Getting ready for the concert
Started to get ready at 6pm. By the time my cousins came to the house at 7pm everything's all checked (the cameras... checked!! the tickets... checked!! etcetera... checked!!), and everyone was all set to go by 7.15pm. But... I've just realised that heyy!!... this is Brunei yah!! Jerudong is just 15 minutes away and there's practically no traffice jams (apart from the customary morning and evening jams - office goers lah tu!!). Ended up going at 7.45pm and reached my seat by 8.15pm... hehehe... with time to spare!!!
Hehehe... VT of Mawi presenting Maestro’s contribution to the representative from the Sultan’s foundation on Friday 23rd. Hehehe.... hehehe... I can’t stop smiling when I saw this... hehehe... hehehe.... hehehe.... hehehe.... I regret not going to the Yayasan that day... its just 5 minute’s walk from my office... but nevermind... hehehehe.... hehehe... hehe...
Mawi mobbed after the Yayasan do... Gilaaa ini!!
The AF3 stars were finally introduced by Kak Ogy at 9pm. The girls came out wearing masks so beautiful they reminded me of masks worn in a Parisian masquerade dance party. Mawi looked handsome in a light brown checkered jacket (but to me.. he always looks good in anything!! But more so when he wears those two ahem... shirts!! Hehehe). Didn’t really notice what the other guys were wearing though.... hehehe..
So.. the group sang the Freedom song – ‘Sama-sama, mengejar mimpi...’ (can’t remember what’s the real song title). The song was marred with some (er.. loads in fact!) technical problems involving the mic. Man!!! The Jerudong Amphitheatre technicians REALLY need additional crash course on timing!!! Anyway... it was a decent performance, didn’t really paid attention as I was SO BUSY clicking away, taking pictures.... hehehe...
Moving on... the solo performances started off with Ekin performing ‘Let’s Get Loud’. With the background of her pictures during the weekly AF3 concerts, she managed to make me tap my feet to the rhythm... heeyy!!! I didn’t know I had it in me!! It was also during this so called ‘tapping’ that I lost control of the camera and it went straight down the concrete floor!! WHAT AGONY!!!!!
Note: So.... so sorry I don’t have pictures for now... will update pictures from my cousin’s old fashion kodak camera as soon as the film is processed... S**T!!! And I was sssooooooo close to the stage!!!! Sayang... sayang... seribu kali sayang!!!!
Next to perform was Eliza singing ‘Dedebu Cinta’. I don’t know how to comment about her, she sang well... didn’t forget the lyrics... didn’t go flat or screeched at high notes... her expression was flawless... but I just didn’t get it. I blame it on the song then.... its just not catchy enough to have caught my attention.
Akma performed ‘Cahaya’ then... she looked beautiful in a flowing red dress that accentuated her long legs. And what figure!!! Its a shame her very short wig spoiled her overall appearance. That aside, I was mesmerized by her singing... so like during the weekly concert.... I was with her from start to finish!!!
After Akma, Kak Ogy called out all the AF3 girls to perform ‘Cinta Di Akhir Garisan’. It was a good vocal performance by each and every one of the girls with Eliza outstanding with her add-ons, Idayu with her ‘suara burung’, Akma with her focus and expressions, Marsha’s newly recognized (by me of course!) powerful voice although I noticed Idayu helped her with the lyrics. Both Amy and Ekin was overshadowed by the others while I didn't even notice where Amylea was!!!
Interestingly, lead by Kak Ogy, Idayu and Eliza proceed to invite 2 potential 'husbands' up the stage. The first guy called Man (Eliza's choice), was a bit reserved but sporting enough to go on stage. Idayu's choice was much, much more enthusiastic... he practically ran up the stage!! I was surprised he didn't do cartwheels as he practically JUMPED onto the stage!!! The irony was... his name was MAWI!!! hahaha.... Mawi Brunei!!! Anyway.... they did their imitation of Aznil and proceed to receive their prizes after much laughter from audiences (me included!! Surprise.. surprise). Much more entertaining was the fact that Mawi Brunei actually dragged Idayu down the stage (his intentions clearly to bring her home!!! hahaha...) and Kak Ogy had to 'shhooooouuuuu!!!' him off stage. Of course... all was in good fun and I had my fair bit of laughing ... very entertaining!!! Kak Ogy of course didn't forget to say that Idayu will become a Bruneian soon!!! Must say I didn't miss Aznil at all, thanks to Kak Ogy.
Next on was Yazer performing 'Are You Ready For Love?'. First thing I noticed was how much weight he've lost!! His focus was there, he was really into the song and making all the right moves. I still like his 'Suatu Masa' though.
By now, I've lost my pen and couldn't write anything down!!! Great!! My first try in reporting was surely something to remember!!! Only now I can appreciate the likes of SM, waiem, EL and loads and loads of others!!!
So... now I didn't remember who sang next!! Let's see, there's Fuad with 'Puteri'. A guy audience actually screamed 'I love you'!!! Fuad's response was 'Takuuutt!!'. His vocal was good but I just can't get pass his over-expressed face!! Then there was Amy singing her favourite song 'Fallin'. Similar to Fuad, her voice was superb but I can't quite get into the grooves purely because of her 'hampeh' attire!!! Its like a shorter version of a 'JUBAH' from Dubai, difference was her 'jubah' was green and full of embroidered 'manik'!!! Very unflattering for her and very distracting to the audience (again me of course!)
Idayu performed the weekly concert's version of 'Curiga'. Again, superb vocals but I didn't quite enjoy the whole performance. Kefli sang 'Berhenti Berharap'.... and despite his superb performance in Putrajaya, he overdid his emotion this time round. I mean... he sang the song with touches of humour (Unnecessary sobbings, playing with the black and white scarfs tied to the mic stand) rather than sadness and in the end, he spoiled what could have been a heart wrenching performance comparable to Akma's Cahaya.
Reza did 'Alah Emak Kawinkan Aku'. Kak Ogy and Fuad helped him by inviting on stage 2 potential 'brides'. Funny Fuad (or blur Fuad) asked Kak Ogy, whether to choose a boy or a girl??!!! (I'll leave it to you to figure it out!). Reza then started singing, with the other AF3 girls and guys 'berjoget' in the background, including the 2 'brides'. The choreography was the same as the Putrajaya concert, can't find Mawi joining in though and Felix only joined in towards the end of the song (don't know why..?? hmmm). Reza forgot his lyrics... quite badly this time round... he actually hummed an entire verse!! Audience was disillusioned though because a stage person actually ran accross the stage with a mic (giving an impression that it was the mic's fault). All in vain because by the time the crew reached Reza, he remembered the lines and continued singing using the existing mic!!! hehehe... A dead giveaway!!
I saved the best (non-finalist) for last... Aidil!!! I've never quite liked his voice or the way he sang but this time round, he did superb with his version of 'Senyuman Ragamu'. I like... I like very, very much!!! He interacted with the audience while singing, without having to say anything else... how? He teased us!! He started to unzip his jacket to the tune of the song, rolled his sleeves up to the tune... in fact he pretty much did a PG-rated version of a striptease!!! hahaha... so in tune with the music and his add-ons were just puuurrrrfeccct!!! Miaawww!!! And his voice... maybe its the audio system, or maybe its the surrounding amphitheatre... whatever was the reason.. his voice sounded way, waaayyy better than the weekly concerts... go figure!!
Somewhere in between the above performances, the AF3 guys came out and performed 'Raikan Cinta'. Mawi!!!! ... greeted us by saying 'Apa khabar orang Mesia'? Cheh!! I know he was joking... but I wonder how many others know that? Anyway... Mawi wanted the guys to talk some more... to ask the audiences questions... but Reza (was it just my imagination or did he totally ignored what Mawi said!??!) proceed to announce the song they're going to sing and that's the cue for Sham (yes..!! Sham did came along!) to start the music. I notice Mawi just smiled and 'geleng kepala' a bit. Throughout the song, I noticed Mawi interacted a lot with Kefli than the other guys which was a surprise to me considering he was close to Felix. Anyway, the performance was good, some were trying to overshadow the others... while some just stayed within their boundaries. Yazer seemed to be in a trance, dancing away to the music without a care in the world.
There was also an AF3 top 6 'dance' performance, dancing to the tune of 'that Hindi song they've performed during Pupus concert (hehehe... AF3 concert week 8 to those other than me!!). I called it a dance performance because they were miming.. but boy! did Mawi had fun!!! He was laughing along... going here and there, poking at Kefli... he even teased Amylea during her solo dance act....!! I am guessing he missed his time in the Akademi... too bad honey... you're out into the real world and this is how its going to be for the next year or two!!! hehehe... I'm cruel!! By the way, at the end of the song, I could hear cheering and clapping... and it didn't came from us at the amphitheatre!!! hahaha... you can guess yah where they came from?!
After the Bollywood, Amylea sang 'Dua Insan Bercinta'. Professional. That's all I'm going to say. Marsha sang 'Manusia'. As I've mentioned before, I've only just realised how powerful her voice is and she did a superb job delivering this song. Since its Marsha... of course it has to be a sexy performance... she danced quite well now... well... by now I'm so tense and can't wait for Mawi to show up... so my mind was already wandering away...
Felix hits the stage with 'Berjuta Batu'. Again.. my mind was elsewhere (actually I imagined I was at the backstage, helping Mawi to get ready... hehehe... trying to get him to wear THAT shirt again!! hahaha....
Felix introduced Mawi... and Mawi said 'I'm coming....'.. just like at the Akademi!! This time, he get to follow his heart and talk to us audiences. By the way, he wore a tight black t-shirt (but Mawi's so skinny its not really 'tight'!! hehehe) with a striped black shirt. I just can't resist... had to take photo, so had to settle for my crappy camera phone. The result...
He invited Kefli to join him and sing 'Gadis Brunei'.. ahakss!!!! Out came the AF3 girls trying to flirt with the two 'Jantan Terhangat di Pasaran'. More laughter afloats when Kak Ogy came in as a brutal 'Gadis Melayu'.. shooving all the other girls away from the two guys... hehehe... Kak Ogy's really funny!!!
Mawi continued on with his 'Aduh Saliha'. Before that he followed his heart's desire and talk to the audience to his heart's content!! Baru dapat lepas geram after the previous 'incident'. One thing he said, 'Bapa saya dah balik pagi tadi, jadi sekarang ni saya tak ada bapa di Brunei. Adakah sesiapa yang nak ambik saya jadi anak angkat?'... and WHOAAA!!!! What a response from the audience!!! So many hands were raised... I noticed even a little girl in front of me raised her hand!!! hehehe... !!! Back to his performance... he danced... he twirled... and he made all the right moves!! hehehe... the focus of course was his voice.... superb!! Nothing 'un'-superb about it...!! You may notice that I'm at a lost for words!!! hehehe... The sound system, the ambience of the amphitheatre... everything helped accentuate his prized vocal to the fullest!!! Its worth every penny!!!
The finale consisted of songs from the film Grease. Mawi (again!!) surprised me with an attire he have NEVER worn before!! Of course.. I have to keep on clicking!!!!
Sorry for the low quality... it did inspired me to get a proper digital camera with 10x zoom capability!!! hahaha... so... didn't he looked sexy in that outfit?? hehehe... Please take note that after the finale, he promptly untied the shirts knot and only then did he looked comfortable!!!
So... the concert ended with a high note. It was interesting, it was fun, it was hilarious... but more so.. I get to see Mawi in a totally different wardobe altogether!!! hahaha... just joking... But seriously, whether its the sound system, the echo from the amphitheatre or the AF3 stars themselves... I've never heard and witnessed all of them performing better vocally (Reza was an exception!!). And I can't say it enough, I was the closest I've ever been to all of them!!! hehehe...
On this note... I'd like to jot down my apologies for this very long posting. There's also some better quality pictures of the 'Meet The Fan' session that I'm going to upload sometime in the future... hehehe... I ran out of things to say already...
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