Another awards show over. Another nail in the proverbial coffin of our music industry. This review is long overdue. I have been tied up with a few things, nothing earth shattering, just dealing with emotional stuff and my inner mess, but that's another story for another day (or not). Back to music, or rather the noise that people are trying to pass off as music these days. Last month, TV3 aired their signature awards show, Anugerah Juara Lagu. Why it was changed to Anugerah I will never know. Back then it was Pertandingan Akhir Juara Lagu Muzik-Muzik. Which made more sense, because that's what it is. A competition. But these days I guess Pertandingan doesn't sound classy enough. The stupid producers however forgot about the fact that names don't make something classy. But that's another story for another day.
So the 'awards' show came and went. I know a lot of people were upset that Malaysia's current sweetheart who walked into the show with 2 nominations, walked away empty-handed. Pretty sure it has something to do with the fact that she sounds like a lazy-assed sleepy-head whose attempt at singing sounds more like someone who took a shit load of sedatives and is about to fall flat on her face, fast asleep. How the hell she managed to walk into the finals with 2 nominations is beyond me. Also her latest song, Terukir Di Bintang is a blatant ripoff of an old song called Hello Ma Baby, made popular by the singing frog in Looney Tunes (of course the song was around longer than that, in fact it came into being back in the late 1800s). Again, another story for a different day. Just saying, that's all.
I saw AJL on tv. I missed Najwa Latif's performance, thank God for that. How she ended up in the finals will remain a mystery to me. Bad vocals, bad song, just bad. I can't stress enough on how bad a singer and an alleged composer she is.
Basically the whole AJL show was a letdown. To me, at least. Too many theatrics, too much focus on things that did not matter. And a lot of oversight on the part of the producers. The main thing I could not get over was how the winner went up on stage to receive his prize looking like someone who was stepping out into his kebun to tanam pokok betik. He should at least have some respect and change into something more proper after his performance. If the track bottom and t-shirt was pertinent to his performance, fine. But couldn't he have changed after that? At least into a decent pair of slacks and shirt. What is becoming of our male singers today? Freedom of expression does not mean that you should step out into the limelight looking like you just got out of bed!
I know I'm sounding like a grumpy old woman here, but I am just tired. Tired of the whole music industry. Tired of the film industry. In general, just tired of our whole entertainment scene. Sometimes I wish that ten years ago I had had the smarts to choose a different line of interest. Perhaps if I had paid more attention during math and science, I would be a scientist today and be spared the heartache of seeing the industry I'm in go down the toilet. Ten years ago, someone like Najwa Latif would not have been given the time of day as a singer, much less a composer. Someone like Yuna would have to work harder at sounding awake and alive in order for her to be accepted as a singer. Someone like Hafiz would not be able to walk on stage with hair like he's cultivating a family of bees in it. Sheesh.
One of the things that made me wanna pull my hair out by the roots while watching AJL was the insufferable combination of Cheryl Samad and that bald headed guy as the hosts. They were so banal and irritating that I strongly urge Merriam-Webster and Oxford to induct their names into the dictionary right next to the words ANNOYING and ASININE. So many celebrities in Malaysia, and somehow the producers arrived at the conclusion that those two would make a perfect match?? How on earth did that happen??
And what about the theatrics? There were just so many of it that it became overkill. Remember Aishah's performance of Janji Manismu back in 1990? The suitcase, the monologue, that was just nice. It fit the song beautifully and it did not make you want to roll your eyes straight out of its sockets. They should just start calling it Anugerah Juara Gimmick from now on.
So the 'awards' show came and went. I know a lot of people were upset that Malaysia's current sweetheart who walked into the show with 2 nominations, walked away empty-handed. Pretty sure it has something to do with the fact that she sounds like a lazy-assed sleepy-head whose attempt at singing sounds more like someone who took a shit load of sedatives and is about to fall flat on her face, fast asleep. How the hell she managed to walk into the finals with 2 nominations is beyond me. Also her latest song, Terukir Di Bintang is a blatant ripoff of an old song called Hello Ma Baby, made popular by the singing frog in Looney Tunes (of course the song was around longer than that, in fact it came into being back in the late 1800s). Again, another story for a different day. Just saying, that's all.
I saw AJL on tv. I missed Najwa Latif's performance, thank God for that. How she ended up in the finals will remain a mystery to me. Bad vocals, bad song, just bad. I can't stress enough on how bad a singer and an alleged composer she is.
Basically the whole AJL show was a letdown. To me, at least. Too many theatrics, too much focus on things that did not matter. And a lot of oversight on the part of the producers. The main thing I could not get over was how the winner went up on stage to receive his prize looking like someone who was stepping out into his kebun to tanam pokok betik. He should at least have some respect and change into something more proper after his performance. If the track bottom and t-shirt was pertinent to his performance, fine. But couldn't he have changed after that? At least into a decent pair of slacks and shirt. What is becoming of our male singers today? Freedom of expression does not mean that you should step out into the limelight looking like you just got out of bed!
I know I'm sounding like a grumpy old woman here, but I am just tired. Tired of the whole music industry. Tired of the film industry. In general, just tired of our whole entertainment scene. Sometimes I wish that ten years ago I had had the smarts to choose a different line of interest. Perhaps if I had paid more attention during math and science, I would be a scientist today and be spared the heartache of seeing the industry I'm in go down the toilet. Ten years ago, someone like Najwa Latif would not have been given the time of day as a singer, much less a composer. Someone like Yuna would have to work harder at sounding awake and alive in order for her to be accepted as a singer. Someone like Hafiz would not be able to walk on stage with hair like he's cultivating a family of bees in it. Sheesh.
One of the things that made me wanna pull my hair out by the roots while watching AJL was the insufferable combination of Cheryl Samad and that bald headed guy as the hosts. They were so banal and irritating that I strongly urge Merriam-Webster and Oxford to induct their names into the dictionary right next to the words ANNOYING and ASININE. So many celebrities in Malaysia, and somehow the producers arrived at the conclusion that those two would make a perfect match?? How on earth did that happen??
And what about the theatrics? There were just so many of it that it became overkill. Remember Aishah's performance of Janji Manismu back in 1990? The suitcase, the monologue, that was just nice. It fit the song beautifully and it did not make you want to roll your eyes straight out of its sockets. They should just start calling it Anugerah Juara Gimmick from now on.
Another thing that made the whole show worse than it already was, the ridiculous trio who came out at the end belting out Sudirman's songs. Say what you want, but in my books, Azlan and his ridiculous washing machine or refrigerator or calculator (or whatever other appliance he attached to his moniker) will forever be the dude who can't do anything else except destroy other people's songs.
And of course to top it all off, the clothes some of the female singers wore on stage that night looked like they
came straight out of the closet from Kedai Mak Andam Mak Bedah. It's 2012 people! You have internet, you have money, you keep appearing in magazines cerita pasal pergi holiday sini sana, takkan lah bila berjalan or bila go online, korang tak nampak fesyen-fesyen yang lawa-lawa? Takkan tak boleh beli or sewa clothes that look elegant and smart? Frills and ruffles and mermaid cuts died in the 80s! Most of them that night looked like some color blind person styled them. One of the male singers actually wore green pants!! Santa's elf wannabe maybe!!
But the worse thing that night (besides Yuna and Najwa's vocals of course) was Hafiz being disrespectful to the majlis. Muka, rambut and dressing masa naik stage ambil hadiah macam orang baru bangun tidur and on the way nak pergi jamban.
But the good thing that came out of that night, was the fact that despite the music industry appears to be dying, it is still hanging by a thread. Simply because Yuna and Najwa walked off empty-handed. At least there is still some semblance of hope that the industry may thrive again. One fine day.
And of course the other good thing is that Mak Bedah sure bangga, sebab baju-baju dia filled up at least 80 percent of the night. Way to go Mak Bedah! Keep those sequins and renda and ribbons coming!
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