TURN-OFF Of The Year

Flame Awards
TURN-OFF of the Year
They’re so bad, they make you want to throw things at your $2,000 flat-screen TV. We say, spare the TV and spend your money voting (you win prizes!). JULIANA JUNE RASUL and TAN KEE YUN present the celebrities we loved to hate this year…
December 17, 2009
 
 

1. S FACTOR ‘BABES’

Shame on you if you’re wondering why these girls weren’t nominated in our Babe Of The Year category.

You would think a reality TV series full of bikini-clad hotties would more likely be a turn-on than a turn-off.

But then again, that depends on what actually goes on in the show.

Well, have you actually watched an episode of S Factor?

The tragedy – or hilarity, depending on how you look at it – began during the audition stages, when our wannabe-babes tried to woo the camera with so-called seductive looks.

More like blank faces, you mean.

When the competition started, the girls proved a hit for all the wrong reasons – a ‘talent’ segment of the show was won by 28-year-old Sonia Krans, who did… belly wiggles.

Now, the girls will live in perpetuity on the Internet, mostly thanks to YouTube remixes of the show.

Some, like eventual SFactor winner Yan Kay Kay,27, have become personalities on web-based TV shows.

They were, perhaps, too busy promoting themselves online to talk about their nomination – our urgent SMSes and phone calls to a few of them were not answered.

Perhaps they don’t want to have anything to do with the show that launched their careers.

A little too late to be embarrassed, don’t you think?

2. GURMIT SINGH

At least he’s consistent.

Much beloved as Phua Chu Kang, Gurmit Singh has received no love for his stint as Singapore Idol host for the third season running – especially since he’s been nominated in this very same category twice before.

From Flame Awards circa 2006: ‘Back (in 2004), Gurmit was dragged over hot coals for tripping over his words and… getting tongue-tied.’

With the exception of the hot coals part, that sentence remains true now.

He’s been dependably ‘off’ with his remarks, making people both on- and off-screen uncomfortable.

When contestant Charles Wong tried to demonstrate how low his voice became after it broke during his teenage years, Gurmit, 44, responded with: ‘You must be wearing very loose underwear.’

He forgot Babe Of The Year nominee Tabitha Nauser’s name. We can’t count the number of times he looked blankly into the cameras.

Asked about his nomination, Gurmit told us via e-mail: ‘If this is my third time… then people do like me enough to put me in this category again and again. I feel the love! Ha ha.’

Gamely mocking himself, he continued: ‘Come on, my English is not the only thing that is bad. How about my acne-scarred face? How about my non-hunk physique?’

He reassured us that his e-mail to us had gone through a spell-check software called ‘Ris’. Touche!

He added: ‘I will win hands down, feet up, eyes crossed, lips puckered!’

We sure hope so, so we can finally put this thing to rest.

3. KEN LIM

Through bad hosts, bad singing, bad contestants, and a complete head-scratcher of a Singapore Idol 2 judge (yes, it’s Jacintha Abisheganaden), head judge Ken Lim had a soft spot in our hearts.

Yes, he mows down contestants like nobody’s business, but that was his job – fellow panelists Dick Lee and Florence Lian being about as useful as Care Bears.

Then Ken, 45, began shooting his mouth off and got himself into a pickle.

Once known for constructive criticism, he started ragging mercilessly and dishing out mind-boggling non-sequiturs to contestants he thought didn’t have star potential.

To our Dude Of The Year nominee Duane Ho, Ken said: ‘You look like you’re singing to get a bigger ang pow.’

And to eventual finalist Sezairi Sezali, he said: ‘You look like a barber.’

Huh? Was that a compliment?

Ken was turning into… Jacintha.

When we called him on his Austrian family holiday to break the news that he’d been nominated, he stood by the barber comment.

‘If you put (Sezairi) next to other stars, you’ll know what I mean,’ said the boss of Hype Records.

Er, no, we still don’t.

‘He’s got to face the facts, especially if he wants to compete commercially.’

Ken was good-natured about the ‘dishonour’ though.

‘Ever since Idol started seven years ago, I’ve had to deal with it,’ he said with a laugh. ‘As far as I’m concerned, I say what is factual.’

SI BEI SUAY Award

FEW celebrities this year can get any more suay (plagued by bad luck) than Singapore’s golden couple, our national icon and an Idol whose ‘berseru’ got him rebuked by the entire country.

KWOK KAR PENG, JULIANA JUNE RASUL and CHARLENE CHUA offer four-leaf clovers and rabbit’s feet to…

1. FANN WONG & CHRISTOPHER LEE

Poor things.

The Caldecott couple, both 38, were struck with bouts of bad luck since their rah-rah wedding banquet in September.

First, Fann was ill for two weeks and hospitalised.

She was given Tamiflu for suspected H1N1 but it turned out to be a false alarm.

She fell ill again last month, and this time, it was H1N1.

She took Tamiflu again, and said it gave her headaches and severe nausea. Filming on her new local movie Happy Go Lucky was postponed.

Fann’s bad luck also spilled over to hubby Christopher, who had to move out of their marital bedroom to avoid catching H1N1.

The actors – who had made no secret of their intention to conceive a child pronto – even had to halt their baby-making plans, following their doctor’s advice.

When The New Paper contacted Christopher on the phone – Fann was filming in Cambodia – we couldn’t even get past our introduction before he hurriedly said he didn’t have the time to talk.

He added he would get his manager to arrange an interview before hanging up the phone. Boy, did we luck out in getting a good quote.

Is bad luck contagious or what?

2. TAUFIK BATISAH

In terms of being unlucky, it doesn’t get much worse than making a major boo-boo on live TV.

In the case of inaugural Singapore Idol Taufik Batisah, it was super, super unlucky.

Firstly, his flub was made before the final race of the F1 Singapore Grand Prix, an international event broadcast to over 100 million people worldwide.

Secondly, it involved our national anthem.

The 27-year-old sang the word ‘berseru’ (soar) instead of ‘bersatu’ (unite) in the first chorus of Majulah Singapura.

Opinion was divided – some felt it was a simple mistake, others chastised Taufik for flubbing a song he has sung since he was 6.

To his credit, he didn’t roll out any Ashlee Simpson-esque gastric disorders to explain it away.

‘I don’t want to make excuses,’ he said when contacted about the incident back in September, and asked to be forgiven by the public.

Taufik is busy at work on a special single – yes, he’s still working – and couldn’t be reached for his thoughts.

But we leave you with this: If you vote for him, at least he gets a trophy to, uh, remind him of what happened?

Okay, maybe not.

3. MR MERLION

It’s not like it’s his fault that he has the head of a lion and the body of a fish.

But the poor Merlion in Merlion Park must rue the day he was born, some 37 years ago.

Last year, Miss Singapore Universe 2008 Shenise Wong was crucified for her scaly, Merlion-inspired national costume.

Then in March, a bolt of lightning took off some of his mane.

So we were surprised when the national icon answered our call on the first ring.

‘Exactly my thoughts. First they insult my body, then I get whacked on the head. I’m just down on my luck. Suay? You bet.’

Mr Merlion added that he felt like a ‘caged animal’ when he had to be covered up for repairs for three weeks.

‘I’m just sitting here minding my own business. You think it’s easy having mismatched body parts?

‘Why must I always be made to feel like a fish out of water?’

Okay, calm down.

What we really want to know is, would you wear the scaly pageant dress yourself?

‘Don’t make me puke,’ he snapped, and hung up.

SMS and win great prizes

YOU can decide which nominee wins – and end up winning yourself. The more SMS votes you send in, the higher your chance of winning these:

One-night hotel stay at the executive suite of Royal Plaza on Scotts, with breakfast for two ( $980)

Laser facial treatment by aesthetic physician DrKaren Soh of Pacific Wellness Centre ($800)

Nespresso Le Cube Red coffee machine and Aerocinno Plus milk foamer ($618)

Sephora beauty hamper and Bliss spa’s pedicure and signature triple oxygen facial ($540)

Goldheart diamond and blue topaz white gold pendant ($468)

Chronotech Revolution Extreme watch ( $369)

LifeCam Cinema webcam, Wireless Mobile Mouse 4000 and Arc Mouse from Microsoft, ($263.90)

Results will be announced in our Boxing Day edition on 26 Dec.

HOW TO VOTE

SMS your vote to 77877. Each SMS costs 20 cents. Voting ends on Saturday at 11.59pm. Multiple entries are allowed.

Keywords for today’s categories are:

Turn-off Of The Year: TURN

Format: TNPTURNAnswer NRICName

Si Beh Suay Award: SUAY

Format: TNPSUAYAnswer NRICName

For example, if you vote Ken Lim as Turn-off Of The Year, key in tnpturn 3 S7777777D John Tan. If you vote Taufik for the Si Beh Suay Award, key in tnpsuay 2 S7777777D John Tan.

Win watch and cool gadgets

The Chronotech Revolution Extreme timepiece in red from the Italian brand is the latest must-have.

The dial’s carbon-fibre finish and specially-molded crystal give it a concave magnifying lens quality.

Also, check out these cool accessories from Microsoft.

The LifeCam Cinema is the world’s first consumer HD webcam with 720p high definition video, widescreen 16:9 aspect ratio, glass element lens and autofocusing capability.

With its Microsoft BlueTrack technology, the funky Wireless Mobile Mouse 4000 can track on almost any surface.

Lastly, the Arc Mouse – the top-selling wireless mouse in Singapore – owes its popularity to its ability to fold to nearly half its size when you’re on the road.
 

The NewPaper