Konsert Akhir Akademi Fantasia 7 (Part 4)

Walaopon tahun-tahun sebelom ni aku slalu ada kat tapak Konsert Akhir awal, this year, like I mentioned in previous entries aku da keletihan abih... aku tak larat.

Aku bangun pun da kol 4 petang da. Sempat la sampai je jalan-jalan semua booth yang ada. Ada empat rumah wakil kelab peminat, iaitu fan clubs for Akim, Aril, Yazid dan Isma. Hafiz nya kelab peminat saja takde. Abang Edhar kata meka takde merchandise tuk jual so rasa tak keperluan booth.

Aduh... sayang sebab biasa kelab peminat punya booth la tempat bermesra for all the fans. Carut mencarut satu season usually akan berdamai kat sana lah. Plus on top of that, bukan semua fans Internet savvy, and it would have been nice to see Hafiz FC open one so more fans can register for his fan club.

Tapi takpe... aku spotted a lot of Hafiz FC punya fans berlegar kat booth orang lain gak.. so mesra la gak kan.

I rushed in and out of the stadium entah berapa kali, but in the end settled down on my seat. Jittery katanya tak sabar nak nunggu bermula show. Suddenly all the weeks of competition, just drained me. Rasa keletihan sangat, dan yang penting teramat emo. Menyesal lak ta bak tisu sebab I have a feeling I'm going to break down when I see the kids perform.

Anyway... ni some pics from before the show. And to all the fans yang gi show tuh, you guys are the best, no matter what fan club you were from, sebab korang kecoh but berhemah gituh. I like! Baru la semangat competition ala Akademi Fantasia. Fairplay katanya...

Next part... will be pics from the performances. Again sapa nak pakai any of these pics in forums ke blog ke websites MESTI kredit dan LINK my blog. Jangan nak pandai edit ke crop watermark aku... awas la hidup ko mengundang malapetaka kalao wat camtuh.

Ramainya orang!



Part of the Diari and Konsert production team


Family, friends and fans






Khairul, Zainir, Aznil dan Tiara


All the kids in the new batch of the Fantasia family














Konsert Akhir Akademi Fantasia 7 Special links
Konsert Akhir Akademi Fantasia 7 (Part 1) - CLICK HERE
Konsert Akhir Akademi Fantasia 7 (Part 2) - CLICK HERE
Konsert Akhir Akademi Fantasia 7 (Part 3) - CLICK HERE
Konsert Akhir Akademi Fantasia 7 (Part 4) - CLICK HERE
Konsert Akhir Akademi Fantasia 7 (Part 5) - CLICK HERE
Konsert Akhir Akademi Fantasia 7 (Part 6) - CLICK HERE
Konsert Akhir Akademi Fantasia 7 (Part 7) - CLICK HERE
Konsert Akhir Akademi Fantasia 7 (Part 8) - CLICK HERE
Konsert Akhir Akademi Fantasia 7 (Part 9) - CLICK HERE
Konsert Akhir Akademi Fantasia 7 (Part 10) - CLICK HERE

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Konsert Akhir Akademi Fantasia 7 (Part 3 - The Prequel)

Sebab banyak sangat pics nak upload, aku kena backdate lak. Ni pics dari masa hari Jumaat sebelom final yang aku kata last day of Diari sebelom ni.

Actually pics ni takleh kuar time tuh, but now leh la. So korang enjoy je la.

Ni first time bebudak dapat jumpa the whole production team of Diari Akademi Fantasia.

Masa naik tangga ke tingkat atas, kebetulan Yazid leh nak ke surau. Dia nampak je, lari lintang pukang sembunyi. Merasalah tiba-tiba almost fourty of us muncul. Mana tak takotnya... cam nak kena belasan pon ada. Siot je Yazid wat lawak sembunyi... pecah perot gelak.

And then, masuk sesi perkenalkan diri masing-masing dan tugas masing-masing. Sebelom ni pon bebudak kenal hanya TAC team yang jaga meka ke hulu hilir dari Akademi ke dewan, selain tenaga pengajar dan RA, as well as the creative team headed by Najib as senior writer.

Kali nih meka dapat jumpa the whole team bebetul, from the executive producer in Sooraj, sampai cameraman, editors, sound crew all the way to the production assistants. Merasalah Azzah yang ratu finance kita pon ada.

It was a shock for the kids kerana aku rasa selama ni meka tak suspect pon, yang begitu ramai jaga mereka. Especially tahap final dah.. meka rasa sunyi je Akademi. Mana taknya, everyone has to be invisible to fgive that illusion.

Tapi bebudak nampak la kelibat skali skala... tapi tempat tuh pon ada cita-cita ehem... yang well, jenis ko takkan cita malam, so meka pon tak penah persoalkan. Heh!

Ni some of the pics... enjoy before the next entry of the Konsert Final itself, pre and post dan juga majlis kenduri kesyukuran dan farewell kat Akademi.

Askrul feeling rempit pencen! (matilah aku!!!)



The team meets the kids



Walaopon sebumbung, Sarimah dan Principal Datin Seri Tiara Jacquelina pon jarang jumpa


Terkejut... terharu




Executive producer Sooraj ngan director Saha


Angelina!


Photo op!


Dalam banyak pasangan di kenen, ni yang paling erm... suspen! Production assistant Farid dan personal assistant Sarimah, Fida


Korang ingat pic Saha kat atas? Perasan masa Konsert Akhir dia diperkenalkan? Dia la tunang Catriona Ross. Also... dia yang ajar Hafiz rap masa minggu lagu Malique dan Najwa. Hafiz baru tau...


Group photo - with me too


Some more...


Akim feeling rempit ngan motor dia


Bukan setakat bawak lagu Superman.. aksi pon kena gak


Macam-macam...


My pic with the kids


Remember the five day countdown thing meka lukis? Ni dia...


Cam predict je kedudukan mereka. Cuma Isma dan Aril je tukar tempat






Mr Bola Bola aka Aizuddin yang jadi tempat sidai kain (actually tempat letak barang kenangan pelajar eliminated)

And ni pic bonus...sapa tengok Diari akan perasan... bukan je motor Modenas tu Akim Punya ditampal. Also tuala muka tinggalan Aishah dan pic Aishah skali. Heh! Couldn't resist amik pic nih.



Konsert Akhir Akademi Fantasia 7 Special links
Konsert Akhir Akademi Fantasia 7 (Part 1) - CLICK HERE
Konsert Akhir Akademi Fantasia 7 (Part 2) - CLICK HERE
Konsert Akhir Akademi Fantasia 7 (Part 3) - CLICK HERE
Konsert Akhir Akademi Fantasia 7 (Part 4) - CLICK HERE
Konsert Akhir Akademi Fantasia 7 (Part 5) - CLICK HERE
Konsert Akhir Akademi Fantasia 7 (Part 6) - CLICK HERE
Konsert Akhir Akademi Fantasia 7 (Part 7) - CLICK HERE
Konsert Akhir Akademi Fantasia 7 (Part 8) - CLICK HERE
Konsert Akhir Akademi Fantasia 7 (Part 9) - CLICK HERE
Konsert Akhir Akademi Fantasia 7 (Part 10) - CLICK HERE

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Konsert Akhir Akademi Fantasia 7 (Part 2)

And they want to thank YOU!

For those who spent your hard-earned money on these kids, all of them, Akim, Aril, Hafiz, Isma and Yazid would like to thank you for your support for them throughout the competition.

Sekarang lupakan segala spekulasi dan semua yang dilalui, cause it's time to pick up the pieces and support them for their careers sebagai bintang-bintang yang mintak-mintak akan menyerikan persada seni tanahair.

So many pics to post and all... but I thought this was the first thing I should post sebab Akademi Fantasia, and these kids, would be nothing without YOU (pada yang AFUNDI ek... bukan yang pakai air liur saja).

The other parts of the finale concert entry will follow, as will the kenduri kesyukuran AF7 entry pas the event tengahari nih. Sabar ek...



Konsert Akhir Akademi Fantasia 7 Special links
Konsert Akhir Akademi Fantasia 7 (Part 1) - CLICK HERE
Konsert Akhir Akademi Fantasia 7 (Part 2) - CLICK HERE
Konsert Akhir Akademi Fantasia 7 (Part 3) - CLICK HERE
Konsert Akhir Akademi Fantasia 7 (Part 4) - CLICK HERE
Konsert Akhir Akademi Fantasia 7 (Part 5) - CLICK HERE
Konsert Akhir Akademi Fantasia 7 (Part 6) - CLICK HERE
Konsert Akhir Akademi Fantasia 7 (Part 7) - CLICK HERE
Konsert Akhir Akademi Fantasia 7 (Part 8) - CLICK HERE
Konsert Akhir Akademi Fantasia 7 (Part 9) - CLICK HERE
Konsert Akhir Akademi Fantasia 7 (Part 10) - CLICK HERE

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Konsert Akhir Akademi Fantasia 7 (Part 1)

It may be a little late... but here's Diari EXT from just now.



And the actual show... congratulations to the kids for such a great job! Aku banyak sangat gambar, so sabar je ek! Over a thousand pics! Matilah kan??!!!! Also a video from the kids for all of you! Coming soon. Keep checking back here for more...

Aku tak sempat posting panjang sebab tengahari esok kami ada kenduri kesyukuran kat Akademi Fantasia. Will post pics of that too as soon as possible. Until then.. layan dulu Konsert Akhir Akademi Fantasia!


Konsert Akhir Akademi Fantasia 7 Special links
Konsert Akhir Akademi Fantasia 7 (Part 1) - CLICK HERE
Konsert Akhir Akademi Fantasia 7 (Part 2) - CLICK HERE
Konsert Akhir Akademi Fantasia 7 (Part 3) - CLICK HERE
Konsert Akhir Akademi Fantasia 7 (Part 4) - CLICK HERE
Konsert Akhir Akademi Fantasia 7 (Part 5) - CLICK HERE
Konsert Akhir Akademi Fantasia 7 (Part 6) - CLICK HERE
Konsert Akhir Akademi Fantasia 7 (Part 7) - CLICK HERE
Konsert Akhir Akademi Fantasia 7 (Part 8) - CLICK HERE
Konsert Akhir Akademi Fantasia 7 (Part 9) - CLICK HERE
Konsert Akhir Akademi Fantasia 7 (Part 10) - CLICK HERE

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Goodbye Diari 2009

So the last day has come about. Sedih gila actually semalam. Mana taknya, setelah sepuluh minggu berkampung, it was time to pack up and leave for the final Konsert.

It's almost the end, and it's curtains for musim ketujuh after the results tonight.

Dalam sedih kerana Diari tamat, ada kesedihan lain... tapi nanti je la kalao perlu cita, baru I tell you guys about something that happened. Banyak sangat benda sedih tak guna pon. Just for seorang kawan yang begitu tabah menghadapi keadaan sepuluh minggu kerja, walaopon memacam dugaan, be strong, and I know you're stronger than anyone gives you credit for. You're a true professional, and someone yang deserve so much better.

Balik Diari... after the last shots were acquired, memang it was a bittersweet moment when it came time for the last time to hear the words, "It's a wrap!"

And the eleven cameras went off, leaving blue screens and colour bar dan test signals came on. Time tuh baru it hit home for everyone that, fifty episodes of Diari had come to an end.

"And that's a wrap!!!"


And it comes to an end


The cakes come out


And it's farewell to the workspace... where the lives of 14 kids have dominated our 10 weeks like yours


Tapi it didn't end there. Semua tunggu wrap lak tuk shooting host links for Sarimah tuk Diari, which would close the day's session before we move out to the Konsert.

Pas da shoot the last scene, meka radioed in ada benda tak kena. Konon Sarimah kena rakam balik. Without her suspecting semua da komplot. Dalam diam semua berkumpul luar studio Diari... and surprise! It was snow in May!

If you guys tengok Diari kat atas, you'll see how Sarimah kena. I'll also upload a video on Youtube on how dia kena. Heh!

Everyone plotting


Snow!


In tears


Farid ngan aku record the moment


Everyone takes turns for one for the album


And so it was officially over as Diari was concerned.

Yeap.. penat lelah sepuluh minggu, it was all worth it. And to cap it off, everyone in production then naik ke Akademi, dan diperkenalkan kepada tenaga produksi.

I think the kids terkejut sebab ramai sangat yang bertugas at one go. Believe it or not, there is no less than 30 people working on the show at any given time. And I think the kids were taken aback yang ramai sangat berjaga dengan mereka when all this time they think they were alone, save for a handful of people. And I think they were pretty sad too at it all ending...

When it was all over, aku nak sangat balik tidur. Mana taknya...

Bayangkan I had not slept dari sound check malam sebelum. Abih 1 lebih pagi, I spent some time planning with friends for today, and sampai umah pon da 5 lebih pagi.

From there, tak tido sebab nak ke Akademi awal sebab last day... until this point.

Pas abih about 2pm smalam kat Akademi, gerak ke Astro untuk rakaman Diari EXT episod akhir at 5pm. Sempat la curi 1/2 jam tidur dalam kereta.

Da abih tuh lak, at 8pm, atas jemputan Cham, ke studio Era ngan dia dan Rey to talk about Konsert Akhir Akademi Fantasia. About an hour later when we were done, gerak lak ke Stadium Putra Bukit Jalil for the rehearsals sekaligus layan bebudak Gafim dan Aril Lovers yang da rancak wat persiapan tuk booths meka kat tapak Stadium.



Finished about 3 or 4 am. Keletihan nak mampos. Sempat curi dua jam tido, then rajinkan diri update.

It's hectic today. Aku kena kuar awal nak get lots of stuff, and then have to be at the Stadium by lunch or so nak layan semua kelab peminat. These people, all the fan clubs never cease to amaze me with their dedication. Ni la jenis peminat yang bukan stok air liur je, fanatik kompang je lebih anonymously, but put their money where their mouth is, spending their own time and resources to promote their favourites.

Tukang komen lebih sini dari stok fanatik, tak perlu la masuk sini kalao nampak keburukan je ye. Hakikatnya semua tuduhan korang dua tiga kerat tuh yang sememangnya yang bias takleh tima kenyataan orang lain punya hak tuk pendapat.

Pathetic.

Whatever it is, idiots aside, it's going to be great. Aku ada banyak pics bebudak punya last day kat Akademi, but we keep that for later. By the way... tonight, behave people! You reflect the kid you champion, so let's all have fun and not allow beberapa orang batu api to get the better of us.

Malam ni pas Konsert, I will try and update as soon as possible, but it's definitely going to be late. Pics, pics and more pics. Of the last day kat Akademi, of the concert, of the behind the scenes...

And hari Ahad, sambil semua da tak betui tak cukup tido, we have kenduri kat Akademi where the kids will officially be handed over to their families. More pics of that too.



And then hopefully life returns to normal... well, normal as it can be...

See you guys at the Stadium hari nih! And remember AFUNDI!!!


PS - Peratusan akhir kat Diari tadi - Hafiz 35%, Yazid 22%, Aril 22%, Akim 12% dan Isma 9%. Tapi peratusan ni pas Diari sekali lagi da berubah. Some peratusan turun dan ada kedudukan pelajar da berubah. So keep voting guys sapa pon korang sokong. Sebab that's the only way to make a difference.

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Last day

Mai dekat sikit adik-adik. Aku nak cerita sikit. Closer... closer... jangan dekat sangat. Kang orang kata bias lak layan ko lebih sebab ko beriya sangat nak dok kat ngan aku nak layan cita aku nih.

Hari ni aku nak cita sikit pasal Akademi Fantasia. Panjang.. so make yourself feel comfortable. Dah? Matilah ko kalao lom. Baca cepat sangat ke sampai tak sempat nak selesakan diri?

Dah? Ok here we go.

Korang ingat tak zaman sekolah korang camna? I remember. I was one of the smart kids, tapi nakal nak mampos. Mana tak nya. Kawan baik aku gam gajah. Kenapa? Sebab tiap kali aku kena marah (kerana malas dalam kelas), gam gajah akan magically hinggap kat wiper keta cikgu aku yang meroyan tuh siap ngan pasir dan batu kecik bertaburan. Effectnya? Skali ujan on je wiper abih windscreen kena calar bagai.

Gam gajah tu juga akan magically seal tyre valve (amik ko kalao kurang angin camna nak bukak), keliling 'pintu tempat pam minyak' (tangki kosong abih la ko), dan juga semua keyhole pintu (zaman aku skolah tuh lom wujud remote control nak tekan skali beep dua kali da bukak).

I always felt victimised. Why? Sebab my teachers felt I had potential but I was always too butt lazy nak usaha sebab things came so easy to me. Takyah nak susah-susah cramming cam orang lain, aku rilek je, bukak buku sekali da melekat. Tapi tengok topik la (menci Add Maths, Fizik dan Kimia... menci sungguh)

So they paid attention to me. No one said I was the teacher's pet masa tuh.

Tapi kan, hairan bin ajaib, dalam Akademi Fantasia, cikgu-cikgu berikan masa lebih sikit pada yang lemah, terus ada yang menjerit FAVOURITISM!!!! BIAS!!!! ANAK EMAS!!! KONSPIRASI!!!!!!

And the point of my story yang sebenarnya tak kena mengena sangat tapi merupakan cerita orang kertu yang feeling nostalgia bagai? Saja je because I thought it was a good lead in into the topic.

Anyway, itulah noya (tu slang tuk paranoia ek) yang membelenggu Akademi Fantasia kali nih. Ada je salah silap yang ada pihak nak meroyan.

You know what guys? Wake up and smell gthe coffee. Life's a bitch and NOTHING is fair.

Here are some horror stories I can tell you.

A talented artiste yang dulu susah sangat nak mencari deal sebab kononnya muka dia tak elok langsung. Walaopon aku dengar sora dia nak pitam with his outstanding vocal range and creative ability, nan ado yang sanggup amik dia.

Aku pun tolong la nak jual kan artis tuh nak dapat kontrak rakaman. Tapi kan masa tuh, banyak pintu diketuk tapi soalan pertama megalukan kehadiran aku, "Elok tak muka dia"

Matilah ko!

Cita ni betul nya wei. Tak caya tanya Ajai. Thanks to him, yang masa tuh ngan Nurul, yang dengar demo time tuh, esok ada call dari Rudy Ramawi, managing director tuk Warner Music Malaysia ketika tuh, and the rest is history... sebab artis tu kemudian dapat kontrak.

Takyah namakan sapa artis tuh.

On top of that, dengar tak cita pasal artis kita yang sora meletop, tapi sini nan ado, gi competition luar negara. Dengan takde bajet, ramai-ramai kongsi bilik tido atas lantai bilik sebab tak cukup ruang. Bila da menang, harumkan nama negara, balik, nan ado orang amik pot.

Memacam la. Bottomline is, life is unfair. Especially in the real world.

And since Akademi Fantasia simulates reality. Deal with whatever comes. The competition comes with a set of rules. Deal with it.

Bottomline is, aku nampak segolongan je bising meroyan. But takpe la. Hak korang. Just jangan pakai air liur je la ek nak meroyan tapi AFUNDI tuh nan hado! Insecurity bagai, macam lah mati orang disokong kalao tak menang. Menang tuh bonus ye adik-adik.Kita pun nampak ada juara Akademi Fantasia hilang begitu sahaja. Dan kita pernah nampak dah yang tersingkir awal lebih meletup dari yang menang pun.

So all I'm saying is, remember the kids. They need your votes. Ko meroyan ke haper. ko hengat apa ko wat tuh akan mengubah nasib bebudak ngan air liur je ke. AFUNDI la...

But keep in mind, what you will achieve is for the kids to be affected adversely.

Let me paint a picture of you. None of the kids know what's going on, and trust me, reality can be very different. Walaupon meka yang ada dalam Akademi Fantasia, they could be living in a reality that you don't understand. Your perception of things could be very different ok.

So meroyan la sepuas hati. Yang peminat diva, akan mengakibatkan calon juara Akademi Fantasia (menang atau kalah) overrated dan akhirnya bila naik pentas industri, di dismisskan as a joke sebab orang kata hebat bagai tapi nan ado in comparison to the very much heavier competition out there. But peminat diva camnih, pas abih musim Akademi Fantasia, usually go the way of the dodo. Terus pupus kewujudan, katanya.

Remember, in the real world, talent is one thing. Originality counts too. Not to mention everything else that goes in the package like showmanship, dedication... etc

Anyway... enough aku merepek... memacam drama dilalui sepuluh minggu.

None of that matters to me. Not now especially.

Dah nak final. Hari ni da hari akhir meka sebagai pelajar before their big 'exam' malam esok. Damn... I'm nervous lak cam sial!!! Macam aku lak nak naik pentas tuh padahal aku akan dok bawah tuh sorak bagai nak gila.

Sempat tengok sound check hari ni. Not a real judge of what's coming, sebab biasa-biasa tapi MY GOD!

Kalao ikutkan (mesti ada peminat meroyan aku cakap) tapi ni penilaian aku setakat sound check tadi.

Hafiz was vocally stable, but I really don't see him performing tahap final sebab it's what I keep seeing from him previous weeks. Mungkin dia simpan kot, tanak keluarkan energy dia lagik. Hope he brings out the fire and drive to win through his performance because it is the final already.

Isma was trying to perfect small details but I give her top marks for effort, tapi aku risau gila soal execution dia.

Akim matched both of them easily ngan lagu baru dia. Tapi tak sempat catch him on Bencinta.

Then Aril did his thing. Kasih Tak Sampai was a wow setanding the other four, tapi lagu baru dia tuh lom hapal sebab baru dapat lirik baru.

Yazid was interesting, but I think he's struggling with a few stray notes.

Then caught Akim wat Bencinta a few more times. OH MY!!! Pening lak aku. Sebab memang besh. Aku selalu tag Akim underdog. Memang dia la yang tak sangka dalam berapa minggu ni semakin up je aku tengok.

If you ask me, it's going to be really close sebab all of them are so focused and trying to outdo each other. Yang aku nampak skang vocally, Isma and Yazid ketinggalam sikit. Manakala soal showmanship Akim dan Aril mendahalui, in that order sebab Akim memang aku nampak he's out to win this.

Esok nak ke rehearsal layan. Actually aku tanak tengok sebab aku nak surprise cam semua orang ketika final, but I am so worried for the kids that I can't bear to stay away.

So will post an entry much later after I get back from the stadium malam ni ok. There will be some pics from the last day.. it's going to be damn sad!!! Nangis!!!!!

Apapon, korang layan Diari. Kelakar gila!

Matilah kenapa lagu Bunkface jadik Hindustan???!!!

Ok la guys. Korang have a good day. Kurangkan noya... dan teruskan AFUNDI. It's almost over....


PS - Love the stage!!! Simple and yet effective! The lighting especially deserves a mention sebab memang tahap international concert gaban! And need I mention Acis nya arrangement?

PPS - Thank God the rest of the faculty in the Principal and Cikgu Fati kata the kids have a right to give suggestions on their songs because it is their right as the performer who goes onstage.

PPPS - Masih terkejut performance Akim semalam... tak sabar tengok final dia upkan lagik!

(Banyak sangat sambungan, sapa tak dapat tengok Diari, just to let you know, kedudukan AFUNDI terkini as of yesterday - Hafiz - 31%, Yazid - 27%, Aril - 20%, Akim - 13% and Isma 10%. Puas tak puas... AFUNDI lah! Jangan wat isu je (matilah). And by the way, just a reminder, order of performance melalui kedudukan undian konsert kesembilan (which everyone knows it's best to perform first not last sebab bahaya takot orang tak sempat AFUNDI pas tengok) Tak adil? AFUNDI10 la... meroyan apa barang...

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Coming up

It's Thursday. Esok hari terakhir nak bersedia sebelum Konsert Akhir Akademi Fantasia. Everyone's freaking out. There never seems to be enough time for anything.

This is going to be a very short entry. Later je panjang lebar sikit bagi korang gambaran status persiapan bebudak. So far it's, believe or not, too early to judge.

I think they were ready during minggu kelapan dan kesembilan. But minggu akhir ni ada je yang rushing. So teruskan je AFUNDI. Semalam pun da tunjuk kedudukan. You guys happy? No? Nothing can change that selain AFUNDI. So keep it coming and things may change.

Setakat ini kedudukan tepat pertama - Yazid, kedua Hafiz, ketiga Aril, keempat Akim dan kelima Isma. Ini mengikut Diari Akademi Fantasia semalam. Don't know honestly kalau mereka akan tunjuk kedudukan malam ni, or simpan sampai Sabtu.

Pe pon.. korang layan la Diari semalam. More later...

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Gempak Selebriti Astro

Nak lari dari posting Akademi Fantasia jap.

Two weeks ago, you guys know I headed down to Johor Bahru, my favourite stopover - with all my friends kat sana. Seronok ok turun sana. Meriah! Merasakanlah, aku yang anak jati Merah Kuning nih terus mengaku anak Johor nih sebab selalu enjoy when I get down there (ampun Tuanku, I still love Selangor... tanak dibuang negeri!)

Anyway, hajat turun masa tu was for a special reason.

Malam tu tak jadik sesi dengan pelajar-pelajar Akademi Fantasia, and just communicated with Hafiz a bit to pass the message on to the others to wish them all the best, and I'd see them on Saturday during the concert.

Gerak dari Akademi, terus shoot straight for Johor Bahru.

Liberating ok nak drive alone for three hours! Seriously, everyone needs to do this some time. It clears your mind for some serious alone time with nothing but your favourite music on (aku ada 'road mix' aku where I play only my favourite road trip songs) to avoid getting bored (merasalah karaoke dalam keta!) Yes, if you passed some weirdo lip-syncing away that night on the highway, that was me)

Eh tak sebut lak apa niat aku ke Johor kali ni for an overnight trip.

Simple je. For Gempak Selebriti Astro kat Plaza Angsana on Saturday AND Sunday.

Tapi sayang, aku stay sampai dekat pukul 5 petang je hari Sabtu, and then had to make a move back to KL sebab have to be at Konsert Akademi Fantasia minggu kelapan (tuk tengok Claudia dan Aishah meninggalkan Akademi - sodih gila time tuh)

With only half the day (less actually sebab gi Plaza Angsana for lunch ngan Azly whom I lepaked with my time in JB), managed to catch several hours of activity gak ler.

Mak aih! Packed!!! Merasalah da memacam aktiviti (sukaneka pon ada - lama tak dengar perkataan nih) and it was really trying for a claustrophobic like me.

Tapi, aiyo.... apa lagik. Sesi ramah mesra la sempat hi hi bye bye ngan kengkawan.

Seronoknya being in this industry is watching friends working and still being entertained by them - even as a fan. Plus event camni tuk aku - while for fans is a meet and greet thingie, tuk aku is playing catch up with those yang kekadang takde masa nak jumpa.

Let's see who was there. There was Ning Baizura (can you say DIVA - meletops) as well as the Fantasia family (Idayu, Edlin, Fitri, Hazama, Noni, Nora, Fitri... did I miss any names) dan ramai lagi. Owh lupa lak Reza (tapi dia ni kira Era family da skang kan)




Spotted ikon Astro, si adik Alycia Norman Sabri, dan Tok Wan.

Woot! Spotted Farid, and Lisa Surihani skali (da artis eksklusif Astro mestilah ada kan!) Merasalah Aaron Aziz pun ada.




And of course, my mentor in this business selama ni (kertu dah tapi still going strong katanya dengan lagu tema Show Must Go On by Queen berkumandang in the background) - Zainal Alam Kadir (boss!!!)

So I missed Fitri as a cheetah (erm... that takes too much explaining - credit to Ning for the pic), or my former co-star si Farish (matilah penyesalan teramat wat Gaia). Sempat catch a bit of the stage show (sebab takleh lepak lama takut leka sangat sampai KL lambat)



Gosh.. what else did I do there?

The whole Hannah Montana is a little too Disney Channel (read : young - not me)




Had a go at the Sports area with PS2 before moved on to Wii at Fun and Disney areas just for a laugh.

Ok, just for a laugh, biar let me recap the booths there. Erm.. there was the movie themes ones, (HBO, MAX, StarMovies), the 'fun' section (Nickelodean and Cartoon Network), sports (ESPN, Star Sports, Astro Supersports, Golf Channel, EuroSport), the family area (Astro Ria, Oasis, Kirana, Zee etc), learning (Discovery, National Geographic etc) and Disney (doesn't this belong in fun?).

By the way, check this out. On the second day of the event, there's lunch sessions with the artistes involved in GSA where you can get to meet the stars. Just log in to Gempak 09 and be among the lucky 20 subscribers selected.

Aduh... letih banget by the time was on the move back to KL for the Akademi Fantasia concert. Tapi yang pentingnya - the next Gempak Selebriti Astro event, I get to spend a whole day lepaking there je, sebab it coincides with the Akademi Fantasia final!



Make a date tau, at Bukit Jalil on 16 May from 10am sampai 10pm.

Thanks Azly and also kengkawan yang joined up masa lepak kat Plaza Angsana.

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Dah agak...

Why are some people so predictable?

Because memang meka ni jenis stok skema dan kekurangan kasih sayang sampai tahap apa meka wat tuh driven out of desperation gituh.

Matilah paham-paham sendiri ek sapa yang terasa.

Aku da agak last entry aku mesti ada yang panas hati. But yes, it's not the first time in Akademi Fantasia history yang ada pelajar rasa lagu mereka tidak sesuai dengan diri mereka. It's happened before... surprise... surprise. Bukan sorang... mungkin tak penah air... mungkin tak penah orang baru tengok Akademi Fantasia tak sedar.

But that's not the issue.

And no the issue is not changing songs. Tak menuntut pe pon. But I suppose some people limited comprehension bab nih, so takpe la. Dari explain why I thought he had a right say something about LAGU BARU bukan lagu tugasan biasa dia, ada je nak fire.

Bottomline is ada orang yang saja nak cari pasal dengan show ni kan? Biasalah Akademi Fantasia, popular... kenalah carut. Datuk Siti Nurhaliza popular pun ada yang carut. Orang yang mencarut tu yang melangut dok tepi, bitter dan very kekurangan kasih sayang nak cari attention dengan carutan tidak berasas.

Matilah ko. Heh!

Banyak gila komen dalam last entry. I like! I knew some people would go ballistic with my take on what happened, and true enough, ramai yang meroyan. Peliknya ramai yang anonymous yang camtuh...

Takpe la. Musim Akademi Fantasia. You guys have fun venting ok. Jangan kuar and take someone out ngan anger korang yang terpendam tuh. Kalau da gaji atau duit saku tak cukup nak AFUNDI, lepas sajalah geram korang tuh sini free. Just understand these words, "IP" dan "police report".

Amik ko.

Setakat nih aku tak heran. If you guys wonder why I ignore most of the comments, sebab I hate repeating myself. Tuk aku yang tak paham bahasa, ko terangkan ke explain secara rasional camna pon tak guna. And I don't think they even want an answer but attention.

Bottomline, aku nak tengok yang feeling dakwa peminat nih, ada lagik ke tak when these kids come out. Ni jenis kalao follower game bola nih nak sorak kutuk, padahal pasal team pon tatau apa. Saja nak join mencelah nak carik perhatian. Matilah metaphor tengok bola lak. Maksud aku, time ni ada je ramai 'pengkritik kedai kopi' dilahirkan. Meka lupa lak 'kritikan' mereka dengan AFUNDI, bukan ngan air liur.

Anyway, yang 'peminat' nak meroyan nih adalah sama stok ngan peminat yang disebut dalam Diari hari ni yang bebudak jumpa ketika trip HOHO pada hari Ahad. They nit pick, dan bith about everything without love for the show.

The real fans talk about anything and everything, but they support all the kids in spirit of fairplay walaopon mencarut.... kerana ada batasan dalam apa meka lakukan.

I am glad the kids had that episode of seeing some people yang feeling berangan jadik peminat tapi dalam sekelip mata leh kutuk hanya kerana meka tak dapat apa meka nak. Orang camni la yang takleh pakai.

Tak caya? Tunggu dalam masa enam bulan skang. Kita tengok sora fanatik semua yang da hilang kewarasan ada lagik ke tak.

Ok ok... lighten up cita sikit... hari ni kat Akademi bebudak semua nampaknya da more focused. Ketepikan kesedihan nak over da, ketepikan stress nak final, ketepikan frustration pasal orang-orang kurang siuman.

Am glad... isu lagu Aril dengar abang Acis da come up with a power arrangement. Hopefully it'll make fans happy.

Apapon... aku happy bukan je kerana bebudak semua happy hari nih masa lepak ngan meka, aku happy gak sebab dapat borak ngan someone pasal cita something unrelated to Akademi Fantasia. Besh gila dapat info! Nantila aku habaq. It's something quite a lot of people have been talking about.. but not mentioning it here for now. Ramai yang skodeng. Shhh!!!!

Also dalam lepak ngan Principal Datin Seri Tiara Jacquelina tadi, puji skirt dia pakai cantik. Givenchy ok! Merasalah! Cantik! Tapi.. erm... cam familiar kan? Terasa cam jaket Isma pakai Sabtu lepas! Heh! Sekali macam beg aku gak. Thank you Pincipal sporting jadik model aku gak nih ek. Heh!




Ok lah. Nak berhenti meroyan. Korang layan je lah Diari hari ni kalao lum layan.


PS - Jangan lupa! AFUNDI Akim, AFUNDI Aril, AFUNDI Hafiz, AFUNDI Isma dan AFUNDI Yazid.

PPS - Kalao minat bukan stakat minat ngan air liur ngan seribu alasan, AFUNDI10 terus lah ek.

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Here we go...

Korang da layan Diari....? Good. Then this is the song list for this week.

Lagu tugasan Konsert Akhir Akademi Fantasia
Isma - Cinta Adam Dan Hawa (Misha Omar)
Yazid - Kasidah Cinta (Dewa 19)
Aril - Kasih Tak Sampai (Padi)
Akim - Bencinta (Faizal Tahir)
Hafiz - Kau Bunga Cintaku (Anuar Zain)
Lagu Bonus Semua Pelajar - Revolusi (Bunkface)

Lagu baru nan ado info tapi semua da dapat. Merasalah....

Ok now at the risk of provocation of more idiots who use neither side of their brain - here's my take on one issue. Aril's grouses about the new song.

Lagu tugasan baru yang Aril kata tak sesuai dengan diri dia. Apa masaalahnya?

I don't think there's anything wrong with him voicing out what he feels is not 'him' musically. After all, all of the kids pretty much know their direction now, with all the weeks of experimenting different tunes. We too, as penonton, da tau apa kekuatan setiap pelajar.

Now, back to the issue.

Biasalah aku anticipate rungutan orang kata dia feeling diva. For me, it's not that case at all.

Why?

Because firstly, ini bukan lagu tugasan biasa. Ini single pertama kerjaya mereka. Which makes it a whole lot different because this will carry on post program. Kalao korang layan Akademi Fantasia all this time, you'd know the new single, is the one they're going to sing a zillion times six months down the line. Right? Now what if you were in that position, and you didn't sing something you liked.

Secondly, as a commentator kat blog aku pointed out. The critics selalu confuse kuar statement kata meka kena pilih lagu meka berhati hati (of course time nih ada je pengkritik lupa lagu-lagu dipilih untuk mereka). But in this case, it is applicable sebab memang ini akan menjadi debut mereka. They have a right to voice their concerns (action taken or not terpulang la)

Thirdly, the importance of debut singles have to be understood. In any marketing strategy for any upcoming new artiste, ada plan drafted out. The whole A&R aspect of the artiste in question is drafted out, and planned, in tandem ngan imej dan gaya muzik yang ingin dipersembahkan.
So if Aril if opting for a rock sound, perhaps he doesn't want to do pop dance with a guitar riff lacing the dance loops.

Fourthly, I don't think of it as an insult to the composer. Sebab lagu bagus mana ke hanjeng mana pon, kalao leh jual, leh jual. Tul tak? I mean we hear some serious crap on radio all the time. So this new song is not exactly Aril's cup of tea. Perlu ke we breed a whole new batch of clones yang main ikut cakap je dalam studio? How many A&R people does one outfit have? And is it really possible for one person to determine the musical direction of a diverse bunch of kids like in AF7?

Entahlah. Jawapannya, kita tunggu dan lihat.

For me, Akademi Fantasia teaches the kids about the reality of the music business. Or simulates part of it.

Here's another part that you have to learn. You're a singer, if you just sing. An artiste is a tag that few earn, because they do what they feel is right for them, from the soul, translated musically.

Takpe lah. Habis Akademi Fantasia nanti, we see how true my words will be. I've been right so far.

And oh, if you are a fan of Aril, you'll probably agree with me he has the right of choice to state his opinion. If you disagree and bitch about it, it's understandable sebab time nak final ni semua emo nak perjuangkan favourite masing-masing. Guess how it reflects back?

So until tomorrow (since I am tired out with numerous, unnecessary dramas)... good night.


PS - Ingat... stakat bitch kat sini dan meroyan konspirasi bagai no point. AFUNDI dengan handphone bukan dengan air liur (eh... ngan jari). So AFUNDI Akim, AFUNDI Aril, AFUNDI Hafiz, AFUNDI Isma dan AFUNDI Yazid.


PPS - Esok aku ada a special posting on something you should know about these kids.

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