Penyokong Felix, Marsha berbelah bagi
Oleh Amirullah Andi Nur


Apabila Felix dan Marsha berentap bersama Mawi dan Amylea pada final Akademi Fantasia 3 (AF3) malam ini, harapan mereka sudah pasti serupa - kedua-duanya ingin bergelar juara.



TETAPI bagi keluarga dan kelab penyokong mereka di Sabah, nadanya berbeza. Satu yakin jadi juara dan satu lagi sebaliknya. Cuma mereka sependapat dan seronok kerana kedua-duanya masuk final, sekali gus menepati sasaran awal.


BERBAKAT: Marsha
yang pandai
bermain piano
tetap mendapat
perhatian peminat
dunia hiburan
tanah air
kerana aksi
manja dan seksinya.


Bagi keluarga Felix, mereka menaruh harapan tinggi anak muda berusia 21 tahun itu mampu mengetepikan tanggapan awal dia hanya layak untuk berada di belakang Mawi selaku naib juara saja.

Abangnya, Henderikus Agus, 25, percaya peminat dan penonton AF3 akan memberi sokongan padu kepada adiknya itu berdasarkan kebolehan dan kemampuannya yang terus mantap setiap minggu.

“Saya percaya penonton dan peminat AF3 akan membuat keputusan yang tulus terhadap calon juara. Bagi Felix, dia sudah membuktikan kemampuannya apabila mencatatkan peningkatan dalam banyak aspek setiap minggu,” katanya.

Begitupun apa juga keputusan malam ini, kejayaan Felix di ibu negara itu hanya akan diraih empat saudaranya iaitu Celestina, John, Liza serta Henderikus.

Ibu bapanya Agus Dore, 76, dan Solia Maradan, 56, tidak dapat datang kerana masalah kesihatan dan hanya berada di depan televisyen di kampungnya Porak Ogis, Kota Belud.

Berlainan keluarga Marsha, kejayaan gadis berusia 19 tahun itu layak ke final malam ini sudah lebih dari mencukupi kerana sasaran mereka sudah tercapai.

Bapanya, Milon Samingau@ Milan Londoh, 53, berkata kejayaan anak gadisnya itu layak ke peringkat itu bermakna dia berjaya menamatkan pengajiannya di akademi berkenaan.

“Sekiranya dia menduduki tempat terbaik pada malam itu, kami tetap bersyukur tapi kejayaannya layak ke final minggu lalu sebenarnya lebih dari mencukupi. Kami sangat bangga dengan pencapaiannya itu,” katanya.

Milon dan isterinya, Missia Basanda, akan berada di stadium malam ini di ibu negara bersama empat anggota keluarganya dari Tamparuli dan Tuaran.


KOMEN

1. “Felix boleh melakukan kejutan malam ini. Berkat sokongan peminatnya di seluruh negara, dia mampu menidakkan tanggapan awal dia hanya layak untuk tempat kedua, ketiga atau keempat,”- abangnya, Henderikus Agus,

2. “Layak ke final pun sudah mencukupi, kami sangat gembira. Malah penyokong dan penduduk Tamparuli dan Tuaran juga serupa tapi kami tetap percaya dia akan menampilkan persembahan terbaiknya malam ini,” - bapa Marsha, Milan Londoh.

3. “Sebaik dia layak ke final minggu lalu, khabar angin mengatakan bapanya meninggal dunia tersebar luas di Sabah dan Semenanjung. Semua keluarganya sedih tapi dia (Felix) tidak tahu. Kami semua sedih tapi kami tetap yakin dia ada peluang untuk jadi juara. Kami doakan untuknya di sini,” Protem Presiden Felix Fan Club, Mohd Faizal Abdullah.

4. “Seperti juga keluarganya, sasaran kami untuk melihat Marsha ke final sudah tercapai. Sekiranya dia mencatatkan kedudukan terbaik malam ini, ia ibarat bonus pada kami semua,” Protem Presiden Marsha Fan Club, Haris J Mintu.


Fakta


Felix Fan Club
1. Kira-kira 1,000 penyokongnya dari Sabah dijangka menyerbu ibu negara hari ini bagi menyaksikan konsert final. Ramai mungkin tidak dapat tiket masuk tapi sanggup menyaksikan dari luar
2. Bagi yang tidak ke ibu negara, mereka akan berkumpul di padang pekan Kota Belud, mulai jam 2 petang, hari ini. Dianggarkan 10,000 berhimpun di situ bagi menyaksikan siaran langsung melalui dua skrin besar di situ.
3. Sebaik Felix disahkan masuk final minggu lalu kempen Afundi dilakukan di beberapa daerah di Sabah dan sambutannya di luar dugaan.

Marsha Fan Club
1. Berbeza dengan kelab penyokong ini, ia memilih untuk berkumpul beramai-ramai di medan selera di Tuaran dan Tamparuli. Jangkaan kira-kira 3,000 dijangka menghadirinya.
2. Pada mulanya ramai ingin ke ibu negara, tapi membatalkannya selepas gagal untuk mendapatkan tiket masuk.


http://www.bharian.com.my/m/BHarian/Saturday/Hiburan/20050806084839/Article/

Gelaran juara milik Mawi?
Oleh Zul Husni Abdul Hamid



BERGAYA: Posing ekskelusif untuk pembaca Hip.


Sebutir lagi bintang pilihan penonton akan lahir malam ini. Stadium Malawati, Shah Alam menjadi saksi selembar lagi sejarah tercatat dalam siri Akademi Fantasia (AF). Antara Mawi, Felix, Amylea dan Marsha, siapa bakal menyinar?

UMUM terlebih dulu menobatkan Mawi sebagai juara musim ketiga AF. Prestasi tanpa pernah tergugat, sejak kemasukan semula peserta itu bersama Marsha, seakan membenarkan telahan ramai juara AF3 akan menjadi milik Mawi.

Sehingga konsert kesembilan Sabtu lalu, undian untuk Mawi tidak sedikit pun merosot. Sentiasa di tangga teratas, tidak langsung goyah walaupun seawal konsert kedua, pengetua, M Nasir menyelar kegagalan persembahannya.

Tidak seperti dua musim terdahulu, penonton masih berteka-teki siapa yang bakal dinobatkan juara, final AF3 seakan hilang kejutan. Hingga timbul tanggapan, final AF3 bukan lagi mempertandingkan juara dan naib juara.

Sebaliknya, final AF3 sekadar mempertandingkan tempat ketiga dan keempat iaitu persaingan antara Amylea dan Marsha. Tiada lain, hanya itu! Selebihnya ada sedikit tarikan iaitu menonton persembahan empat finalis membawakan lagu baru, di samping tugasan yang dipertanggungjawabkan.

Hanya setakat itukah saja AF3? Atau mungkin juga ada gimik tertentu yang hanya akan diumumkan ketika siaran langsung diadakan? Lantas menimbul kekalutan kepada penonton setia program TV realiti popular itu.

Kecohnya AF3! Seolah-olah pembaharuan atau pengenalan sesuatu yang baru menjadi agenda penting hingga dibahaskan di mana-mana saja. Kelam kabut peminat, terutama penonton setia Saluran 15 bagi memastikan pelajar kesayangan mereka terus bertahan.

Lalu berdebat seluruh peminat setia AF3 apabila Astro Ria selepas konsert kesembilan, Sabtu lalu membuat keputusan untuk tidak menyiarkan peratusan undian pelajar menjelang konsert akhir.

Ramai menjerit, menempelak tindakan Astro Ria dan paling memeranjatkan, timbul tuduhan adanya konspirasi daripada penerbit untuk tidak memenangkan pelajar tertentu yang menjadi pilihan penonton. Aduh, begitu hebat penangan AF3!


http://www.bharian.com.my/m/BHarian/Saturday/Hiburan/20050806085852/Article/

Mawimania landa Medan
Oleh Misiah Taib


Seorang jurujual lelaki dalam lingkungan usia lewat 20-an terus menggapai baju cekak musang yang digantung sementara seorang gadis juga dalam lingkungan usia yang sama mengeluarkan kain batik dari susunan rak di Toko Batik Surya, Pasar Ikan Lama, Jalan Yani III, Medan, Indonesia.


Baju Mawi popular di Medan sejak Akademi Fantasia musim ketiga bermula dan ia dijual dengan harga Rp125,000 sepasang atau kira-kira RM50.


MAWI: Pose
istimewa buat
pembaca Hip.


Batik Siti Nurhaliza pula mula dijual sejak empat bulan lalu dengan harga Rp100,000 atau kira-kira RM40 satu ikat mengandungi lima pasang batik.

Asalnya, cuma ada batik Siti Suharny dari bandar Pekalongan di tengah Jawa dan batik Siti Nurhaliza baru saja diperkenalkan empat bulan lalu juga dari Pekalongan.

“Pastinya kenal bu. Kami juga bisa nonton. Mawi bukan saja punya suara bagus, orangnya juga ganteng. Penampilannya cukup disenangi,” sampuk seorang jurujual Toko Abang Adik, yang terletak bersebelahan apabila ditanya sama ada warga Indonesia juga kenal Mawi.

“Siti Nurhaliza juga punya jutaan peminat di sini. Tiket konsertnya cukup laris,” tambah jurujual di Toko Batik Surya, yang hanya mahu dikenali sebagai Erny.

Ketika Siti Nurhaliza sudah lama menempah nama di seluruh Indonesia, kemampuan Mawi mencuri hati peminat di negara jiran itu walaupun baru diperkenalkan di peringkat akademi. Ia sememangnya satu lagi pencapaian yang membanggakan dunia seni tanah air.

Penangan Mawi sememangnya hebat, memecah tradisi Akademi Fantasia sebelumnya kerana rata-rata warga Indonesia yang ditemui di Medan mengakui cuma mula mengikuti AF apabila nama Mawi muncul.

Nampak gaya demam Mawi atau Mawimania, fenomena luar biasa yang dicetuskan dalam AF3 bukan saja sudah merebak ke seluruh Malaysia dan Brunei Darussalam, malah turut menular ke Indonesia.

Kebetulan Konsert Siti Nurhaliza berlangsung di Gedung Selecta Royal Ballroom, Jalan Listrik, Medan pada 2 Ogos lalu dan tiket berharga antara Rp250,000 (RM100) hingga Rp700,000 (RM270) laris dijual macam pisang goreng panas.

Tidak hairanlah juga di semua pusat beli-belah dari Sun Plaza, ke Deli Plaza dan Medan Mall, lagu Siti asyik berkumandang kebelakangan ini.


http://www.bharian.com.my/m/BHarian/Saturday/Hiburan/20050806085538/Article/

By RUBIN KHOO

Does run-of-the-mill equate to success? RUBIN KHOO ponders on what has kept 24-year-old Asmawi Ani at Akademi Fantasia for so long.

The people at Astro probably never even saw it coming – that one person could garner so much attention.

Since the second episode of the third season of Akademi Fantasia (AF3), one person has dominated the show, pretty much eliminating the rest of the competition by way of his popularity. Because of this, the show’s finale tomorrow has become somewhat of an anti-climax.

Even those who have not caught a single episode are busy pledging support for the 24-year-old Asmawi Ani or Mawi, rendering his popularity a phenomenon.

But how could anyone predict “the power of Mawi”? After all, he comes across as being pretty much a regular guy with ordinary looks and average ability.

“It has taken us by surprise,” says Fatimah Abu Bakar, one of the teachers of the Akademi. The veteran journalist and former editor was the one who auditioned him for the programme. His tone, she says, is quite nice but more than that is the fact that he had a certain appeal.


Mawi’s vast popularity in Akademi Fantasia 3 has surprised even the producers of the show.

“I guess that’s what you call (the) X-factor,” she says. “Either you have it or you don’t. You just touch a chord.”

What does he have then, that the others don’t possess? Producer Roslan Aziz and judge on AF’s rival reality show Malaysian Idol isn’t all that surprised at the Mawi phenomenon.

“I have seen him and I am not surprised,” he says. “He’s got it. He’s got the charisma and he’s got the look.”

A look, explains Roslan, that has been missing from the local music industry for some time – masculine and convincing.

“He’s a handsome, regular guy,” says Roslan.

“He comes across as being a simple and honest guy,” concurs Fatimah.

And in reality TV shows, perhaps, it is the “regular” guy factor that appeals to voters – the fact this person is no different from you and me.

It also isn’t something that’s confined to our shores. In the fourth season of American Idol, no one would have predicted that the blonde and bespectacled Anthony Fedorov would have made it to the final four, beating out other more talented contestants in the process. What carried him to the final four?

Could the tale of an immigrant living out the American dream have proved too heartfelt to resist? Add the fact that he overcame a tracheotomy that might have rendered him speechless and you have a success story that many would love to see.

In the case of Mawi, his popularity has also been attributed to the fact that the show’s appeal extends to the non-urban audience as well.

“AF appeals to the mainstream Malay Muslims,” says Roslan. “So here you have got a singer who is handsome, cool and he can read the Quran.”

Perhaps, Astro also had a hand in playing up Mawi’s “good” boy image. In one episode of AF’s daily diaries, Mawi was asked to lead a prayer before a meal; the producers seemed to play up the fact that he is a Nasyid competition winner who is of religious character.

Mawi, too, seems to be quite aware of what it takes to endear himself further to his target audience. At one of the weekly concerts, he was asked to describe his ideal woman.

“Yang bertudung,” he replied succinctly.

Image thus matters, but it’s more than that. Looks alone don’t seem to be enough as exhibited by the early departure of the pretty Ekin. One also has to ensure that the image is compatible with one’s singing style. Something, says Roslan, that many established artistes and their management teams haven’t quite worked out.

“They create the look, then create the music,” he says, adding that this process doesn’t work all the time. When he first signed Sheila Majid years ago, Roslan says she had the intangible X-factor but his focus then was to develop her sound. Her image was then cultivated according to the sound. In the case of Siti Nurhaliza, it was her voice that first captivated and her wholesome image followed – a sort of branding that she has never strayed from.

The problem with most artistes is that they don’t go through a proper process, which also holds true for wannabe performers who achieve success through reality shows. Winning is, after all, one thing but ensuring longevity in the industry is another challenge altogether.

“That is something that we have to work on,” says Roslan, “but for the moment I am just happy that all the most-watched reality programmes are about singing. I am glad that everybody is singing.”

http://www.star-ecentral.com/news/story.asp?file=/2005/8/5/tvnradio/11659686&sec=tvnradio

By GORDON KHO

Formulaic and predictable, has Akademi Fantasia 3 lost its charm? GORDON KHO has a bout of deja vu.

It is now down to Mawi, Felix, Amylea and Marsha in the finals of Akademi Fantasia 3 (AF3). Are you surprised at the line-up?

For most who follow this talent search reality show that airs on Astro Ria, the choice of students who have made it to the finals isn’t surprising. In fact, we saw it coming.

Like a B-grade flick, AF3, which is once again hosted by Aznil Nawawi, is predictable to a fault. You could almost guess who’s going to be kicked out next or what the kejutan (surprise) factor would be during the weekly concerts. And because of this formulaic nature, we spoke to a few people who agreed that the show has fizzled out.

“I believe there hasn’t been a conscious effort to differentiate AF3 from the previous two seasons. It’s the same old thing, except that this time there’s obviously more money involved. I think quality is seriously lacking. The contestants are boring. Except for Amylea, I don’t see any potential stars,” opined lawyer Charles Pereira, 47.

AF3 is scarily similar to its first and second seasons. Think about it – there are two female students in the finals (in AF1 it was Liza and Nija, and in AF2, Linda and Farah), the students create cute, but not necessarily intelligent catchphrases and we bet that the winner will again be a guy.


Typical scene at the end of each Akademi Fantasia 3 concert. From left: Amylea, Marsha, Aznil, Felix, Mawi and, Kefli and Yazer, the two students who did not make it to the finals.


This is not to say the girls are not on par with the male students. Many thought that the girls actually did better than the guys this year. Confident and personable students such as Amylea, Marsha and Idayu upstaged the guys with their power-packed performances.

“Generally, the girls fared better this year because they are able to carry the songs better. A girl should win this year,” said 62-year-old retiree Johari Saad who has been following the show.

Ironically, sometimes talent does not count for much in this sort of show.

Yanti Anasrul agreed that the voting system on AF reflects more on popularity than talent.

“All 14 students are already talented because they made it to the academy. The votes are based on the popularity of a student and the it is the viewers who decide who should win. If a winner were to be picked based on talent alone, then it’s better if we leave the selection to the professional judges instead,” said the 28-year-old administration assistant who votes for Mawi and Felix.

Some have cried foul over the elimination of certain students while others whispered conspiracy theories. We call it FC (fan clubs).



Academy principal M. Nasir.

FCs are very important in Akademi Fantasia as it can make or break a student. This year’s show not only sees FC members challenging one another in screaming matches via message exchanges on Astro Channel 15 (which also airs the show).

Some fans are so overzealous that they sent threatening e-mail to a Malay daily reporter when the latter wrote unfavourable comments on their favourite idols.

AF is a competition that epitomises the adage – winning isn’t everything. At the end of the show, all students walk away as winners. They go on tour, record albums and make films. Whether one ends up the winner or get eliminated earlier on in the show does not matter.

Ask Nana from AF1 who didn’t even make it to the finals, but has made a name for herself as a DJ on ERA FM. Or Farah who finished fourth place last year, but is the first female alumnus from AF to release a full album, Antara Dua.

What we loved about the previous two seasons was the naïveté of the students who dived into stardom without actually knowing what they were heading for. This quality is sorely missing in the present batch.

This year, the students seemed smug as they know what’s waiting for them (endorsement deals, gigs and acting offers) when they walk out of the academy. Already, they are featured in print ads and have become pin-up materials in the official weekly AF magazine, Aksi.

However, familiarity doesn’t breed contempt for some fans of the show.

Record shop owner Louisa Ng, 42, feels that this is actually the best season. “AF3 is somewhat better than the previous ones because academy principal M. Nasir tries to make the students, teachers and caretakers feel more like a family than a military school.”

Even with its predictability, AF3 is still able to pack in the crowd. Although we can already guess who’s going to clinch the title, come Saturday, we will still gather in front of the telly to watch the final concert. Simply because like a B-grade flick, AF3 still appeals to many.

Tune in to the live broadcast of Akademi Fantasia 3 from Stadium Melawati, Shah Alam, Selangor, tomorrow at 8.30pm on Astro RIA and Channel 15. The repeat is on Aug 10 at 12.30pm on Astro Ria

http://star-ecentral.com/news/story.asp?file=/2005/8/5/tvnradio/11650171&sec=tvnradio