Semi comes final!

14 October was a very long day to me. Mixing with pressure and scare, unexpetedly, it ended as my biggest day ever....

Started from a nerve cracking Saturday morning, I began my journey with the rest of the 18 contestants in the semi final. The venue is at the stage in the Times Square Genting, an open stage which is not too big in the concourse.

I can't remember much what happened during that moment, all i knew was, one of the contestant stunted me, she was the lucky #1, and she is a veteran who also a top 10 in the Malaysian Idol 2005. Besides her, I also noticed a few other regulars who took part in other reality singing show. I knew there was nothing much I can do but doing my best, to pick only 5 contestants out for the same night final would be very tough for an amateur like me.

Within an hour hour, it was my turn, the 10th contestant. My hands shaked badly the whole time when i was on stage. I tried so hard to hold myself together, just to think of the lyrics and the music. "I just wanna have fun..." that's the thing I kept thinking of.

Maybe just like most people said, you'll get it when u are least expected. I was shocked I was chosen as the only male contestant in the top 5 to go into the night finals!

Let me try to recap the feeling when my name ws announced......I remember i almost grabbed the girls on my left and right and shout out..."I made it too???"

I made it into the Sandy Lam Singing Contest semi final!

12 October 2006 is definately a date I won't forget...This is the day I received the call from EMI Malaysia that..I had made into the 14 October Sandy Lam Singing Contest - Semi Final! WOO HOO!!!

The contest is organised by EMI inconjunction of Sandy Lam to Malaysia on the 14 October promoting her December concert in Malaysia and her latest album. The contest started off with a few audition locations in Penang Island, Johor Bharu, Kuala Lumpur and last in Genting Highland. It basically covered most major part of the country, is truly one of the major singing contests in the country of the year.

Oh, let's get back to my motive joining the contest..It started base on the kid inside me, I am a big fan of Sandy Lam! This is the chance of my life time to sing in front of her, and of course, a chance to sing in Genting Arena, the most pretisgious concert hall in Malaysia, as good as Kodak Theather in LA!

I remember the day i went to the audition in Genting last week, nerve was all over me...if it wasn't my friends kept pushing me, i would have gone home. Honestly, I am just an amateur, it has been at least 8 years i never sang in public, not to say if I have to sing on the stage.

Undecisively, I walked to the registration counter, took the form, filled up, when i was about to put in the name of the song i wanted to sing, I was told the song wasn't in the list! Gosh, I bet you know how tensed I was at the moment. What choice i left? I had to request to sing acapella! It wasn't suppose to be accepted, however, maybe the judges pity me, I was allowed. Then i was brought to the waiting room...waiting for my turn.

At the very last second i wanted to walk out from the waiting room and leave, my friends came in. They calmed me down, and we decided to find another song with music to sing. So 3 of us busy looking for substitute, there, they helped me picked this song "Day & Night".

After about 30 min, i was called to the audition room....one last check, I told the assistant about me changing my song with one condition, I got to look at the screen to see the lyrics and sing! I know what a disastereous attempt...but it is better than acapella, i thaught. So i walked in togther with the assistant, and I saw the judges! Those familiar judges that judged in some TV singing reality show..."Can I go?" That was the only thing i could remember to say inside me. The assistant helped me to explain my situation. I even told my a-night before decision and I came empty hands. Then one of the judge spoke, they accepted my attempt. However, I needed to sing one extra song, the acapella song that i registered earlier.

Music started, I sang looking the screen....yeah i know that was so embarrassing! Surprisingly, no pitchy problem and the judges seemed to like it. Now the worst moment came...without lyrics, I can't remember the lyrics in my acapella song. I invented the lyrics, i stumbled....all most anything that you can name of except my voice. After my performance, one of the judges spoke to me that I can't sing without knowing the lyrics. What else can I say? My fault....

I walked out the room with emptyness...and i thaught it got to be a No.

Ever since then, i was very disappointed about myself for not able to remember the lyrics...and i realised how badly I actually wanted to sing in the final. I as hoping the miracle..

Yes, it happened! 12 October 2006, when i was able to leave my work, an sms came...saying in mandarin " ..congratulations you are in the semi final!" I couldn't believe my eyes.....I made it!!!! I made it!!!!!

Now, I am looking forward for the coming 12 October, I promised myself it will be my day!

...to be continued