Grand Finale, Carlsberg Diamond Idol 2012

I had a fun, fun, FUN night on September 22nd.  It happened at the BED, Waterfront, Kota Kinabalu.  It was exciting, it was star studded, it was VIBRANT, it was awesome, & & &..... it was everything you could imagine of a great singing competition.  Carlsberg Marketing S/B, being the organiser of the singing competition, coined this the Carlsberg Diamond Idol 2012.  Opened to all young and aspiring singers in East Malaysia, this 2nd edition competition offered more than RM30,000 of attractive cash prizes!!

It all started way back in July during which the launching of the CDI event was made.  Since then, out of the near 200 entries received, it was narrowed down to 12 grand finalists with 2 contestants each from Sibu, Miri, Kuching, Tawau, Sandakan and Kota Kinabalu city itself.  Anyway, fast forwarding, with all the grooming and polishing that contestants went through in the 1 week preparation camp, the grand finale day finally came & I was there!!!

The stage is set.  It's up to you to step up.

LOL, my partner in crime

The competition took off at the strike of 8.30pm with an awesome opening performance by the 12 finalists.  

That opening performance certainly wowed me.  What wowed me more was the panel of judges.  They are Stephen Lim  (I drool) who collaborated with some of Hong Kong's greatest artistes, Eric Lim (I drool, drool) winner of Astro Talent Quest 2001 and Nikki Palikat (I drooooooll max).  Oh Nikki, you were my fav contestant in the 1st season of Malaysian Idol competition <3. Oops, sorry Jaq & Dina.

Nikki, Eric & Stephen

All 12 finalists performed their own choices of songs.  As a Sabahan, I myself was all rooting for the Sabahans.  Yet I couldn't help but noticed the competitiveness of the Sarawakians.  Soon, the judges made their decisions & the emcees announced the Top 5.  YES!!, Yee Fui Sun from Sandakan, the only Sabahan in the Top 5.  Woohoo!!  Sing to your might, Yee!!!   

All Top 5 continued in serenading the crowd with their final songs selections.

Ng Chien Chien of Kuching, Sarawak

ATTENTION!! YEE FUI SUN OF SANDAKAN, SABAH

LOL, vkitty cheering a Sabahan :-D

Sarah Adiba Chong from Miri, Sarawak

Andy Hadrian Mamong from Sibu, Sarawak

Esther Thian of Kuching, Sarawak

All 5 gave their best performances.  There was nothing much they can do after delivering their final songs for this competition.  It was all up to the judges now. As the scores were being tallied, and while some dance moves were performed on stage, I took the liberty to snap a pic with these guys:

♥ ♥ ♥

And that made my night. Thank you Nikki & Eric. 

So who won the Diamond Idol 2012?  The title goes to:

Congrats Esther Thian

I wasn't as disappointed as I thought I would have for Yee did not capture the title.  Instead, I am glad Esther won for she had really performed well that night...... okay, I am glad coz I predicted her to be the winner O.o........ okay, so I had just made a very random prediction....... & no, do not trust my predictions :-P.  Congrats to Esther once again. She just grabbed a cash cheque of RM8,000, a trophy and a certificate.  The rest of the prizes went to:

2nd, Andy Hadrian Mamong
3rd, Ng Chien Chien
4th, Sarah Adiba Chong
5th, Yee Fui Sun (YEA, u r just as great!!)
& Walter Wong who walked away with the Most Popular Award

The Top 5 winners & Mr. Popular

I love this pic.  Spirit of sportmanship

A great group photo

And that wraps up my fond memory of the event.  Oh, one other, I was not alone, and neither was I with one partner too, but a posse of us event enthusiasts:

We were the medias.  Wheeee!!...... and fun was that night.

For more pics and event information, please log on to www.diamondidol2012.com.my or follow on Facebook/CarlsbergDiamondIdol2012 

Watermarked pictures credit to BorneoColours.com.