I was going to smuggle my camera in too! Heck, this was a once in a lifetime experience and I was going to make sure I had a proper camera on me instead of my mobile phone!

We decided to leave early in case there was a crowd getting in, and a good thing we did too or else we would have missed the red carpet in front of the Nokia theater!

I was actually on the phone with JJ and Ean from the Hitz.FM morning crew when I stumbled across the red carpet and told them that I was just steps away from Daughtry, to which JJ screamed "I HATE YOU!!". Hahahaha!! After that I snapped this pic...

See JJ? I wasn't fibbing! =)


Next up on the red carpet was Season 7 runner up David Archuleta. He seemed really bubbly and excited to be there, just 1 year after he at the center of the AI circus.


Another runner-up - Bo Bice. Back in season 4, I thought that he was going to win over Carrie Underwood. Really liked his Southern Rock sound. Too bad the record company gave him crap material for his album The Real Thing. It was FAAAAR from the real thing at all. Tried to make him more like Nickelback. I've got nothing against Nickelback's music, but it's just not Bo Bice...


Hey Paula! Too bad she's gone from Idol. Think the contestants really appreciated having her around. She was the only judge who took the trouble to go to the post-results show press area to wish all the contestants good luck for the future and even brought them all gifts. Ellen's got big shoes to fill. Hope she doesn't blabber like Paula does though...

And here's part of the reason why Paula got the boot - Kara DioGuardi. Sure she's got recording industry cred, but man is she annoying... And the coronation song that she wrote was just AWFUL!!! Oh, but her bikini stunt during the finale was cool though. =)

Now here's a classy guy - Nicole Kidman's other half - Keith Urban. He was only 1 of 2 artists who took the trouble to make it pass the barricades to talk to the fans and sign autographs. Too bad I wasn't close enough to get one. Too bad Nicole didn't make the finales too. =p Oh, he rocked the house with Kris on Kiss A Girl though!




Season 7 winner David Cook asking his screaming fans to tone it down a tad.


Season 4 winner Carrie Underwood looking gorgeous in pink! She looks beautiful in real life! Good thing my wife said it first so that I could just nod in agreement and not get in trouble. =)


Another super friendly and down to earth super star - Jason Mraz. He was the only other celebrity to pass the barrier to meet the fans and sign autographs. Again - bummer that I didn't get one. I kinda owe my trip to the AI finale to him since I sang I'm Yours to win the ticket during the Star World competition! =)

Unfortunately, the stars of the evening Kris Allen and Adam Lambert did not go through the main entrance to the red carpet. Their security just ushered them into the center for the larger press crews to get their time with them. This was the best shot that I managed to get of them...


Oh, I also got a glimpse of Season 6 runner-up Blake Lewis (well, at least his back) and Season 7 contestant Michael Johns having a chit-chat on the red carpet.


Ok! That's it for the red carpet. Next up - THE RESULTS SHOW!

(Yes, my seat was that far away from the stage. Thank God for the big screens!)

Monday, August 31, 2009

Kara Dioguardi sings No Boundaries

Ok, here's Kara taking a shot at her universally panned American Idol 2009 coronation song. Probably suits her voice more than Kris', but a horrible song is still a horrible song...


What do you think?

(Also, I wonder what was the person who created the video thinking between 2:01 and 2:39 of the song...)

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Massive orgy in Terengganu!!!

This is a classic case of misleading headlines...


The headline makes it seem as if there was some massive teenage orgy going on in Terengganu. But it then goes on to clarify that this was the statistics over a 7 month span over 7 districts.

Talk about attention grabbing headlines. Or just something to amuse filthy minds...

Full article link is here: http://bit.ly/2Gzqx

(For those not familiar with the term khalwat, is when non-married people of opposite genders are found in close proximity in private. It is a punishable offense for Muslims here in Malaysia)

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Lego and 8-bit goodness!

I got geeky-giddy just watching this! Brought back a lot of NES 8-bit memories...


The video is made up of 1,500 hours of moving Lego bricks. Such awesomeness deserves kudos!

Monday, August 24, 2009

How to Dirty Dance

Where was this video when I was doing the clubbing scene???


Dirty Dancing for Dummies! Patrick Swayze eat your heart out!

Friday, August 21, 2009

Awesome Michael Jackson A Capella Medley

I love a capella music and in the wake of Michael Jackson's untimely passing, I'm sure there have been many tributes to him by many a capella bands all over the world.

This next video is one of such tributes and what an awesome piece it is!


And the most amazing part? Except for the percussions, this was mostly just done by ONE guy! I thought it was sextuplets for a moment... Kudos to Sam Tsui and Kurt Schneider for a fantastic medley! MJ would be proud!

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Taylor Swift pranks Keith Urban

Besides being country music's little darling, Taylor Swift is quite the prankster as well. She already did a hilarious turn with T-Pain at the CMA this year (look here if you missed it) and now she pulls this stunt on Keith Urban, midway through his Kiss A Girl set.



Love the Kiss gear and the bit at the end when they are synchronously swaying with their guitars!

Hopefully Taylor keeps her head on straight and keeps churning out catchy little ditties like her latest You Belong With Me.



Monday, August 10, 2009

One Man Band cover of I Got A Feeling by Black Eyed Peas

Well, whadya know... Two posts in one day after a long absence! I really must miss blogging... Anyways, this suddenly just popped up on the radar and I thought it was a bit too cool not to share.

This guy did a One Man Band cover of the Black Eyed Peas' I've Got A Feeling. Starts off a capella and then he adds in the guitar. Could do without the funny faces he makes, but it's still a good cover! Check it out!


David Cook, Kris Allen and Adam Lambert rock GMA

Hey all... Sorry for not blogging recently. Have been enjoying my time with my family after they took a month long vacation back to Tokyo and I got stuck back in Malaysia due to work.

Here's a little something for all the American Idol fans out there though - Team Kradam with past champ David Cook burning up the stage with Little Lies during Good Morning America.

Hope I can find some time to blog soon. But in the meantime - ENJOY!




Sunday, July 26, 2009

My Road to American Idol 2009 Part 6: Meeting the Idols - Day 1

Man! It's been a while since my last post on my American Idol experience. It's just that I've been finding a lot of other interesting stuff to post that I keep postponing putting my experience down into words.

Ok, better start again or else it's gonna get fuzzy and slip away...

After we left the Nokia Theater, we noticed a crowd building up at a big tent that was set up outside. So we decided to be a couple of busy bodies to check it out. And lucky thing we did! The Idols were scheduled to come out to talk to the press and meet the fans!

So after a short wait, the first of the Idols arrived! Here come the ladies!

Post-show Press Tent

The TV reporters from the bigger networks got first dibs at the Idols, and this was done most at the center of the tent. The other reporters from the smaller news stations were sandwiched between an inner barrier and an outer barrier, which was where all the fans were. So most of my photos from this all had either a reporter or TV camera in it, like this...

Lil Rounds

I have to admit that I wasn't really a big fan of Lil during Season 9. It was obvious she could sing but she never really blew any song out of the park, like Fantasia before her. But she'll always mean something special to me because when I won the ticket to see the finale, each contestant had to wear a t-shirt with a name of an Idol contestant on it, and mine was Lil Rounds. So - Thanks Lil for bringing me good luck! =)

Jasmine Murray

Jasmine Murray looked really great in the long evening gown she was wearing. But I felt really bad for her when a woman kept calling her Paris. Wrong season lady! Don't think she got an autograph...

After a while, the Idols started meeting the fans. We were located at the side and they kept going to the front where the majority of the fans were. But eventually, they started coming around the side and even came between the inner and outer barrier, so we got to get autographs and even some close up pictures, like this one:

Megan Joy

Megan is really pretty and was very friendly and kept signing autographs and taking pictures with fans. Unfortunately, I couldn't get a 1-to-1 photo as she was called away for an interview. Best shot I got was the one above. A bit blurred out, but you can still see the great tattoo on her arm.

Allison Iraheta

The above is the best picture that I got of Allison during the session. I don't know why Simon says that she has no personality because she was really bubbly and wacky through out the whole interview and meet the fan session. All her responses seemed very off the cuff and unscripted. She was really goofy, as you can see in the photo, and was wearing a pair of sneakers that had a hole in it. A stark contrast between her and the other more prim and proper Idol females!

My favourite photo of the entire session has to be this one...

Alexis Grace

Yes, you can tell from my smiley mug how happy I was to finally manage to get a photo with an Idol contestant, and a pretty one at that! Alexis spent a lot of time with the fans at the side and look really gorgeous in a purple spaghetti strap dress and jeans. Didn't realise how petite and fair she is until I saw her in person.

Ok... That's it for Day 1. Next up, Result Day! I'll probably do it in 3 posts - Red Carpet, Result Show and finally the post-show press conference. Stay tuned!

Friday, July 24, 2009

Fun Wedding March

All wedding marches should be this fun!



Now, if only they didn't choose a song by the girlfriend-beater Chris Brown...

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Sweden's Got Talent



Well, I don't know if these Swedes got talent, but they've sure got balls... Literally!

New meaning to Going Postal



*GASP!* *SHOCK!* *HORRORS!*

Ok, now go HERE...

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

They sure don't make chairs like they used to...

RIP Study chair (2006-2009)

Ok, looks like it's time for me to hit the gym... I broke my study chair this morning as I was trying to do a quick peak-a-boo with my kids over the webcam...

Good thing Ikea's having a sale on now... =p

Stop giving me those guilt-inducing stares, chair! STOP IT!!!

Friday, July 17, 2009

Lucky and... Happy? Joi Chua duet with Jason Mraz in Singapore

Joi Chua was the lucky Singaporean singer who got to duet with Jason Mraz on the song Lucky during his recent concert in Singapore. Here's a video of their performance.





Now, is it just me or is Joi Chua just very happy to see Jason?

"I thought I was supposed to duet with a chick..."


I've no comment about how the duet sounds because I was just too mesmerized by the swaying 'dress dong' that I couldn't really pay attention to anything else.

Office 2010: Coming to a desktop near you!



My favourite scene?

Word! \/\/

What's yours?

Thursday, July 16, 2009

I Miss Being A Little Boy

Ah... To be young again...



Kids have all the fun...

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Japanese Spider-Man

Peter Parker's got nothing on this Japanese Spider-man!


Change Leopardon???


It's way back in the 70's and this Supaida-Man already has his own Transformer! Eat your heart out Shia LaBeouf!


I bet he could have even give Bruce Wayne a run for his money, but unfortunately he lost big in the Japanese stock market crash and has had to resort to this to make ends meet now...

Transformers 2

Ok, I just got back from watching the surprise (NOT!) blockbuster of this summer - Transformers 2, and before I continue with this post, I need to go take a cold shower... Why? This is why...

I'd wreck my bike just so The Fox can fix it...

..........

Wha---? Ok.... Able to focus again....

Man, if the reports of how Korean star Rain rejected her is true, the guy has got to be the gayest person on the face of the Earth!

Anyway, back to the movie. I must admit I wasn't really into the first Transformers, though most people were piling praise on it. I thought there was just way too much human and too little robots. If I wanted to watch Army folk and Shia LaBeouf jabber away, I'd go watch Indiana Jones 4 instead. And what was with that scene where the Autobots were trying to hide from Sam's family by going hide-and-seek all over the house? I mean, this is Optimus Prime we are talking about here! I wanted to see him and the other big robot kick major steel butt, and there just wasn't enough of that going on (except for that cool Optimus fight scene where he shows Bonecrusher who's boss).

Well, there's a whole lot more robot butt-whooping in the sequel! And a lot less human, or at least the scenes with the humans now were more tolerable, especially the ones with Agent Simmons (John Turturro). I think there's just the right balance now as most time is spent expanding on Sam's (Shia LaBeouf) and Mikaela's (Megan Fox) characters, with just serviceable screen time for the supporting cast.

Now back to the robot butt-whooping. There was this one scene in the movie where Optimus took on a team of Decepticons in the forest trying to protect Sam. This scene really reminded me of the 1987 animated movie's classic scene, using Stan Bush's The Touch as the background.



Man, that movie was the bomb... I still think it's a classic up until today. I remember my friends and I were just so shocked that the animated movie killed off Optimus that we were just numb.

Whoops! Perhaps some people didn't know that Optimus was killed off in the cartoon series back in 1987 to clear off some shelf-space for Hasbro to introduce new toy models... My bad, but don't worry... He was resurrected later, after the the producers got swamped with fan mail from people who protested killing off Prime.

Ok, so spoiler alert! I'm about to go into some rants about Transformers 2 next, so if you haven't watched it yet, come back after you have.....

OK... Ready? Good!

I really do like Transformers 2. Much more than I do the first movie as I think I'm getting more of what I paid for this time around. However, I do have a couple of gripes...

Firstly, what's with all the toilet humor? I mean, do we really need to look at Devastator's balls? This is even lower (pun not intended...) than when Bumblebee peed on Agent Simmons in the first movie. Wonder if Devastator's balls will be included in the new toy line. Gotta keep it real right?

Is that all you've got? I thought you were made of sterner stuff!

Second, last and biggest gripe of the movie - What an anti-climatic final fight scene between Optimus, Megatron and The Fallen!!! How long did it last? 5 minutes? After all the hype about how only a Prime can defeat The Fallen, it ends way, waaaaay too quickly. Ok, Prime might be jacked up on Jetfire's spare parts, but Megatron and The Fallen could have piled on some pain first before getting their asses handed to them. Really a let down after all the high-octane action throughout the movie.

Well, all in all, Transformers 2 was a good watch. And listen too! If there is ever a movie that proves that THX rocks in cinemas, it's Transformers 2! BOOM BOOM POW!

Go watch it if you haven't already. Or if it's still full at your favourite cinema, wait a couple more days until Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is released. Should easily be able to get tickets then.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Save a Buck, Bang by Bike


Now, here's an interesting way of fighting the recession...

Berlin brothel offers discounts for cyclists

BERLIN (Reuters) – A Berlin brothel has come up with a novel way to negate the impact of the global economic crisis and target a new group of customers at the same time -- offering a discount to patrons who arrive on bicycles.

"The recession has hit our industry hard," said Thomas Goetz, owner of the "Maison d'envie" brothel.

"Obviously we hope that the discount will attract more people," he added. "It's good for business, it's good for the environment -- and it's good for the girls."

Customers who arrive on bicycle or who can prove they took public transportation get a 5-euro (4 pounds) discount from the usual 70-euro ($100) fee for 45 minute sessions, Goetz told Reuters. He said the environmentally friendly offer was working.

"We have around 3-5 new customers coming in daily to take advantage of the discount," he said, adding the green rebate has helped alleviate traffic and parking congestion in the neighbourhood.

Germany is one of the few countries in the world where prostitution is legal. It has about 400,000 prostitutes who, since 2002, have been allowed to enter formal labour contracts.

Not only are these lovely ladies helping to stimulate consumer spending (among other things), but they are also doing their bit to help ease Berlin's traffic AND also saving the environment by reducing the carbon footprint!

Bless their hearts...

(Article taken from Yahoo News)

Sunday, July 12, 2009

1st encounter with snatch thieves

Today I had my first encounter with snatch thieves. At was about 3pm and I just finished lunch and was buying something from a road side stall in SS2 and suddenly I felt a tug on the gold chain that I wear around my neck.

I initially thought it a friend who had spotted me and was just fooling around. But when I turned around, there were these 2 people speeding off on a motorcycle. People around me there was a male and female and they were either Indonesian or Malay.

I was just shocked and the only thing I could do was curse and swear at them as they sped off.

I looked down and found that my chain had gotten caught to my shirt and so those 2 scumbags didn't get away with anything as well. The people around me were nice enough to ask if I was ok and thankfully I was. I only had some red marks at the back of my nice where the thieves tried to grab my chain.

Marks of a thief

It's just appalling how snatch thefts have become so rampant around Malaysia. They are so daring that they are brave enough to try their stunts in broad daylight along a crowded street, with total disregard to who they are stealing from, whether it is a man, woman or the elderly. Heck, I'm even surprised they tried to snatch something from me, considering that I'm a fairly big-sized guy. I guess these people are just desperate and willing to do anything now for a quick buck.

Snatch thieves are the bane of Malaysian society. Simple as that. They are the cause of so many injuries and even deaths here in Malaysia that any member of society should be allowed to go postal on their ass if they are caught in the act.

I'm just thankful that my encounter was not a major one and I didn't lose anything or get hurt. Perhaps I shouldn't wear my chain out anymore eh?

Friday, July 10, 2009

Even Obama likes some eye candy...

Hmmm... Looks like someone is gonna be sleeping on the presidential sofa when he gets back to the White House...

Baby Got Barack!

Looks like President Obama's an Ass Man and human after all! =)

I'd comment about French President Nicolas Sarkozy too, but he's French and expected to look at the booty.

(Picture taken from TMZ)

Thursday, July 09, 2009

Cool Michael Jackson Tribute in Sweden!

Very cool MJ-themed flash mob!

Done in 3 places across Stockholm on July 8, 2009 - Kudos to all involved!





Wednesday, July 08, 2009

Goodbye Michael...

Though Michael Jackson's memorial was filled with great and moving performances by the likes of Mariah Carey, Stevie Wonder and Usher, it was the speeches that to me were the most powerful moments as it gave us a glimpse at Michael, not just as the greatest entertainer of our generation, but also as...

A Man


A Friend


A Father



Good bye Michael.
You will be remembered.

Monday, July 06, 2009

U2 and Madonna start the Michael Jackson concert tribute ball rolling!

Without a doubt, MJ tributes are going to be featured in most shows during this summer concert season. And two of the music's biggest names have kick it all off!

First U2 gets the ball going with having a bit of "Man In the Mirror" and "Don't Stop Til You Get Enough" at the end of their concert in Barcelona's Camp Nou stadium as part of their 360 Tour.



And then Madonna does this bit on 4th July 2009 at the O2 stadium, which MJ was supposed to have run his 50+ This Is It! shows. Complete with an MJ impersonator dancing and moonwalking to "Don't Stop".



Man, I love that song, especially the "mama say mama sa" bit... Classic!

Let's see who else jumps on the MJ tribute bandwagon now...

My Road to American Idol 2009 Part 5: Finale Performances - Show Time! - Day 1

Ok! Here's Part 2 of what happened on the American Idol Finale Performance Day!

Let's pick up where I left off in my last post, which is when I took my seat inside the Nokia Theater just before the show.

A lot of people wonder what happens during the commercial breaks on Idol. Does Ryan Seacrest continue to work the crowd? Does the crowd get entertained by performances? Well... Neither actually... But it definitely was not dead silence as well...

Before the show starts and during intermissions, the Idol stage is manned by the American Idol warm-up guy Corey Almeida. You can see a little bit of what he does in the video below.



Before the show, Corey pumps up the crowd accompanied by a remixed version of Lady Gaga's Poker Face. He first gets a guy onto the stage and gets him to follow him do some moves. The ones that get the crowd going everytime is the butt shimmey and cowboy move. He then gets a couple of girls to flank him and do more dancing. And, of course, there has to be the mandatory shaking of some jelly by some well-chosen good-looking volunteers from the crowd before they are released back into the crowd.

Corey then basically lays down the laws of the land, which is basically to go ga-ga whenever the stage manager Debbie Williams counts down to indicate when Idol is live again. Stand, scream, shout, wave hands, anything goes. EXCEPT for the people in front of the judges table! Reason? Because if they do, they will block Ryan's view of the teleprompter and if that happens, show's over and it's their fault. =)

Corey then invites the judges to their seats one-by-one to the roar of the crowd. Paula and obviously Simon gets the biggest props from the crowd.

The crowd is then instructed to stay quiet until Ryan starts off the show with "This... is American Idol!". Debbie then begins the count down and AWAY WE GO!!!

The giant screens show the opening video segment and then pans to Ryan who says his trademark catchphrase "This... IS AMERICAN IDOL!!". And the crowd goes crackers and lights all flare up. What a rush!

The show then kicks off with the usual introduction of the judges by Ryan and then finalists - Kris and Adam. Cue screams and cheers. Everyone is informed that Adam will perform first and Kris won the coin toss and chose to go second.

Commercial break! Corey takes the stage again and chats up the crowd while going around giving Kris or Adam T-Shirts. He does this during every commercial break and keeps the vibe going.

Back to the show and the finalists were going to kick off with a song choice from the season. Adam takes the stage to perform Mad World again, this time with long black trench coat and lots of mist on stage.

All the smoke reminds me of the entrance for the Undertaker in the WWE

I thought the performance rocked, but Simon thought it was a bit over theatrical. But isn't that Adam's style in the first place? Anyways... The judge's comments were all a bit hard to hear due to the crowd cheering and also because they didn't amp up the judges mics as much as they do the people on stage. Wonder why...

Ok, next up Kris with Ain't No Sunshine!

I was seated waaaaay at the back to the right of the Idol sign. See me waving???

What a performance it was! Definitely rocked the house and was much better than when he did it the first time. Simon was right on the money this time when he said that the first round went to Kris. Fantastic!

Next up was Simon Fuller's song choices. He chose a couple of classics in the form of A Change is Gonna Come for Adam and What's Going On for Kris.

Kradam!

I think he was trying to put a message out regarding the state of the world today with these song choices. Nice intention, but I think it might have been lost to many as it was too subtle.

I think this round was pretty much a tie because both Kris and Adam really did well in their respective takes on the songs. Adam showcased his incredible vocals on the Sam Cooke classic, while Kris did a fantastic folk-pop jam of the Marvin Gaye anthem. I didn't think the latter's rendition was too light for the competition at all as it was exactly the kind of music that we expect from Kris and he delivered it superbly.

Now, the third round was just a mess... The finalists both sang this year's coronation song No Boundaries written by the New-Judge-On-The-Block Kara DioGuardi.

"Can't you tell from our faces that it was as painful for us to sing this song as it was for you hearing it?"


The song is just horrible! Kris and Adam did what they could with the song but even Adam couldn't save it with his polished vocals, and Kris was totally massacred as the song was too high for him (which Kara also admitted fault to during her critique).

The judges rightly decided to save comment on the song itself and comment on the finalists instead. What do you think though? Have a listen to both songs in the following blogpost that I did earlier and have your say: No Boundaries Face-Off!

And that ends performance night!

After the camera's stop rolling, the crew brought Adam and Kris out again to do the 'rotating pan' shot that was shown at the beginning of the results show the next day. Here's a pic that I took while they were doing the shoot.

Can you see the tiny-weeny Idols on stage?

After we got out of the theater, we saw a big crowd at a nearby tent that was set up outside the theater, so we decided to be busy body and check it out. And good thing that we did! It was the TV station interview area where the Idols would come and give their TV interviews and also meet the fans! So we stuck around and got to meet and greet some of the Idols!

As this post is getting too long, I'll blog about meeting some of the Idols in my next post!

The big grins were as bright as the neon lights. Yes, we were having the time of our lifes!

Saturday, July 04, 2009

What Michael Jackson's comeback concert might have been like...

A video of Michael Jackson's rehearsal for his "This Is It!" tour in London has hit the Internet!



In the video, MJ can be seen rocking out to "They Don't Really Care About Us" from the HIStory album. Some bits of it reminded me of when he performed the song in Adelaide in 1996, the interlude and salute bit in particular.

MJ looks in good spirits throughout the song and looked like it would have rocked the house. Such a pity, the closest fans will ever get to this is now over the Internet and the live DVD of MJ's rehearsals that concert organizers, AEG, is planning on releasing.

I'm of two minds about this DVD, as it seems like just an attempt by AEG to milk money out of MJ's death. But then again, I'm sure many of MJ's fans would like to see the King of Pop's last performance even if it was only a recording of a rehearsal. We'll just have to wait and see...

Chris Daughtry reveals his Poker Face

Damn, when you are good, you are just GOOD!

Chris Daughtry was at a Germany radio station when they wanted him to perform a cover for them live. So he chose a song that no one would have thought he would do. Have a listen!



I even like his acoustic version of Poker Face better than the stripped down piano driven version by Lady GaGa herself, which she performed a bit at Idol last season.

In the words of Randy Jackson, "DAWG, THAT WAS HOT!!!".

Thursday, July 02, 2009

Joe Jackson - Model Father... NOT!

I am sure that everyone has heard how the 2009 BET Awards was revamped at the last minute to become a tribute to Michael Jackson. And how truly fitting that it was done, as everyone who was there that night, from host Jamie Foxx to Beyonce to even, I dare say, LeBron James, would not be there if it wasn't for MJ. Everyone there was celebrating MJ's life and mourning his death.

All except MJ's own father, Joseph (Joe) Jackson.

"Great! I can now milk this for publicity!"

While the rest of the world mourns the passing of a legend, Joe Jackson turns up at the BET Awards unexpectedly and uses it as a platform to plug his own upcoming project!

Watch his red carpet interview by CNN...



The guy was totally dazed and confused when the interviewer asked him questions and even SMILED FOR THE CAMERA (!!!) when the PR person came up to read his statement on how he and the Jackson family are holding up!

At 2:52 into the video, he actually took the opportunity to bring up his business partner to plug his new record label! He just brushes off the interviewer's questions about funeral plans and the state and well-being of Katherine Jackson, Janet and the other siblings to make his "real good statement" about his new hip-hop record company.

C'MON Mr Jackson!!! Have you no shame?! Michael is not even buried yet and you are already using his death as a vehicle to peddle your next project!

If I was any self-respecting music artiste with any respect for MJ, I would boycott Ranch Records and see it flop!

You can tell even the interviewer was struggling to find something else to talk about.

I have no doubt that all the reports of the abuse that Michael and his brothers endured from their father during their childhood is totally true. Who can blame Michael for turning out like the man-child that he was when he was constantly physically, emotionally and verbally abused as a child by this cold heartless patriarch of the Jackson clan.

No wonder Michael left Joe out of his will.

So much for "handling his memory and legacy with dignity"! Hrmph!

WTF!


Related Articles:

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

My Road to American Idol 2009 Part 4: Finale Performances - Day 1

Man, we must have been tired from all the traveling... We originally had planned on waking up early to do more sight-seeing before the show, but Futaba and I both slept through the alarm and didn't wake up until 1030am!

So we just spent our 2nd day in LA walking around Downtown, having lunch at a Greek restaurant called George's Greek Cafe at a small shopping arcade called 7+Fig (because it was at the intersection between 7th and Fig... Duh...).

Though we were disappointed that we had kind of wasted the day, I think it was good because we managed to get some rest, especially Futaba who had not have good sleep since Aki was born, as she's a light sleeper who always wakes up for feedings at night.

Anyway, the best part of the morning was definitely getting the American Idol finale show tickets!!!

Nokia Theater - Here I come!

Was getting worried about the tickets as we were supposed to get them the previous day when we arrived, but there was a mix-up with the courier service, so it was only delivered on show day itself.

Anyways, the Nokia Theater was just opposite from the hotel we were staying in, so we left at about 3:45pm to have a look-see around the area.

GO LAKERS!

The Staples Center is located just opposite the Nokia Theatre and as you can see from the picture above, the Los Angeles Lakers were playing that night as well. It was the Game 1 of the NBA Western Conference Finals between the Lakers and the Denver Nuggets. Man, I wish I had tickets to watch this game as well. Can't have everything I suppose, eh?

Suprisingly, there wasn't much of a crowd at the Nokia Theater. I was expecting a larger throng of people, but it was actually quite manageable and easy to walk around.

Wonder what the guy at the bottom right saw...

I am guessing that since there were not that many celebs attending the performance show, not many people turn up for the red carpet. No complaints from me though as it was our first time there and we needed time to take pictures and also look around for the entrance.

Oh! And looking for merchandise too! I didn't come all this way to go home with just pictures after all!

Don't you just love commercialism?

We lined up to enter the theater at about 4:15pm. As you can see from the tickets above, we weren't allowed to bring cameras into the theater, so, being such law-abiding citizens, we had left our normal camera back at the hotel. However, I had to talk to JJ and Ean from Hitz.FM before going into the show, so I had my phone with me and was prepared to check it at the counter.

JJ & Ean from Hitz.FM and Jaclyn Victor (1st Malaysian Idol) during my Morning Crew interview on 4th May 2009

But while waiting in line, I saw lots of other people with cameras as well and 'Idol audience veterans' were advising everyone not to check in their stuff as the wait to get it back at the end of the show was baaaad! They basically advised the ladies to just stuff their phones or cameras into a zipper compartment in their handbags as they wouldn't search that thoroughly. And the guys? Stuff it somewhere... Discrete...

I'll leave it up to your imagination where I hid my phone... =p

Anyways, while inside the theatre, I snuck this shot out...

Inside the American Idol Shrine!
(Yes, I was that far from stage... =p)

This post is getting a bit long so I'll continue about what happens during a live Idol telecast and the post-show press and meet-the-fans session in my next post. I'm already halfway through so it shouldn't take too long... Fingers crossed...

Life-sized Gundam in Odaiba!

Holy crap! Man, would I love to be back in Odaiba to check this out!

I'd totally geek out if this was a life-sized Optimus...
(photo taken from Anime News Network)


This 18 meter high model of the RX-72-8 Gundam model was built to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the original Mobile Suit Gundam anime, which many credit for revolutionizing the art of anime.



The model can do a few simple tricks, as seen in the video above, and will only be around for 2 months (from July 2009), so if you are around Odaiba, Japan, make sure you check it out! Best part? It's free for public viewing!

Ahhh... Otaku-bliss!

Friday, June 26, 2009

Remember The Time... A Tribute to Michael Jackson


"TGIF! Weekend just around the corner!"

That was what I was thinking when I woke up this morning.

"Oh god...", was what I was thinking when I read the news.

Michael Jackson, King of Pop, died on 25th June 2009 at 5:31am Malaysian time.

I believe the whole world is reeling right now to try and come to grips with this earth-shattering event. I, like many out there, can probably track a good part of my life, if not all of it, along a timeline of MJ's music.

So to celebrate the passing of the King, let us not remember all the hooplah surrounding his personal life, but celebrate the man's genius and musical legacy. Apologies for the extra long post...

Here is my list of things that I remember the most of MJ:

1. I Remember The Time... I watched the Thriller music video for the first time.
My sisters used to watch the Thriller video on VHS when I was just about 5 or 6 years old.
with my sisters when I was 5 or 6 years old. I remember that I was a bit scared of the whole horror setup, but I was mesmerized by the dance sequence! We even had an instructional video on how to dance the Thriller dance! I remember my sisters trying to imitate and dance to MJ (and I was trying to imitate them). Thus my exposure to MJ's music began.



2. I Remember The Time... Watching Beat It & Billie Jean
After Thriller, before the days of MTV in Malaysia, I got glimpses of Beat IT and Billie Jean on Malaysian TV. It was always so cool to watch MJ do his thing in those videos. Plus the whole pavement lighting up as he walked in Billie Jean was just way cool. A few years later, I would also rush to the TV whenever I heard Weird Al's Eat It was showing. Thus my exposure to Weird Al and comedy music began.





3. I Remember The Time... MJ sang a capella on Oprah Now this is probably the even that kicked off my whole love for a capella music. I know that a capella music and beatboxing has been around way before MJ, but it was watching this interview that got me thinking "Damn! Can the human voice sound like that?". So it's because of MJ that I started singing acapella and doing vocal percussion.



4. I Remember The Time... Watching Moonwalker/Smooth Criminal

Moonwalker... Now what an epic short film that was... Ok, storyline wasn't great, but the music and special effects were out of this world! I remember wondering how on earth he managed to do that gravity-defying move during Smooth Criminal (which still remains one of my favourite music videos of all time). I just found out that MJ even got a patent (http://www.google.com/patents/about?id=MAUgAAAAEBAJ) for the method! Amazing!



Oh and I also played the game non-stop on my Sega Megadrive/Genesis...



5. I Remember The Time... I watched MJ's Concert Live

This was back in Adelaide 1996. MJ was playing at the Adelaide Oval as part of his HIStory world tour and I just HAD to go watch the concert, even though I had a Physics finals the next day. Exams come every year, but MJ doesn't come around that often! My seat was a bit far from the stage, but it was the experience that counted! The stadium's atmosphere was electric and everyone scream and danced and partied to the King as he worked the stage. I am glad to say that I have been privileged to have seen him perform and experience his magic live.

MJ performed at the Adelaide Oval in 1996

6. I Remember The Time... Watching Black Or White

This was such a media event when it was released in 1991. I rushed home from school to catch the premier of the Black or White video on the TV. Again, I was just blown away by how cool the technology in the video was. I mean, all that morphing at the end was just not done back then. And then I had to go rush out and buy the Dangerous album when it hit the stands here. It is remains as one of my favourite albums.



7. I Remember The Time... Watching In the Closet

I think almost any teenager with raging hormones at the time would have been transfixed to the TV when they watched the video for In The Closet. MJ and Naomi Campbell totally burned up the screen together. And MJ's silhouette dance moves kept my eyes on screen whenever Naomi didn't. Classic! There was also a lot of speculation who was the "Mystery Girl" who voiced the female voice in the song. Initially people thought it was Madonna, but it was later revealed that it was Princess Stephanie from Monaco. The song was originally supposed to be a duet with Madonna, but the idea was dropped. Pity, but the song is still hot though!



8. I Remember The Time... Listening to Man In The Mirror

Man In the Mirror was probably the first socially conscious song that I ever listened to and understood. I know there was We Are The World before it, but this was the first song that I actually looked at and analyzed the lyrics. And it made sense, even to a boy who was still in his tweens. MJ later came out with other socially charged songs like Heal The World and Earth Song, but this one was and still is my favourite.



9. I Remember The Time... Watching Jam & Remember The Time
I was really big into basketball when I was in high school. Was not very good at it, but still loved it anyway and I still follow the sport today more than football/soccer, which most people here in Malaysia prefer to follow. So when this video of the two biggest MJ's of the generation got released, you can imagine just how excited I got. Jam's a great tune, and the video was only so-so, but just to see MJ trying to teach Michael Jordan how to dance, it was good enough. Classic!



Then there was Remember The Time. This video was EPIC and filled with super cool dancing and chock full of special effects (this was like the Mummy even before the movie was made!) And it also had Ervin 'Magic' Johnson, another one of my favourite basketball icons, guest starring with Eddie Murphy and the super hot Iman.



10. I Remember The Time... HIStory

To me, his last great album was Dangerous, but that still didn't stop me from rushing out to buy this album of greatest hits and new releases. I just had to listen to his duet with Janet on Scream. It was also the first time that he swore on a song, which is also kinda significant. On a mellower note, this album also housed You Are Not Alone, which I loved in the beginning but kinda wore me down due to the repeated playing on radio.



So those are my top 10 memories of how MJ has influenced my life (ok, I cheated with some of them and put in a couple, but there were so many!) I am sure everyone has their own personal list and memories as MJ has reached out and touched so many though his visionary music, videos and style. He will be missed. Rest In Peace.


Michael Joseph Jackson
(29 Aug 1958 - 25 June 2009)
The King is dead. Long live the King.


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