The Day After Indochine

Long time since my previous post. Heh...

All papers are over, except for that bloody Lit paper on Tuesday. *sigh*

Was at Indochine last night. Honestly, I don't really like it. But luckily for me, there was Kia Puay, Eileen, Shirleen and Ker Min. Oh yes and Shirleen's brother, Shawn. Or Shaun. Or Sean. Dunno the spelling la. (>.<) Saw so many ex-Cat High peeps there, but thank GOD they didn't disturb me. And now I know Kia Puay's true colours when she's high. Whoo... You don't wanna know. :P

It felt so good to club after such a long time. And the drinks there were dirt cheap haha... But now I'm broke, so no more clubbing for me this month. Maybe next month? Or somebody could give me a treat? Hehe...

I'm going back to sleep now. Tata... *waves*

The Day I Talk About Performing (Again)

Last night was like, HOT!
Had so much fun. And got paid (though it wasn't much, it was a good start.)
Now I know what they mean by hard earned money. It's not easy...

Many thanks to my lovely dancers, to 'Mummy' and the gang! You guys rock my world!!!

Now gotta concentrate on my promos and my personal life.
Ciao for now....

The Day I Talk About Performing

Whoo... Long time since I last posted.

Had 3 performances within these 2 weeks. One was last week at Ang Mo Kio, another 2 this weekend outside Plaza Singapura.

Gig on Sept 10th (Saturday)
The one last week was ok, but it wasn't that cool cos there was some weird local chinese singer called Genie (God, I've never even heard about her...) who thinks she's some famous superstar. Oh well, to each her own. Shan't criticize now...

Gig on Sept 17th (Saturday)
The gig yesterday went well. I made quite alot of friends that are usually out of my league (hip-hop dancers, mostly malay, to be exact) It was a long wait. Was there at 3 and waited till bout 4:30 before rehearsals officially started for me. It was the first performance for me that I actually had backup dancers... Waaay cool! The dancers (both guys and the girls) were really nice, so were the rappers and the poetry slam guy with the turban.

Jiapei was there pretty early with 2 of her friends. After my rehearsal, Meifeng and Tammi accompanied me to get some decent looking hip-hop clothes. But seriously, you can't take a nerd out of a nerd. But I looked cool anyways. Hehe... *grins* So anyways, I had my first "remixed" performance with the dancers during the opening at 6, and my 2 songs at 9 plus.

Thanks to everyone who came down for the show, esp to Jiapei and gang, Mervy (for the bread. You saved my life), Tammi and Meifeng (for shopping with me. I know I seriously lack dress sense.) Raina, Tina and Xuehui who stayed on for my last performance, and FeeFee and Joel... And many thanks to Saleh, Robin, Young, Sulaiman, Ice (Missy MISSY!) and the lot of dancers for your cheers and support! You guys rock too!

PS: I have one more performance tonight at 9 as well.

The Day I Share A Nice E-Mail

I dunno if any of you have seen this, but I'd like to share this anyway.
Those with nice parents, be really grateful.

Calvin's a 5-year-old. He's from a single parent family, and his dad worked long hours just to support the family. One evening, when his dad returned home from work, little Calvin was at his tiny table by the window, doing a his colouring. Upon seeing his father, he happily jumped off his seat and greeted him in glee. During dinner, Calvin asked his daddy,"How much do you earn an hour, Daddy?" His father looked at him, and smiled wearily before answering, "$20."

After dinner, he washed the dishes with his father, and asked made a request, "Daddy, can I have $10 please?" Just then, his father had an outburst. "$10?! Why do you want $10? Is it for buying toys again? Don't you have enough toys already? Do you know how long I have to work to ear $10? And you just ask for $10 like that? Of course I'm not going to give it to you! Go to your room!"

Tears brimming at his eyes, his head drooped low and he apologised softly before returning into his room. About an hour passed, and Calvin's father felt a little guilty and went into his son's room to check up on him. "Calvin... I'm sorry 'bout just now. I shouldn't have yelled at you like that just now. You wanted $10? Well, here you go. Spend it wisely, ok?" Seeing the fresh note, Calvin got off his bed and went to his little desk and dug around in his little drawer. He pulled out a stack of old notes and some coins. Counting them slowly, he passed the money to his father, together with the $10 that his father had just given him.

"Here's $20, daddy. Can I buy an hour of time from you, please?"



Please be grateful if your parents are still around. No matter what they do, they still love you. Learn to appreciate them, before it's too late.
It's never to late to tell them the 3-words.

"I love you, mum and dad."

The Day (Some Of) My Classmates Came Over

Sean, Cass and Kitson came over to my place after lunch yesterday. I hope they didn't have too bad an impression of my house (or of me, as a host). They stayed for dinner, and as usual, my dad cracked a lame joke and nobody laughed (I mean, it was a lame joke afterall). It was nice having guests over after such a long period of "parents only" dinners; It was a good change.

Just got home from school. *phew*
Gotta go mug.

The Day I Talk About The Yellow Ribbon Project

Woke up early this morning to go for the walk in support of the Yellow Ribbon Project. It was a wonderful experience, and I had a really good time bonding with my classmates (those who were actually present for that thing, that is). Other than the whole useless publicity for Jack Neo's new movie about ex-convicts (I mean, how many times can you use the same people from the J-Team for the Jack Neo movies. Jack Neo, if you're reading this, your movies are BORING...") and the scorching sunshine, it was a rather fun walk.

Today, I saw some anonymous tagger's tag on my tagboard again. Oddly, I'm not angry. I mean, seriously, if they wanna tag rubbish, I can't do anything about it. But it's just weird to know how people can relentlessly attempt to disturb someone as if they've got nothing better to do. Oh well, it's your life. Do what you want. *sigh*

Lets talk about the last few days:

Yesterday, a dead sparrow fell down from a tree and onto my head. It was DISGUSTING. In CAPS. I've never kena-ed birdshit before and now I kena a dead bird. Like major EEW. Oh well, I guess we all get weird stuff happening to us once or twice in our lives anyway. Ok, maybe or than once or twice.

The day before yesterday, I pretty much just slacked at home and did revision for the promos. Nothing much to talk about.

The day before the day before yesterday, I went bcak to Cat High and saw some teachers. It was ok, but I didn't get to see all the teachers that I'd wanted to meet, but I guess I'll meet up with them some other time. Then at night, we celebrated Dad's birthday at Sun and Moon, a lovely little posh Japanese restaurant at Wheelock Place, level Three. The food was WONDERFUL, DELICIOUS, HEAVENLY, (add in a nice-tasting adjective here)...

Ok, shall go off now to do more promo-revision. Ciao!

Quote of the Day: Criticisms help you grow; What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger.

The Day I Talk About My Life Thus Far

Time for an evaluation of my life so far this year.

There have been many ups and downs (like who's life doesn't, right?). I thought I've escaped the dreadful sniping by the "Justin Jap Hate-Club: Let's HATE Him Together cos he's so fucking gaaay and we're all a bunch of testesterone-filled homophobic MCP's with EQ's the size our tits and IQ's the depth of our rectums!!! Boo him! Boo him!Yay!"

But NO... They had to find a way to ruin my already miserable life by tagging some useless and senseless BS on my tag-board. Oh well... "Like, whatever." (quote: Jon Jonsson. Jonssen. Jonson. Hiya, I dunno how to spell. Stupid ang mohs.) *rolls-eyes*

I've almost completely lost touch with my 1st-3-months MI clique-mates, but I hope to see them again (hopefully after promos and PW). Talking about PW, that bloody subject is driving me up the wall. My group is practically not doing anything about it. I'm now typing the Written Report draft (with what little information I've gathered on my own. *sigh*) and hoping Ms Tang won't kill us tomorrow. But I'm not very hopeful.

Just watched the Project Superstar (Girls) reunion special repeat telecast this afternoon. I have never seen such outrageously hypocritical people gathering together, bunching and giggling as one on national TV before. I mean, if you really hate each other, stop pretending you're friends! Then again, they're under a Mediacorp contract for the show. The industry is soooo dark and dirty. And did I mention the garishly dressed, hopelessly tone-deaf and terribly off-tempo eliminated contestants returning on that show to bring us grief yet again on national tv? *shivers*

On the relationship front, I'm still single and available. If only the right ONE could come along and knock on my door... Then again, girls are high maintanence. And with my current income level, I can't afford a high maintanence girlfriend. No offence to my girlfriends but hey, it's a fact. Don't tell me you don't want your boyfriends to pay for everything. :P
No, seriously, I can't afford one. I'm not that rich (which is a misconception of many who assume that only-child's get all the bling-bling they want.) Unless of course, there is that sopecial someone who understands my current predicament... Hmmm...

I need to get my mind off comics as well. They're really distracting me as I do my work. Maybe someone should borrow all of them and return it to me after my exams. Then maybe I'll start being more productive in doing my work.

I got a Teachers' Day present from one of my kids in church today. My very first Teachers' Day prezzie! So happy... Haha...

Ah. It feels good to bitch about my miserable life again.
Anyway, gotta get back to PW.
Urgh.

So today, I end with a quote from an anonymous person (at least this unknown person says something constructive. Heh.)



Quote of the Day: A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words.

The Day I Talk About Sex

Sex is good. Just keep the gory details to yourself.
I don't wanna know what you do.
Please...

The Day I Talk About...

I may seem like a perfectionist, doing everything that I have to, to put it in Singaporean terms, being "extra", but I have my reasons. If you should think that I do what I do because I want to be a teachers pet, to be the centre of attraction, and all the yada-yada, then I guess you've got the wrong idea.

I don't have to show people that I am capable, but I do something so that I'll have a peace of mind, knowing that I've done what I'm supposed to do, and I won't feel like I've been irresponsible. But if you like to see it in a negative light, I can't stop you.

I'm here for all to see.

You can judge me, you can have your prejudices, you can put me down, you can love me, you can hate me, you can appreciate me, you can despise me. Blah blah blah.
The bottom-line is: Don't think you know everything about me just because you know who I am.

To the anonymous taggers of my tag-board:
If you really think it's fun to tag my board and do all the talk about me and gays and all the bullshit talk about HIV and whatnot, get a fucking life.

You think it's funny? You're just a cowardly loser who doesn't dare to reveal your identity cos you're fucking scared of me.

I agree, I may be effeminate sometimes, but being effeminate doesn't constitute to being gay. However, being homophobic just shows your immaturity and lack of tolerance for people who are different.

You have something against me, bring it on. If you don't have the guts to do it and say the stuff you say about me in my face, then please, just fuck off.

The Day I Tell What I Feel

Sometimes, being nice ain't neccesarily the right thing to do.

I've tried to talk to you, asked you nicely why you wanna work. You say "For money." Then I try to tell you nicely that "it's really hard to cope with both work and JC life, and unless you really cannot get by, like if your parents aren't able to support you, then you work." You take it negatively, and remain stubborn, standing firm on your ground. I don't continue to talk about you working anymore.

I'd like you to know that it was out of concern that I asked you to stop working. As a friend, I think it is only right that I should respond when I fell you need a jolt back to reality. If not, why would I even bother? But if you insist on doing so, I have no power to persuade you otherwise. It's saddening to see you so tired on Mondays, even though you work only Fridays and Saturdays. Mind you, 8 hours straight is alot of work. But your tiredness has had an adverse effect on our project work group, with you being listless and weary during our Monday discussions.

I'm a frank guy, and I don't want to beat around the bush. I am really unhappy with your attitude and behaviour. If you think our classmates (with the exception of your close friends) are against you for no reason, you are wrong. We may not show it, but I hope you have at least a little bit of empathy to feel at least what we're feeling.

You say "Justin, can you blanja me lunch?", "Justin, can you buy me a drink?" etc, I don't really mind if it's just once or twice. But I feel that you've been taking this for granted. I am not an ATM machine. Yes, I am an only child, but that does not mean that I have inextinguishable pocket-money. Ask yourself, have you only asked me such questions, or have you asked others as well?

Money-wise, if you're afraid to offend your parents by asking for more, do you think your friends will not be offended if you ask them for money? Have some self-respect, be more empathic, think before you speak.

Yes, being frank and straight-forward is good, but being un-tactful is not. The ability to differentiate one from the other shows your maturity level.

I understand your predicament, but I do not understand why you have to do what you do. Please keep in mind that what I have just said above was with no intention of putting you down, but it was done in the hope that if you're seeing this, you can change. If you still feel like you're being ganged-up against after reading this, I suggest that you do some self reflection.

I'll be praying for you.

The Day I Talk About My Life So Far...

Faye has left Singapore over the weekend to the US. Bryna, Andrew and I had a little farewell dinner for her on Saturday evening. It was fun, but I did fell a little sad.

Cos she's leaving on a jet plane
I don't know when she'll be back again...

I hope that she comes back soon.

School has become increasingly frustrating, as the work-load piles up and the promos getting closer and closer. It feels like I've been run over by a 16-wheeler, so crushed and so out of breath. But I've not been pushing myself very hard at all. I guess it's because my incessantly nagging mother, who yaks about my schoolwork all the time. Well, I think it's about time I embrace the pressure and start pressing myself.

My past 5 months in NYJC has been nothing short of amazing.
I'm so glad and blessed to have my classmates, without which I don't think I would have been able to survive. It has been the greatest school-year of my life thus far, although there have been ups and downs (mostly due to my unpredictable and annoying mood-swings). I've never had a class where everybody is so united and helpful.

I was most touched when my classmates made banners for me (and Marcus) during The One. No-one has ever made banners for me. Ever. It really showed how much they cared and how much effort they'd spend for their friends. I've never felt so loved...
I love you guys! (If any of you are even reading this. Heh...)

I'm still confused over certain matters but I guess I'll sort it out soon.
Soon.

Quote of the Day: Eat or be eaten; Kill or be killed; Fuck or be fucked; It's all the same.

The Day I Talk About Shaun

My school buddy:
He's tall, strikingly good-looking and dark. Tall because he's taller than me (but not by much), good looking cause he's got well defined features (it's true), dark because, well, he's Indian (pronounced yeen-dee-en). Heh...

He's funny sometimes, but most of the time, he tries too hard and it becomes really annoying. He has blond-moments almost every other day, but who doesn't right? He's Indian, but he thinks he's African-American. He teaches me "black" slangs once in awhile and I must say, it's pretty enriching.

He gets on my nerves, and he knows exactly what to do to piss me of. Or at least he tries to. But I know he means no harm. He brings me laughter when I'm down, hope when I despair. For 5 months, it seems like we've known each other for an age.

His name is Shaun.
He's my buddy and I love him very muchly (even though he's got so many flaws).

TO Shaun: If you're reading this, thanks for everything. You're a great friend to have...

The Day I Did My Photoshoot

Nothing much to say.
School sucked. Badly.
I'm sorry if I scared anyone with my state today. I'm going through a rough patch.

Here's a pic of me after the photoshoot for my com-card.
Make-up and hairstyling does wonders:


Me

The Day I Cried Over Some Korean Drama Show

Time for appeasement.
First of all, let me make myself clear. All the photos on my blog are for viewing pleasure. I apologise if I have offended anyone by putting them up.

Now, for the boring details of my past 2 days in school:

Yesterday
School was pretty boring today, other than the fact that I got to see my ever so lovely Lit teacher. The Madame Ogre had us go through Shakespeare's Measure for Measure. I like Shakespeare, mind you, but I cannot tolerate her lessons on my beloved Bard's play. She just bores me to death, or near-death.

I guess I just gotta bear with it.

Afternoon PE took a toll on my weak thighs (I forgot about warm-ups) and I'm suffering the repercussions of numbing soreness of my thighs. Shaun made an incredibly blond comment on his hair. He was like, "I realised I've never combed my hair before in my life."
Seeing how he has none to begin with...
(-_-") *cue rolling eyes*

Today
It was a nice rainy morning, perfect for sleeping in. But the responsible school-boy in me made sure I woke up at the usual time and got to school on time for morning assembly even though my first lesson was at 9.40am. Damned conscience!!!

Had a nice chat with Sean, Kitson, Yuxi and Anita this morning in the canteen. Lessons were ok, and I got to watch Jessica Alba in HONEY! Man, Alba is HOT!!! Lovely show, like an extended MTV with thin shreds of not-very-inspirational plot. But it was an enjoyable watch, no less.

After a period of observation, I noticed that I've been pretty schitzo of late. Chippy on one day, moody on another. And while watching the stupid Korean drama finale just now, I cried. While I was eating. I'm having terrible mood swings and it's scaring me. Really scaring me.

I guess my heart's been too broken.

I'm such a cow...

The Day I Got My New Harry Potter Book

Church was fine today.
Perfect.

As usual, I was at the K2 class today. I've begun to suspect that one of my kids is autistic. He laughs at the most inappropriate times (to himself, no less) and doesn't talk. At all. And sometimes, he'd just come up to the white-board when I'm writing and wipes off my words even before I finish writing a sentence. And I've got another boy who has been showing disruptive behavior. Thankfully, I can handle problem kids (by kids I mean 6-year-olds, mind you. Any older and I think I'd die.)

I also happened to make a new friend today. He's Tim's Confirmation classmate and he's from Indo! Like my Dad! (For those who still dunno the reason for my wierd surname "Jap", now you do.) We played pool at Kim Seng Plaza after class today. Man, I've so lost touch with the game. Bloody 'ell...

After that, me and Timmy got back to church for the Christmas peagant rehearsals. I felt so awkward (being a 17-year-old) among the kids but they were really cute. I'm doing narrating for the "Birth Of Jesus, Our Emmanuel" play that'll happen before Christmas mass, my partner being a 11-year-old girl (sister of one of my K2's), the one who called me Uncle.
I'm excited already. *sighs*

I'm supposed to be young but I feel old.
The greatest and perhaps, saddest irony of my life.

Oh yeah, I got my copy of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince today. Costed me only $28. Don't ask how. I'm not telling... :P

Quote of the Day:

Paige Matthews: "Maybe some day I can have a date that doesn't end with, 'Sorry Nate, you can't stay cos I have to clean some dead demons off the ceiling.' "

The Day I Visit The New National Library

Today was an ok day.
Had my first out-of-school GP lecture at The School Of Thought (TSOT in short). In my opinion, it was a really good lecture. The notes were very comprehensive and I gained new knowledge (in a way).
Today was also the day when RW asked me out after eons of our previous meeting. Seems like he had nobody else to ask out (due to the NDP 2005 rehearsal today, or so I assume) so he called me. And so happened I was free after TSOT, so I decided to meet up with him.
Met him at Raffles City and we walked around a little after lunch


Me & RW (at The LIFE Shop)
Me shooting. Him fixing his hair. As usual...

After walking around and some moments of bitching, I suggested we visit the new National Library at North Bridge Road (somewhere near Raffles City). And so we went...


The New National Library
Nice view from bottom up...

And that goon wanted to search for "Phil Kell", or somebody with a name close to that, on the new library's searching system (he's some accomplished painter, or something), so we keyed in the keywords, waited for 10 minutes and the machine was still searching at the speed of a crawling grandma. In the end, due to our waning patience with the increasingly annoying idiot-box, we walked away.

Then we walked around and viewed some exhibits. The library was incredible...


NO Creativity Allowed (BY LAW)
A nice poster I saw at one of the exhibits.

Well after we left the library, we went to Bugis Junction where be basically just walked around and bumped our way through waves and waves of people. It was bloody irritating, partly due to the immense lack-of-air and the huge crowd.

I hate crowds.

I left after awhile to meet my mum for dinner and left him alone to wait for his friend. The rest of my night is unimportant, dry information that is not worth devulging on this blog. Thankyew.


Quote of the Day:

Marvel Girl: We're in the White Hot Room, the core of the Phoenix.
Psylocke: Does everything we do have to revolve around that bloody bird?!

The Day I Snapped Photos In School

Didn't find much fun in school today, so I decided to snap some photos for the fun of it.
Here they are:

After Lit Lecture...



Brenda and Me
"Big smile! Cheese!"



Me and Anita
"Hiyo, I don't want to take photos la!!!"



Me and Meifeng
"Justin! Are you really taking this?"



Shaun
"Lesson's over already? *yawns*"

In the canteen...



Cassandra
"WHAT? You actually took that?!"
Me: *sniggers*



Kitson
"Yes, yes, we all know you've got a biiig appetite..."



Esther
Eating...


Esther
...and drinking.



Jok
"Aiyah, don't take people's pictures when they're eating la..."



Mervy
Oh no he looks like he's gonna HURL!!!



Mervy
Oh. So that's what he's eating... Chaaay... (-_-U)



Marilyn and Shiyun
"What's that in my soup?"



Marilyn's soup



Marilyn
"Did you see that? What was that?!"



Shiyun
"Dunno. Looks...funny."



Yuxi
Laughing with her mouth full.



Shavon (behind the phone)
"Enough already la! Don't try taking my photo ah, or I'll throw my phone in your face!!!"

The Day It Rained Really Heavily

I got home at 12.30 today (but I've gotta go back to school later at 4 for a GP lecture *sigh*).
I must say, it's been quite awhile since I last blogged, so I've got lotsa things to add!

Last Weekend
Saturday
Jerrick is back in Singapore!!! I met him (together with Aaron, Jianye, Zhen Xiong, Wei Da, Joel Kang, Daniel) at Coffee Bean (Ngee Ann City). After chatting for awhile, we went to Cathay Cineleisure for lunch and chat some more. It was really nice meeting my old friends again...
After going our seperate ways at Borders, Daniel and I took a stroll to Heerens where I saw some very cute "western-heroes" cosplayers walking around the place. After awhile, Dan had to leave so I called Emmanuel and went to look for him at Shaw Towers.

There, I was introdused to his mates, Roy and Sean. Cool people, I tell you. ;)
We hung around Orchard, walked till our legs ached and had lotsa fun!!! Especially at Toys 'R' Us Express (in Paragon). We played with the wierd Barney toys and got some wierd looks but who the hell actually cares, right? Haha...

Here's a pic of us having fun (with Emmanuel):


Manbo with lovely flowers

Anyways, we had a really good time. I made new friends!!! Whee!!! *grins*

Sunday
Taught the kids again. Today was on "We Are Special". Indeed, the kids are special. They've become increasingly rowdy and untamed over the course of the last month. I have half a mind to send out e-mails warning their parents on watching the sugar-intake of their beloved offspring just in case they get out of hand at home too. But they're just too cute. Huyperactive kids put me in a dilemma.... *sighs*

After church, I went for my Artiste Orientation at The Avalon. I made a new friend! His name is Desmond and he's from the sports school. He's damn shy though. The orientation programme was really dry and I was bored close to death. Luckily Marcus was there to make funny faces at me or I would have just died.
There was this Japanese woman in the workshop who's introduction was "I want to be a STAR!" She irritated the hell out of me with her wide-mouthed smile (imagine Christy Chung) and horribly American-accented English. I mean, wassup with the accent, y'mean?

Today
School was boring.
Anne Victor, my "stunning" Literature teacher, bitched with her horrendously booming voice over the bloody speakers during lecture again. I mean, if you've got such a loud voice, why bother even using the damned mike? I was fantasizing about stuffing a cow into her great, wide trap and enjoying myself watching her choke to death when Shaun (pronounced Shah-Oon) poked me and snapped me back to reality. Damn you Shaun!!!
She was talking about Shakespeare's plays today, something about MacDuth killing MacBeth then eating McDonalds or something.

I so want to bitch-slap her... Urgh!!!

MARVEL has been getting on my nerves as well. The sodding House of M event has screwed with my favourite titles and characters. I would be dropping them if the post-HOM events do not satisfy my fan-boy needs. DC is calling out to meeee....

Some of the screwed up titles. And my favourite characters... *sobs*


New X-Men: Academy X


Uncanny X-Men

It's not been a good day for me...

The Day I Rhyme

A Little Boy's Life - Jap

Bad news
it came last night.
Went to bed,
I didn't cry.
Looked up and
stared the night.
Closed my eyes,
and saw my pride.

Don't lose your cool
Don't lose your mind
It's all part and parcel
Whenever you try
You fail
You stand up again
You hurt
You cry to ease your pain
It's all a part of life,
It's all part of a little boy's life.

Woke up,
was 8.21.
Told myself,
"I'll be alright."
Took a shower,
that lasted an hour.
All freshened up,
I faced the new day.

Saw the doctor,
I felt much fear.
But after listening,
fear walked away.
And I assured myself
again,
"I'm alright"
"I'm alright"

Don't lose your cool
Don't lose your mind
It's all part and parcel
Whenever you try
You fail
You stand up again
You hurt
You cry to ease your pain
It's all a part of life,
It's all part of a little boy's life.

The Day After CHMA 2005

EXAMS ARE OVER!!!
WHEE!!!

Well, it's been a good week for me. Firstly, because I managed to complete all my exam papers. Secondly, the long awaited CHMA 2005's over. Honestly, the show was comparatively paler than last years, with the exception of the last-minute inclusion of Singapore's local rock-band, Ronin. They really brought the noise (cue ear-drums ringing)!!! Check them out at http://www.roninriot.com/.

Here's a quick recap of the show:

Competition

Solo Vocals
6 Contestants

Host Mark Tan announces that 4 out of 6 solo vocalists were doing chinese songs. First up, we had Neo Ren Jie. He did an ok (but slightly pitchy) performance of Li Sheng Jie's "Shou Fang Kai". Next, it was Neo Gen Rong. He gave an un-R&B version of Taufik's "I Dream". To be honest, I expected better of him. But he didn't fare too badly. After him, it was Richard Liman. He sang the Cantonese version of the Snow.Wolf.Lake. theme-song (orignally done by Jackie Cheung). It didn't sound very Cantonese to me though, cos of his unclear articulation.

Following his perfomance, we saw Matthew Fam, who brought us a drag-queenish version of Wet Wet Wet's "Love Is All Around". I must say, it was the most entertaining vocal performance of the night. The 2nd last performance was by Tan Zhi Yi, we gave a rather weak performance of Lee Hom's "Ai Cuo". I felt that his David Tao song was much better compared to last night's. The final vocalist, Tan Shi Yong, could easily compete with the "Careless Whisperer" of Singapore Idol fame. He practically whispered the whole song! I can't remember the title but it was some Chinese song. So that wrapped up the night's vocalists' performances.

My rating: 2/5

Comments:
Overall, the vocalists were rather unimpressive with the lack of power, practise and stage-presence. They could have done much better with the right song choices. It was the night's least outstanding performance group.

Instrumentalists
5 Contestants

Lin Si Hao took the stage first with his own composition on the piano, which sounded like a mix of Guang Liang's "Tong Hua" and some other mainstream pop tunes. Pretty interesting. Next, we heard from Steven Teo on the piano as well. Don't know the name of the piece he was playing but he played like it was a recording, which can only ba a good thing. The following 2 contestants both played on the electone. The first electonist (is it what they're called?), Andrew Ng did a spectacular job with his own conposition, which sounded very much like the tune you'll hear while playing Final Fantasy during the battle scenes. It sounded great, nonetheless.

During this, the air-conditioning broke down. Due to the increasing humidity and heat level, many of the audience uprooted from their seats and walked out of the hall. It was something that I find most distasteful about last night. It is incredibly rude to walk out of a performance, especially when the performer is trying his best to put up a good show. Anyways, the air-con did come back on and the performances proceeded as usual. The other electonist, Wong Fei Yang, did a marvelous job with his own masterpiece. It was incredible. The final performaer in the category was Dexter Tan of Ecnerret fame. He displayed his great skills on the drum-set and wowed pretty much all the audiences, including me.

My rating: 4/5

Comments
The instrumentalists gave enjoyable performances and would have definitely made the judges job really difficult. I enjoyed myself the most during this segment of last night's programme and in my opinion, it was the most outstanding performance category from last night.

Bands
4 Groups

First up, it was Isthmus. The band played an original composition titled" Empty Void". Their music was pretty good, but it was marred by weak vocals from their lead vocalist. Following them, we had Reef entertaining us with a song by Altar Bridge. It was an impressive display of loud drumming and border-line vocals. Following their performance, DeCon took the stage. I must say, they were the real rockers of the night. They were really good. Lastly, we had Ecnerret, the winners of last year's CHMA in the same category. They were good as well, but were overshadowed by the rousing performance of the band before them. So there we have it, the end of the night's competition.

My Rating: 3/5

Comments
This category fared relatively well, as the music played was good. However, the groups could improve more vocally. It wasn't the worst performance category, but it wasn't the best either.

Guest Items
The first guest item was done by Ronin. They brought the house down with 2 of their original compositions. I must say, even though I'm no hard rock or metal fan, I was impressed. They were very, very professional. The second guest item was done by the winners of last year's group vocal category, Bleached, consisting of 2 members, Justin Seng and Ang Wei Ye. They gave a great performance on a medley of raps from the famous white-rapper, Eminem. The audience went wild with the 2 of them taking stage. It was incredible. Afther them, I took stage as the former champion of last year's CHMA. It was good to be on that stage again.
The last item was done by the Catholic High (Primary) Modern Dance group. They were extremely adorable and talented. I had a great time watching them on stage.

Results
Winners of each category are:

Solo Vocals: Tan Zhi Yi
Instrumentalists: Wong Fei Yang
Bands: DeCon

Overall Champion: Wong Fei Yang

It was a great night and I enjoyed myself immensely.