Suki wins One in a Million

KUALA LUMPUR: Form Five student Low Sook Wee, popularly known as Suki, won 8TV’s biggest talent-search reality show, One in a Million (OIAM), last night.

She beat two other finalists – Muhammad Alif Mohd Satar and Ahmad Faizal Mohd Tahir – and clinched the RM1mil prize consisting of cash and a recording contract, that includes collaboration with top producers and artistes, and a marketing campaign.

Met right after the show, Suki said:

“I’m happy and I thank my fans for voting and believing in me. Now that the contest is over, I plan to focus on my studies.


MILLION-RINGGIT VOICE: Suki belting out a song last night.

“I will discuss my future plans with my parents and 8TV when I complete my studies,” said Suki, who won the hearts of viewers with Audi Mok’s original composition Berdiri and pop duo M2M’s Everything.

OIAM, which was first aired on May 26, is different from other talent-search shows as it is open to both amateurs and recording artistes.

Among the artistes who participated in the show was Dayang Nurfaizah, who was voted out in the final elimination round last week.

The contest saw the finalists singing English and Bahasa Malaysia songs.

More than 5,000 hopefuls auditioned for the reality show with hopes of winning the one million prize.

8TV’s Quickie presenter Marion Caunter and Awal Awal Ashaari hosted the show.

What is One In A Million?
OIAM’s prize money is made up of a recording contract that includes production with top-name producers, collaboration with top-name artistes and a marketing campaign. It is the first local talent search reality programme that allows viewers to vote in and vote out the contestants. OIAM is the first local talent-search reality programme that allows viewers to vote for or against their favourite and least likeable contestants.


Before the finale
The finalists
Suki

THE pretty 17-year-old has been taking vocal lessons and a course in music composition since she was seven. As the only Chinese contestant, Suki’s quest to be the champion proves to be a challenge, especially from Faizal.

“It’s an honour to be selected as one of the finalists. I never expected to come so far. Even if I don’t win, it’s a great experience as I have matured so much over the past months,” said Suki who hails from Seremban, Negri Sembilan.

Suki, a pop rock and jazz enthusiast, has performed songs such as Alanis Morissette’s feminist anthem You Ought to Know, Marshanda’s Pasangan Tepat, Shakira’s Underneath Your Clothes and Datin Siti Nurhaliza’s Seindah Biasa.

In the earlier part of the show, Moss commented that Suki did not have what it takes to win the grand prize.

She accepted that as a challenge and will do her best to prove Moss wrong.

Faizal

THE 28-year-old has been having viral fever for three weeks and has not recovered fully yet. Faizal, who holds a diploma in Mass Communications from UiTM Shah Alam, portrays himself as a rocker and has performed songs ranging from Gavin DeGraw’s I Don’t Wanna Be, U2’s Elevation and Bryan Adam’s Summer of ‘69.

Despite enthralling his fans during his weekly performances, Faizal regards Suki as his closest competitor but admits that he can’t dismiss Alif either.

“I haven’t been well so I hope everything will work out all right. It’s amazing that I’ve made it so far and I want to thank all my fans for their support,” said Faizal, who has earned the nickname of “Superman”, because of the trademark Superman t-shirt he wears throughout the competition.

Alif

EASY-going and the youngest of the lot, Alif has shown strong determination. Vibrant, but with a boy-next-door image, he plans to use the prize money to establish a music career and set up a music school for the disabled.

The 16-year-old sees Faizal as his main competitor despite their close bond.

Throughout the elimination process, Alif has performed songs ranging from Sheila on 7’s Pria Terhebat, Rob Thomas’ Lonely No More and Footloose by Kenny Loggins.

“I’m hoping to do my very best and hoping to work closely with the choreographer to come up with something really creative,” said the well-mannered Form Four student from SMK Seri Hartamas in Kuala Lumpur.

What the pros say

WITH the grand finale just hours away, here’s what a few key people have to say about the competition.

Paul Moss has seen positive development in the three finalists. According to him, the trio have potential and are talented singers.

“Suki has shown progress over the past three weeks while Faizal is oozing with confidence. He knows exactly what he wants from the competition and is ready to face all challenges should he win the competition.

“Alif, on the other hand, is someone I still don’t understand. He is talented but I think he would do better as a musical singer.”

Fashion stylist Peter Lum said the finalists will be sporting Armani Exchange outfits ranging from dresses to smart casual wear, depending on their personality.

“Faizal appears like a rocker so his attire would be more of jeans, jacket and t-shirt. And as a treat for his fans, he will be sporting Superman’s apparel specially customised by JT Network PTE Ltd in Singapore.

Suki will be wearing a pastel-coloured dress and a denim outfit while Alif will sport jackets and shirts,” said Lum, who was the stylist for Malaysian Idol.

Vocal coach Mohd Amri Mohd Zain has been busy training the trio. For the past week, he has been training them to improve on their vocal prowess.

“They are talented and creative and they know how to use their vocals to enhance songs.

“Faizal knows how to make the song sound different while Alif has a baritone voice despite his young age. Suki has good vocals and understands the meaning of tone production and dynamics,” said Mohd Amri.

Musical director Aubrey Suwito shares the same thoughts. He said: “The finalists are a talented bunch and will make Malaysians proud. Faizal and Alif have a conscious idea of what they want from the competition.”

Performance coach Michael Voon has been concentrating on the finalists’ performance skills since last week. He explained that they will be presenting two songs – a powerful balled and an up-tempo song.

Hence, he needs to train them to use their mind and emotions to reach out to the audience.

Chinese version

劉淑怡后來居上奪百萬
評審：唱得比原唱好

日期：22/9/2006
時間：9.30PM
地點：太子世界貿易中心
事項：《萬中選一》總決賽

百萬新秀出爐了！來自森美蘭州的Suki劉淑怡，成功在《萬中選一》總決賽中，為自己贏得100萬的獎金，成為大馬歷史上首位擁有100萬令吉作為后盾的新秀！


Suki在過去1個星期至比賽結束前為止，共獲得39％的選票，擊敗大熱門法依沙（Faizal），是大馬史上首位擁有最多投資資金的新秀。

在3位決賽參賽者Suki劉淑怡、法依沙及阿力夫（Alif）當中，以法依沙在現場的呼聲最高，盡管他所得的票數最少而理應被淘汰，但最后他的人氣還是讓他留了下來，繼續與兩人一較高下，但最終仍以34％的選票敗北，而阿力夫則獲得27％的票數。


比賽第二，友誼第一！法依沙（左）雖敗猶榮，與同樣表現出色的阿力夫（右）為Suki送上祝福。

法依沙大熱倒灶

Suki在開場后並沒有太受現場觀眾的注意，相反地，她的勁敵法依沙一出場時即有觀眾高聲歡呼，在他演唱完畢后，觀眾更是站起來鼓掌達1分鐘之久，情緒高昂的他們，甚至喊起了“安哥”，一時之間很容易讓人誤以為獎金已經有了得主。

盡 管如此，Suki每次出場都依然展現出自己最好的一面，她的第1首歌是從未發表過的新歌《Berdiri》，而她在演唱《Everything》時，更被 評審莎菲娜芝評為“唱得比原唱還要好”，唱功不容質疑。當熒幕上的支票上出現了Suki的名字后，就連她本身也露出不可置信的表情，淚水更是一湧而出，應 驗了“不到最后一分鐘都不可以放棄”這句話。

在總決賽中，2位評審保羅摩斯及莎菲娜芝的評語已經對SMS投票成績起不了任何作用，得獎者完全是觀眾投票選出。


左起：第1屆大馬偶像潔奎琳維特、妮達（Nita）、全民偶像李吉漢及絕對SuperStar陳詩莉也到現場為參賽者加油打氣。

劉淑怡：感謝電視觀眾支持


現年17歲的Suki在這半年來一路過關斬將，努力終有了成果。

成功擊敗大熱門法依沙，Suki心情當然十分高興，她非常感謝大家給她機會及相信她的能力。Suki在記者會上接受媒體訪問時，似乎還沒有接受這個事實，她說，此刻的心情真的不曉得該如何形容，只有無限的開心及感謝。

Suki在當晚的受歡迎程度遠遠不及法依沙，她直認不諱地說：“法依沙的表現真的很好，我知道自己的第1首選曲無法引起現場歡眾的共鳴，但我非常感謝在電視機旁的觀眾所給予的支持，希望將來會有更好的成績，不讓大家失望。”

3歲展天賦


劉淑怡的家人朋友拉大隊前來助陣，果然沒有失望而歸！

Suki說，在她3歲的時候，爸媽帶她參加朋友的婚禮，她到了現場后，就搬了張小椅子上台，獻出她在舞台上的第1次。爸媽知道這小娃對唱歌很有興趣，就開始讓她學習音樂。得到100萬獎金后，她還得和爸媽及八度空間商討如何好好運用這筆獎金。

已經有2個月沒踏足校園的她說，比賽完畢第一件事就是要回去上課，接下來她將應付SPM考試。

Suki小檔案：

姓名：劉淑怡
家鄉：森美蘭，芙蓉
出生日期：1989年12月11日
年齡：17歲
身高：158公分
能操語言：國語、英語、華語
教育程度：2006年度SPM考生

八度空間：為Suki找唱片公司

日期：22/9/2006
時間：11.45PM
地點：太子世界貿易中心會議室
事項：《萬中選一》總決賽記者會

成功擊敗大熱門法依沙，Suki心情當然十分高興，她非常感八度空間首席執行員阿莫伊贊奧瑪表示，八度空間將會為Suki找尋適合的唱片公司，以100萬令吉的獎金把Suki打造成一位耀眼的藝人，希望她以這100萬賺得更多更多的100萬。

他也指出，統計數字顯示只有18％的觀眾是投淘汰票，82％投支持票，所以，即使把淘汰票也一並計算的話，對結果完全起不了作用。