This post has strictly refrained from using specific names to protect the identity of the one being dissed and protect my ass for any law suits of any kind should my blog ever reach an impressive publicity level.
I am here to express my deep-seated abhorrence for a certain judge on a certain local reality show. I really think he is a piece of work. I get so furious everytime his name comes up, so imagine me when I see his face on the television screen. I become this mad woman! He brings out the ugly and bestial side of me, a side that anyone who values his life should stay well clear from.
I'm not necessarily devoted to any contestant on that show, so it's not like I'm being biased. I personally feel that he does not provide any constructive criticisms whatsoever to help these kids improve. Instead he picks on their weaknesses and magnifies them, even when the performance is clearly a good one. He never fails to leave a bad taste in the contestants' mouth, rendering the positive comments by the other judges futile and not worth remembering. His words simply acidify whatever that can potentially help their confidence level, which is crucial to any competition.
His hypocritical comments on how contestants should be true to themselves, but should alter their image so that they will appeal to the audience completely disgust me. Why can't the 'barber look' be the unique image of one of the contestants? It is even more hypocritical that he constantly stresses that this is a "singing competition" and yet focuses on their image, when there are no faults in their singing that he can harshly criticize.
It kills me when people claim that he is the Singaporean version of a renown judge with a certain British accent when he obviously lacks the charm to pull off any of the British's antics. He serves absolutely no purpose at all in this show, except to demoralize the kids. Even if it is to 'toughen them up' for the real world, I don't see the harm in complimenting them for their effort or the fact that they take risks, even though the risks may not pay off, just once. It's not that hard, man. It's not like we're asking you to contort your face into a smile or nothing... We know your limits and won't force you to do the impossible. Nevertheless, there is a world of difference between a comment that goes, "Your singing was pitchy at times, but at least you look great," and a criticism that goes "You may look like a star, but your singing was terrible." Any decent human being, with a functioning heart, can effectively feel the difference once the sentences are uttered. Ouch! to the latter sentence, no? And not to mention his total what-the-hell comments such as "Don't get ahead of yourself because none of the credit goes to you," and "You have done little to justify your place in the Top Five". Excuse you?! You have justified absolutely squat to justify yourself as a judge!
And, the way he mistreats the enthusiastic members of the audience, is completely uncalled for. They are the drivers of the show. They make the show what it is and without their support, there is no show he can judge on. Still, he rudely interrupts their cheers with patronizing comments and a hand gesture that demands their silence. If I were one of the contestants, I don't think I will tolerate such treatments of my family, friends and fans. If they want to cheer, you let them cheer and speak only after they are done.
Above everything, it especially frustrates me that nobody is doing anything about his behaviour. I don't even consider it as entertainment. Fortunately, I'm not sadistic enough to derive joy from watching the sullen faces of the contestants, hearing the hearts of these aspiring singers break into countless pieces. It's not fun. It makes me dislike the show, somehow. If I wanted to see heartbreak and empathise, I would much rather tune in to National Geographic or the Discovery Channel on the abuses of animals or humans in the Third World, where at least I know there is hope for all this cruelty to stop. Somewhere, someone out there is doing something to make all the brutality stop. But on this show, nobody is doing shit. As for me, all I can do is to boycott the show, which constitutes not tuning in at all and not casting my votes. However, that will not do much, clearly. For one, I like to watch the contestants sing, and the host doing his bits. And well, I have never voted. Ever.
So as for now, all I can truly afford is this post and hope that others realise the lack of compassion and courtesy in this particular someone. Let us learn that it is not ok to treat people that way (to think that every decent human being in the entire universe would recognize that by now).
But someday, when I gain enough authority to make a change in this certain media company, my priority assignment is to kick his lily ass out of the show. And that's a promise.
On a completely different topic, I saw Faisal Isa, the latest Idol cast-off, at Woodlands today!
Know this: After eating too much, your hearing is less sharp.