He has been stoically facing brickbats from followers of the popular reality talent show who lament over the poor quality of this year’s contestants.
“Cikgu” Norman, head of the KRU show business empire, has even been compared unfavourably with last year’s principal, Datin Seri Tiara Jacquelina, whose no-nonsense approach propelled her best students to Anugerah Juara Lagu finalists within a year.
Producer Astro has also been ticked off for “being unoriginal” by introducing a results show a day after the weekly Saturday concerts in Dewan Sri Putra, Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur. Viewers feel the results show Debaran AF8 tampers with the formula that won AF its many fans in the first place.
The AF formula is one weekly concert that begins in a burst of colour and ends in a tearful farewell for the contestant voted out.
Results shows, fans say, are more associated with American Idol and its short-lived Malaysian counterpart, Malaysian Idol, as well as Astro’s celebrity dance challenge Sehati Berdansa.
In every weekly concert, there seems to be an absence of frenzied contestant supporters and fan clubs, despite the almost packed venue. And in cyberspace, there is a clear absence of fan club sites for the contestants, except for Facebook.
While Norman admits that this year appears “quieter” than the last, he and his team, comprising performance instructor Adnan Abu Hassan, vocal coach Siti Hajar Ismail, dance instructor Linda Jasmine Hashim, acting instructor Que Haidar and motivational and English language instructor Fatimah Abu Bakar, have been commended by followers for a “job well done”.
“Not all AF seasons garner an equal response from viewers, and perhaps this year isn’t among the better received,” he says. “What we’re more focused on is the progress of our students, and we’ve pushed them hard from the start.”
While Norman admits that he does not “terrify” his students, he closely monitors their progress and points out which performances are good or otherwise.
“Every week, we rank our students from best to worst. One or two were slow learners at first, but they gradually caught up by working twice as hard as the others,” he says.
In one of the earlier concerts, acerbic judge Adlin Aman Ramlie lamented that Norman’s students were “way below expectations”. While his stinging criticism ruffled Norman a little, it only served to make him push the students harder and bring out the best in them.
“My team and I discuss with each student the musical genre that suits him or her best,” Norman says. “With two-way feedback, we identify what each student wants and how best we can help him or her give a good performance.”
As at May 2, six contestants remain in the competition which ends on May 22. They are Sabahans Adira Suhaimi, 19, and Ain Basir, 24, Sarawakians Farina Jamhari, 28, and Firdaus Eli, 22, Maulana Mohamed, 22, of Johor Baru, and Iwan Zulazrin Chew, 20, of Seremban.
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Norman has praised Adira, Maulana and Ain as the most consistent performers. The three are also in Adlin’s favourites list.
Adira, who often tops the text vote, has a powerful voice reminiscent of her inspirations — One In A Million 2’s Ayu Damit, Malaysian Idol 1’s Nikki Palikat and AF3’s Ekin Rahman.
While Adlin sometimes reminds her not to “screech”, he always looks forward to her performances. He was impressed with her take on the traditional pop tune Seri Mersing in the fifth concert.
Adlin and fellow judge Aznil Nawawi also commended Adira for her first performance of Mariah Carey’s My All in the sixth concert.
Maulana is easily the best singer among the boys. In looks, sound and style, he brings back fond memories of AF2 finalist Kaer Azami.
The jazz and R&B fan, who is son of veteran singer S. Mariam, has made tremendous progress since the second concert and has been hailed as a “real entertainer” by the judges when he took on Ruffedge’s Bila Rindu in the sixth concert.
Unfortunately, his talent has not translated into votes — he often ends up in the bottom four.
Not unlike talented AF3 beauty Akma Abdullah, he seems to lack that “X factor”.
Beautician Ain, a staunch Ayu fan, had some poor weekly performances before bouncing back in the fourth concert with an honest rendition of Kawan by Ruhil Amani. She was also commended by Adlin for giving a decent performance of Beyonce’s Halo in the fifth concert.
Single mother Farina impressed Norman and Aznil in the sixth concert with her interpretation of Rini Zulkifli’s hit single Mainan Jiwa. Aznil described Farina’s sassy and interactive performance, reminiscent of an Anita Sarawak showcase, as “worthy of a finalist” while Norman said she had “finally arrived”.
Iwan, who excels in rock, initially showed promise, but gradually began to annoy the judges, especially Adlin. Fortunately, his voters have been loyal and more than once, saved him from elimination.
Only five contestants will make it to the finals at Stadium Putra. If there is no major upset, Adira, Maulana, Ain, Farina and Iwan look set for the final showdown.
BY DENNIS CHUA
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