AJL 23 Finals - view from my couch...

I watched AJL 23 last night as my wife wanted to watch it. Furthermore, Liverpool’s match will only be on Tuesday morning. Anyway, from the performance of the 14 finalists, the only performance I really liked was from Faizal Tahir and Stacy (AF). Faizal’s was unique while stacy’s was energetic. Great performance and showmanship from those two, though I have expected it from them after what I have seen they can do in One in a Million and Akademi Fantasia.

Ayu of OIAM2 was a bit shaky, Aizat need to improve his vocals, while Elyana can’t win anything if she just sits on a mock-up staircase singing her song while flaunting her legs… lucky she wore stockings, otherwise it will become a big story to tell today. Last time in MTV Asia's Award (I think), Elyana was just stomping her 'naked' foot to the stage while singing!! (I mean she wasn't wearing a shoe or anything... perhaps she scared she will slipped on the stage..)

Apart from Faizal and Stacy, in my point of view, there was nothing else. Comparing last year’s AJL, last years was way better than last night’s. Estranged was not in their element, while Rich’s vocals was not up to it. But don’t get me wrong, I like Estranged.

In the end, as with last year’s champion which was unexpected (Estranged), this time Meet Uncle Hussein won the coveted Juara Lagu.t. Another indie band becomes the winner after Estranged paved the way last year. I was expecting Faizal Tahir to win it though, but it didn’t come true. However, he did win three of the six titles.

The full winner’s list are as follows:-

Anugerah Juara Lagu:

Lagu Untukmu (Meet Uncle Hussein)

Juara Kategori Pop Rock:

Lagu Untukmu (Meet Uncle Hussein)

Juara Kategori Balada:

Sampai Syurga (Faizal Tahir)

Juara Kategori Etnik Kreatif:

Persoalan Cinta (Farahwahida)

Juara PersembahanTerbaik:

Faizal Tahir

Juara Vokal Terbaik:

Faizal Tahir

As with the performances, One Nation Emcees opening act was lively, as expected from them who is the winner of last year’s Gangstarz. However, what really made me ‘sit down’ were the closing acts by the combined performance by M. Nasir, Jamal Abdillah and Jaclyn Victor together with 3 kids singer. That performance was really awesome. If you missed it, make sure you watch it back (IF TV3 make a re-run, if not, you have missed one really really great show by these three singers).the voice combination and harmony is second to none in the last part of the performance. You’ll have to watch and listen to it to judge yourself.

Another singer I really admired is Wada, the little girl who sang a few lines of Gemilang before introducing Jaclyn Victor. She has talents and a lovely lovely voice!! Would like to see her more singing many songs.. yeah!!

In conclusion, the last performance called Iluminasi Muzik, made up from the ‘dour’ (IMHO) performance by the finalists, apart from Faizal and Stacy.