shaheen jafargholi was brilliant - even MJ thinks so

Shaheen Jafargholi delivered a stellar performance of Smokey Robinson's "Who's Loving You" at Michael Jackson's memorial on Tuesday night. Having been thrust into the spotlight through the UK hit show "Britain's Got Talent", people in the UK were quick to heap praise and congratulate the 12-year-old for performing with such composure, tackling a very very difficult song.

However, in America, critics were also quick to pounce on him and brand him emotionless, talentless and a pale imitation of the young MJ who delivered this song with such passion when he was young. I quote Courtney Hazlett of msnbc.com, who branded Shaheen's performance as "questionable", aka. a lowlight (her article was named Highs and Lows of the Jackson memorial):

"Michael Jackson had handpicked 12-year-old “Britain’s Got Talent” finalist Shaheen Jafargholi to appear in the planned “This Is It” concerts, but there’s a tremendous difference between being a competent enough showman for a concert and a credible performer for a tribute. Jafargholi sang “Who’s Loving You” without any of the soul that so impressed Smokey Robinson when Jackson performed it at the age of 10. Not to mention, you have to wonder if this wasn’t some sort of hint that Jafargholi could find his way onto Joe Jackson’s record label. Enough said."

I would like to see Hazlett go back, be a 12-year-old, and perform this tremendously difficult song. She's a woman, and the song has a pitch that is meant for a woman to sing. Let's see if she can do that. Because nobody has ever claimed dear, sweet Shaheen would be the next Michael Jackson. Most of his fans (put aside the psychotic, senseless ones for now) have just claimed that he'll be a superstar because of his amazing control and strength and purity of his voice. But nobody has said, this is going to be the next MJ. And I, for one, stand by that. I don't think he's the world's next legend, but he's got soul and passion when he sings.

Courtney Hazlett is not the only person to have made this "comparison", that Shaheen is not, and never will be, the next Michael Jackson. So many "die-hard" Jackson fans are quick to go "He's some fat kid who doesn't understand the meaning of this song". Quote, comment by a netizen named Lori:

"This kid has NO “heart”. What i mean by that, is yeh, ok, i GUESS he can sing (scream). BUT, he didnt move me. He’s NOT authentic. He’s a wannabe. As far as I’m concerned, a statue coulda been staning there with a soundtrack. Lousy. I hope he NEVER is compared to the likes of a michael Jackson. So what the circumstance or his age or whatever. You’re either a STAR or NOT and he’s NOT!!!!"

He's a wannabe? He didn't audition to appear in the memorial. He didn't write letters to the Jacksons, pleading to be selected out of a billion "wannabes". He was invited by the Jacksons, because MJ himself spotted the kid and wanted him to be part of his This Is It comeback tour.

MJ's a legend, and we all know that. But just because the legend has passed doesn't mean you go around slagging off other people who are trying to pay their version of their respects. How would you feel if you were a 12-year-old, flown in from Wales, thrust onto the stage when the entire world is watching you, and nail a difficult song like "Who's Loving You"? I think for his age (and let's bear in mind his voice is now breaking. If you watch his audition for BGT, it's much more effortless), he did a fantastic job, with amazing control (especially at the end when he slows down) and maturity that surpasses his actual age.

I just wish full-grown adults would grow up and stop criticising someone who is quite literally half their age, or even more. This boy did his best, and moved the world with his rendition of the song (albeit the way MJ sang it as a boy, but nobody's said Shaheen's a musical writer or anything. Nothing wrong with singing it the way MJ did). So stop slagging off the poor child, and be big enough to deflate your ego and admit that this boy does have talent, and that he does have something going for him. If Michael Jackson himself saw talent and passion in this boy, why can't you?

welcome to my kind of june

Why hello, Collins internet-linked dictonary of Economics. You are my bible and soulmate.

Now please go away.

This adequately sums up my June: water to avoid myself from passing out due to dehydration and exhaustion; my econ notes that I spent so long doing; and my bible.

How I hate exams.

danny gokey - not a fan but loads of <3

Danny Gokey was eliminated from Idol tonight, which was sad because I really do like him, and I think he's mad talented vocally, and his rendition of "Come Rain or Come Shine" and "My Funny Valentine" were amazing. Rat Pack is definitely his genre. So, despite being a Kris Allen fan, I was really, really, really sad to see Danny Gokey go.

But why I support him is also because he, rather than Kris, is the dark horse of the competition. Nothing Danny does is right. If he talks about Sophia, he's "dead wife pimping", a term which I resent heavily due to the compeltely insensitivity. Meanwhile, if he so much as hugs another woman, he's "not grieving" and is "flirting" instead.

Cut the poor man a break. He can't do anything right. The public, so easily brainwashed by judgemental individuals, were so eager to pounce on somebody to bash this year, and it happened to be Danny Gokey.

If anything, anybody who claims that Danny uses his wife's name to "win him tickets" to the final is showing utmost disrespect to both Danny and Sophia. You can only say that when you know he doesn't feel any sort of grief for her death, and that all his upset is just an act. But how can you be so heartless as to accuse a man who's so recently lost his wife of something like that? You can only point the finger if you knew that for a fact, but certain people are just so ready to pick on whatever clue they have and accuse him of not mourning hard enough, or mourning too much.

And besides, it's the Idol producers and Danny's friends who are using Sophia's name more than he is. During the parade back in Milwaukee, he doesn't mention her name ONCE. Well, not in the coverage--if he did, Idol would've pounced on it and made a huge deal. But they didn't even mention the charity. He didn't mention it either. So how can you accuse Danny himself of using his dead wife's name, when it's more the fault of the Idol producers and the Gokey fanclan?

So Danny, I hope you stay strong, because your voice is better than Adam's (even though Adam has a range that nobody can beat), so I hope you make a record, and I, a Kris Allen fan, will be the first in line to get it.

<3

chelsea - the poster child of arrogance

Hmm. Chelsea 1-1 Barcalona. Barcalona go through to the UEFA Finals on their away goal.

Major controversy. Is it a conspiracy? Perhaps.

But.

All the Chelsea fans are banging on about how shit the ref (Tom Henning Ovrebo) was. And how he denied their 4 penalty appeals. And how he ruined their UEFA hopes. And how he should be killed.

Yes, he was shit. But it wasn't like he was discriminating against Chelsea in particular. If he wanted Barcalona to win full-out, surely he wouldn't have sent off a Barcalona player, leaving Barca with 10 men. If he wanted the Spanish to win, he would've sent off a Chelsea player, even if he didn't have a reason to.

Everybody's so focused on the rejected penalties, but let's not forget to credit Barcalona for never giving up, despite going down so early in the game. When Ovrebo wrongly sent off Abidal, already 1 goal down, Barca could've been heavily disspirited. But they kept fighting, and kept going till the final 3 minutes. So props must go to them.

Now back to Chelsea. Did they have the right to be disappointed? Absolutely! I feel very, very sorry for Chelsea, for going out because of such a crap ref. But the Chelsea camp, fans included, have supported the players' reactions, saying that "adrenaline and emotion" makes this all acceptable. No it doesn't! It's an absolute disgrace when footballers surround the ref and bully them. Again, I emphasise that I do think the ref made some terrible calls. But does that give you the reason to crowd around the ref and attack him? Let UEFA deal with him. If they don't do anything, then make some noise. But for the time being, talk as much as you want. Say "fucking disgrace" amongst yourselves. Chelsea had every right to do so. And not at a camera, may I add, Drogba.

On that note, Drogba, stay on your feet a bit more. All those Chelsea fans must be going "Well Manchester United have Cristiano Ronaldo, who has his share of diving". Hey, at least our boy delivers goals. Those 2 crackers against Arsenal, all the other goals that have catapulted us and saved us several times. I'm not saying he's the best player anymore, but at least he does stuff. He shows results. Drogba? Go to acting. Really. I think you might win an Oscar. We should begin a tally of how many times he's feigned injuries. He was "injured" and got substituted, yet when the final whistle went, he miraculously could jump around and skip beside the ref, hurling abuse. Wow, what injury? Was it that serious? Just shut up Drogba and do something. Score goals. Do your job. What about that shot when you were 1v1 against the keeper?

And maybe Chelsea, you guys should have done a bit more in the first leg. It was only 1-1 here. They didn't technically win the game. They merely got that vital away goal. Maybe instead of playing defensive football, they should've avoided playing that boring game. That would've made a difference, as shown in this very match.

And why is Terry the English captain again? His behaviour is far from graceful and decent. Not the first time his antics have been disappointing. What about dancing with girls on the table when he had a "knee injury"? What about those twins and your wife at home? Hmm... Terry, you're a cunt.

So yes, Ovrebo should be banned from reffing huge matches. But Chelsea, you guys shot yourselves in the foot many times as well. 1-0 up in the first half, playing against a 10-men team, at home. On paper, everything was in your favour. Bad refereeing did some obvious, serious damage, and I sympathise with that. But get over your arrogant behaviour of blaming everybody around you, and act like professionals rather than little children in the playground.

let's be pc - it's h1n1

What did I tell you?

Swine flu--oops! I mean H1N1--has hit Hong Kong.

Can we at least have Spirit Week?

&&edit

Grow up, people. One guy in Hong Kong has it, not the entire population. I still believe that the virus will spread soon, but it hasn't YET. So just get on with your lives and stop anticipating your death.

Stupid.

little miss piggy's getting deadly

Get ready world.

Just wait till it hits HK. Then all schools will close. Which is usually a good thing for students, except we have A-Levels. And it doesn't make a difference.

Not that I wish the virus to spread at an even faster rate than now. Idealistically, the spread will stop and a vaccine/cure will be found. But till then, get ready to rumble!

susan boyle - what's happened?

Like many other people, when I watched Susan Boyle defy all expectations and belt out a beautiful rendition of "I Dreamed a Dream" from the musical Les Miserables, I was so impressed and watched the YouTube clip like, a hundred times, each time still awed and claiming this woman to be an inspiration, a real fighter.

The whole appeal about Susan Boyle was that she was your average underdog. She's not pretty at all (forgive me for sounding superficial, but you get my point), she's 47 and never been kissed, unemployed... She's the voice of the normal world, far from Hollywood glamour. Just your average woman, the battling underdog, chasing a dream.

I have tons of respect for this woman. There's no denying the quality of her voice.

But.

Observing the recent hype about her, I think she's become too much of the media's plaything. She's been given a makeover, eyebrow shaping, a new haircut (of some sort), a new wardrobe... But while she's becoming more visually appealing, she's losing exactly what makes her Susan Boyle.

Not that makeovers are sins. Obviously if she feels comfortable or desires it, then it's up to her to have it. But it's almost like, because the media's feasting over her, they're forcing her to become something she's not anymore. If she personifies the normal population, surely her newfound fame and the changes brought about completely defies that image. It's like the media's changing exactly what's so appealing and likeable about her in an attempt to make her a star in their own right. But she doesn't need it. The more change she goes through, the less she remains Susan Boyle.

Look at the past Britain's Got Talent star, Paul Potts. He, like Boyle, was the underdog. When he stepped onto the stage, people sneered. When he said he'd sing opera, people sneered and rolled their eyes. But when he opened his mouth, it brought tears to people's eyes and the crowd to their feet. OK he's a man, and so his appearance wasn't so important, but he, like Boyle, was not, let's say, eye candy. He didn't immediately go lose weight and fix his teeth (he did after he won). He went through, just focused on singing, and it was his down-to-earth appeal that helped him win.

And I just wonder, with the hype, will it backfire? She's losing the whole point of Susan Boyle, and becoming The Media's Temporary Sweetheart. The woman who will be in the spotlight so long as BGT continues, then once it's over, she'll fade from the public eye, and nothing much will happen. I don't wish that at all. I think this woman deserves a better life and a bright future, and the worst thing would be if she's dropped after the storm. You know how harsh the media can be: you are the centre of attention when you sell papers, and dropped the minute the hype is over.

So come on Susan Boyle. Just be yourself. Don't let the sudden attention and fame get to your head too much. Please. Because if you don't, then you're no longer the woman we fell in love with on that stage.

is the world that wonderful, mr wonder?

和平 I 暴力
meaning: peace I violence

It's a recurring joke that in beauty pagents, all aspiring beauty queens say they hope to one day bring about "world peace". It's a funny gag that gets all of us sniggering slightly, but is it that funny a dream? Is it because it's so unattainable, we just laugh at the concept, without attempting to achieve it?

Why does violence even occur? Is it not embedded in the back of everybody's mind that you should only do good? What prompts people to "break away" and commit crimes? Look at the murder of 8-year-old Sandra Cantu. Her body was found stuffed in a suitcase dumped in an irrigation pond. Her alleged murderer has been accused of not only murdering the girl but also raping her with "a foreign object". What could have possibly motivated her to do something like that? Mental illness? Could explain it, but it's an excuse rather than a justification for it.

What about sane killings? OJ Simpson's name was cleared, but the world's pretty convinced that he was guilty of Nicole Brown's murder. Yeah, guilty enough to write that book "If I Did It", and insensitive enough to have the "If" almost non-existent on the front cover of the book. This man is not mentally challenged, nor does he have some sort of emotional problem. He's just a cold-hearted monster of a murderer. And yet he walked free (well, until he got arrested for the other charges), taunting and teasing the world about his "Not Guilty" verdict. Was it prompted by jealousy? Jealous of what? They had divorced 2 years prior to the murder. Pulling jealousy back into the argument is like blaming postpartum depression for your behaviour when your kids are already in their teens. And even if you are a teensy bit jealous, surely you have some sort of mental barrier that stops you from committing "wrong".

And the London stabbings. There's no excuse for that. It's died down now, and obviously everybody's grateful it has, but when it was at its peak, it was absolutely unbelievable in the worst possible way. People say "Oh, it is terrible, but it's okay because it will never happen to you". Well, that's what the victims' friends and families told them, yet they died. Why? Because knife crimes were cool. Cool. What sort of fucked-up world would think that taking somebody else's life--the one most precious thing in the world--is cool? Does this say something about our world? Do we enjoy living on the edge so much that we need deaths to satisfy us? Are we that blood-thirsty now? Is this why people are encouraged to commit violent acts? There are countless excuses for violence and meanness: mental problems, emotional problems, stress, jealousy, financial problems... But that's all they are. Excuses. Not justifications.

You look at the world around you, and it's filled with an air of deadness. Of course there are nice people--I'm not suicidal or pessemistic enough to think that there is absolutely no good in this world--but in this--let's face it--terrifying world we live in, is world peace really such a joke? Is it that stupid of an idea, or is it just so unrealistic that it's merely a dream we revere but not aspire to?

sunny day, sweeping the clouds away

So the fever's cleared up. Still feeling a bit hot, but I think, thanks to my 6-hour roll-around-in-bed sweating session last night (couldn't sleep. Absolutely agonising), it's really dying down. I looked out the window this morning, and man, what a view. The view at our place is gorgeous when it's sunny, but it's fascinating when it's during those in-between days. Looks like something out of Lord of the Rings. Modernised. About to head off to school in half an hour, but my persistent sweating means I couldn't stay in bed a bit longer. What's on my mind now? Hmm. OK I was so right about the quintuplet. My score prediction was a large step in the wrong direction, I know, but told you we couldn't win it. Just too much pressure. And here's some dog trivia: did you know that

* Max is the commonest name for a male dog
* Bella is the commonest name for a female dog

Slightly uncreative, isn't it? My friend's white puppy's called Igloo. Now that is a show of creativity. But according to VPI pet insurance, people apparently like to name dogs as if they're real children. Hmm. Whoa damn the mist is seeping into the house.

And now for some celeb gossip. Apparently the father of Rubina Ali Qureshi, the girl who played the youngest Latika in Slumdog Millionaire, tried to sell her off for adoption. Trust News of the World to stir up a scandel. Quite a lot of people are critical about it. Saying that a parent should keep a children through thick and thin. But (as cruel as this may sound to some), I think he should let someone adopt her. It would be his choice, so no Madonna-David scandel there, and he's right: she's a special child, having been in an Oscar-winning film (whether or not the film deserves it is another issue), and if he can't provide her with a good life, he might as well find someone who can. You can't compare the slums of India with, say, the modern world of America. It's an entirely different situation, and I think people should cut him some slack. Would I ever give up my children (if I have any) for adoption? A big, loud 'no'. But I live in Hong Kong, I'm heading off to London for uni, and wherever I stay in the future (probably still HK), I'll have a job to support my family. But they live in an entirely different world, and sometimes people fail to take that into account.

OK off to school. Joy. =(