Especially for fans for Kris Allen

It's not often I get an artiste that I will go ga-ga about, and honestly I am rarely starstruck by. And being in the line of work where it is my job to interview celebs, seriously... I am not awestruck most times and it really is a job.

Check out the list of people I've interviewed in the About Me section on my sidebar and you'll see I've met more than a few in my years working as an entertainment journalist.

I think the only people I felt like fainting were Jewel, Pink, Kelly Clarkson, Ricky Martin and Slipknot. And the Black Eyed Peas too.

REAL people who have an abundance of talent in the sound of their choice.

And now I add one more name to that list. Kris Allen.

Semalam ketika interview he was so laid back. And plus, despite some people who had gone in before told me he was monosyllabic in his answers, especially when it had anything to do with Adam Lambert - it the furthest thing from the truth.

In fact, most times benda camni mesti kena salah anggap bila orang malas nak cakap pasal something they've talked about thousands of times.

But one question I asked about Adam - he responded funnily (saving it for the article I'm writing).

I hope at the end of the day, he goes the way of Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood, and not Ruben Studdard, Fantasia Barrino (what a waste!), Taylor Hicks (another big waste), Jordin Sparks and even David Cook who seems to be losing momentum.

Got home so tired, I crashed into bed terus. Memang tak larat dah nak update ke haper. But hope you guys like these pics. These were from the press conference at the beginning of it all. And dig that picture of Adrian from Sony Music presenting Kris - with a keris. Heh! Rich!

For friends abroad, the 'keris' is a dagger in this region, which has a wavy blade.

Anyhoo, enjoy the pics, guys. And for those of you in Singapore, enjoy what we did next up cause Kris is heading your way! Except you have to pay S$99 for it.

Before I forget, thanks to friends from Fox/Star World in Shamel especially and Nini for being such gracious hosts, and also the lovely people from Sony Music Malaysia for their hospitality. You guys rock.

Ok.. now here are some pics from the showcase. I have to say, Kris has improved a lot since Idol where he seems so much more confident and able on stage.

My favourite performance of the night was Come Together which was his final encore number.

Also the mash-up of Heartless and Gangsta's Paradise at the start, though I have to say that was rather an odd choice though.

Note that I didn't want to squish myself among some Ah Lians who just looked blur at what Kris was singing (so obvious got passes from someone who knew someone). I was nearer to the back of the VIP area near the REAL fans who basically caused permanent damage to my ear drums.

But I did move forward to try and get a few good pics with my dinky digital camera.

For those who follow me on Twitter, you would have gotten quite a few updates throughout the night, also with pics - so remember for those of you who haven't, follow me on Twitter at @klubbkiddkl.

Ah... despite the dramas for the day, Kris gave a good end to the stupid episodes which made me want to bitch slap someone yesterday.

Since I got enough sleep, am in a happy mood today.

Got press conference for Akademi Fantasia hari ni where they will announce hos, pengetua dan tenaga pengajar.

Aku bakal dikejutkan ke?

Bab tenaga pengajar tak penting sangat la sebab too random, but bab hos aku da pon before this katakan - Sarimah Ibrahim and Jimmy Shanley will team up. As for pengetua, Norman KRU. So ada ke kejutan tuk aku malam ni when they announce?

I doubt.

Ok... now to do some work before I run some errands and do some shopping (before the malls get choked up for the pre-Chinese New Year last minute rush).

Have a good day all!

Live like we're dying!

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Transformasi

Ok... so here's what most of you have been waiting for. Ni senarai tenaga pengajar tuk Akadem Fantasia musim ketujuh, or AF7.

Hasridz Murshim Hassim (Acis) - Pengarah Muzik/Guru Muzik
A.Aris A. Kadir - Guru Tari
Ida Nerina - Guru Seni Persembahan
Siti Hajar Ismail - Guru Vokal Teknikal
Fatimah Abu Bakar - Perunding Motivasi dan Bahasa Inggeris
Syafizawati Sharif - Guru Persembahan Vokal

As you can see, almost major change here in the line-up. Half the faculty is new.

Acis of course needs no introduction. A respected musician (and other handsome half of Datuk Sheila Majid), Acis, bekas ahli kumpulan Gersang da lama berkecimpung dalam dunia muzik, and is recognised for his work - whether behind the many albums that bear his name, ataupun heading things behind the scene when it comes to production of live shows for the biggest names.

Kira memang layak la Acis ni. Not to mention apart from the guaranteed quality behind his name, the ladies (and some men too) will love him for being great eye candy as well on TV. How can you beat that?

Siti Hajar, kak Fati and Syafie are without a doubt, household names bila masuk bab branding Akademi Fantasia, so no arguments there too.

Ida Nerina's entrance into Akademi is not really surprising. She's been involved in the audition selections a couple of times now as those yang gi ujibakat will know, and her role as guru drama rasanya is well justified, in tandem with her abilities to dish out the goods. Hope that translates to teaching, which I'm sure will be no problem.

The only real suprise (tak terkejut sangat pon sebab da dapat info bocor awal awal like every year) was the inclusion of A.Aris A. Kadir sebagai the choreographer this time around, replacing the most consistent (in terms of appearance on the show) member of faculty, Linda Jasmine.

While tak ramai may kenal dia nih, dia ni yang aku tau dari Aswara, and has been involved in a lot of theatrical productions. He is also known in his capacity as a choreographer, so here's keeping fingers crossed that things will pan out well.

Bukan apa... there have been really good members of the faculty before this pun. Good in terms of their experience and knowledge and recognition in their field of expertise. Tapi bab nak translate to syllabus yang kekadang menjadi masaalah sikit. Especially when it's condensed and compacted into a ten week schedule, with students ranging from the 'know nothing' category to the smart alecky sorts.

Kak Fati, Syafie and Ida goofing off


The people behind the announced names


Funny hand signals ahoy in the AF7 hood!


Ladies? The hot one's taken


One more


Either that's an earring come undone or a damn bigass hearing aid....heh


As the pictures above have kind of given things away, AC and Sarimah Ibrahim are back, reprising their previous roles.

Yeap... AC will again play host for the weekly Konsert and Sarimah is going to be the face of the Diari.

First on AC. Yes, I was damn hard on him last year. But hopefully since he's been given a second chance this time around, he will learn from the mistakes he made in the past. Yes, he did finally point out that the show is about the contestants, not the host. That's a good start.

If he performs better, he can only justify that he is capable of the job. So good luck to AC and hope he uses this time to get a head start on preparations to ease into the role.

Sarimah lak has been successful in bringing out her wacky character in Diari, and I think she's been so underrated about her work on it. Mintak mintak la orang nampak hasil kerja dia, cause I think she's a natural without being obnoxious in front of the camera.

Now the big question.

Sapa pengetua. Semua mintak aku wat speku sapa akan galas tanggungjawab tu. Petang tadi kat sidang media pon nama yang paling panas sudahpun disebut, which is none other than Sheila Majid.

Jadik ke? Tahun lepas pun sebut Tiara, tapi abang Ramli yang comeback kan?

Speaking of which, yes, I know a majority want Ramli back. Personally, so would I. But whoever gets the role, tuk aku it has to be beyond just being a name. It also has to be beyond recognition behind the name. Talent, experience and popularity are all good. But not everyone can teach. And not everyone can delegate AND teach.

Having knowledge is one thing. Knowing how to impart it to the young minds is somethng else altogether.

So here's keeping fingers crossed sapa pon dipilih yang akan sign contract kang (kisahnya ketika sidang media tadik disebut lom ada memana calon menandatangani kontrak sebagai pengetua), will be the best.

The production team kali ni pon revamp and promises something new to Akademi Fantasia, which wille be something to look forward to. Want to know more kena tunggu la.

Anyway, for AF fans, musim bermula 7 Mac Tirai Akademi Fantasia with the second part on 8 haribulan. Diari AF episod pertama akan bermula pada 9 Mac and pembaharuan kali ni ialah Diari akan keudara hanya sekali sehari dengan satu laporan selama sejam. Konsert pertama lak akan ke udara 14 Mac.

Meanwhile selain Diari EXT yang akan keudara hari Jumaat bermula 13 Mac, program baru, Diari INT lak akan keudara tiap Ahad bermula 15 Mac.

Damn... that's a long report. Lotih jari aku menaip. So korang da ready ke nak feeling Transformers katanya (tagline tahun ni menenai transformasi)

Apapun it's still too early to tell where the seventh season is headed. But who cares. It's Akademi Fantasia. You know you're going to get hooked.

Like I am on Weeds. Erm.. let me clarify. I mean the TV series.



A few people have been bugging me to catch it and I just finished the first season. Awesome! Three season marathon to go. Meanwhile in between, catching the latest episode of Heroes too. Damn... and Wednesday it's Idol. I'm swamped just by being a couch potato.

Back to playing sofa spud then...

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