What exactly lies beneath the exterior of that cool, calm & composed soulman whom we know as Taufik Batisah? Check out the following sections to learn more about the man.
Taufik featured in The New Paper28 November 2008
WORDS don’t come easy
FORGETTING the lyrics can get a contestant eliminated from Singapore Idol.
STUMPED: Hady Mirza, Jonathan Leong and Taufik Batisah in the celeb episode of Don't Forget The Lyrics. PICTURES: KELVIN CHNG
And neither the winners, Taufik Batisah and Hady Mirza, nor runner-up Jonathan Leong, ever once blanked out during the show.
The three heartthrobs were always cool, calm and collected while performing songs from various genres week after week.
But surprisingly, the Hype Records artistes found themselves sweating it out and hitting quite a few bum notes on the new local reality gameshow Don't Forget The Lyrics! The spin-off of a US TV series is hosted by Gurmit Singh.
Taufik, Hady and Jonathan were celebrity contestants on the show's Pop Stars Charity Special, which airs on Channel 5 tonight at 8pm.
They sang together and took turns going solo, selecting songs from a variety of genres, decades and artistes.
The contest involves singing with a karaoke-style video screen. When the music stops, the words disappear and the contestants have to come out with the correct missing lyrics to climb a money tree with a top prize of $500,000.
HELP!: Taufik Batisah playfully tagging Hady Mirza as his 'Backup Singer' lifeline. TNP PICTURE: KELVIN CHNG
With such a format, Don't Forget The Lyrics! sounds like something right up the alley of professional singers.
Not so, according to the guys.
'It's scary that people think that, but the songs can be anything,' the usually self-assured Taufik told The New Paper, adding he didn't prepare for the show.
'So I was very nervous actually.
'If you give me lyrics now to a new song and you ask me to sing it in an hour's time, I can do that. But if you ask me to remember songs from way back, I might not be able to do it.'
The 27-year-old felt contestants who are music enthusiasts with a knack for remembering lyrics stand a better chance, even if they can't carry a tune.
He said: 'You'll be surprised that we don't listen to as much music as we'd like to (after we became musicians). For now, I'm stuck listening to my own music because my new album's going to be out soon.'
Hady came across as the best-prepared of the three. He said he watched most of the international versions of the show, including the Malaysian one, and even went for a couple of karaoke sessions with his friends to get in the mood.
No advantage for singers
But the 28-year-old agreed with Taufik that singers don't necessarily have an added advantage, though he understood why viewers may have high expectations of them.
He said: 'That's why (the show's producers are) putting us on the spot! But I just want to have fun.'
Jonathan, 26, also tried to do his homework by listening to more radio and his old CDs, but concluded it's 'quite futile' because the genres are so broad and there are no rehearsals, unlike Singapore Idol.
He said: '(The show) looks much easier than it is... It boils down to how much music I've listened to all my life.'
Any performance anxiety then? Jonathan replied: 'No, more like memorisation anxiety!'
In the very first round, the long-haired rocker tackled The Cure's Friday I'm In Love over Oasis' Wonderwall. But a petrified-looking Jonathan froze over the missing four words in the song's famous chorus - until Gurmit threw him a big clue.
Taufik didn't exactly fare better during his turn. He picked Phil Collins' You Can't Hurry Love - an American Idol audition staple, incidentally - and almost botched it.
He blurted out anxiously: 'This is worse than (Singapore Idol)!'
Hady was undeniably the crowd favourite when he confidently nailed Take That's Pray in one take.
He jokingly told the studio audience: 'I remember singing (Pray) to a girl... during that era. Take That was hot, and I wanted to be like a boybander.'
Hady continued to save the day when Jonathan made the bizarre decision of picking Cameo's 1986 smash hit Word Up over Ne-Yo's more popular 2007 track Because Of You - much to duet partner Taufik's disappointment.
Lifelines
They were forced to use 'Backup Singer' - one of three lifelines - and seek help from Hady, who had performed it with his band before.
And for the third time, Jonathan selected a seemingly harder song - Jason Mraz's You And I Both over Elton John's classic ballad Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word.
When asked about all his weird choices that could've sabotaged the Idols' chances, Jonathan told The New Paper: 'Exciting what! I'm a risk-taker!
'But this is harder and more stressful than Idol.'
A relaxed Hady - who was the night's clear-cut MVP - attributed his feat to luck, while Taufik appeared to be the most traumatised by the whole experience.
He said: 'It was worse than expected, it was so tough man. I think we'll stick to singing our own songs - we'll remember the lyrics better.'
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