Hey Fiknatics,

A happy Vesak day to all and I hope you guys are looking forward to the holidays in June. (Well for some of you, of course).

Wow! The Grasshoppers! I went to their concert when they were in Singapore, to catch these legends perform and oh boy! Now I know why they are called legends. The concert was packed with hits that everybody sang along to. (I do know some of the songs too, ok) There were songs that I've heard my Chinese friends sang to when I was in Primary School haha! Although they spoke mainly Cantonese & Mandarin, I could make up what they were joking about on stage with their antics. It was a show filled with amazing visuals, catchy dance moves and sing-a-long songs, and I did learn a thing or two.

I was at the premiere of "Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End" two weeks ago. I was quite excited to see the conclusion of the Trilogy and what exactly happened to captain Jack Sparrows. (By the way, what's up with Hollywood releasing a series of Trilogies this year, Spider-man 3, then Pirates of the Caribbean...hmmmm) What I was most excited about was to see Chow Yun Fat saying "Welcome to Singapore"...HAHA. They came to Singapore! Wooo hooo! But why? Well I'm not gonna tell you but it's a fun movie, you guys should catch. But a gentle reminder, use the bathroom before the movie because it's 3 HOURS LONG! Enjoy!

I was invited by Pillihan FM radio Brunei to be the Guest artist on "Pillihan Akira Talentime 2007". It was my first time ever in Brunei and I was quite excited about my trip. When I arrived in Brunei, the first observation I made was that the country is very simple and laid back unlike back home where everyone is always in a hurry. I kinda like it for a change.

We headed for rehearsals at about 3pm and I met my new Bruneian friend Feez, who was the winner of the contest in 2005. It turned out that she is the roommate of a friend of mine whom I met in Singapore! What a small world! We did a duet to Usher & Monica's Slow Jams which I thought suited our vocals nicely.

After rehearsals, I went over to Pillihan FM's Studio to do a radio interview at about 11pm. Initially I was tired after my rehearsals, but when the station's phone kept ringing non-stop, I totally forgot about all that because we were having too much fun! I was pleasantly surprised to see the response from my Bruneian fans. Thanks Pillihan FM! (By the way, one of the station's radio DJ Frankie was the first to play my songs from the "Blessings" album in Brunei. Thanks Bro!)

The next morning, I had a radio in interview at Brunei's No.1 radio station Pelangi Fm. I had a very nice surprise. The DJ told me that "Usah Lepaskan" was No.1 on their station for two weeks previously. It's currently at No. 2. WOW! I never knew that. Thank you to Pelangi FM and all the fans! I did a few more interviews with the local newspapers and then we went off to sight-see for a bit.

We visited the Sultan Of Brunei's Mosque and boy it was amazing. Kinda remind me of Singapore's Sultan Mosque, just a lot bigger! (Do you see the size of that gate!)






We then went over to the Istana Nurul Iman where the Sultan resides, but too bad, there was no way to get a good glimpse of the inside. (Oh well, maybe next time when the Sultan invites me ....haha...crossing my fingers!)





Most of the government buildings like the Parliament Building there, resembled the structure of a mosque so it was quite a peaceful sight for me.






We returned to the hotel after having a chocolate ice-cream crepe each at the local mall. (Although I'm supposed to be on a diet, and min's sick...we couldn't resist it!)






Back at the studio that night, it was time to get on stage. The MC gave me a long wonderful introduction (Thanks dear) and once I stepped out, it was show time! I perform 3 songs, All Because Of You, Slow Jams with Feez and Usah Lepaskan. The audience was amazing and I could hear some of them singing along to Usah Lepaskan. I must say all the contestants were wonderful singers and with the right exposure and grooming will definitely go far.

After the show, we had an impromptu meet-the-fans session and I was very overwhelmed by the response of the fans. I had a blast taking photos and signing autographs for the Fiknatics there. It's been a really terrific experience in Brunei and I can't wait to be back!

APM is just around the corner guys and I really can't wait to perform at the Indoor Stadium again. The nominations are already achievements and hopefully my efforts will be further recognized. I hope you guys will enjoy the show! Let it be a special night for us, see you then!

Love,

(No one is above you, unless you let them be)

posted by cher @ 12:03 PM   14 comments