Sunday, November 19, 2006

Tonight's the Night!


First off... PACMAN WON!!! KO'd Eric Morales in the third round. Go Philippines!



It's almost 3:30 PM on a Sunday afternoon. Nic's been sleeping nicely
today (probably catching up on the sleep she lost over the last couple
of days). It's so much fun watching her suck on her toes, play by
herself, and smile. We got her a few toys last night from the nearby
baby store, and she seems to be enjoying them.



Only 5 more hours before I have to head to Megamall for my judging
stint. It seems as though I'm expected to be completely, totally and
utterly frank (and maybe even ruthless). Well, the expectations are, to a point, right. My brother's advice
was to pull no punches with the Idol hopefuls. My mother says to
remain tactful, as the fans of the singers might just take it out on me
later on. As tempting as I know it will be to pull a Simon Cowell,
I'll just be honest without being cruel. If I hear flats and sharps,
I'll let them know. If I think they're emotionally detached from the
song, I'll let them know.



But really, what am I looking for?

Given that the theme tonight is Movies and Musicals (or is it Musicals and Movies?), I am looking for the contestants to give attention to the lyrics. These songs were written as part of or to enhance a story, so even if the music in this case is taken out of context, I would still like to hear the story the songs have to say, as per the singers' interpretations. I'm also out for intonation (i.e., staying in tune), diction, an emotional connection to the material, a connection with the audience, and a sense of joy. I wanna see that the singers are in this not just for the eventual victory, but because singing is their life, and something they really love.

I saw the song choices on another blogsite so this should be very interesting. As I sit at the judges table, I am hoping to hear some of the best performances these singers can dish out. I have a good feeling that I will.

Philippine Idol. ABC-5. 9 PM (or whatever time the PBA game ends). Watch it!



30 comments:

Chinky Fuentes said...

Lea as the judge of Philippine Idol... finally, a very interesting thing on Philippine tv. Gotta watch it! God bless your judging stint tonight, Miss Lea!

Chinky Fuentes said...

I just watched PI and you were great, Lea! I can see that you had fun. You might want to do this more often :) I just felt weird watching Pow sang the Miss Saigon song... Ikaw lang kasi ang nakita kong umawit no'n. She looked like Tam instead :) I voted for Mau. Can't wait for your performance tomorrow!

tin samson said...

i really enjoyed hearing your comments! galing talaga. the others kasi, kung anu-ano na yung cino-comment nila (then again, i guess they kinda run out of things to say because they're there every week?). and sorry ha, pero tama bang sabihin ang winner for the night ay yung director ng show? (hee hee!)

but yes, even before pa, my favorites are really gian and mau! and they were ON tonight, as always. :) surprising you were pretty nice about pow and her saigon song. just my oinion, but i thought you were sooo gonna put her down haha. she was brave for choosing to sing that song. :)

yeah, not a simon cowell. but very, very nice comments and i loved how you were judging. hopeful performers and singers definitely learned a lot! loved that "to be totally honest" bit with the brit accent, hehe! just makes me wish you were a resident judge, hehehe. (sorry, mahaba na ito!)

congrats! can't wait to watch tomorrow. :)

btw, has nicole been sick? hope she's feeling all better now, if ever, since you said she's been catching up on sleep.

Reg Santos said...

i hope next time you will be invited to judge pinoy dream academy. honestly, they are more talented.

Raine Rafael said...

Miss Lea!!! I watched you on Philippine Idol and you look REALLY REALLY SIMPLE AND BEAUTIFUL with that white blouse... you were great judging them... and yeah... you were like SIMON COWELL... (you watch american idol? cool! I LOVE that show)... you were like him... honest w./o being cruel!

Rico del Rosario said...

Lea, hope to see you perform at results' night tonight.

Yours were the most constructive comments of all. I mean, there's a side where the contestants' fans or family might resent you and say "Who does she think she is?" regarding the negative side of your comments but if they have it right in their heads, the contestants should take it pure pleasure to be given comments by a true pro in showbusiness.

Your comments were to the point, kasi. It can get destructive (as opposed to constructive) when a judge gives vague comments (I'm not saying which one of the resident judges). The contestant is left with, er, "I was told I was good, but not that good--I was told to improve, but where exactly?" Your comments, I think, if the contestants take it to heart, would really help them in their careers.

I agree with you regarding Gian (was it Gian?) wearing his emotions on his sleeve with his first song. Break a leg, tonight!

By the way, don't know if you're aware of this forum: http://www.abc.com.ph/forums/forumdisplay.php?fid=115

Raine Rafael said...

I saw that ABC Forum and it pissed me off!!! Who the hell this guy thinks he is? Calling Miss Lea bastos and bias and mayabang!!! I want to strangle hiiiiiiiiim!!!

jeff aguiman said...

Hi Manang! Was able to watch you last night (yung nga lang sa tv lang hu,hu,hu). It was very unfortunate that we were not able to watch it live in megamall since we didn't get lucky to get tickets for the performance night. I even went to megamall Saturday night just to inquire regarding the tickets but to no avail. I'll just try my luck tonight. I'll be heading to megamall after work. One of my friends already has a ticket for tonight. I'm still praying that I will be able to see you perform.

Btw, Congratulations! I heard that you'll have your own spot on the walk of fame in Eastwood. The ceremony will be on the 30th, 5pm. Hope to see you there. I'll drop by since I work near Eastwood.

Good luck tonight.

XXXX YYYY said...

Looked like Tam...Haha! Oo nga, no! :P

XXXX YYYY said...

>>surprising you were pretty nice about pow and her saigon song. just my oinion, but i thought you were sooo gonna put her down haha. she was brave for choosing to sing that song. :)

I know! I was totally freaking out while watching Pow do "I'd Give My Life For You." My friends and I thought Lea was just being really nice. Oh, well. Yeah, it WAS a pretty brave thing to do.

XXXX YYYY said...

Lea, so can't wait to watch you perform tonight!!! Good luck and God bless! (Sayang talaga at malabo ang ABC sa boarding house, but we'll manage. :D )

Dana

Nika Echevarria said...

hi tita!:) while watching you last night, i realized how much i miss you and seeing you perform...cant wait for tonight...hope you can work with tita inday soon where i can watch:) hehe..:) GB!!!:)

MiCheLLe . said...

brilliant performance lea! i love your make-up, very natural! did u just do it yourself?

~ Anne said...

I just love your comments. Lol. and yeah, your make-up looks really good. =)

Sayang Pow is out na... Dapat si Miguel muna!

PS: I loooveee your multiply skin! Reminds me of Mulan~!

melanie villafranca said...

Hi ms. lea! I watched your performance tonight... it was great, different from the original song (i think!?) but still was GREAT....
Yeah... they're right! you should do judging more often... because you give great comments... I wasn't able to watch it live on TV (my parents won't let me Huhuhu...)
Anyway, good luck on your next gig... I hope I can be there (wherever it will be)..
nga pala, when i heard that the best two performers for you is mau and gian.. napasmile talaga ako kasi pareho tayu hihihihi... okay cge gtg ciao!

Rico del Rosario said...

Lea, thanks for signing my CD!

betsy . said...

Jeff and I would like to thank you for the photo op after the show.

Chinky Fuentes said...

I thought Miguel will be voted out. Loved Pow's voice. Maybe the Saigon costume turned the people off, I don't know. They should have given her something nice on her to complement her voice. You're right, Lea, nobody should make you wear something you're not comfortable with... it would really affect everything.

But you, my favorite performer, gave Tomorrow a new twist so beautifully. I didn't notice the make up, maybe because it looked so natural but you looked good in your outfit. Hope to be able to watch you again perform live. God bless!

Raine Rafael said...

I LOVED your performance and your outfit... you looked really beautiful last night... the shimmering black top with the fuschia skirt... AMAZING! Yeah make up is good too! I agree with merokoyui with the skin... very Mulan-ish... ;)

jeff aguiman said...

Whoa! It was a blessing that I was able to watch you perform live at Megamall (Thank God!). Thank you for the photo op. I will upload the pics in awhile in my Multiply. Thanks to Rico and Betsy. Hi Tin! it was nice to see you again.

Please give my regards to your mom, Rob and sweet kisses to Nicole. Love you! From one of your avid fans. One of your "loyalists".

Carmel Hombrebueno said...

i love that word, jeff! LOYALIST! Thanks to Lea's mom! :)

Lea Salonga said...

Just for the record, I did not want Pow to go. Not before MIguel or Jan, certainly. I loved her voice from the moment I heard it. But, the votes will count.

I'm happy that Mau and Gian were safe. We'll see now what happens in the next couple of weeks. Only two more Idol weekends left, with the grand finale at the Araneta Coliseum on Dec. 10. I was invited to perform, but won't be able to, as I'll be performing at the ASEAN Summit in Cebu. But do watch! I certainly will be from my hotel room.

Li'l Dove Feather said...

My congratulations also, Lea!!! :D

BTW, you were no Simon Cowell. Honest, frank, yes, but not rude. I expected it actually.

He he... The people in the audience were kinda noisy, 'no?

Li'l Dove Feather said...

I'm glad Lea made that comment because it always irks me when they tell Pow to wear a dress/skirt when it's so obviously not her. I love Francis and I respect Pilita but I don't agree with them about that at all!!!!

As for Pow's performance, I actually liked her voice (except during the off-key parts and those parts where she seemed to be losing voice)

Li'l Dove Feather said...

Lea, will you be having your annual Christmas concert? I checked your calendar and there's no mention of it (yet).

Li'l Dove Feather said...

I just realized something. The only reason I often missed watching the show was the time (I used to watch Hollytwood Dream and this was already the situation then!). I hated waiting for PBA to end! Last Sunday, it was on time. I think they made sure of that because of you (which was to my advantage, yey!!!) ;p Heck, I was willing to wait just because I wanted to watch you, ha ha!!!

Rico del Rosario said...

Lea, I just read your blog again. Let me quote: "These songs were written as part of or to enhance a story, so even if the music in this case is taken out of context, I would still like to hear the story the songs have to say, as per the singers' interpretations."

Don't you think any well-written song, whether or not it was written for the stage or the screen, has a story to tell, and a singer should put that into context in her interpretation?

Lea Salonga said...

I guess so, but since this was Musicals and Movies week, I wanted to make that point. That the singers should, even if the songs were out of their original contexts, interpret the songs in a way that there's still a story told.

But yes, any well-written song should tell a good story, and that the singer's job is to do justice to it with his/her interpretation.

Rico del Rosario said...

Right. I guess this is why you were particular with Jan just going through the blockings and not being organic about it.

Li'l Dove Feather said...

Sorry for posting about this here but you haven't posted about your PDA visit yet so lemme just say I enjoyed watching you there :) And maybe you won't believe it (he he, I'm remembering what you said) but I'm being sincere about it. I'm watching the longer clips right now in YouTube and you're making me laugh a lot. Too bad there's a lot they edited out. It's cool that people can see this funny side of you and listen to your personal experiences and kissing lessons *wink, wink*