Channel NewsAsia - Monday,
December 17
Singapores Hady
Mirza wins first Asian Idol contest
JAKARTA, Indonesia : Singapores Hady Mirza has been crowned the
regions first singing champion at the inaugural Asian Idol
competition in Jakarta on Sunday.
Hady defeated five other Idol winners from India, Indonesia,
Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.
The show was hosted by RCTI Indonesias largest TV network.
Voting via text messaging began when it was televised
simultaneously to all six participating countries, with an
unprecedented millions of viewers.
Hady Mirza, Singapore Idol Season 2 winner, earlier said: "The
pressure I think is that its going to be shown across six
countries. I started off being quite nervous. But then, as we went
along, it was fine and I did pretty well. I think I did pretty well
and Im happy with my performance."
To ensure fairness, judges from all the six countries also took
part.
Even a voting system to neutralise the numerical supremacy of big
countries such as Indonesia and India was instituted.
Votes were not considered valid unless the sender picks two
singers.
But above all, organisers said Asian Idol was more than just a
competition.
Indriena Basarah, General Manager of Fremantle Asia, said: "What we
would like to do is actually to showcase that Asia has incredible
talent."
For the contestants, the Asian Idol competition gave them the
exposure beyond their own national boundaries.
This may lead to better prospects to develop and promote their
musical talents across the region. CNA/de
